Sir, - Michael Noonan threatens "disaster" if the Nice Treaty is voted down, while Mary Harney sees in it "great opportunities for Ireland and Europe for more and better jobs in an expanded, single market" (The Irish Times, May 22nd). And the standard Government line is: "How could we deny the countries of Central and Eastern Europe the opportunity to join, and have their time in the sun?" All of these arguments are handy slogans, but they are inaccurate. They entirely miss the point of this treaty and its implications for Ireland's future in Europe.
First, what "disaster" will happen if Ireland chooses not to ratify Nice on June 7th? At most, we might annoy or disappoint some of our European neighbours and lose some "brownie points" for Ireland in Europe. But that should hardly be a decisive consideration in ratifying a treaty on the future of this country within Europe! Of course it would be nice to keep everyone happy all of the time, but where the choice is between having disgruntled European neighbours for a while, and seriously compromising our national interests, the former is certainly preferable.
Similarly, pointing to the economic benefits we have gleaned from EU membership in the past is no argument for the Nice Treaty, which is principally about transforming the political structure of Europe. Unlike past treaties, there are no massive European subsidies riding on this one. Rejecting Nice will not compromise or undermine Ireland's continuing economic prosperity or its economic ties with Europe.
Probably the weakest argument of all is that the rejection of Nice will prevent potential member-states from joining. Under the Amsterdam Treaty, there is already provision for five additional member-states, and by the time that happens, which will not be any time soon, there will have been ample opportunity to ratify a renegotiated treaty.
There is precious little in the Nice Treaty, as it stands, to recommend it to the Irish people. It transfers power away from the smaller states to the larger ones, and further loosens the control of national governments over EU policies and laws. It effectively sows the seeds of a European federal government not unlike that of the United States. I hope the Irish electorate has the foresight to say no to a future of faceless European bureaucrats running our country, by saying no to Nice. - Yours, etc.,
David Thunder, Mount Prospect Avenue, Clontarf, Dublin 3.