Treaty must be passed, says Danish leader

REJECTING the Nice Treaty will cause an unprecedented crisis in the European Union, the leader of the nation which holds the Union’s presidency said yesterday.

Speaking in Dublin, Danish Prime Minister Anders-Fogh Rasmussen said approval of the treaty was essential if enlargement of the EU was to be carried out on schedule. Otherwise, the process will be thrown into an unprecedented crisis, he said.

Following a meeting with the Taoiseach ahead of next weekend’s EU Summit, Mr Rasmussen said he recognised Ireland’s right to make a decision on Nice but it was a historic moment.

“The Nice Treaty is the legal and political framework on enlargement. There is no Plan B,” he said.

Referring to Denmark’s rejection of the Maastricht Treaty in 1992 meaning the country stayed out of the eurozone, Mr Rasmussen said he regretted this decision and was trying to abolish these exceptions and convert to the euro.

“Denmark currently is linked to the euro and is dependent on decisions made in the eurozone but does not have a seat at the table where the decisions are made,” he said.

The Taoiseach said he won’t resign if the referendum is defeated for a second time.

The Green Party rejected the notion that there was no Plan B for enlargement in existence. Green MEP Patricia McKenna said the EU was waiting until Ireland rejected Nice for a second time before springing back-up measures.

The Greens also claimed the Nice Treaty represents a threat to public services.

Green Cllr Deirdre De Burca said Ireland will lose its right to decide whether certain areas of public services will be privatised if Nice is ratified.

“The Irish people and the politicians they elect will be powerless to withstand the assault of multinational corporations on many public services in this country including electricity, water and postal services,” she said.

But Fine Gael accused the Greens, Sinn Féin and other No campaigners of misinforming the public.

FG leader Enda Kenny said the green agenda had been served to a great extent by the EU and Nice was about propping up the fragile, fledgling democracies of Eastern Europe.

Significant numbers of people were differentiating between voting for Ireland’s future and punishing the Government for failed election promises, Mr Kenny said, predicting FG voters would vote Yes.

Sinn Féin said the Government cannot be trusted to defend the country’s neutrality.

SF TD Arthur Morgan said the Seville Declaration, acknowledging Ireland’s neutrality, was a confidence trick.

“The Seville Declaration does not change one iota of the Nice Treaty. It is merely a political fig leaf given by the other EU heads of state to cover Messrs Ahern and Cowen’s embarrassment,” he said.

Fianna Fáil said the refusal to accept the new protection for neutrality showed the anti-Europe agenda of the No campaign. Junior Health Minister Brian Lenihan said an honest reading of the referendum shows it provides the strongest ever protection for our neutrality.