Madam, – Brian Crowley MEP lists various economic reasons which he believes justify voting for the Lisbon Treaty (July 31st). Yes campaigners have realised that the economic “argument” is their greatest weapon, since it plays directly on the fears of a vulnerable public.
The public should know though that Ireland has played a heavy price for some aspects of European integration. Monetary union, which entailed the loss of control over our interest rates, has directly contributed to our economic implosion. And let’s not forget that our colossal debt, which is our most important concern, will remain regardless of how we decide to vote, and it is the markets’ assessment of our likelihood of defaulting on this debt which will decide whether or not they will continue to lend to us.
There will be no EU bailout in the event of loans drying up, since bailouts are prohibited under the Maastricht Treaty.
The majority of our own trading still occurs outside the euro zone, with Britain, for example (where opposition to the Lisbon Treaty runs highest), being our major trading partner. It also needs to be borne in mind that international support for the Treaty is by no means unanimous. Last year the respected international journal, the Economist, had a front page feature article urging EU leaders to respect the Irish vote and “bury” the Lisbon Treaty. The Wall Street Journal also recently strongly criticised the European Union’s habit of rerunning referendums and specifically highlighted the Government’s ploy of linking economic recovery to a Yes vote.
In any case, voting for a set of radical political proposals on the basis of hoped for economic benefits is deeply irrational. But it does serve to highlight Yes vote advocates’ continued attempts to divert attention away from the content of the treaty itself, which is very understandable. – Yours, etc,
Madam, – Paul Gavan (July 31st) writes that a reason for voting No is that it would surely seal the fate of our appalling Government. I do believe the country would greatly benefit from the Government parties being relegated to opposition. However, I do not believe it is wise to damage our country’s proud reputation in Europe by voting No in the referendum simply because of our Government’s mistakes. People should hold their fire, because Fianna Fáil can wait, Europe can’t. – Yours, etc,