Madam, - Ray Bates (March 25th) signals his support for the Lisbon Reform Treaty if the Government would make a clear call in advance of the referendum for the position of Commissioner for Enlargement to be made redundant.
Mr Bates doesn't elaborate on the reasons why he opposes further enlargement of the EU.
But before he makes his support for the Lisbon Reform Treaty conditional on the ending of EU enlargement, he might consider the history of enlargement.
In the 1980s the EU provided the context for three dictatorships - Spain, Portugal and Greece - to embrace democracy by accepting them into a further enlarged Europe. Again, the EU provided the vehicle that enabled eight former Eastern Bloc countries to move from totalitarianism to democracy. This enlargement was finally accomplished in Dublin in 2004 during Ireland's presidency of the EU. Enlargement of the EU has been enormously beneficial for democracy, peace and prosperity in Europe.
Under the Lisbon Reform Treaty, enlargement will continue but existing member states will have a veto on the accession of new member states.
The Commissioner for Enlargement must monitor new applications for membership and must require strict criteria in areas such as human rights, democracy, the rule of law and economic stability to be met first.
It seems only fair that any European country which applies for membership and fulfils the criteria laid down should be given the same chance to join the EU as Ireland got over 35 years ago.
Those who support the Lisbon Reform Treaty as well as those who oppose it have Ireland's interests at heart. But Ireland's interests cannot be served by isolation from Europe or the world.- Yours, etc,
JOE COSTELLO TD, Labour Party Spokesperson on European Affairs, Dáil Éireann, Dublin 2.
Madam, - Letters both for and against the Lisbon Treaty have become a regular feature of your columns, but almost all are couched in purely nationalistic terms, eg, will the treaty affect Ireland's economic prospects, political influence, independence, neutrality, etc or indeed will voting for it give aid and comfort to a discredited Irish Government.
But surely the much bigger question is whether the treaty will help the EU become a much more effective and influential decision- making body in the world as a whole? We live in a world dominated by the US and its self-perceived political and economic interests and its preferred means of pursuing them.
The fall from grace of the US from its role as the moral leader of the world post-second World War, the collapse of the Soviet Union, and the rise of a China with a very dubious record on a whole range of human rights issues, have all contributed to a vacuum of leadership, moral and otherwise, in the world today.
Ireland has a small yet proud record of contributing to Third World development, UN peacekeeping, and the resolution and transformation of conflicts on our own island.
Surely we should be looking to the EU, post-enlargement, to become a much more effective and influential leadership force for good in the increasingly dangerous and uncertain world in which we live? There isn't much new in the Lisbon Treaty that hasn't already been included in previous EU treaties, but it does include a legally binding European Union Charter of Fundamental Rights, a more transparent leadership structure, and a more rationalised decision making process.
It is in all our interests, as citizens of both Europe and the world, to ensure that the EU becomes much more influential in European and world affairs. The Lisbon Treaty is a small step towards that. - Yours, etc,
FRANK SCHNITTGER, Red Lane Blessington, Co Wicklow.
Madam, - Gay Mitchell (March 25th) suggests that "vetoes are the political nuclear button, never pressed". I equate vetoes with the panic button attached to my house alarm. That also I hope will never be pressed but I sleep a lot more soundly knowing that it is there. - Yours, etc,
MARY QUIGLEY, Killiney Hill Road, Dublin.