JOHN BRUTON,
Madam, - Mr John Rogers's lengthy article in your edition of October 12th consisted mostly of a critique of existing EU treaties - treaties that have already been endorsed by the Irish people in referendums. Towards the end of his article, he does make some points about the Nice Treaty which warrant a response.
He says that the EU structure in Nice is neither truly intergovernmental nor truly federal. This is true. The EU is in fact "work in progress" and the Nice Treaty is a transitional phase. The ultimate shape of the European Union is one that will be decided democratically by each of the peoples of the states of Europe, when all will have to ratify future EU treaties.
John Rogers says that Nice does not create a constitution, like that of the United States in which in one of the houses of the legislature (the Senate) there is equality of representation between large and small states. Under the Nice Treaty, the position of small states is actually better than it is in the United States. Under Nice, small states have disproportionately large representation per head of population in all the institutions. Small states are over-represented in population terms in the Commission, the European Parliament, and in the Council of Ministers.
Mr Rogers predicts that an EU of 27 members will, under Nice voting procedures, be insufficiently decisive. I believe his fears are not justified at all, but if they are, this can be fully rectified, if the people agree, in a future treaty.
He is right when he says that we must enhance democracy in the EU. But the truth is that the EU's legislative system is actually more open and democratic than the Irish legislative system, in which confidential policy-making in government and party-whipped majorities in the Dáil prevail.
Further democratisation is one of the aims of the Convention of the Future of Europe, of which I am a member. I believe that the election of a President of the European Commission by the people of Europe would help people to identify with European democracy more fully than they do now, and that is one of the arguments I am advancing within the Convention.
John Rogers and I would agree that further democratisation of the EU is necessary. But a No to Nice would do more than delay enlargement. It would create an unnecessary crisis and divert the European Convention from the task of the constitutional transformation of Europe.
John Rogers should vote Yes, if he really wants a better constitution for Europe. - Yours, etc.,
JOHN BRUTON,
Former Taoiseach,
Dublin 2.
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Madam, - European Artists Against Nice is an alliance of artists - most of whom happen also to be Irish - who feel obliged to raise our heads above the parapet and say No to the bribery and threats of the leaders of powerful interests on this island, in particular the leaders of IBEC and Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael and Labour as well as ICTU and SIPTU (the latter's ordinary members have actually said No!).
We believe there are insufficient grounds for changing our minds and voting for the identical treaty to which the Irish people voted No last year. We do not believe Nice is essential for enlargement - a process we warmly welcome.
We are particularly concerned about the constitutionality of the Irish Government ignoring the democratic result of the original ballot.
We will vote No. Again. - Yours, etc.,
JOHN ARDEN,
CATHAL BLACK,
ROBERT BALLAGH,
MARY J. BYRNE,
FRANK CORCORAN,
TOM COLLINS,
MARY COUGHLAN,
JOE COMERFORD,
CLIODNA CUSSEN,
P.J. CURTIS,
GERTRUDE DEGENHARDT
RAYMOND DEANE,
LELIA DOOLAN,
MARGARETTA DARCY,
MICHAEL DAVITT,
GRÁINNE DOWLING,
GERALDINE DRAPER,
ANN GILLEECE,
DÓNAL HAUGHEY,
RITA ANN HIGGINS,
LARRY HYNES,
FRED JOHNSTON,
ÉAMON LITTLE,
STEVE MacDONOGH,
TONY MacMAHON,
TADHG McSWEENEY,
NUALA NÍ DHOMHNAILL,
MARY O'MALLEY,
JOHN O'DONOHUE,
JOE STEVE Ó NEACHTAIN,
DARACH Ó SCOLAÍ,
NORBERT PAYNE,
EDITH PIEPERHOFF,
BOB QUINN,
STEPHEN REA,
DAVY SPILLANE,
KATE THOMPSON,
FERGUS TIGHE,
BREDA WALSH,
STEVE WOODS.
