Following the shock rejection of the Nice Treaty by Ireland's voters in a referendum ten days ago, the EU's great and good visited the country yesterday to polish the euro's credentials - and Roman Prodi, President of the Commission, added for good measure that enlargement could go ahead without the Nice Treaty, if it came to that.
During a press conference held to announce details of the changeover to the euro, Minister of State Mr Tom Kitt dissociated himself from those who were "kicking the EU in the shins" and said: "The day Fianna Fáil joins the rump of Conservative Eurosceptics is a bad day for the country and a very bad day for Fianna Fáil." Asked if he was referring to other Cabinet members, he replied: "Well, yes."
President of the European Central Bank, Wim Duisenberg, presiding at the press conference alongside Minister for Finance, Charlie McCreevy, and Tanaiste Mary Harney, confined himself to remarking that he was "personally disappointed as a European" at the referendum result.
Mr McCreevy said later that he had been "called a lot worse than a Eurosceptic" in his years in politics. He said that the only kicking he had seen in the last six months was the EU kicking him.
Meanwhile Mr Prodi, at the beginning of a 3-day official visit to the republic, was telling the The Irish Times that the referendum result surprised him, and that he was worried it might express a deep feeling of resentment towards Europe. Saying that EU enlargement could proceed even if the Nice Treaty is not ratified, he expressed concern at Ireland's rejection of the treaty and promised to listen closely to the Irish people during his visit.
Mr Prodi said the issues of enlargement and the ratification of the Nice Treaty should be treated separately. Under the Amsterdam Treaty of 1998, the EU can accept up to five new members, making a total of 20, but the Commission President maintained that the EU could accept more than five new member-states without ratifying Nice.
"Legally, ratification of the Nice Treaty is not necessary for enlargement. It's without any problem up to 20 members, and those beyond 20 members have only to put in the accession agreement some notes of change, some clause. But legally, it's not necessary.
"This doesn't mean the Irish referendum is not important. But from this specific point of view, enlargement is possible without Nice," he said.
Mr Prodi said he would not advise the Government on whether to call a second referendum on Nice. And he said there should be no pressure from Brussels in the meantime.
"You must feel yourselves free to choose and there cannot be pressure or arm-twisting or blackmail," he said.
In fact, the Irish Government is clearly riven over the Nice Treaty, and is in no state to give a clear lead to the country in a repeat referendum. Mr McCreevy has been allowed to revive his concerns about tax harmonisation, while the attorney-general, Michael McDowell, has publicly complained about Euro-federalism, and other members of the cabinet have talked about 'homogenisation' of Irish culture under the influence of the EU.
"The Taoiseach (prime minister) got more support from me than his own finance minister, which is a bit peculiar," said Michael Noonan, the leader of the opposition Fine Gael party.
.
Network Tweets
Network BlogsContent
provided by
|
Archive | Resources | Partners | Site Map | Links | Newsletter Archive | Contact | RSS Feeds | About | Syndication | Advertising & Marketing | Recruitment | Terms & Conditions | Privacy & Cookies
Copyright © 2012 - All Rights Reserved - Tax-News.com
IMPORTANT NOTICE: Tax-News.com has taken reasonable care in sourcing and presenting the information contained on this site, but accepts no responsibility for any financial or other loss or damage that may result from its use. In particular, users of the site are advised to take appropriate professional advice before committing themselves to involvement in offshore jurisdictions, offshore trusts or offshore investments.
Write a comment