Madam, - One of the central arguments of the No side in this debate relates to the alleged importance of the national veto. This is presented as something equivalent to the briefcase carried behind presidents and prime ministers with the key to the nuclear Armageddon. The image is presented of Irish ministers solemnly placing the veto case on the council table, brandishing the key, as the meeting is called to order.
Of course this depiction is as inaccurate and misleading as the rest of the familiar objections to Irish membership of the European Union that are being reheated and served up by the master chefs of Euroscepticism. Ireland has never chosen to use the veto - though perhaps once threatening to do so over milk quotas - and yet has unquestionably prospered in its EU membership over more than 30 years.
Sovereignty is a real issue in EU affairs. The European Union is a unique coming together of democracies which have chosen to share some of their sovereignty in the pursuit of shared goals and aspirations. Sovereignty does not simply reside in the ability to say no. It means being in a position to advance our national interests. It means being at the table where key decisions are under discussion and when they are made.
In today's world of interdependence there is nothing to be gained by standing alone as the master of an ever more narrow space. Having the veto does not guarantee meaningful outcomes. Within the EU system unanimity in certain areas - for example, defence and taxation - is important and recognised as such. But it is entirely fanciful to imagine that the policy agenda of the Union could be advanced if every decision required unanimity.
It is a long-established reality that decisions in the EU Council are, to the greatest degree possible, taken by consensus. Recent research indicates that explicitly contested voting is recorded on only a minority of decisions under qualified majority voting - perhaps 20 per cent. The provision in the Lisbon Treaty that the Council will meet in public when debating and voting on legislative proposals will demonstrate this important element of the Union's culture. - Yours, etc,
TONY BROWN, Raheny, Dublin 5.
Madam, I know that using the European vote to punish and embarrass our leaders is wrong but I can't help myself - I went for Dustin. - Yours, etc,
EAMON COSTELLO, Donabate, Co Dublin.