There are no penalties for voting no

HAVING read the Lisbon Treaty cover to cover and followed the story of it from its inception, I understood it would not be passed unless it was unanimous, ie, every member state voted in favour of it.

I also understood that, in the event of one or more countries rejecting the treaty, the EU would scrap it and continue as is. I double checked the treaty document to discover what sanctions would apply to any member state that voted against it. I found none. There was no penalty clause for not supporting the treaty.

Amazing then that the vested interests backing it are attempting to bully us into voting for it.

They are “suggesting” unspecified penalties, hinting darkly at some sort of EU revenge against us and insinuating we will pay dearly if we don’t do what we are told.

Of course, these are the same voices that told us the boom would never end, and for them it hasn’t.

The treaty is a complicated piece of work, but it can be simplified greatly by understanding the bottom line. We joined a European Economic Community and we are still firmly in it. The Lisbon Treaty is attempting to make it a “political community” with all that that will entail.

We rejected being a small cog in a large political wheel the last time, but those of us who voted no were happy for the economic cooperation to remain the same, and it will whether we vote yes or no this time. If any action was taken against the Irish for exercising their democratic rights, every citizen in every other European country might suddenly realise they could be next and then the great European experiment would quickly unravel.

The unelected representatives in overpaid jobs for life in the EU are not going to let that happen to them.

John Mallon

Shamrock Lawn

Mayfield

Cork