THE EYES of Europe and the wider world will be on Ireland on June 12th for the referendum on the Lisbon Treaty, the President of the European Commission, José Manuel Barroso, said in Dublin yesterday on the first leg of a two-day visit to this State to promote the treaty. Stephen Collins,Political Editor, reports.
Mr Barroso emphasised the treaty posed no threat to the Irish tax regime. "One thing is already crystal clear: no member state, either under the current rules or under the Lisbon Treaty, can be obliged to accept a tax proposal to which it objects," he told the Forum on Europe at Dublin Castle.
Earlier he met the Taoiseach at Government Buildings and at a short press conference afterwards both men expressed their support for the treaty, stressing its importance for Ireland and the entire EU.
Taoiseach Bertie Ahern said he and Mr Barroso were in agreement on the need for the treaty and the responsibility to carry it in order to ensure Europe was "fit for purpose".
Mr Ahern said he had explained fears that some people had about proposals to introduce a consolidated tax base across the EU, and he emphasised this was something he would resolutely oppose. "Taxation is a matter of unanimity and the Lisbon reform treaty copper-fastens that. If you want to copper-fasten the position on tax you should support this treaty," said Mr Ahern.
Mr Barroso agreed with the Taoiseach and insisted that on the question of tax, unanimity remained as a feature of the Lisbon Treaty.
Later, at the forum, Mr Barroso returned to the issue of the consolidated tax base, saying it was complex and that all the implications would have to be examined before the European Commission made any proposal.
Mr Barroso said he had not come to Ireland to tell people how to vote but to explain why he believed the treaty was necessary and to encourage people to exercise their right to vote on June 12th.
"When I was growing up in Portugal under dictatorship, what is now the European Union represented many of the things that the young aspire to: peace, freedom, economic and social progress, and the idea that working together across borders is possible."
He said the Lisbon Treaty, if ratified, would make the EU more efficient and effective. "We will have more qualified-majority voting, which should help to speed up decision-making. However, here in Ireland, knowing that taxation is a sensitive issue, I would like to underline the fact that the Lisbon Treaty does not change the rules on taxation. They remain subject to unanimity, giving each member state a veto. Nothing can be agreed on taxation issues without Ireland's consent and nothing can be imposed on Ireland."
He said the treaty would give more power to national parliaments and would also see the role of the European Parliament strengthened to give a greater voice to EU citizens.
Addressing the concerns of farmers, he stressed the EU commitment to the Common Agricultural Policy but said it was in Europe's interests to get an early conclusion to the current talks on the World Trade Organisation agreement.
He said that with a population of just four million, Ireland has 4 per cent of the global market in traded services, so a deal on world trade was of vital importance to this State.
"On June 12th the Irish people will be sending a message to the rest of Europe and the wider world. I hope it will be one that says you want a more efficient, effective and accountable Europe; that you want to see the EU play its unique role in helping to spread peace, progress and responsibility round the world. That Ireland wants to continue to be at the heart of an open Europe and to bring its unique contribution to all of the fora where decisions are taken. This is an individual choice. Whatever your views, I hope that you will exercise your right to make them heard through the democratic legitimacy of the ballot box," he said.