EU attitudes harden towards Irish over Lisbon rejection

ATTITUDES to Ireland are hardening across the European Union and the Taoiseach’s message to the summit of his fellow leaders this week will do little to soften that.

His main message will be that Ireland will not be revisiting the Lisbon treaty in the next 12 months, and so the European Parliament elections must be held under the rules of the Nice treaty.

MEPs from several countries have already said this does not suit them as they fear voters will make the treaty the main issue and ignore pressing economic, climate and social problems.

Some countries, including Spain, have less seats under Nice, whilst others like Germany enjoy more.

More importantly, MEPs only gain equal say to the member states in almost all EU legislation under Lisbon — a change seen as giving greater democratic accountability to the union.

But the real problem with the Irish proposal is that it envisages the commission’s mandate being extended to January 2010 — a move most see as producing a lame duck commission leaving Europe in a state of paralysis.

They are likely to threaten to appoint the commission under Nice, which means there must be fewer commissioners than member states, and one less suffices.

And the argument is being made that with Ireland being undecided about Lisbon, we should offer to forfeit our commissioner.

If and when, they will point out, Ireland ratifies Lisbon we can have our commissioner back and the rotation of commissioners will not begin until 2014, as provided for under Lisbon.

Ireland is not in a good bargaining position and a number of things have happened over the past few weeks that further reduced our credibility.

The most obvious is Ireland’s solo run in looking after its own banks and their customers as though we had no partners in Europe.

This week the Taoiseach will explain to his fellow EU leaders the Irish want to remain at the heart of Europe.

The problem, he will say, is how to square this with the no to Lisbon and see if it is politically possible to rerun the referendum.

The Oireachtas sub committee so far has been his trump card.

The idea created a buzz of excitement around Brussels — the Irish were going to come to a decision and this committee was the key.

But when the details of the group, its membership and its mission, were announced a few days ago you could hear the air fizzing out of the tyres.

“All intelligent people,” insiders noted of the five senators and seven TDs.

But some of the appointments look like they have more to do with giving people exposure before the next general election than saving Europe.

The chair is Senator Pascal Donoghue, a 30-year-old Fine Gaeler and a diligent member of the EU Affairs committee, lucky enough to be given a guided reading of the treaty before the last referendum.

Their remit is wide — they will come up with a range of options — one of which will not be that Ireland leaves the EU.

They will invite in the usual academics, consultants, experts and important people who are wheeled out at such times.

It sounds like the Forum on Europe on speed.

Everybody knows that if Ireland is to remain at the heart of Europe, as the politicians like to put it, it will have to adopt the Lisbon treaty if the other 26 have. But the Government does not appear to have come up a credible way of convincing people just yet.