The fear is expressed that the Union's extension will hinder rather than further Irish interests and that the generous ongoing financial aid we enjoy will be diverted elsewhere, but that is as erroneous as the view that the expansion of the then EEC from nine to 12 and then 15 countries would be bad for Ireland. An expansion of the Union to include up to a dozen more countries and millions of people will obviously involve new challenges but it will also present new opportunities. Europe cannot and will not stand still and neither should Ireland. In a changing world, a bigger, stronger EU, with Ireland playing a leading role, can be an enormous force for good. The alternative Europe of the present EU, with perhaps one or two additional members on one side and a dozen former Soviet bloc countries on the other, would be a Europe of the "haves" and the "have-nots". One half of the Continent would believe that the other half had stopped its progress. We must say "No" to this by saying "Yes" to the treaty.