Madam, - Proponents of the Lisbon Treaty are regularly asked: "Give me some good reasons to vote Yes". Here are five.
1. The World Trade Organisation negotiations on agriculture and services.
2. The proposed limits on emissions to combat climate change.
3. The forthcoming talks on the so-called "health check" on the Common Agricultural Policy.
4.The negotiations on the EU medium term financial perspectives and budget.
5. The evolving EU energy security policy.
These are issues of the utmost importance for the Irish economy and for Irish jobs and prosperity. They form the EU agenda over the next 12 months. They come at a time of global economic and financial uncertainty. They can be tackled only by a determined and cohesive European Union. And Ireland can look for positive outcomes only by being at the heart of the EU system, building and strengthening alliances with partners old and new in line with the unquestioned successes of past decades.
These considerations point to the utter absurdity of a No vote on June 12th.
Instead of moving into a period of challenging diplomacy and negotiation as a committed and influential partner, this country would have precipitated a crisis and deflected attention from the real issues. What hope would there be of understanding, let alone sympathy, for an Irish rejection of a treaty negotiated among 27 states over seven years? What kind of hearing on Irish concerns would Taoiseach Cowen get from Chancellor Merkel, who put so much effort into achieving the final agreement on Lisbon?
A No vote might advance the political and business agendas of certain parties and individuals but it is very obviously not in the interests of this country, of its economy, of its workers and of its social advancement. Those interests, and the interests of Europe as a whole, demand a firm commitment to retaining Ireland's place at the centre of EU debates and decisions. That can only be ensured by a clear Yes to Lisbon. - Yours, etc,
TONY BROWN, Bettyglen, Raheny, Dublin 5.
Madam, - Danny Haskins (May 29th) berates us because we "have not given enough back" to Europe (I presume he means the EU, which is not the same thing). Well, Mr Haskins might like to ask the many thousands of Eastern Europeans who live and work in this country about that. We were one of the first to open our borders to the new entrants to the club and also we had an economy that could give them jobs.
We have received billions in structural funds and from the Common Agricultural Policy, but if you take into account our booming economy, and its positive effect on the EU economy overall (not to mention our rabid purchasing of foreign property and our penchant for sun holidays), I'd say we have more than repaid anything we received from the EU many times over. - Yours, etc,
PAUL WILLIAMS, Circular Road, Kilkee, Co Clare
Madam, - "In the case of the Lisbon Treaty, voters can be reassured by the fact that politicians and civil servants have pored over every word to ensure that their interests were protected" (John Bruton, Opinion, May 24th).
Could the devil be in that possessive pronoun? - Yours, etc,
DAMIEN FLINTER, Castleview Estate, Headford, Co Galway.
Madam, - Imagine that the terms of the Lisbon Treaty were the status quo and that we were holding a referendum to roll it back to the terms of the Nice Treaty. It appears to me that the No campaigners would still be asking us to vote No and using many of the same arguments. In spite of their protestations, they do not wish to have anything to do with the European project.
Yet that project has taken us from being a narrow-minded, self-centred people to where we are today. The question is: where are we going now? We will find out after June 12th. - Yours, etc,
TONY BARDON, Manor Heath, Rathfarnham, Dublin 16.
Madam, - Is there, by any chance, a clause in the Lisbon Treaty that outlaws the practice of politicians placing their smiling faces on telegraph poles at every available opportunity? If so, I will certainly vote Yes. - Yours, etc,
JOHN BREEN, Glendoher Drive, Rathfarnham, Dublin 16.
Madam, - I suppose one could draw an analogy between our main political parties coming together to support the Lisbon Treaty and Herod and Pontius Pilate: "And though Herod and Pilate had been enemies before they were reconciled on that day" (Luke 23.12). - Yours, etc,
JOHN OWENS, Gilford Road, Dublin 4.