Why I am a member of the EU IND DEM Group

national | eu | news report Tuesday July 11, 2006 22:15 by Kathy Sinnott

I campaigned for the office of MEP based on a platform of independence. I wanted to be a voice of independence for my Munster constituents, neither to be beholden to any interest group nor to be forced to take positions against the interests of the people. There are a lot of people who felt unrepresented or under-represented and I wanted them to have a voice. I also wanted to promote positions that I felt strongly about, but had difficulty finding support in the political parties who are too close to special interest groups.

The greatest threat to the independence of my constituents and to Ireland is the EU’s creeping and undemocratic control, and of course the EU constitution. When elected I looked for a political group that would allow me the freedom to pursue my electoral promises especially in the fields of health, the environment and the respect for life and at the same time fight to protect Ireland’s independence. The only group that fitted this requirement was the Independence and Democracy group.

Every other group would have required me to take parliamentary discipline in the form of a whip, and also had as a platform plank some item(s) that was opposed to the views of me and my constituents and would have resulted in serious tension between me and that group. The Socialists, a very monolithic group with little dissent allowed, oppose my position on embryo research and will willingly give the most helpless up for violent experiments. The GUE hold a similar position. The Christian Democrats and the Liberals have no qualms about nuclear power and generally oppose me on the environment and our involvement with the US Military. The Greens and the UEN (Fianna Fail's group) are strong federalists. The greatest tension would have come from the near universal support for the now moribund constitution. Every other group has either a strong or very strong pro-constitution bias. Even though as we know from the Nice campaign this is not necessarily reflected in Irish public opinion. Consequently the only group that fitted my needs was the IND DEM group which has a limited binding agreement: members agree to support the concept of national independence, traditional and cultural values, and transparency in the union, and to oppose the new European Constitution and a European Superstate. We are also opposed to xenophobia, anti-Semitism and any other form of discrimination. Otherwise we can take our own positions on issues. Here I have been able to vote as I wanted on all the issues of importance to me: the constitution, health care, nuclear power, incinerators, fluoridation, social inclusion, disability, life itself, and many others.

In plenary voting sessions when I look around myself as we vote and I see some of my group voting with me and others against me on many issues, but not on the one critical issue: national independence. Then we all vote together because that is the primary issue we all have in common, a desire not to lose our greatest national treasure, our independence. It really grieves me to see (so many) other Irish MEPs so glibly vote away piecemeal that long sought and most precious possession, which once given up, will we ever get it back?

For many years now Irish governments have accepted the strings attached to Europe in exchange for the money Europe has given to Ireland, and Irish MEPs belonging to the various groups have gone along with this position. They have done so partly because of representation from interest groups, but also because they are briefed by the government and rarely does national independence trump the financial position. But now that Ireland is going to become a net donor to the rest of Europe, will an independent spirit reassert itself? I am not optimistic.

Since the group was started, a couple of corrections have been required. Forming a political group is a little bit like an arranged marriage. You get to know more about the people with time. This is especially true of the new entrant countries. We all signed an undertaking to abide by our 5 point statute; however it came to our attention some months ago that some Polish members (League of Polish Families) had a youth section which was involved in discriminatory practices, when they refused to break with the people responsible, and were unable to answer for other questionable decisions, we expelled them from our group. A second delegation (Lega Nord) was expelled when they refused to distance themselves from the discriminatory actions of a government minister in their country at the time of the cartoon incidents.

The group is smaller but stronger than ever. I have had MEPs from other groups, tell me that they wish they had my freedom from compromise, my opportunities to speak in debate, to work cross grouping. I also appreciate the freedom I have to work for the people of Munster especially the most vulnerable.

Our group President Jens-Peter Bonde will be touring Ireland with me at the end of the summer. We will be happy to explain to you our proposals for a more democratic, accountable, Europe that would respect people and their counties while creating cooperation in the areas that are appropriate to Europe.