THE TIMING and substance of the Government's response to last week's defeat in the Lisbon Treaty referendum have become more clear in its preparation for the European Council in Brussels today and tomorrow. So far there has been a pronounced readiness elsewhere to respect Ireland's decision, but not at the expense of other ratifications. The defeated Yes campaign is also coming to terms with why it lost the referendum in a frank and necessary self-criticism.
As Taoiseach Brian Cowen told the Dáil, other states and governments are as entitled as we were to proceed with their ratification processes. On Thursday last Irish voters were asked to amend the Constitution, not to make a decision on behalf of 450 million other Europeans. Completing that process will give Ireland, and the European Union as a whole, time to assess where everyone stands in the autumn. It will be decided then whether to change the treaty in response to the referendum or offer Ireland a special relationship if 26 member states decide to go ahead with it.
These are uncharted waters in one of the greatest crises to face Ireland and the EU. That the European dimension is a central framework for governing this State is daily confirmed by economic and political developments, notably those concerned with global recessionary conditions. We have a deep interest in maintaining that collective agency and solidarity in the management of politics and turning it to effective advantage. The potential economic costs and political consequences of weakening Ireland's influence and positioning in the EU need to considered by voters before a final decision is made on where to go with the referendum decision. There would appear to be a timetable rolling into the autumn.
A diverse range of voices has come forward around Europe recognising that Ireland's No vote is not only an Irish affair. It reveals a much more general dissatisfaction with how citizens relate to government at national and European levels. While the Lisbon Treaty takes genuine, if incremental and incomplete, steps towards improving parliamentary accountability and executive transparency at both levels, this is by no means the end of the matter. Much can and should be done to improve democratic practice without the treaty or in addition to it. The silver lining to the cloud over Ireland today may be that the Lisbon No vote has rendered the EU a service by provoking an intense debate on the real issues, and from the perspective of a state which supports European membership.
From Ireland's point of view the most important outcome is to avoid being relegated to a marginal or peripheral position in the EU if other member states decide to go ahead with the Lisbon Treaty despite our vote against it. It is too early to say whether that will happen, but there is no doubt that such an outcome would reduce our international influence and weaken the Government's capacity to defend this State's vital interests. Demands for EU reform and renegotiation of the treaty should be assessed with criterion very much in mind.