Thus if this referendum is actually passed, it will have more to do with the nature of the opposition. Many people may not wish to associate themselves with Sinn Fein, Libertas, Coir (a nebulous organisation made up of social conservatives who have previously opposed Divorce etc, in Ireland) and a plethora of small political parties and Union Leaders who have generally opposed all referenda on the EU. This is not a good omen for Democracy within the EU. Proposals should be debated and passed on their merits and not based on who is for and against. I hope we never again see a referendum in Ireland on such a poorly drafted document. It's time we had a real EU Constitution which actually articulates what the EU is about.
This is not a good omen for Democracy within the EU. Proposals should be debated and passed on their merits and not based on who is for and against. I hope we never again see a referendum in Ireland on such a poorly drafted document. It's time we had a real EU Constitution which actually articulates what the EU is about.
Democratic legitimation of the European Union has always suffered from the fact that there is low public understanding, low interest, and low participation. By making the voting weights in the Council more transparent and proportional (somewhere in 2014 or so) and by providing that the European Parliament elections will also determine the President of the Commission, the Lisbon treaty will likely lead to greater public involvement in the European Union, and might well make the EU more political. We'll see how it works out.
As for a Constitution, that has been tried (though it was not really much more of a constitution than the existing treaties). If I could get the kind of constitution that I would like, of course I would approve of trying again. But I don't know if that is possible, or if some Member States are always going to obstruct it for some obscure pretended reason because in reality they see a threat in a more smoothly functioning Union.
So, baby steps.
This is a bit overdrawn. The Irish referendum is not the only lens through which we should look at the Lisbon Treaty.
It is, however, the lens which matters right now - particularly if Lisbon is defeated. If that happens it will not be because the Irish are anti-EU, but because they have a real problem with passing into their constitution a series of proposals to complex and opaque, that even the experts have difficulty in deciphering the exact meaning, intent, and effect of the document.
If anything, this unfortunate campaign has given a platform for every tendency hostile to the EU ideal and given very little concrete to those who support it to work with. Ireland will probably be less pro-EU as a result of this unfortunate experience - even if the Treaty is ratified - because a degree of trust has been lost, and a great deal of cynicism has been justified. "It's a mystery to me - the game commences, For the usual fee - plus expenses, Confidential information - it's in my diary..."
Ireland will probably be less pro-EU as a result of this unfortunate experience - even if the Treaty is ratified - because a degree of trust has been lost, and a great deal of cynicism has been justified.
Exactly. Somehow the "marketing" of the EU must have really gone horribly wrong, if they can't sell a reform treaty even in a "eurofriendly" country like Ireland.
I think if referenda had been mandatory in every member country, and a "NO" would have meant immediate withdrawal of that member country, the local governments probably would have done a much better job in "selling" the treaty.
The problem is that nowadays nobody sees the huge advantages of an economic union anymore, because everybody has so gotten used to easy travel, business across country borders without exchange rates and tariffs and all those things. If Ireland would lose the economic advantages of membership from one day to the next, probably most of those Euroskeptics would be the ones to complain loudest of all ...
If Ireland would lose the economic advantages of membership from one day to the next, probably most of those Euroskeptics would be the ones to complain loudest of all ...
Some would be quite happy to retreat to an older, more conservative, religious, monocultural and "pure" Ireland. Some imagine the can secure more power and influence within the nation state than they can within the EU as a whole. Some see the EU as part of the global capitalist conspiracy to take over the world. Some are "following the money" and ingratiating themselves with their US masters. Most are just pandering to the frustrations that many people feel in a rapidly changing society. The problem is there isn't a coherent set of "NO" issues which can be addressed, and therefore no obvious solution to the impasse in EU development. "It's a mystery to me - the game commences, For the usual fee - plus expenses, Confidential information - it's in my diary..."
