Madam, - Dick Roche, Minister for European Affairs, says there is no democratic deficit in the EU (The Irish Times, April 29th), but the recent refusal to publish the EU's own report into massive waste and expenses fiddling by the European Commission flatly contradicts this.
If the Irish people vote No in the referendum they will not have voted to leave the EU or for any of the other scaremongering threats the European political elite are trying to blackmail them with.They will have spoken for Europe, the real Europe of ordinary people (most of whom are not allowed a vote on the treaty) who are desperately struggling against ever higher living costs as employers and governments attack their wages, conditions and pensions.
They will not have occasioned a disaster for Europe but on the contrary performed a public service by sending a wake-up call to the EU-political elite. They are still on the gravy train while they call for wage restraint. Meanwhile the super-rich get richer by paying less tax than the poor. - Yours, etc,
JOE MURPHY, Greengate, Manchester, England.
Madam, — Fr Tom Ingoldsby (April 29th) suggests that a No vote in the coming referendum would be the appropriate response to calls by the parliamentary assembly of the Council of Europe for its member-states to decriminalise abortion.
The Council of Europe is, of course, an organisation that is entirely separate from the European Union. It is perhaps understandable that it might be confused with the Council of Ministers of the European Union, but the two are entirely unrelated.
To suggest that the Lisbon referendum has anything whatsoever to do with the issue of abortion is entirely false and misleading. To publish such a claim when 80 per cent of voters do not understand the issues is downright irresponsible. — Yours, etc,
ANDREW SHERIDAN, West Hampstead, London.
Madam, - Taoiseach Bertie Ahern warns the Irish public that a No vote would be a "disaster" (The Irish Times, April 29th).
Not so long ago, both France and the Netherlands voted no to the European Constitution. Would the Taoiseach care to point out what disasters have befallen these countries since? - Yours, etc,
JACK DOWNEY, Old Cratloe Road, Limerick.
Madam, - It is annoying that the Lisbon Treaty debate here continues to concentrate on fallacies, such as on taxation. Declan Ganley was reported last week as saying that, under the treaty, Ireland will transfer "exclusive competency in the area of foreign direct investment" to Brussels, even though The Lisbon Treaty does not grant any new exclusive competences to the EU. As Franklin D Roosevelt said, "There is nothing to fear but fear itself".
We must remember there is a wider picture. This is an agreement by 27 countries. It was negotiated by governments across the political spectrum, including, for example, the Socialist-led Spanish Government; France, led by the centre-right; and the UK, led by an apparently socialist, but effectively centre-right, party. Quite simply, this is an agreement of a formidable magnitude, by any diplomatic barometer.
Unfortunately, any treaty between 27 countries will necessarily consist of reams of jargon. Therefore, the treaty text is difficult to understand and is likely to make anyone reading it fall asleep. However, within that text, there are many positive proposals.
A small sample includes: paving the way to a truly European energy policy; greater co-operation on fighting trafficking in drugs, people and arms; bringing new social objectives to the EU on the eradication of poverty, the promotion of full employment and fighting against social exclusion and discrimination.
There is an abridged, yet comprehensively detailed, explanation of the Lisbon Treaty, at: http://www.robert-schuman.org. - Yours, etc,
JOHN KENNEDY, Knocknashee, Goatstown, Dublin 14.
Madam, - Given that Fianna Fáil kept Dick Roche well out of sight during last year's general election because, one assumes, his patronising style does not go down well with the national electorate, one wonders why he is the "front man" advocating a Yes vote for the Lisbon Treaty. - Yours, etc,
PETER FOLEY, Cahercalla, Ennis, Co Clare.