éirígí say NO to Lisbon Treaty

international | eu | news report

Friday December 14, 2007 08:11

by éirígí

info at eirigi dot org

éirígí say NO to Lisbon Treaty

While European Union heads of state were gathering in Lisbon today, to sign away the sovereignty of their respective states, the removal vans were arriving in Dublin to cart off the last vestiges of the Twenty Six County state’s independence.

In a bold visual display éirigí launched its ‘NO TO LISBON’ campaign outside Leinster House today. The centrepiece of the launch was a mock-up ‘EU NO_TO_LISBON Removals’ van sporting the slogan ‘Experts in the Removal of Independence, Democracy & Neutrality’. The vehicle pulled up outside Leinster House to highlight the fact that ratification of the Lisbon Treaty will mean the end of the already limited form of national democracy within all EU states.

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éirígí say NO to Lisbon Treaty

13/12/07

The treaty, which differs only slightly from the EU constitution, which has already been democratically rejected by the peoples of France and the Netherlands, is to be put to a referendum in the Twenty-Six Counties in mid 2008. To date no other state has indicated that their people will have a direct say in the ratification of the Lisbon Treaty. Instead the national parliaments of these states will ratify the treaty, which will bring their respective states into a de facto EU super-state. Parliaments, such as that in Leinster House, will then be surplus to requirement across a whole range of issues.

The treaty will begin the process of ratification by member states of the EU from today (Thursday 13 December 2007). It appears that it will be pushed through the various parliaments without any real democratic debate or accountability.

Speaking at the launch of the campaign, éirigí chairperson Brian Leeson, outlined the reasons for éirígí’s ‘No To Lisbon’ campaign and its direction:

“As it appears that the Twenty-Six Counties will be the only state in the EU where citizens will be permitted to vote on this treaty, the onus on the electorate to vote NO in the interests of democratic accountability is greater then ever. The citizens denied a vote will include our fellow countrymen and women in the occupied Six Counties – with the British government using its majority in Westminster to ratify the treaty.’

“The Lisbon Treaty is an anti-democratic document in it’s content and spirit. It is clearly the illegitimate child of the EU Constitution, which was itself soundly rejected by the people of France and Holland.”

“The Treaty will remove Irish decision-making in around 50 policy areas, giving the EU the right to conclude treaties and agreements over the heads of member states, reducing the voting strength of the Twenty-Six Counties and paving the way for further anti-worker legislation.”

“It is on these grounds that the Lisbon Treaty should be rejected. It is on these grounds that the Twenty-Six County electorate should begin the rollback of the attack on our national independence on behalf of the whole country, including the occupied counties.”

“This is why éirígí will be doing its utmost in the months ahead to maximise the No Vote. This will include imaginative events like today’s launch, engaging with the electorate on the doorsteps and the use of protest politics to get the democratic message across.”

Brian continued: “From its inception the EU has been an undemocratic, overly-bureaucratic, right-wing institution. The ratification of this Treaty would mark its EU_ELITEprogression to becoming an undemocratic, overly-bureaucratic, right-wing super-state.

“The alternative to this Treaty and to the EU is not sticking your head in the sand and it is not isolationism. The alternative is to engage with our fellow citizens across the continent who, as has been witnessed in France and Holland, share the same concerns as ourselves.

“The alternative is to build a Europe based on the principles of cooperation, national independence, solidarity and social and economic equality as opposed to the current EU which is primarily based upon the interests of big business and a powerful political elite.”