Cowen says No vote would unleash ‘dark forces’

SAYING No to Nice would be regarded as perverse rejection by Ireland of a fair and reasonable deal, Foreign Affairs Minister Brian Cowen said yesterday.

Wrapping up the Nice campaign, Minister Cowen said Ireland’s reputation and standing would suffer, as would its country’s relations with the countries waiting to join the EU.

“This week we have heard a great number of voices in the applicant countries appeal to the Irish people to vote Yes. Lech Walesa and Vaclav Havel - people who struggled for freedom and led their people out from under the yoke of communism - are calling on us not to stand in their way.

“They are clear a No vote would set back enlargement, possibly by years. President Havel is not alone in believing that such a delay - to countries that have made painful sacrifices to ensure they are ready for membership - risks unleashing dark and sinister political forces,” he said.

The Nice Treaty provided the legal terms for countries to join the European Union, Minister Cowen said.

“It is a compromise, the result of lengthy negotiations. To imagine that, having caused damage to ourselves and others, we would be positioned to demand a better deal, is not to live in the political real world. Irish negotiators did well at Nice. There is no better deal waiting out there,” he said.

But No campaigners remained hopeful the referendum would still be defeated, despite predictions of the opinion polls.

Peace and Neutrality Alliance (PANA) chairman Roger Cole said his feeling is voters would not change their views from last year’s referendum. The expected higher turnout would not necessarily guarantee a Yes victory.

“If you ask the same question, you get the same answer. I think we are going to win and I think we will scrape through,” he said.

Fine Gael leader Enda Kenny said a Yes vote was a vote for the country’s future and our children’s future.

Labour leader Ruairi Quinn called for a maximum possible turnout in anticipation of a Yes result.

“I am confident that with a reasonable turnout, the amendment will be passed. A low poll threatens to give a result that is not an accurate reflection of public opinion,” he said.