Plan B leaves Irish voters offside as referendum vote approaches

A RECENT issue of The Economist magazine describes the case for EU enlargement in terms more eloquent than any I’ve read to date.

"By embracing eastward enlargement," it said, "western European politicians are asking their voters to make a visionary leap of faith. Europe's leaders argue that enlargement will greatly strengthen Europe's stability and prosperity. Democratic institutions will be locked into place in Central Europe's young democracies. Potentially unstable countries, some of them with disputed borders, will be tied into a European Union where such disputes are settled in a civilised fashion.

"Just as the Spanish and Irish rapidly caught up with the economies of the countries in the EU after they joined the club, so the Poles, Czechs and others will become as rich as their western cousins. And the slow-coach economies of western Europe will also benefit, getting a welcome boost from a young, energetic and educated labour force to the east."