Madam, - Your edition of last Monday reported that the Taoiseach, speaking at Davos, said: "If people just stick totally with Nice and don't move on at all, you can't do that because it's not going to be satisfactory to Germany."
What I understand him to mean is that if there is no compromise on Nice he will be unable to broker a solution to the current deadlocked negotiations for a new EU constitution. This is an extraordinary state of affairs.
Not so long ago, the people of Europe, and especially Ireland, were told that the full ratification of the Nice Treaty was essential to the future of the EU. The Irish people, particularly in the second referendum, were warned that their failure to vote Yes would be catastrophic. Ireland would be isolated, a two-speed Europe could emerge, enlargement would be derailed and the Irish people would be blamed for selfishly preventing the spread of free trade and prosperity to the Eastern European countries. The Irish people were bullied, lied to, browbeaten and, eventually, bored into voting for the Nice Treaty.
Now the message seems to be that Nice is a problem and that the awkward squad which wants to "stick" with it needs to move on. The awkward squad includes Poland, a country with which Ireland has a great deal in common, and which should be a natural ally. It now looks likely that Nice will effectively be overturned. As the Taoiseach said, "There's a fair amount of sympathy for the German position because they are a large country, they are a big part of the paymaster." This is a sentiment likely to alarm Poland which knows more about German power than any other country
A new EU constitution will doubtless emerge, hailed by the deluded Eurocratic élite as a reflection of popular will. Yet another referendum will be held in Ireland and in at least a few other countries - though almost certainly not Germany. The people will be told that the constitution's ratification is essential, that there is no alternative and that it supersedes all previous treaties, including Nice and Maastricht, which were promoted at the time as final solutions.
As we know from recent history, if the Irish people (or those of any other EU country) vote No, the referendum will be re-run until the "correct" result is achieved. The current behaviour of the EU is increasingly reminiscent of the Soviet Union at its most despotic. Older readers of The Irish Times may recall John Healy's phrase "No one shouted stop". It was never more apt. - Yours, etc.,
MICHAEL PARSONS, Kensington, London W8.