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Madam, - Concern has its primary focus on working with and for the world's poorest people. Currently, the deteriorating food situation in Southern Africa and in the Horn of Africa is at the centre of our work.
Concern does not involve itself in domestic political issues except as they affect the interests of developing countries and the people we work with. We have not taken any public position on the Treaty of Nice nor on any previous referendums. Nor, to my knowledge, have any of the main humanitarian or development NGOs which get support from the Irish public and government.
One NGO, Afri, which is involved in development issues, has taken a position on Nice. Its position is summarised in the poster, "Treaty of Nice - Goodbye UN, Hello NATO".
Lest the silence of the wider NGO community should appear in any way to support this view, I want, on behalf of Concern, to fundamentally disagree with it.
I do not share Afri's view of Europe and its role in the world. I see the European project as having been founded on the need to build peace within Europe - and over the past 50 years, it has succeeded to an extraordinary degree. Over the coming decades, I see Europe as a force for working towards a more peaceful and fairer world - through assisting in conflict resolution and providing more equitable trading arrangements.
This country has made a major contribution to UN peacekeeping over the past 40 years. Currently Irish troops and police serve, under UN mandate, in 11 peacekeeping operations. In the future I believe that Ireland will continue to make such a contribution, in some cases working with our European partners, in all cases working under UN mandate.
It is therefore, I believe, deeply misleading to suggest that the Treaty of Nice could have the effect that Ireland is saying "Goodbye to the UN". - Yours, etc.,
TOM ARNOLD,
Chief Executive,
Concern,
Camden Street,
Dublin 2.
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Madam, - Even though I voted recently for the present Government, I intend to vote against the ratification of the Treaty of Nice.
I strongly object to being asked to vote again this year for the same treaty rejected by a large majority of Irish voters only last year. I am afraid that the arrogance which greeted the Irish rejection in some political circles here and in the administration of the EU bodes ill for the future of democracy in the Union.
There will be a moratorium on letters about this subject next Saturday, which is polling day for the referendum
The flawed Nice Treaty, if ratified, would cause ruinous problems not only for us in Ireland but for the EU as a whole and for the countries which wish to become members. Browbeating tactics and bully-boy behaviour may intimidate some voters, but do nothing to address the reason for Ireland's rejection of Nice, which is that it's a bad treaty for most of us.
What we need now is not the sop of empty declarations but a complete and unhurried appraisal of what is necessary to preserve democracy and enhance durable economic activity in Europe. - Yours, etc.,
NIALL Ó MURCHADHA,
An Spideal,
Gaillimh.
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Madam, - Dick Warner's recent series of articles on a family trip to some EU applicant countries brought back vivid memories of excursions I undertook in the early 1990s. I was living in Paris at the time and felt pretty sure-footed setting out, but the over-riding effect of those trips was one of culture shock. I was humbled and dwarfed as I was welcomed into the homes of Czechs, Hungarians and especially Poles.
Dick Warner acknowledges the friendliness of the Poles, but I cannot let him away with his dismissal of Polish cuisine. What of the nourishing soups for all seasons; the creative and delicious vegetable dishes; the cakes and pastries for all occasions; the summer fruit drinks; the attention to presentation and the ability to make something out of nothing and to waste not a scrap? It is we who have a lot to learn.
STEPHANIE BOURKE,
Skerries Mills,
Skerries,
Co Dublin.
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Madam, - My word! Have not the Greens got Mr Turner (Green = Nazis), and Mr Myers (Trevor = Dumb Keith) in a collective knicker-twisted lather these days?
Cheap name-calling only prompts a review of high-held regard. À la Dan Quayle: "Mr Turner, you are no Gary Trudeau. Mr Myers, you are no Dean Swift." - Yours, etc.,
MAURICE CREGAN,
Uppercross Road,
Rialto,
Dublin 8.
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Madam, - One of the principal reasons against voting for the Treaty of Nice, according to those who are campaigning against its ratification, is that it is another step on the road to an army of the European Union. These same people often, almost in the same breath, condemn the United States' proposed attack on Iraq and its foreign policy generally.
