The Minister for Foreign AffairsMr Brian Cowen used the visit of his German counterpart in Dublin today to criticise campaigners against the Treaty of Nice, describing their arguments as 'ludicrous'.
The German foreign Minister, Mr Joschka Fischer, was in Dublin to debate the future of the European Union. He said that through the guidelines laid down in the Treaty of Nice the EU faced what may be the most profound change in its history - namely the enlargement into Eastern and Central Europe and the formation of a European-wide defence force.
Ireland holds a referendum on accepting the Treaty of Nice on June 7th, the only EU member to do so. The outcome of the referendum is being closely watched by people and groups across the continent who are concerned at the direction of the Union, to the extent that groups in Britain and Denmark are raising money in support of the No campaign - much to the disgust of the Taoiseach (see related stories below).
Mr Cowen said the campaign against the Treaty of Nice aimed to block enlargement and "frustrate the legitimate aspirations of the candidate countries".
"Any debate about the future of Europe must take place in the context of the significant enlargement we are facing. The Treaty of Nice is about preparing the Union for enlargement".
However The Green Party, who met with fellow Green Mr Fischer after his address to the Institute of European Affairs this afternoon, disagreed with Mr Cowen over the usefulness and intent of the Treaty.
"The Green Party will be arguing that Nice will actually be making it more difficult, not easier, for enlargement to take place," Green Party TD John Gormley said.
Mr Gormley welcomed Mr Fischer’s honest statements of support for a two-tiered Europe and closer integration but said it was important to point out that Irish Greens and other European Green parties differed with Mr Fischer on the future direction of Europe.
Mr Gormley said the militarisation of the EU was one area in which they disagreed most strongly.
In his address to the Institute of European Affairs Mr Fischer gave predictable praise for Ireland’s progress from an agricultural to a modern, knowledge-based society before outlining what he saw as the challenges facing Europe and the EU.
"It [the EU] has to redefine its position in the increasingly globalised mulitpolar world of the twenty-first century. And as if this were not enough, it must at the same time find the courage to reform its own internal structures. For if it failed to do so, the Union would be given over to internal erosion and would lose much of its ability to act."
Last year (see links below) Mr Fischer came out in favour of a core of committed states, led by Germany and France, pushing ahead to create a federal Europe with a directly elected president and a parliament with full executive powers.
A statement which led the French to charge that Berlin was embracing a European identity to escape from its Nazi past - Mr Fischer rejected the charge.
The debate and rhetoric in Ireland over the future of the EU is only likely to heat up as the referendum on June the 7th draws closer.