Why Did the Irish Vote ‘No’ to the Treaty of Nice Referendum?

by Meg MacConaill, Jim O’Sullivan, John Scanlan, Ireland

The following information is based on the experience of the authors, the views of colleagues, local citizens, and from letters in the local and national press.

It should be emphasised at the beginning that the ‘No’ vote was not based on any wish to exclude the entry of other countries to the European Union. On the contrary, this was approved, and there is a strong desire to aid these countries to be brought up to the general level of prosperity. If it had been possible to vote on this as a separate item, a ‘Yes’ to this would have been recorded. As the Treaty had to be taken as a whole package, there were many areas of serious concern to which assent could not be given in the form in which they were proposed. It is significant that of those that were informed of the threats that the Treaty posed, there were people active in lobbying for a ‘No’ vote who would otherwise never have engaged in a political campaign.

Major items of concern

Below are listed the major items of concern. It should be understood that the statement comes from concerned citizens, and not from any political group. It is not meant to be fully comprehensive, but to reflect the fears that ordinary people have in assenting to the handing over of radical powers to an untried entity, the EU, and the consequences that would have for their own lives. There was an extremely short timetable of only 30 days between our Government announcing that there was to be a Referendum and the date on which it was held. The first mail-shot to arrive was pro-treaty, gave a very vague outline of the facts, and had no validating author or even printer, so that the origin could not be traced Although, near the polling date, there were advertisements issued by the Government in the national papers giving the pros and cons, there was inadequate information for an issue as serious and far-reaching as the Treaty. There was a feeling that the depth of the issues had been concealed. The low turn-out for voting was partly due to people feeling that they had insufficient information to make a choice.

Lack of accountability

To have accountability, people need to know what is happening. This requires openness and access to documents and records of decisions, particularly by the Member State governments in Council. The Council’s unreasonable secrecy makes this impossible. Sometimes they appear not to have a grasp of their own affairs. For example, in March 1998 the European Commission confirmed that it could not publish any figures to show how much each country paid into the £60 billion+ EU budget, or how much it paid out.

Those in positions of power should be at the service of those who put them there. Instead, the voice of the ordinary citizen is felt to be despised and stifled. The process of drawing up an amended Treaty must deal in a substantive way with the issue of ‘democratic deficit’.

Lack of equality

The road down which the EU is going is divided into an inner and an outer circle, best compared to first and third class carriages. Ireland will be in the outer circle.

This is not the Europe we joined in 1973, when every nation state was equal. They want a United States of Europe, whereas a United Europe of States was the original concept. A unity of independent states should be the practical, rational and workable aim. The centre of gravity of the EU is shifting inevitably towards Germany and Central Europe, and Ireland’s status can only be diminished as a result. The Treaty of Nice is designed, in part, to consolidate this process. This is of particular concern to Ireland, since it has been an independent State only since 1922, having suffered 700 years of foreign domination prior to this, with all the accompanying suppression, oppression and consequent economic depression. There are many parallels here with the Eastern Bloc countries, but their rise to prosperity can only take place in a milieu of internal freedom as well as outside help. Nice will remove our right to decide for ourselves how much we can afford to give in European taxes. It will affect our fundamental ability to determine our future as a nation, and to make and pass our own laws as we see fit. The EU Constitution will override the Irish Constitution, making it very difficult to see what function our Government would have, other than taxing the citizens. They would be reduced to the status of a County Council, with no true legislative powers. More importantly, it will take from us the ability to reject legislation, which would be contrary to our fundamental values. On this subject, an issue very important to us arose, as detailed in the next heading.

Fundamental rights

The new EU Charter of Fundamental Rights is intended to be part of an EU Constitution from 2004. Such a Constitution will override the Irish Constitution. The contents of the Charter have never been discussed by the Dàil (the Irish Parliament). The EU Charter adds little to the existing rights of Irish citizens. However, there are important differences between EU countries in such matters as abortion, euthanasia, prostitution and legalised drugs, among others. Respect for life from conception to natural end has been a matter of particular concern to Ireland. The well-publicised avowed intention of feminist groups to use the Rights of Women to force a right to abortion on Ireland was a very significant factor in the ‘No’ vote. Most of us do not want legislation forced on us to allow the slaughter of our citizens. Attached to this so-called ‘ right’ to abortion, the feminists want a right for children, no matter how young, to have access to contraception and abortion without parental knowledge. The prospect of the debauchery of the young being made lawful is so dreadful that no civilised nation should fall to make vehement protest against the possibility.

Court of Justice used for political purposes

The European Court of Justice would not be subject to the European Convention on Human Rights, therefore it could overrule decisions of the Human Rights Court. It is clearly intended to be used for political purposes.

Defence forces

There is opposition to the incorporation of the Irish army into the Rapid Reaction Force. Ireland has maintained a neutral status since the inception of the State. Its defence Forces are highly trained and competent in their duties of National Defence and Peace-keeping, under UN auspices, in other countries. They are well-liked and respected wherever they are sent. Contrast this with the perception of NATO forces in the Kosovo débâcle. In order to prevent their participants being returned in body-bags they condoned inaccurate targeting which killed and maimed innocent civilians, excusing themselves with the chilling phrase ‘collateral damage’, depending on this phrase to stifle outrage and reduce the incident to past history within 24 hours. The Treaty of Nice will force Ireland to abandon her neutrality and become part of the EU’s military structure. In negotiating Nice the Irish Government did not obtain a special protocol to preserve our independence in foreign and security policy, which is the basis for our neutrality, as Denmark did.

To sum up, the following is extracted from a letter sent by Mrs Norah Bennis, the leader of the Christian Democrat Party in Ireland, to Romano Prodi when he recently visited Ireland:

The people of Ireland voted No on June 7th because they did not believe that ‘the principles of democracy, respect for the order of law, the principle of subsidiarity, the Irish Constitution, sovereignty and independence’ that safeguard ‘the freedom and dignity of the human person’ were respected by the Nice Treaty.

The statement also said that curtailments and reforms ‘of a spreading EU bureaucracy, of unaccountability, of disrespect for the independence and sovereignty of nations and the democratic rights and dignity of ordinary citizens’ would be necessary before further enlargements of the EU are made. ‘The Irish people are neither selfish graspers of EU handouts or unsophisticated peasants, and unless the EU system and the Irish Government and the main political parties take this fully to heart and make some real changes, the support of the Irish people for the EU project will rapidly wane even further.’