These two positions are, in the context of how human society and nations operate and interact, contradictory. It is an unpleasant fact of human life that the powerful can do as they wish to the weak and will continue to do so unless an equally or more powerful state prevents it. This explains why the US is in a position to conduct itself as it does: because its power greatly outweighs that of any other country in the world.
As long as the EU remains without an armed force its voice will remain weaker than that of the United States. As time passes and as this situation continues the US army will continue to outstrip the world's other armies until the point will be reached, if it has not been reached already, where it grows so strong that its power eclipses that of the rest of the world and it may do completely as it wishes.
Those against the creation of such an army may, in reply, argue that the policies of an armed EU will simply be a reflection of those of the US. However, the EU member-states, with the exception of America's European footstool, Britain, have displayed a markedly different approach to how to deal with Iraq and to numerous other US policies.
Those who advocate a No vote are, as a result of the confusion of aspiration and reality that is so much a mark of left-wing politics, leaving the world stage to the United States to do as it wishes, seemingly hopeful that words of condemnation will be sufficient in the future to stop it. If anything, the recent Bush declaration on national security and strategy and the apparent determination of members of its executive to act unilaterally should encourage the pooling of the military resources of the EU member-states and the creation of an army of the EU without delay. - Yours, etc.,
BRIAN McMAHON,
The Hardwicke,
Upper Church Street,
Dublin 7.
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Madam, - Please let me make one single point in the debate on the Nice Treaty.
Unless I vote No to Nice a superstate of Europe will be established. Consequent on this a constitution of Europe will be formed. This constitution will over-ride our Irish Constitution, Bunreacht na hÉireann. As a result of this, Europe will have control over Bunreacht na hÉireann.
Resulting from this reality, it is most likely that abortion and euthanasia will be forced upon the people of Ireland in a couple of years' time, whether we like it or not.
I'm voting No to prevent this happening. - Yours, etc.,
JOE RYAN,
Main Street,
Oola,
Co Limerick.
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Madam, - As chairman of the Irish Peace Institute at the University of Limerick, I strongly urge the Irish people to vote Yes in the referendum next Saturday.
The Seville Declaration, made at the Seville European Council in June 2002 by the Irish Government representatives, reaffirms Ireland's continued attachment to its traditional policy of military neutrality.
Nice makes no plans or even aspirations to develop a European Army. Irish troops will participate in humanitarian or crisis management tasks mounted by the EU only when the "triple lock" of conditions are in place - namely UN endorsement, an Irish Government decision in place and Dáil Eireann approval.
During my service in Bosnia and Herzegovina in 1996 and 1997, the people who had suffered terribly from the war there asked me on many occasions: "Why didn't European come to our rescue?" The UN didn't have sufficient resources then to act and the EU had no soldiers or police on standby to move to Bosnia and Herzegovina and prevent the slaughter of people in places such as Srebernice.
The Rapid Reaction Force now being formed and trained will be available to act in a fire brigade role to prevent conflict like that witnessed in the Balkans in the 1990s.
As a former peacekeeper, I would not be advocating support for the RRP unless I was certain that it is a guaranteed measure by the EU to be used to prevent conflict and maintain the peace on the continent of Europe. - Yours, etc.,
MICHAEL SHANNON
(Col Ret'd), Chairman,
Irish Peace Institute,
University of Limerick.
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Madam, - Most of our politicians assure us that, if we vote Yes to Nice, our neutrality will be safeguarded. But I recall how we were almost stealthily signed up to the so-called Partnership for Peace even though Mr Ahern, before his election, had promised us that there would be a referendum on the matter. Further to this, warplanes and military personnel are passing through our airports; military aircraft also took part in an air display in the West this summer. So my bemused question to politicians who guarantee our neutrality is: What neutrality? - Yours, etc.,
JAMES O'HALLORAN,
St Teresa's Road,
Crumlin,
Dublin 12.