An issue so important only people can decide

WHILE 18 countries have ratified the EU constitution, only four have held a referendum on the issue.

The French and Dutch voted against it, while voters in Spain and Luxembourg voted in favour. The other 16 countries ratified the constitution through their parliaments.

Parliamentary ratification may be the usual form of democracy, but when such vital decisions are made by a governments alone there is little if any engagement with citizens.

The 460-page EU constitution will fundamentally change the future of Europe. Surely the very least every EU citizen should expect of their political institutions and national parliaments is the provision of a meaningful debate on its contents followed by the exercise of the most fundamental tool of democracy — the vote.

Sinéad Ní Bhroin

4 Pritonville Road

Sandymount

Dublin 4