Madam, - I fully agree with former taoiseach Garret FitzGerald concerning the future of the EU Constitution (Opinion & Analysis, September 30th). He is right when he argues that we cannot agree with the recent EU reform proposals brought forward by Nicholas Sarkozy, the French presidential candidate.
If Mr Sarkozy had his way, the powers of the smaller member-states of Europe would be weakened and tax harmonisation would be put back on the EU political agenda.
In fact, on a broader level, EU decision-makers currently have a real choice: they can either go down the route of reviving the EU constitution or they can seek to solve the immediate economic problems facing the EU.
Europe does have a chance to move forward on European economic matters, which clearly means more to European citizens than the EU constitutional debate.
The European Union should be focusing on the following policy issues: the financing of public pensions; the elimination of the regulatory burden on businesses; the implementation of the Services Directive; guaranteeing that banking services are available on a pan-European wide basis; investing a greater level of funding into the research and development sectors.
If the European economy improves and prospers, the citizens of Europe will undoubtedly support the European project in greater numbers. - Yours, etc,
EOIN RYAN TD MEP, European Parliament Office, Molesworth Street, Dublin 2.