I am opposing the Amsterdam Treaty for a number of reasons. The treaty's provisions regarding military arrangements and the armaments industry in Europe are wholly unacceptable.
To date the debate has concentrated on whether or not Irish neutrality is at risk. This is far too narrow an approach. The issue has to be examined in a much broader context to understand what is at stake in the Amsterdam Treaty.
Following the collapse of the totalitarian Stalinist regimes in eastern Europe, the attitude of the major European powers has changed towards the US. Where previously these powers and the US administration allied themselves against a perceived threat from the Soviet Union, in the new situation they increasingly see themselves as rivals.
The most powerful states in the EU see themselves as an economic power rivalling that of the US. They are increasingly resentful, however, that they do not have a unified military complex which would allow them greater influence over what happens in crucial parts of the world outside the EU frontiers.
For example, they resent the dominant role which the US continues to play in the Middle East. I have no doubt that leading members of the EU wish to rival the US not only in economic terms but also in the military and diplomatic arena.
This is the context in which the proposal about military matters within the Amsterdam Treaty must be viewed.
It is not a question that if the treaty is carried it will result in Ireland being drawn into a foreign war. What is involved is the development of structures which will prepare the ground for the creation of a European army, with a nuclear capacity to give it more weight in dealing with issues outside the EU.
The key question is whether the people of this State should endorse moves by the major European powers towards creating a European military power with nuclear arms. This is a much more fundamental way of considering the issue than merely having regard to whether Ireland could opt out of whatever military proposal might be brought forward.
We should not endorse the aspiration to move towards a common European armaments industry. Any reading of Title 5 of the treaty will convince the average citizen that this is the framework which it is designed to construct.
These articles do not just refer to the progressive framing of a common defence policy which might lead to a common defence, but commit the member-states to deciding on common strategies and adopting joint actions.
I believe that rather than being in any way supportive of the machinations of the major European powers in moving towards another military super power, ordinary people should be uniting across Europe to achieve justice in the economic and social structure.
A No vote in the referendum on May 22nd would give clear notice to the leaders of the EU that this is the direction which the majority of Irish people wish to take. Other claims made for supporting this treaty by its supporters are bogus.
Claims that it is about putting employment and citizens' rights at the heart of the Union should be judged against the record of the common market and the EU since its inception. The reality is that unemployment in the EU has continued to rise. The official figure is 18 million unemployed.
The Amsterdam Treaty makes no commitments to reduce unemployment. The requirements on states joining EMU rule out major public expenditure on social housing or necessary public works to tackle long-term unemployment. Putting citizens' rights at the heart of the Union does not stretch to the right to a job, or to a minimum wage. The minimal provisions of the Social Charter have not delivered and will not deliver a workers' Europe.
To reject this treaty is not to be a hidebound nationalist. As an international socialist I stand for the coming together of all the working people of Europe, but on a basis of real democracy and economic and social co-operation rather than support for current mechanisms which serve primarily to advance the interests of big business and the ambitions of right-wing politicians.
Joe Higgins is an Independent TD for the Socialist Party