Different elements of the campaign against the Nice Treaty will come together for the first time this morning at a meeting with the European Commission President, Mr Romano Prodi, in the Commission's office in Dublin.
The meeting was sought by the prominent campaigner against EU integration, Mr Anthony Coughlan of the National Platform. Mr Coughlan told The Irish Times that he had heard during the EU Summit in Gothenburg that Mr Prodi was willing to meet No campaigners. It is understood that Danish Eurosceptic MEP Mr Jens-Peter Bonde helped to arrange the meeting.
Mr Coughlan said that apart from himself the meeting would be attended by three anti-Nice MEPs, Ms Patricia McKenna and Ms Nuala Ahern of the Green Party and Mrs Dana Rosemary Scallon, Independent; the Sinn Fein TD, Mr Caoimhghin O Caolain; Mr Feargus Mac Aogain of the Peace and Neutrality Alliance (PANA); Mr Justin Barret of the No to Nice Campaign; Mr Andy Storey of AfrI (Action from Ireland) and the trade union leader, Mr Michael O'Reilly of the ATGWU.
"It is outrageous that the EU states should be proceeding with the Nice Treaty ratification process in view of the rejection of the treaty by the Irish people. It would be utterly foolish of the other EU governments to be misled by Mr Ahern and Mr Cowen into thinking that if they ratify the treaty in all the other states, the Irish people will endorse or ratify it in another referendum in a year or 18 months' time," Mr Coughlan said.
Ms McKenna of the Green Party said MEPs would present Mr Prodi with a five-point plan at the meeting. "We would like to express our concern that the EU member-states are forging ahead with ratification as if Ireland's vote didn't count. It shows that the EU doesn't care what people think."
A PANA spokesman said the treaty was "dead, politically and legally". PANA's message for Mr Prodi was that it wanted a new treaty with a Danish-style protocol excluding Ireland from involvement with or payment for the Rapid Reaction Force.
Mr Justin Barrett of the No to Nice Campaign said, "We are not going to be asking for renegotiation of the Nice Treaty. We think the treaty is dead". A Sinn Fein spokeswoman said the party would put forward its view that the treaty had to be renegotiated: "They can't just put an unchanged text in front of the Irish people."