Greens insist No vote will not stop EU enlargement

THE Green Party yesterday insisted Eastern European states will be able to join an enlarged European Union even if the Nice Treaty is rejected.

The Greens, who are campaigning for a No vote, said it was clear enlargement could go ahead under existing treaties.

Paul Gogarty TD, the party’s campaign director, said: “The biggest lie of this entire campaign has been that a rejection of the Nice Treaty will somehow prevent enlargement. Some of the Yes side are still peddling this falsehood.”

He said comments by a number of leading European figures, including EU Commission President Romano Prodi, showed the accession of new member states did not hinge on the Nice Treaty.

The Greens, who say they are in favour of enlargement, said the only way the process could be delayed is if “selfish” governments decide to halt the process on foot of a rejection of Nice.

Green MEP Patricia McKenna said there was a “plan B” for enlargement which centred on provisions in the existing Amsterdam treaty.

She said the only relevance that Nice had to enlargement was to do with a proposal to remove the system of one commissioner per country once the union has expanded to over 27 member states.

“The Nice Treaty’s so-called protocol on enlargement has very little to do with EU enlargement and much more to do with shifting the balance of power between the current 15 states towards the larger states,” she said.

Ms McKenna insisted attempts by political leaders at home to portray Nice as purely about enlargement were a distortion of the truth.

“Those who say the Nice Treaty is about enlargement need to explain to the voters what the 72 pages are actually about. Enlargement is mostly dealt with in a declaration attached to the treaty. Declarations are not legally binding and can be adopted without ratifying the Nice Treaty,” she said.

Ms McKenna said there was no doubt the “plan B” she outlined was being prepared in the event of a second No vote.

The EU Commissioner for Enlargement, Guenter Verheugen, denied such a plan existed last month and said Irish voters would reject the Nice Treaty if it was seen that an alternative was being drawn up.

“Enlargement is in the Amsterdam Treaty and the protocol to Nice,” Ms McKenna said.

“Nice itself is the integrationists’ price that all Europeans must pay to unite Europe. This is not a fair price to pay, either for the people of the EU or the citizens of the applicant states.”