Sir, - I would like to reply to Anthony Coughlan (November 17th). He is unequivocal in his belief that the enlargement of the European Union is a bad thing for East European states and for the 370 million citizens of the EU at this time. He states that the enlargement of the EU will deprive the citizens of these applicant countries of their hard-won national democracy and independence. What Mr Coughlan fails to remember is that democracy in Eastern and Central Europe is a recently new phenomenon. The enlargement will actually consolidate and support democratically elected governments from these countries.
Mr Coughlan believes that the EU is run and administered by a governing elite. I do not believe this claim for one moment. Even from an Irish perspective, when existing EU treaties are amended, one has to win over the support of the Irish people in a referendum to approve any new treaty regime.
The enlargement of the EU will help support democratic structures, promote human rights, expand market opportunities and help build a more stable and more peaceful European continent. However, the EU must reform its internal decision-making procedures so that the enlargement process can succeed. The reform negotiations that take place must be balanced and must ensure that the interests of smaller member states are fully protected within any new arrangement. That means, in its simplicity, that Ireland must retain the right to appoint one nominee to the European Commission. We must also keep control over our taxation and social security matters.
We do not want to build an EU that is run by the French and German governments alone to the detriment of smaller member states. That is why the negotiations are so finely balanced in the run up to the Nice summit of EU leaders in December next. The single greatest challenge facing EU governments and legislators at this time is how to ensure the enlargement can go ahead. I would remind Mr Coughlan that the Taoiseach, Bertie Ahern, was unequivocal when he stated on the November 6th that the enlargement of the EU is "profoundly in Europe's interests and it is in our national interest too and not to support it would be wholeheartedly hypocritical, short-sighted and ungenerous". - Yours, etc.,
Jim Fitzsimons, MEP, Navan, Co Meath.