A chara, - According to Fintan O'Toole (Opinion, May 28th), it "makes no sense" for the Irish electorate to be making "decisions with profound implications for the peoples of central Europe". Agreed.
But we are surely entitled to make decisions with profound implications for ourselves. That is why we are having a referendum. That is why there is a Constitution. It is up to the Czechs, Poles and Latvians to decide what's good for them and in due time they will vote on EU entry as we did in 1972. And we are surely entitled to decide on the governance of the EU of which the Irish state is already a member.
The problem for Fintan and others who do not accept the principle of national sovereignty is that, flawed as it is, the nation-state is the most viable unit for the exercise of democracy. That is why majority voting on the EU Council of Ministers is a bad thing. The requirement for unanimity across all member states is an essential democratic safeguard. In ditching the co-operative model of decision-making the Nice Treaty undermines national sovereignty and democracy. And that is why it should be rejected. - Is mise,
Micheal Mac Donncha, Cill Bharrog, Baile Atha Cliath 5.