Sir, - One of the more valid questions that arose from the debate about the Nice Treaty was "what does Europe have to offer Ireland now that it has become one of the wealthiest and strongest economies in Europe?"
This question was particularly valid with respect to enhanced co-operation proposed by the treaty in the area of defence and foreign policy, among others.
The outcome of the UN Climate Summit in Bonn this week should answer that question. While many commentators had consigned the Kyoto Protocol to the dustbin of history following the United States's deplorable decision to reject it, the European Union in co-operation with the G77 group of developing countries became the driving force behind the campaign which saved the protocol.
It can be difficult to fully appreciate the good work done by the Union as so much of it is done away from the eyes of the media or is simply taken for granted by a generation of European's younger than the Union itself. The EU's role in ensuring that progress has at last been made on addressing the global climate crisis is a palpable example of how a unified European approach to foreign policy can both enhance the influence of all our countries on the world stage and be a force for good across the world. - Yours, etc.,
Leo Varadkar, Vice-president, Youth of the European Peoples Party, Upper Mount Street, Dublin 2.