Madam, - Further to your paper's report of February 7th detailing EU President José Manuel Barroso's call for member-states to think carefully before holding referendums on the EU Constitution may I note the following? Eighteen countries have indeed ratified the Constitution; however it has been put to only four referendums. The French and Dutch voted against it, the people of Spain and Luxembourg voted in favour. The remaining other 16 countries ratified the Constitution through their parliaments.
Parliamentary ratification may be a chosen expression of democracy, but this does not detract from the reality that when such decisions are made by a country's government alone, there is minimal if any engagement with its citizens before a decision is reached.
The legislation within the 460-page EU Constitution will fundamentally change the future of Europe. Despite what Mr Barroso may wish, the very least every citizen of the European Union's member-states should expect of their political institutions and national parliaments is the provision of a meaningful debate on its contents, followed by the most fundamental tool of democracy, a vote. - Yours etc,
SINÉAD NÍ BHROIN, Sandymount, Dublin 4.