OPINION:The peoples of Ireland and the rest of Europe are deeply connected. Are we now to side with extreme, marginal elements across Europe? We should take a long hard look at the consequences of voting No to Lisbon, writes Micheál Martin.
THE EUROPEAN Union to which we have belonged so successfully for 35 years now stands at a political crossroads. Ireland has a vital decision to make which could determine the EU's path for the years ahead.
The reality of today's Ireland is that our interests are intertwined with those of our European neighbours. We trade extensively with other EU countries which now account for 63 per cent of our exports. Most foreign companies are based here because of our position within the union.
Our people travel with impressive frequency to other European countries and have built up a rich vein of personal and professional ties there. Our young people study in each other's universities under the wonderful EU-funded Erasmus programme.
In short, we are a deeply connected people. We are both Irish and European. The European aspect enhances rather than detracts from our unique and precious Irish identity.
The European Union is the political expression of these multifarious connections. It is a unique entity, but not, as some would claim, a European super state in the making. Most aspects of public policy are still decided in Dublin. However, for very good reasons, 27 diverse, sovereign states now come together in Brussels to make certain decisions in common. The Lisbon Treaty will make these distinctive European arrangements work better in the future.
As we approach Thursday's referendum, we need to be acutely aware of the downsides of a No vote. With a Yes vote, we will be giving the green light for a more effective, more responsive and more democratic European Union. By doing this, we will be sticking with a formula that has served us very well for the past 35 years. I would summarise this tried-and-tested approach as "believe in ourselves and have trust in European solutions to shared problems". We should be very slow to change our successful EU strategy, especially at a time of such international economic uncertainty.
Going back almost 40 years, we have made a series of choices about Ireland's future in Europe. In each case, we were told, usually by the same people, that Ireland could not cope in Europe. We would be swamped by the single market. We could never rise to the challenges of the euro. How wrong these predictions of doom turned out to be.
In practice, Europe has been an ideal environment in which to pursue Ireland's interests and we have taken full advantage by diversifying our trade and using EU funds wisely to develop our infrastructure and build our competitiveness.
We have consistently rejected the image of Europe as a source of harm and threats as EU opponents warned. These menacing images of Europe are being conjured up yet again in connection with the Lisbon Treaty. In 1972, Jack Lynch memorably described Europe as "the opportunity to realise our economic and social potential and ensure the welfare of our people; the opportunity to realise our European heritage in a much fuller and more significant way than heretofore; the opportunity also to play a meaningful and positive role in working for peace in the world".
These words ring true today. The Lisbon Treaty is also about opportunity. It offers us the opportunity to make the EU work better for us. It will empower the union to deal more effectively with such challenges as globalisation, cross-border crime, energy, security and climate change. This treaty will allow Europe to be more active in providing humanitarian aid, in combating global poverty and in running peacekeeping operations like the current one in Chad.
The treaty is also an opportunity to make Europe more democratic by giving increased powers to national parliaments and to the European Parliament. The Charter of Fundamental Rights will enhance the rights of each and every one of us.
The alternative for us on Thursday is to succumb to the fears and suspicions generated by the No campaign. Their claims about the treaty have been shown repeatedly to be false - by the independent Referendum Commission and other authorities.
They were shown to be wrong about taxation, where our veto remains intact; about neutrality, which is not affected by this treaty; about abortion, where our position is fully protected; and about the World Trade Organisation, where we will retain our veto over an unacceptable agreement.
By rejecting Lisbon, we will be siding with extreme, marginal elements across Europe and we will be turning our backs on something that we ourselves negotiated and which 26 other countries have endorsed. We will be applying a brake to Europe at a time when the world is changing rapidly and the union needs to be able to respond.
A No vote will also hurt us economically. Potential investors will inevitably be confused. Sadly, some will conclude that, apparently uncertain about our European commitment, we are an insecure bet as an investment location. A No vote will also damage the union which has been a great success story and a huge asset to Ireland. The negotiation that produced this treaty has been going on for seven years. All of Ireland's fundamental interests have been fully respected. It is very foolish to believe that a better agreement is just sitting out there waiting to be found.
On Thursday, we have to decide what kind of future we want for Ireland. Do we want to stay the course that has served us so well? Or do we want to side with those who have always opposed the European Union?
Our membership of the union has been an unqualified success. The Lisbon Treaty will ensure that Europe can continue to deliver benefits to Ireland in terms of jobs and prosperity in the years ahead.
I urge you to size up those who are ranged on the two sides of this argument.
On the Yes side, you will find the main political parties and the major business, trade union and farming organisations. On the No side, there is Sinn Féin, Youth Defence and Libertas, an organisation about which so little is known, but which clearly takes its inspiration from the traditional British eurosceptic ideology. There is an important choice to be made between these two competing visions of Ireland's future. I urge you to give a resounding Yes to the Lisbon Treaty, a Yes to Europe and a Yes for Ireland.
Micheál Martin is Minister for Foreign Affairs