ANTHONY SHERIDAN,
Sir, - The Irish people voted No to the Nice Treaty in June 2001. Immediately after the result became known, the Government rejected our democratic decision and assured European bureaucrats that the same treaty would be put before us again in order to obtain the "correct" result.
This unprecedented abuse of the democratic process, if allowed to succeed, will have serious consequences for Irish and European democracy in the future. While the many issues in the Nice Treaty are of great importance, they all pale into insignificance in the face of this threat to democracy.
When considering how they will vote in the next referendum, Irish citizens should first and foremost consider the following question: "Is it acceptable that politicians should have the power to act in an undemocratic manner if they feel that the people have made an incorrect decision?"
All who vote Yes in the next Nice referendum will, in effect, be accepting this dangerous situation. All who vote No will be making it crystal clear to the Irish Government and European bureaucrats that they will not be bullied into giving up their democratic rights. - Yours, etc.,
ANTHONY SHERIDAN,
Carraig Eoin,
Cobh,
Co Cork.
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Sir, - When wiIl our parliamentarians and the wider public begin the real debate on Europe? The Nice Treaty may be an immediate issue, but the major one is the future development of the Union.
While the emergence of the European Union was one of the very positive and exciting developments of the 20th century, its very progress contains the risk of self-destruction, arising from the twin evils of compulsive centralisation and petty interference in domestic affairs.
The dominant issue now should be the division of powers between the Union and its member-states. The Laeken Declaration acknowledges the question of Union-state relationships but does not accord it the priority it deserves. Instead it is one of a multifarious list of topics for review by the Convention on the Future of Europe.
The declaration contains some worrying signals. "The Unification of Europe is near". "At long last Europe is on its way to becoming one big family". What do these aspirations imply for European politics? Total integration? Or are they just pieces of poetic licence?
When will the electorate in Ireland get some enlightenment on official policy on the division of powers in the Union? What are the terms of reference of the Government representative and the two Oireachtas representatives on the Convention, which is expected to report by mid-2003?
It's time to return to basics. When voting on the Nice referendum, electors should have assurances on the drift of public policy. Are we planning for a European superstate or a vibrant federation in which individual members will enjoy maximum independence? - Yours etc.,
T. O CONNOR,
Churchtown,
Dublin 14.
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Sir, - In light of the platitude-laden posturing and obscene ostentation at the Johannesburg summit in the midst of a region threatened with famine, allow me to thank Liam Hyland, MEP, (September 6th) for one more good reason to vote No to Nice.
If, as Mr Hyland claims, the protection of CAP subsidies for the hereditarily privileged landowners and the crippling of third-world farmers requires a Yes vote, then anyone with the remotest sense of our own history must surely be obliged to vote against this idiotic cartel of insatiable greed. - Yours, etc.,
DAMIEN FLINTER,
Clifden,
Co Galway.