Madam, – Lisbon campaign “the sequel” is upon us and once again we are confronted with a plethora of facile soundbites. Hanging from lamp-posts, fences and trees, dripping from bridges like political litter, the placards proclaim a never-ending hymn of false promises and misinformation. Where is the real information? Where are the debates during which specific articles of merit or concern are hotly contested? Once again the political classes feel fit to deliver ever-increasing doses of banality to present their case for change.
The Lisbon Treaty is a serious decision to ask the people of Ireland to make. The provision of information to the public should be of utmost concern in the media and for our Government. The treaty may be officially delivered in legalese, but that’s not to say that it can’t be decoded into plain English free from the overtures of political propaganda.
Instead, the public have to listen to the bias of self-interest coupled with the patronising rants of ideological driven journalism. Even the official websites leave a gapping hole for those seeking a simple answer to the question: “What does the Lisbon treaty change and how will those changes take effect?”
The Lisbon treaty contains many important changes, among them changes to the democratic system, the political structure of Europe, militarisation, and the laws governing business and member-state sovereignty. Please could campaigners take the placards down and stop insulting our intelligence! – Yours, etc,
Madam, – The European Union, in its current form, has no competence for sport.
“Competence” in EU terms basically means authority or responsibility. This was a glaring omission historically, but all this could change if the Lisbon Treaty passes.
Under the Nice Treaty, sport doesn’t feature. That treaty merely refers, in Article 149, to “Education, Vocational Training and Youth” but under the Lisbon Treaty “Sport” has been added – giving the EU competence for “Education, Vocational Training, Youth and Sport” and it elaborates in Article 165 with the following: “The Union shall contribute to the promotion of European sporting issues, while taking account of the specific nature of sport, its structures based on voluntary activity and its social and educational function”.
The title word “shall” is of great importance. Not “may” or “might” or “could” or “should”. It’s “shall” – something will happen.
This is elaborated on in Article 165, where it further states that the EU “shall” help in “developing the European dimension in sport by promoting co-operation between bodies responsible for sports, and by protecting the physical and moral integrity of sportsmen and women, especially the youngest sportsmen and sportswomen.”
The EU can only operate under the Nice Treaty at present, and so any measures involving a greater competence for sport obviously can’t come into being, until and if the said Lisbon Treaty is passed and fully implemented.
I have tabled an amendment to the EU budget to increase the financial commitment to sport dramatically, in the hope that Lisbon will be passed. I will seek further financial commitments in coming years. However, if Lisbon is rejected, these funds will never materialise.
I would urge all sports supporters to vote Yes on October 2nd. – Yours etc,
SEÁN KELLY MEP,
Gortroe,
Killarney,
Co Kerry.
Madam, – Olive Braiden is wrong on a number of points in her letter in relation to the Cóir campaign on Lisbon (September 3rd).
In relation to the minimum wage, she fails to point out that the European Court of Justice in recent rulings (Laval, Viking, Ruffert) has undermined the sovereign decision of national states and allowed an undercutting of the minimum wage through the employment of foreign workers. The only way workers can protest this is by voting No to Lisbon.
Cóir never said that the Lisbon Treaty would mean that we lose the right to decide our values. What they have claimed is that the EU can use the Fundamental Charter of Rights to declare new universal human rights which will then be binding on all member-states. Lisbon makes the fundamental charter legally binding and the EU has been consistently pushing to have abortion declared as a universal human right.
Interestingly the last attempt was blocked by Ireland, Poland and Malta, but under Lisbon a minimum of four states with a voting weight of 35 per cent of the population will now be required to form a blocking minority (Article 9C 4 of the Lisbon Treaty).
Ireland will lose power after Lisbon because the weighting of the double majority on qualified majority voting is changed under Lisbon to take population size into account and the areas where qualified majority voting apply are being increased. With only 12 out of 750 MEPs and a population of 0.8 per cent of the EU, perhaps Ms Braiden could tell us where our power will come from?
Cóir has correctly stated how the new voting system under Lisbon removes the current protections of smaller states by reducing the majority needed to pass legislation and by increasing the size of the blocking minority. In simple terms what this means is that Ireland can be more easily out-voted on issues where there is a disagreement. – Yours etc,
JOHN LACKEN,
Knock,
Co Mayo.
Madam, – Brian Cowen urges the people of Ireland not to use the Lisbon Treaty to force his Government from office. While many may wish to do this, he can prevent it happening, show leadership and gain the approval of 75 per cent of the electorate (Front page, September 2nd) simply by calling an election for the day of the referendum. – Yours, etc,