"So turkeys do indeed vote for Christmas," a senior civil servant of my acquaintance with extensive experience of the sharp end of EU negotiations was moved to remark at the success of the NO campaign. If Sinn Fein think they can negotiate a better deal, they had better link up with their new found friends in Libertas with their extensive links to the US security and military establishment. We have a better chance of becoming the 51st. state of the USA than we have of getting a better deal from the EU. We have destroyed the one really good thing we had going for us at a time of growing global crisis - the goodwill and support of our partners in Europe. It is laughable for DANA ROSEMARY SCALLON (Letters, June 14) to claim that she "represented the hundreds of millions of EU electorate who never got the chance to express a democratic vote". They have their own 26 democratically elected Governments to represent them - and these governments don't appreciate a collection of Irish Sinn Feiners and Me Feiners telling them how to run their countries. They will now proceed to develop the EU as a "two speed" union with "variable geometry" as provided for by the rules on enhanced cooperation within the EU - if necessary, without the Eurosceptic Tories and Republicans on these islands . Seamus Mallon once famously described the Good Friday Agreement as "Sunningdale for slow learners." When will WE learn that we also have to share power if we want to live in mutual peace and prosperity with our neighbours? Most of the reasons given for voting NO have little to do with the Treaty itself. However there is one provision which is unpopular even in other countries - the loss of a Commissioner by all countries, some of the time. Perhaps our Taoiseach can propose to the European Council that this provision should be scrapped. Other countries might also not be unduly concerned if Ireland sought an opt-out protocol on the Common Defense and Security Policy - we don't make a significant contribution anyway. One thing is clear: The NO vote was a vote of no confidence not only in the Government, but in our political system as a whole. Brian Cowen needs to grasp the initiative - and fast - by making some concrete proposals to the European Council before their goodwill and support is entirely dissipated. Failing that he should call a general election to seek a new popular mandate. His existing mandate just went up in smoke or - to continue the metaphor employed by the senior civil servant - his goose is cooked...
It is laughable for DANA ROSEMARY SCALLON (Letters, June 14) to claim that she "represented the hundreds of millions of EU electorate who never got the chance to express a democratic vote". They have their own 26 democratically elected Governments to represent them - and these governments don't appreciate a collection of Irish Sinn Feiners and Me Feiners telling them how to run their countries.
They will now proceed to develop the EU as a "two speed" union with "variable geometry" as provided for by the rules on enhanced cooperation within the EU - if necessary, without the Eurosceptic Tories and Republicans on these islands . Seamus Mallon once famously described the Good Friday Agreement as "Sunningdale for slow learners." When will WE learn that we also have to share power if we want to live in mutual peace and prosperity with our neighbours?
Most of the reasons given for voting NO have little to do with the Treaty itself. However there is one provision which is unpopular even in other countries - the loss of a Commissioner by all countries, some of the time. Perhaps our Taoiseach can propose to the European Council that this provision should be scrapped. Other countries might also not be unduly concerned if Ireland sought an opt-out protocol on the Common Defense and Security Policy - we don't make a significant contribution anyway.
One thing is clear: The NO vote was a vote of no confidence not only in the Government, but in our political system as a whole. Brian Cowen needs to grasp the initiative - and fast - by making some concrete proposals to the European Council before their goodwill and support is entirely dissipated. Failing that he should call a general election to seek a new popular mandate. His existing mandate just went up in smoke or - to continue the metaphor employed by the senior civil servant - his goose is cooked...
Other countries might also not be unduly concerned if Ireland sought an explicit opt-out protocol on the military or defence parts of the Common DefenseForeign and Security Policy - we don't make a significant contribution anyway.
I am trying to create a sense that the NO vote wasn't simply preserving the status quo - it does have a downside and we need to move quickly to repair that damage. "It's a mystery to me - the game commences, For the usual fee - plus expenses, Confidential information - it's in my diary..."
I have no doubt they would cut it - if they publish it at all - but it is hard to predict which bits they would cut - and so I might just leave the choice up to them. "It's a mystery to me - the game commences, For the usual fee - plus expenses, Confidential information - it's in my diary..."
There are mentions of a "common defence policy", but the treaty contains a specific section on a common security and defence policy within the common foreign and security policy. When the capital development of a country becomes a by-product of the activities of a casino, the job is likely to be ill-done. — John M. Keynes
