EU constitution will enshrine human values
She is good at venting her views in the public sphere, but to the best of my knowledge she has not put her extensive concerns about the new EU treaty on the record of the European Parliament, or within her parliamentary group, the European People’s Party.
Rather, she is giving the Irish media column inches which do nothing to further the European ideal or substantive debate about it.
She is using the same old red herrings of the Eurosceptic lobby which are trotted out with every new treaty and increasingly lack credibility. Dana does nothing towards ensuring a meaningful debate about the future of Europe grounded in objective analysis of factual data and presenting a vision of a new Europe to which we can all aspire.
Her assertion that political leaders in this country had somehow denied knowledge of the drafting of a new European treaty and then announced it immediately after the second Nice referendum is farcical.
That the successive European treaties form the touchstone of thought for the Union (ie, its constitution) has never been denied. The process of drafting a new treaty via the Convention on the future of Europe has been underway since February 2002. It is a public process with many stakeholders. The work of the Convention is totally public and open. The progress of the draft treaty and its countless amendments, explanatory notes and additional protocols are all accessible via the convention’s website.
The convention is also a very broad stakeholder model, with governmental representatives, national parliamentarians from existing and candidate members, MEPs, and an observer pillar including the committee of the regions and social partners, as well as a youth convention with direct input.
It is hoped the new treaty will be short, plain in language and will make the EU more efficient, more effective and easier to understand.
All this scares Dana because it would lift a veil of ignorance from our EU institutions for many Irish people, and reveal the true source of her position to be less than idealistic and mere pandering to sectional interests.
The EU is about creating a space to live in equality, peace and prosperity. It is the only way to ensure that the values which make us truly human endure.
Sean McKiernan (Jnr),
Trinity Bungalow,
Virginia Road,
Bailieborough,
Co Cavan.
