Sir, - I have no strong opinion about Peter Sutherland's views on our referendum vote - after all, he was for a time one of these overpaid EU Commissioners himself (albeit one of the better ones), so what would one expect?
My purpose in writing is to emphasise the importance of filing comments with the National Forum of Europe, especially for those of us who voted No.
I am sure we have all noticed the change in attitude to the Irish rejection of the Treaty. Initially the No vote was treated with contempt in Europe and in certain quarters at home. Now this is changing and I find this very welcome. We now know that other member-states would do likewise.
I am a great believer in the principles of the Common Market and the co-operation of the states of Western Europe in what we know as the European Union. I would go further and join the Schengen Agreement to permit even freer travel between EU states. However, I am concerned at the growing bureaucratic power of the Commission, an unelected body responsible to virtually nobody. This is bad enough while we have a Commissioner, and a certain level of votes in the Council and Parliament. The Treaty of Nice would reduce our influence to almost nothing.
I have great sympathy for the 12 candidate states but, having travelled extensively in them, I believe most of them will not be able to meet the necessary economic criteria for decades. I favour helping these states through some form of association short of full membership.
So, back to the drawing board - and please, give the forum the ammunition it needs! Finally, may I disagree with those who claim that we voted No because we did not understand Nice. The Irish electorate is more sophisticated than that, and will not be taken for granted. - Yours, etc.,
W.J. Murphy, Malahide, Co Dublin.