Wednesday, October 16, 2002
Being Nice To Nice Ireland has been over the years one of the main beneficiaries from the European Union integration, thanks to generous subsidies to its agriculture and other transfers from richer part of the Union. It is then not surprising if many Irish fear the arrival of several poorer countries and the increased competition for subsidies that would happen. There is also a genuine doubt whether it’s desirable for Ireland to get closer to NATO and renounce it’s traditional neutrality, another byproduct of the Nice Treaty. In any case, the Irish decision could be momentous for the EU. Not so much for the enlargement itself, as it will probably go ahead in any case, possibly through some legal loophole, but for the strong signal it would send. Ireland has traditionally been one of the most Euroenthusiatic countries in Europe; a second NO to the Treaty would need to be interpreted as a rejection of the way the EU is developing from an association of nations states into a federally integrated entity. I am personally in favour of an ever more integrated Union but I understand that many people might have strong feeling against what they see as the demise of their traditional countries. Definitely more could and should be done to make people see the advantages (now barely explained) and put in perspective the problems (now often distorted to mythical proportions) of a tighter European Union. In the meantime, let’s hope that in Ireland the YES wins. Apart from everything else it would be shameful for a country that has benefited so much from the EU membership to be seen as blocking this same opportunity to other poorer countries.
Ireland’s vote on the Nice Treaty is crucial for Europe’s future
This Saturday, Ireland will hold a referendum on the Nice Treaty, the second time such a referendum is held after being reject a couple of years ago. The Treaty will modify the structure of the European Union to allow its enlargement to 10 new members, mainly from Eastern Europe (Poland, Hungary etc.).
posted by Mooraq at 5:49 PM
Tuesday, October 15, 2002
Life keeps on intruding...
The Team behind International Sentinel apologises for the extended lack of updates. We are having some problems with the workload in our real lives but will be back with some more comments about life, the universe and all the rest as soon as possible. See you soon.
posted by Mooraq at 6:12 PM
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