From: "nationalplatform" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Date: Thu, 14 Jun 2001 17:12:26 +0000 To: undisclosed-recipients:; Subject: Respect the Irish No to Nice Respect the Irish No to Nice Three Irish MEPs Patricia McKenna, Nuala Ahern and Dana Rosemary Scallon yesterday launched five demands in respect to the Irish No to the Nice Treaty. They demanded enlargement should continue, a new simplified EU treaty be drafted, a slimmer, les centralised, more people-friendly EU created, decision-making in the EU must be in the open and the EU should be more democratic. The five demands were launched in cooperation with The National Platform Ireland and backed by the SOS Democracy Intergroup of the European Parliament. RESPECT THE IRISH NO TO NICE Issued by the three Irish MEPs: Patricia McKenna, Nuala Ahern and Dana Rosemary Scallon, in cooperation with The National Platform Ireland, and the SOS Democracy Intergroup. Five Irish European demands instead of the Nice Treaty: 1. EU ENLARGEMENT SHOULD CONTINUE: Negotiations on EU enlargement should now be intensified and made more flexible with a view to having as many as possible of EU Applicant countries ready by 2004. Votes on the EU Council and representation in the European Parliament in the context of enlargement, could be the same as in the Enlargement Declaration attached to the Nice Treaty; for this was not legally part of the Treaty and has not been rejected by voters in Ireland's referendum. The first five Applicant countries whose accession treaties are completed should join the EU under the provisions of the Amsterdam Treaty which is currently in force. 2. A NEW SIMPLIFIED EU TREATY: Ratification of the Nice Treaty by EU Member States other than Ireland should stop immediately, since it is not possible to ratify a Treaty with fewer than 15 signatures and since the binding Irish referendum result should be respected by all EU Member States calling themselves democratic. Instead the EU governments should call on the European peoples and parliaments to commence public discussions at once on a new simplified fundamental treaty for the EU. 3. A SLIMMER, LESS CENTRALISED, MORE PEOPLE-FRIENDLY EU:The No vote in Ireland was not a specific Irish No. It could have occurred in any EU Member State whose leaders dared to consult their citizens in a referendum. The Irish No was a European No to a Treaty threatening democratic European co-operation. The Nice Treaty would centralise more power in Brussels, even though less than one-fifth of Europeans prefer rule from Brussels rather than local, regional and national decision-making. Nice would divide the EU club of legal equals into first-class and second-class EU Members. The next EU treaty should include a clear catalogue of competences for a slimmer, less centralised, more people-friendly EU. Brussels should focus on clear overriding issues that transcend national boundaries and that national parliaments cannot deal with effectively. If the Nation State is not able to regulate an area completely and exclusively, electorates have nothing to lose but everything to gain by international cooperation. 4.DECISION-MAKING IN THE EU MUST BE IN THE OPEN: European law-making is done behind closed doors. From now on all negotiations on EU laws must be conducted publicly. All minutes and documents from EU meetings must be published for citizens to read. The EU Court of Auditors, EU Ombudsman and special committees of the European Parliament must have full access to all areas of EU administration without any limitations. 5.A DEMOCRATIC EU: The next EU Treaty must be decided from the bottom up involving the citizens,instead of top down from the elites. Negotiations should start with discussion in national parliaments and specially convened public forums, and the final result should be adopted by national electorates through binding referendums in each country. Europe cannot continue to be governed by civil servants and ministers behind closed doors in Brussels. All EU laws belong to the electorates of Europe. You cannot outlaw the Irish electorate by adding "Danish pastry" in the form of empty political declarations to a Treaty of Nice that has been rejected by the Irish people. _________________________________________________ KOMINFORM P.O. Box 66 00841 Helsinki Phone +358-40-7177941 Fax +358-9-7591081 http://www.kominf.pp.fi General class struggle news: [EMAIL PROTECTED] subscribe mails to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Geopolitical news: [EMAIL PROTECTED] subscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED] __________________________________________________
