Attac Irland er mot irsk medlemskap i EU, og er aktivt involvert på
nei-siden i kampanjen frem mot folkeavstemningen 7. juni.
Bjarke Friborg - Oslo
(følgende er sakset fra Attacs eget nyhetsbrev, som jeg fant på hjemmesiden)
Sand in the wheels
Weekly newsletter - n°82 - Wednesday 22 May 2001.
NICE, IRELAND & GOTHENBURG
---------------
No the the Nice Treaty
By ATTAC Ireland
ATTAC Ireland is actively involved in the campaign for a "NO" vote in
Ireland's referendum on the Nice Treaty, to be held on June 7th. Speakers
from ATTAC have addressed many meetings in Dublin and other parts of
Ireland highlighting the dangers to democracy and citizens interests posed
by the provisions of the Treaty of Nice. While many groups advocating a
"No" vote are campaigning around issues of military neutrality, ATTAC has
based it's campaign on the proposed changes to Article 133 of the Amsterdam
Treaty, Article 2.8 of the Nice Treaty, and it's particular relevance to
the forthcoming GATS negotiations.
We have had several letters published in the Irish press on the
implications of the proposed changes to Article 133 and the GATS and our
position paper will be submitted to the Irish Referendum Commission, the
body responsible for circulating a booklet to each household outlining the
arguments for and against the Treaty.
At present the advantage is with the "NO" campaign, latest opinion polls
show that only 52% of voters will vote "YES" with 48% either voting "NO" or
are as yet undecided. However the Irish political establishment are
throwing their full weight into getting a "YES" vote, and are using
arguments of dubious merit.
In particular opponents of the Nice Treaty are being persistently portrayed
as only interested in depriving the people's of Central and Eastern Europe
of the benefits of European Union membership. ATTAC has been the subject of
this criticism and emphatically rejects it. We point out that this part of
Europe is paradoxically seen by the "YES" campaign as both an opportunity,
in the form of a huge market, and a threat, in the form of the peoples of
this part of Europe. In the words of one member of ATTAC Ireland the "YES"
campaign's approach to the applicant countries can by summed up as "Give us
your markets but not your people".
As part of our campaign we want ATTAC members in each European Union member
state and each of the applicant states to write to Irish newspapers
advocating a "NO" vote. We have drafted a sample letter, below, which
broadly conforms with ATTAC Ireland's position on the Nice Treaty. Of
course if you wish to send your own text, in English, please do so. We
would ask that ATTAC groups and individual ATTAC members submit letters
between now and June 7th. A full list of links to the Editors of each of
the most important Irish newspaper can be found at the end of this piece.
Remember the Nice Treaty is very close to being rejected by the Irish
people. Only about 40% of the Irish electorate will turn out to vote and it
will take only a small number of these voters to swing it towards a "NO"
vote. A large part of the debate is taking place in the letters pages of
Irish newspapers. If letters from ATTAC members succeed in playing a part
in the rejection of the Nice Treaty it will be a tremendous victory for the
citizens of Europe. If Nice is not ratified by Ireland it can not be
ratified at all - a new treaty will have to be drafted - should this arise
ATTAC can campaign for a Treaty that incorporates the interests and
concerns of citizens across the European Union and not just the
corporations and business interests. Therefore we urge ATTAC members to
support our campaign by writing letters to the newspapers listed below.
Ciaran Mc Kenna
ATTAC Ireland Ireland@attac.org
Dear Editor,
As citizen's of the European Union we strongly encourage the Irish people
to vote No in the June 7th referendum on the Nice Treaty. No other member
state of the European Union will allow its citizens a chance to ratify, by
a referendum, the changes proposed in The Treaty of Nice. We believe this
fatally undermines the democratic legitimacy of the European Union. Of
particular concern are changes in the Union's common commercial policy
under Article 2.8 ,which will amend the terms of Article 133 of the
Amsterdam Treaty. These changes will serve to exclude citizens, and their
democratically elected representatives, from the critically important area
of trade policy. This is a dangerous development in the context of the
World Trade Organisation's proposed General Agreement on Trade in Services
(GATS) which, if agreed, will launch an onslaught of deregulation and
privatisation of essential public services across the European Union. The
terms of GATS actively exclude the interests of citizens and democratically
elected institutions. However they greatly strengthen the power of business
interests and multinational corporations. Finally, GATS is effectively
irreversible. If the Irish people ratify the Treaty of Nice they will
empower the European Commission's efforts to bring the GATS agreement to
life across the European Union. A No vote will keep many areas of trade
policy, areas of critical public interest, subject to influence by citizens
and their representatives. Voting No and rejecting the Treaty of Nice in
the June 7th referendum will send a clear signal that citizens cannot be
sidelined by the European Union and its institutions.
Yours Sincerely,
(Name)
**Please mark in the subject field "Letters to the Editor"***
The Irish Times lettersed@irish-times.ie
The Examiner exam.letters@examiner.ie
The Sunday Business Post sbpost@iol.ie
Ireland On Sunday p.drury@irelandonsunday.com
The Irish News n.doran@irishnews.com
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