EU referendum will be held if deemed necessary, says Gilmore
After Britain vetoed a full EU treaty change, the agreement on an inter-governmental deal rushed through at Friday’s summit in Brussels is far from certain as it could face challenges in several countries.
At least eight member states have to ask their parliaments to approve taking part in the agreement that is being touted as the start of a fiscal union, and some may insist on asking the citizens.
Tánaiste Eamon Gilmore did not rule out a referendum, telling RTÉ: “First priority is we take the steps necessary to secure the euro and if that requires a referendum we will have a referendum.”
He appeared to rule out a re-run if the public rejected the changes.
He said that until the Government saw the final draft of the agreement — not expected until late February — it would not be possible to give a conclusive answer as to whether a referendum would be required.
Fianna Fáil leader Micheal Martin said: “There has to be a referendum... people should be consulted.”
This would be necessary if the debt brake, which the Government has said it will introduce into law in the spring, has to be put into the Constitution, he said. The summit’s decision said it would be “introduced in member states’ national legal systems at constitutional or equivalent level”.
Sinn Féin TD Mary Lou McDonald said that unless the issue was put to the electorate, someone would challenge it in court. “Any change or intrusion into fiscal matters — there has to be a referendum.”
The Socialist Party said it would campaign for a referendum and a no vote, and warned that any attempt to avoid one would be a breach of the Crotty judgment. This ruled that a constitutional amendment was necessary in the event of significant changes to EU treaties. “The outcome of the summit represents a serious attack on democratic rights and an attempt to institutionalise austerity. People have a right to a say on such a significant transfer of power from national parliaments to the EU,” the party said in a statement.
EU law expert Dr Gavin Barrett of University College Dublin said that if the inter-governmental agreement did not give any powers to the EU beyond what is already agreed then a referendum would not be required.
What was being proposed was not fiscal union, he said, pointing out that if the provisions were in a full blown treaty change, it would likely not trigger a referendum as the issues are covered under Article 29.4 of the Constitution. The fact that this would be an inter-governmental agreement meant it was not covered by this article. He also said if the Irish voters rejected the vote in a referendum, it would not veto the inter-governmental agreement.
“It would simply mean the others would go ahead without us, which would be bad for Ireland,” he said.
Work will begin today on drawing up the wording of the agreement, based on the fiscal compact agreed by the 27 states, excluding Britain. An EU source said: “Both politicians and lawyers will be trying to ensure the wording does not trigger the need for referenda.”
On Friday, German Chancellor Angela Merkel faces a challenge to her decision to sign up to the bailout fund that comes into force in July, the European Stability Mechanism.
* How would you vote in a referendum on a fiscal stability union? Take our poll at facebook.com/irishexaminer
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