On Friday you have an opportunity to shape the future of Europe. The question you have to ask yourself is whether the Lisbon Treaty is a good deal for Ireland and whether it takes the European Union in the direction you want it to go. On June 12th last year the people said No to the Lisbon Treaty. They did so because they wanted a better deal for Ireland and for Europe. The result presented the Government with a strong mandate to negotiate a better deal.
At the time Sinn Féin presented Brian Cowen with detailed proposals as to how we felt the concerns of the electorate could be met. These included positive proposals outlining how the EU could be made more democratic and more responsive to the needs of ordinary people.
What did the Government do? They prevaricated, sat on their hands and did nothing. Just as they did on other issues and particularly the economy. As a result they have not secured a single change to the text of the Lisbon Treaty. On Friday you will be voting on exactly the same text as you did last year.
The Government and their supporters on the Yes side are claiming that while the text of the treaty has not changed somehow the proposition before the people has.
The Council of the European Union has a very different view. In its June 2009 Presidency Conclusions, the council clearly stated that the guarantees, “clarify but not change either the content or the application of the treaty”.
The Lisbon Treaty proposal to reduce the size of the European Commission from 2014 remains in place in article 9D.
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