Eugene Regan (Fine Gael)

I refer to the statements by Declan Ganley, the chairman of Libertas, to the Sub-Committee on Ireland's Future in the European Union, which are reported in The Irish Times today where he calls for an EU constitution of no more than 25 pages, presumably like the US constitution. I do not know if this man is for real. God bless America and the American constitution, but Europe is not America and it is not a federation as is established in the US constitution. The history and political philosophy on which the European treaties are based and the evolution of the EU in the past 50 years is so distinct from America that there are no lessons on the form of treaty or constitution on which a Europe of 27 member states operates. The European constitution and treaties accommodate 27 member states and 21 official languages, not to mention minority languages. The accommodation of this diversity requires the type of treaties we have, including the treaty of Lisbon. To tear up, as he suggests, 50 years of work on treaty building in Europe is off the wall. I do not know if this man is for real. The political structure in Europe is unique and is a model for the rest of the world. When Mr. Ganley, also at the committee, talked about the political elite, he referred to the Heads of Government of 27 member states, all of whom who were democratically elected, unlike Mr. Ganley's elite of right-wing eurosceptics. This House should bear this in mind. I ask the Leader if he would like to comment on what Mr. Ganley said about the Lisbon treaty.