Sir, - A rejection of the Nice Treaty will lead to great uncertainty within the member-states of the European Union. It will also lead to great uncertainty within the countries from Eastern and Central Europe.
A rejection will certainly damage Ireland's international reputation. We are the only country that is constitutionally obliged to hold a referendum on the treaty and if it is rejected, then the enlargement process will be indefinitely delayed.
It will be impossible for us to explain and to justify our actions to the 130 million people in Eastern and Central Europe who are seeking to accede to the European Union.
We will also be seen as gratuitously selfish in denying the citizens from Eastern and Central Europe who have suffered so much over the past 50 years the right to improve their quality of living. We have a moral obligation to promote democracy and the rule of law at every opportunity. The irony is that if other countries in 1973 had taken the attitude of the present No camp in Ireland, then Ireland would not be a member of the European Union and we would not have experienced the economic prosperity that we have witnessed in recent years.
In any case the Nice Treaty should not be looked at in a negative context. The Nice Treaty opens up new market opportunities for Irish companies and we need to open up new market opportunities as we are an exporting country. - Yours, etc.,
Niall Andrews MEP, European Parliament Offices, Molesworth Street, Dublin 2.