Europees Parlement houdt debat over Ierse 'nee' tegen het Verdrag van Lissabon (en)
MEPs held a debate in Strasbourg ahead of the Brussels European Council of 19 and 20 June. All groups in the House accepted and respected the outcome of the vote in Ireland. Many groups underlined the need to continue the ratification processes and to respect those Member States that had already ratified the Lisbon Treaty. Some of the smaller groups, however, called for an immediate end to the ratification process.
For the Council Presidency, Slovenian European Affairs Minister Janez Lenarcic said the first topic on the agenda for the European Council would be the result of the Irish referendum on the Lisbon Treaty. He said the Slovenian presidency was "disappointed" at the result of the referendum but that it "respects" the will of the Irish electorate. However, Slovenia had spoken to several heads of state or government, who were determined to proceed with ratification in their countries. Overall, he believed a solution could be found but the European Council would first listen to the views of the Irish prime minister.
Turning to other issues to be discussed at the summit, Mr Lenarcic highlighted soaring food and oil prices and listed short and medium term steps that could be taken to mitigate the problems. These ranged from agricultural policy measures to sustainable development of biofuels. Other topics on the agenda would be the Western Balkans, implementation of the Millennium Development Goals, the climate change and energy packages and the European Neighbourhood Policy. The minister concluded by congratulating Slovakia, which will join the euro on 1 January 2009.
European Commission President José Manuel Barroso also acknowledged that while the European Council would be discussing many issues, "foremost on everybody's minds will be the No vote in Ireland". He too saw the vote as "a disappointment" to all those in favour of a stronger, more efficient and accountable European Union and stressed that "the No vote did not solve the problems which the Treaty seeks to tackle".
Thus, while fully respecting the outcome of the Irish referendum he was keen to emphasise that "We must show the same respect for all national ratifications". He pointed out that "there have been nineteen democratic decisions in the process so far: eighteen in favour of the Treaty of Lisbon; one against. Eight other Member States still have to take position".
Mr Barroso then made an impassioned plea. He said "there is no way around the fact that governments have a particular responsibility" and "years of treating the European Institutions as a convenient scapegoat leaves fertile ground for populist campaigns. In the end, it only serves to make life easy for the euro-sceptics. As I said before, you cannot bash Brussels from Monday to Saturday and expect citizens to vote in favour of Europe on Sunday".
Of all the other topics on the summit agenda, Mr Barroso singled out food and fuel price rises and described the measures the Commission favoured to alleviate them. However, he saw short term measures as only part of the answer. More broadly, "the pressures being faced by Europeans today show why the EU's goals on energy security, energy efficiency and climate change are so crucial". Ultimately, "the structural response to the structural challenges we face is to save and diversify". Against this background, "adoption of our climate change and energy security package is therefore a matter or urgency".
In conclusion, the Commission president said the task of the European Council this week will be "to show that setbacks like the no vote do not mean paralysis for Europe", since "the case for an effective European union is stronger than ever."
Political group speakers
Joseph DAUL (EPP-ED, FR)said that his group respected the decision of the Irish people just as much as the 18 Member States that had ratified the Treaty of Lisbon. He recalled that the EU is founded on freedom of expression and democracy and that as a result no Member State could prevent another from expressing itself. It is now for the European Council to analyse the message of the Irish people who are concerned about the EU's trade, agriculture and tax policy.
The aim of the EU to guarantee peace on the continent of Europe is no longer held up the young generation. The European Parliament, which often adopted complicated texts, must take its responsibility. Mr Daul called on the European Council to take on board the concerns of citizens on food and oil prices.
"The Lisbon Treaty enables progress and allows the EU to function better with its voice heard louder int he world", he recalled. He concluded by saying that the period of introspection should end quickly. "We must stop the naval-gazing".
"The EU has spent eight years ratifying various treaties" noted Martin SCHULZ (PSE, DE) and yet is now unable even to put its own house in order, even though this it what it asks of would-be new members. "Who is turning the institutions into scapegoats?" he continued, suggesting that Council ministers might be less free to blame disasters on "Brussels" if their debates were not held behind closed doors.
Crisis of confidence
That Ireland's "no" vote defied calls from all Irish political parties to vote "yes" points to a crisis of confidence in national and supranational institutions - and "the integration process is on the line," he affirmed.
Internal Market Commissioner Charlie McCreevy's visit to Ireland, during which he admitted not having read the Lisbon Treaty and implied that this was not really necessary, had done little to help, noted Mr Schulz.
The internal market portfolio should be taken away from Mr McCreevy, who had engaged in a "one-sided" drive for "deregulation at any cost without social flanking measures," added Mr Schulz.
