Sir, – The president-elect of France has made it clear that the treaty will not be ratified by France until it has been amended in the sense of promoting economic growth. This may involve amendments to the existing text or an additional protocol of some sort. Most European governments and the EU Commission undoubtedly support an arrangement embodying one or other of these alternatives. In Germany, ratification requires the support of two-thirds of the Bundestag, meaning the support of at least some German socialists.
In this context would it not make sense for the Fine Gael-Labour coalition to delay the referendum on the fiscal treaty until the accompanying measures, whether an amendment to the existing text or an additional protocol have been negotiated, ie follow the German example? After all, an agreement on stability and growth would have a much better chance of actually being passed by the Irish electorate than the existing text dealing with stability alone. Delaying the referendum would hardly frighten the markets, which have already integrated into their calculations the fact that pure austerity has been rejected by electorates in Europe and that greater emphasis on growth is necessary if Europe is ever to emerge from the crisis. – Yours, etc,