The European Commission has been left with some 300,000 copies of a Brusselsproduced guide to the Amsterdam Treaty which it had originally intended to distribute to the nation by inserting it in the RTE Guide and the Sunday Tribune.
The guide, which was published in all known EU languages, was distributed widely throughout the community. In Ireland, it went out to buyers of Magill first, but then a problem arose. MEP Patricia McKenna said it promoted, rather than simply explained, the Treaty, and in the run-up to the planned May referendum here, she took particular exception to the foreword by Commission president, Jacques Santer. She contacted Brussels with her complaint and an undertaking was given that the guide would not be advertised or promoted here.
Consequently the distribution is off. Now those who want it must write to the Commission or drop in and request it. They have 300,000 copies to get rid by May.