This supplement is a contribution to public knowledge of the Amsterdam Treaty. It aims to provide a clear, unbiased selection of extracts on the main themes of the Treaty, using the actual words found in the Treaty text.
The Treaty extracts are followed, for each theme, by appropriate extracts from the European Parliament's Resolution on November 19th 1997, in which Parliament gave its opinion on the Treaty. Parliament is a democratically-elected institution, representing all the citizens of the European Union, which debates in public and whose views are relevant to voters in all Member States.
Citizens are urged to consider the text of the Treaty in the light of the various arguments put forward on all sides, and then cast their vote on May 22nd. In the words of the Referendum Commission's advertisement: "If you don't vote, your voice won't count".
Further information is available from various sources:
Public sources:
Government Publications Sales Office, Molesworth Street, Dublin 2:
Treaty of Amsterdam, 10 ECU (approx £8)
Consolidated Treaties, 12 ECU (approx £9.60)
White Paper on the Treaty of Amsterdam (pn 4931), £5 Department of Foreign Affairs, St Stephen's Green, Dublin 2:
Summary of the White Paper (Free)
The Treaty, White Paper and Summary are on the Department's Internet site:
www.irlgov.ie/iveagh European Commission Representation, 18 Dawson Street, Dublin 2:
Citizen's Guide to the Amsterdam Treaty (Free)
Treaty, Consolidated Treaties, and Citizens Guide are on the Commission's Internet site:
www.europa.eu.int European Parliament Office in Ireland, 43 Molesworth Street, Dublin 2:
The Treaty of Amsterdam and the European Parliament (Leaflet)
The Treaty and Parliament's resolution of November 19th 1998 are available on Parliament's Internet site:
www.europarl.eu.int
Other Sources: European Movement, 32 Nassau Street, Dublin 2 (Pro) Peace and Neutrality Alliance, 113 Springhill Avenue, Blackrock, Co Dublin (Anti)