No soul
"We must find a way out of the impasse and get the Irish back on board", said Mr Schulz, affirming that where once it had been the pro-European movement that had "soul", now it was the anti-Europeans. "Where's the passion gone?" he asked.
"People speak ill of Europe because they have ängst," he continued, but "Europe is a great tribute to peace in the world - fight for tolerance, and "don't be drowned out by that lot", he urged.
On his way to Brussels on Thursday, the Irish Prime Minister could well be asking himself "Where did it all go wrong?" said Graham WATSON (ALDE, UK), noting that the Irish "no" had come on the threshold of a French Presidency, leaving the EU with the Nice Treaty. "We have come from Nice to Nice" he said.
Mr Watson claimed that a "majority in every Member State backs the EU," but agreed that trust in institutions is ebbing away.
"The EU cannot be made 'with or without you' - you cannot dissolve the people", he continued, stressing that "in a landscape littered with lies, people are not persuaded - we have done little to convince them." Every national government needs to plan for dialogue, and it is the job of political parties in every Member State, to remedy this, he added, despite the fact that "wealth these days is amassed les honestly, and shared less fairly, than it used to be."
MEPs' mailbags are filled with cross-border complications, e.g. to with property rights or data protection, so "we know Lisbon is needed, even though this is not obvious to the citizen", said Mr Watson, who urged the EU to "get on with business", if necessary using the Nice Treaty to tackle real problems.
He also suggested launching a Guinness-style compaign publicising why "Europe is good for you." Europe means "too much, to too many, to be stopped in its tracks" he concluded.
"We have always said the EU needs a short constitution and charter of rights, on a sound economic footing," said Monica FRASSONI (Greens/EFA, IT), adding that whilst "Ireland's verdict must be respected, it is not more democratic than ratification."
The treaty text, she said, is "unintelligible, hedged round with a forest of protocols and opt-outs" and some countries "will not swallow this", she continued, stressing that "governments of opaqueness have lost out".
What is required is an agreement on a "positive text that flows from convinced countries and democratic forces and is big enough to take the process forward" she concluded.
Brian CROWLEY (UEN, IE) said the no vote represented a "sea change with regards to the opinion of one set of voters in the European Union" towards the treaty and because of the diversity of the people who opposed the treaty, more time is needed to analyse the reasons why.
He also said that "this is a time of respect, not just respect for the Irish voters who gave the democratic opinion with regard to this treaty, but respect for the other countries and their individual rights about how they operate and how they ratify a treaty".
Francis WURTZ (GUE/NGL, FR) said: "The European Council would be well advised too avoid any arrogance expressed against the Irish people" and that the way the Lisbon Treaty which was presented in an "incomprehensible way" is an example of the "ivory tower syndrome that we see in the European Union that's creating so much concern amongst our citizens". For Mr Wurtz, the No Vote was about the "role that Europe plays around the world" and said "we hope that we are going to have a fairer politics in Europe now".
Nigel FARAGE (IND/DEM, UK) said "well done the Irish" and that "it is perfectly clear that the ratifications should stop now and the implementation of the treaty should stop now". He also said the decision to continue with the ratification of the treaty is "EU nationalism and it is the most dangerous political phenomenon to have swept Europe since 1945" and said to the house that "you are destroying the EU in the eyes of the voters".
Ashley MOTE (NI, UK) said: "Lisbon required unanimity, you ignore that and you ignore the rule of law itself. The Irish are not just 10% of the EU, they are 100% of those that are allowed to vote and we all know that others would have voted no given the chance". He also said "suggesting that the process should go on is an arrogance of breathtaking proportions".
Barroso response to the debate
José-Manuel Barroso welcomed the consensus in the European Parliament to continue the process of ratification which would allow "dialogue with the Irish in an atmosphere of solidarity". According to him, the only way to construct legitimacy of for is to present concrete results for citizens. Finally, in reaction to statements by Mr Shculz about Commissioner McCreevy, he concluded "do not find easy scapegoats. Attacking the Irish Commissioner is not the best way to have a constructive dialogue. We will only solve the problem when we concentrate on citizens' expectations."
British and Irish speakers
Bairbre DE BRUN (GUE/NGL, UK) (speaking in Irish) said that the bulk of the Irish people had not voted against Europe. Ireland had made a lot of progress in the EU but the question the Irish people were asking was: "Did we have the best deal through the Lisbon Treaty?". The Lisbon Treaty is over after the No vote and ratification must be stopped. (In English) "We must listen to the people and deal with the consequences," she said. The key issues are: the democratic deficit, neutrality and EU militarisation, workers' rights and the impact of the Lisbon Treaty on the developing world. In conclusion, she said "democracy must prevail, we must listen carefully."
More speakers to follow.