Sir, - I'd like to thank and congratulate the voters in the Republic of Ireland who, by voting No to the proposals in the Treaty of Nice, alerted millions of people in the EU to developments being planned and promoted for its constitution and practices by EU-enthusiasts whose admiration for bureaucracy outweighs their commitment to democracy.
Many of us who believe in the desirability of an EU of sovereign states, but who are unsure as to the viability of a common exchange rate stretching from Warsaw to Wicklow, and who view with horror the various visions of a "Federal" EU outlined by Romano Prodi, Chancellor Shroder and Wim Kok, do not have the opportunity to do as Irish citizens have.
There will be no referendum on Nice in the UK. There's little chance of the Scottish Parliament even debating the issues of extended qualified voting and the implications of that, should the system of harmonised taxation follow the introduction of a single currency across the EU.
Unfortunately Scotland isn't sovereign, and unable to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with Ireland on the continuing advisability, and right, of EU finance ministers to do as Charlie McCreevey has done and operate a tax regime made in Dublin with Ireland in mind. The Irish Government proved the point for all of us that centralised economic management, even before the enlargement of the EU, cannot either protect or promote the best interests of all the member countries.
In the Scottish Parliament, however, MSPs who share my fear that Prodi et al are destroying the spirit of Europeanism among Europe's citizens by their insensitivity to national sensibilities and bull-headed centralist decision-taking, will seek to debate how the Nice Treaty should be changed, thus putting pressure on the Westminster government to follow where Ireland has led.
Many thanks for giving us time to think again about the measures necessary to bring the peoples of Europe together. The Irish vote signals that acquiesence is not the only option. - Yours, etc.,
Margo Mac Donald MSP, Scottish Parliament, The Mound, Edinburgh.