TONY BROWN,
Sir, - Breda O'Brien (Opinion, May 18th) presents a thoroughly confused analysis of the position of the likely second referendum on Nice.
The need for such a re-run has nothing to do with bullying or shoving or depriving anyone of real choice. It has nothing to do with the abortion referendums saga. It has everything to do with the simple fact - denied by Breda O'Brien and many others who campaigned for a No vote last year - that Nice is about one thing only: the enlargement of the European Union.
The other 26 countries involved are agreed that the institutional provisions of the Nice Treaty represent the only basis on which the prospective entry of up to 10 new member-states can proceed. That is a political fact established by the testimony of many visiting representatives of those countries, most recently by the Polish foreign minister in his statements to the National Forum on Europe and the Institute of European Affairs.
A refusal by this country to ratify Nice will bring about a crisis in the European Union - and in the applicant states - by effectively stopping the process of unifying a long divided continent. How can we in Ireland justify that?
Breda O'Brien refers to many concerns abut the nature and direction of European integration as if she had discovered them herself. Prof Brigid Laffan and others who have sought to analyse and assess Ireland's place in Europe in centres such as UCD and the Institute of European Affairs have raised these issues again and again over the years. To argue, as Breda O'Brien does, that the issues have not been engaged with simply exhibits ignorance of a virtual library of studies and analysis.
There are many serious questions to be answered about Europe's future direction. The European Convention which is at work in Brussels was established to deal with exactly these matters. The Nice Treaty itself is not a constitutional treaty but rather a technical arrangement to permit enlargement; but, in negotiating it, the EU leaders recognised the need to devote considerable time and effort to answering the many basic questions arising about the purposes, competences and conduct of the Union. This will be done at the Convention over the coming months.
As for the example of an EU decision given by Breda O'Brien, the assertion that "you have no power to influence, and you probably did not even know about it" is a criticism of this country rather than of the EU or of Brussels. All such policy decisions within the EU are taken by the Council of Ministers in which the national ministers participate. No decision can be taken without full consultation with relevant interests in all member-states. It is the responsibility of national authorities to ensure effective consultation and information. In this country there has been a serious lack of adequate procedures in this respect.
There is a real need for serious debate of both the Nice issue and the wide-ranging agenda of the European Convention. The National Forum on Europe has provided an inclusive and increasingly successful setting for that debate.
What is essential is clarity about the issues: Nice is about enlargement; the Convention is about all of the many legitimate concerns about the long term future. - Yours, etc.,
TONY BROWN,
Bettyglen,
Dublin 5.