Dáil debates

Wednesday, 2 February 2005

European Council Meetings: Statements.

 

12:00 pm

Photo of John GormleyJohn Gormley (Dublin South East, Green Party)

I thank the Taoiseach for his contribution. Every so often we make statements in this House on European Council meetings. Too often such statements are not given adequate coverage. What happens at European Council meeting is much more important than who a Minister appoints as a spin doctor, yet it receives far less coverage. Unfortunately, this lack of coverage is reflected in a disturbing level of ignorance about European affairs in this country. The Acting Chairman and I laboured long and hard at the European Convention. I often ask myself if anyone knows what we were at, if anyone cares, or if anyone is fully au fait with the European constitution. It would appear that a majority of people do not know much about it. There is much work to be done, particularly by the Government. If there are spin doctors in place, perhaps they could be used to better effect. They could be used to let people know a little bit about the European Convention and the new European constitution.

Is this European constitution available to members of the public? I have had difficulty obtaining the latest version of it. I recently went to the European Commission building and was told that I could have a copy. There was a certain reluctance and they did not want to give me the declarations and the protocols. If elected representatives cannot get the latest version, then how can the ordinary citizen be expected to know anything about this constitution? Communications on the European constitution and on the convention need to be improved. I suggested at the convention that we have a Europe wide referendum. There are constitutional difficulties with this in certain member states, but it could have been done in those states on a consultative basis. It would have generated a momentum and we could have had a real debate about the future direction of Europe. It looks like that will not take place and, in its absence, it appears that individual member states will have their referenda. However, there is a pecking order within Europe. If France rejects the referendum, it will be quite different from Ireland rejecting it. I do not think the French will be asked to vote again. If Ireland rejects it, I have no doubt we will be asked to vote again.

The Green Party fully supports Turkey's accession. I am disturbed by the reports I receive from France in my discussions with so-called moderate French politicians. The reports suggest that there is an underlying racism there. They do not want what they perceive to be an Islamic state joining up. The constitution will provide for a double majority voting system, which I support. The French are therefore concerned that Turkey will be the largest state under this system. I do not think those rules should be changed. We need to stick with the double majority. If a country has a large population, then so be it.

I do not believe that we are a member of a military alliance because of this constitution, nor do I believe that we are heading for a European army. However, we are heading inexorably towards a common defence. The triple-lock mechanism is under enormous pressure and this Government is under pressure to abandon it. I believe that this would be a mistake. In the Convention, I asked that European missions would be mandated by the UN. Rather than abandon the UN, we ought to reform it. It is in need of reform and is without doubt a flawed organisation. We require that reform, but it would be a major mistake to go down the unilateralist path like George W. Bush. We do not need to do the same.

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