Madam, - Mary Lou McDonald MEP is reported as questioning why Ireland should accept the loss of a permanent commissioner (March 25th). It should however be clearly understood that the issue of whether each member state should have a permanent commissioner is not at stake in the referendum on the Treaty of Lisbon.
It is already provided in the existing treaties (approved by the Irish electorate in referendum), that from the date when the next commission takes up its duties, the number of commissioners is to be fewer than the number of member states. (See Article 213 of the existing EC Treaty).
Nobody should be under the illusion that in voting for the
Lisbon Treaty, they will now be voting away an entitlement to a
permanent commissioner. What the Lisbon Treaty does is clarify and
firm up the rules on when and for what period of time this
previously agreed development will take place - and to ensure that
the future rules in this regard will be on the basis of a system of
"strictly equal rotation" between all member states. - Yours, etc,
Dr GAVIN BARRETT,
Senior Lecturer in European
Law,
School of Law,
University College Dublin
Dublin 4.
A Chara, - The concept of a Citizens' Initiative (11.4 in the proposed Treaty on the European Union) has been welcomed by Gay Mitchell MEP as a democracy- enhancing innovation in the Lisbon Treaty (March 25th). Actually, a Citizens' Initiative could have the opposite effect; there are currently no international stipulations regarding who may or may not petition any organisation. If ratified, this clause will attempt to enforce new conditions on the interaction between citizens and their institutions.
It states that a minimum number of one million petitioners who hail from an undefined "substantial" number of countries may invite the European Commission to consider a legal act that is required "for the purpose of implementing the treaties". The only possible interpretation of this article is that should we ratify the Lisbon Treaty, the Citizens' Initiative might allow us to do no more than ask the European Commission to carry out the Lisbon Treaty's dictates.
It is also worth noting that the document which obfuscates in this manner regarding citizens' rights seems to be entirely clear and unequivocal in other areas such as where it states in no uncertain terms that "member states shall undertake progressively to improve their military capabilities" (Art 42.3).
The appropriate citizens' initiative to take regarding this
strategically worded and condescending Lisbon Treaty is to reject
it in the forthcoming referendum. - Is mise,
SARAH CLANCY,
Salthill,
Galway.
Madam, - The behaviour of Libertas in personalising attacks and manufacturing "facts" is appalling. Some of their statements are simply made up. It is time Libertas was introduced to veritas.
They have taken full-page advertisements and have rented billboards to mount personalised attacks. Just who is paying for this and what is their objective?
If one member state blocks the Lisbon Treaty, it cannot go
ahead. Powerful interests outside the EU would be very pleased
indeed if the EU could not reform itself to play a more
co-ordinated role in the world, this being one of the objectives of
the Lisbon Treaty. For this reason alone Libertas should state the
source of its lavish spending. Is it from outside the EU? This is a
public interest issue. - Yours, etc,
GAY MITCHELL, MEP,
Fine Gael Director of Elections,
Lisbon Treaty Referendum,
Mount Street,
Dublin 2.
Madam, - I would like to draw your readers' attention to the unique opportunity the people of Ireland have in the proposed referendum on the Lisbon Treaty to dramatically influence European political affairs.
This treaty is a classic political manoeuvre to circumnavigate
the real desires of the electorate in all the EU member states to
produce a dinosaur which will be geared to remove the final vestige
of national sovereignty from all our nations. May the people of
Ireland rally to reject this further encroachment into our
country's liberty to enact our own "key" laws and display a spirit
of leadership which will be for the benefit of millions of others
who have been denied the right to decide for themselves. - Yours,
etc,
DAVID BOYT,
Stockport,
Cheshire.