Lisbon Treaty opponent Declan Ganley today said his LIbertas organisation is raising funds to "refocus the debate" in Europe but did not commit to running himself in the European elections.
The Libertas chairman today met with up to 15 MEPs at meetings in Brussels and gave them a background briefing on the Irish referendum campaign.
However the millionaire businessman, who was invited to Brussels by the SOS Democracy alliance, said he has made no decision to run for Europe himself. “This isn’t just about me. I’m not a politician,” he said.
He added: “It’s too early to talk about how many candidates or seats. We are currently raising money to refocus the debate on the core issues and to bring democracy to the heart of Europe.
“At the moment there is a deepening gulf between the European elite and the people they claim to represent.”
Mr Ganley claimed that a redrafted Lisbon Treaty should not be longer than 25 pages and be “readable and honest”.
British Conservative Party MEP Daniel Hannan, who is co-chairman of SOS Democracy, said Mr Ganley’s Libertas think-tank gave immediate credibility to the No campaign in Ireland’s Lisbon Treaty referendum.
“Until he came along, the No coalition in Ireland drew disproportionately on ageing hippies, Republican hardliners and anti-abortionists,” Mr Hannan said.
“Libertas changed all that and presented a democratic critique of European integration that appealed to the middle ground. When Declan joined the No campaign, it was at 18 per cent in the polls; on polling day it secured 54 per cent.”
Irish Labour Party MEP Proinsias De Rossa was among the politicians who was at today’s meeting.
Libertas is a prominent campaign group that sought a No vote against the Lisbon Treaty.
SOS Democracy is an alliance of MEPs from six of the eight political groups in the European Parliament and 19 of the 27 member states, who oppose the Lisbon Treaty and support the decentralisation of power.
PA