Patten condemns Ireland’s refusal to back EU expansion

Ireland’s refusal to back enlargement of the European Union will condemn many countries to go on paying for a brutal past of ‘‘organised criminality’’, Commissioner Chris Patten said today.

Mr Patten said Ireland’s recent referendum rejection of the Nice Treaty, which vetoed expansion of the union, prevented states in parts of eastern and central union from escaping their past.

In an impassioned speech to Ireland’s National Forum on Europe Mr Patten suggested that Irish people should vote in favour of the Nice Treaty if a second referendum on the issue was held south of the border.

A first referendum last year returned a ‘‘No’’ vote - a huge embarrassment for the Government which had called on people to vote ‘‘Yes’’.

The result meant that Ireland - one of the EU’s smaller 15 members - prevented any other countries from joining the union.

European Commissioner Mr Patten, who is effectively the EU Foreign Minister, said Nice needed to be accepted to ‘‘end the fault line across Europe’’.

He said: ‘‘The consequence of a thumbs down to the Nice Treaty is that we will not be able to offer membership of the EU to 10 or more countries of central and eastern Europe which have been the victims of some of the most appalling organised criminality in human history of the last 50 years.

‘‘And the message to them will be sorry, but you have to go on paying for that.’’

In a direct address to the people, he added: ‘‘It is not hectoring or chastising, you are entirely entitled to do what you want to do as democratic citizens, but don’t expect me to pretend that the consequences are other than I have described.’’

Currently, the Government has no further plans for a second referendum on the issue, a spokesman said today.

But ministers privately accept that Ireland’s status within the EU could be damaged if it is seen to be holding the other members back in their bid for expansion, and a second poll is needed.

Mr Patten went on for talks with Minister for Foreign Affairs Brian Cowen after his speech to the Forum.

The Forum was established after the ‘‘No’’ vote in a bid to increase public awareness about the EU and Nice Treaty.