Need for independence stressed

EU/ IRELAND: The editor of the Jesuit quarterly Studies has said any weakening of Irish independence by an EU constitution should demand a No vote by Ireland in a referendum.

Writing in the current issue of the magazine, launched in Dublin last night, Father Fergus O'Donoghue said: "If the European Constitution means any diminution of our hard-won independence, our vote in the ensuing referendum can only be 'No' and any rerunning of such a referendum should not beguile us into changing our minds."

He said Ireland must oppose the creation of a European juggernaut, "of an organisation to which we will cede parts of our sovereignty irrevocably. Our law should never be so weakened that European legislation can override it. Our independence cannot be diminished nor our autonomy weakened."

Imposition of a constitution would give rise to further Euroscepticism. "The basic problem for those of us who want greater collaboration in Europe is that we are being urged towards greater integration, without being sure that this is the direction in which we should be moving." The majority of Europeans wanted a Constitution, he said, but 83 per cent wanted a referendum on it.