Yes vote on Nice will force big businesses out of Ireland
1 over 70 Irish firms already do business in Latvia, an EU applicant state. This fact highlights that the Treaty of Nice will not increase markets for Irish firms. Due to the GATT (Global Agreement on Tariffs and Trade) Eastern Europe is already fully open to us.
2 Countries such as Latvia "will present challenges in terms of competitiveness". They will to Irish businesses because many of the eastern European countries strongly resemble Ireland in the '80s, with a cheap, flexible, well-educated work-force. Some have an unemployment rate of 16% and their average workers are paid a quarter of their Irish equivalent. How long do you think it will take the US computer multinationals to make a beeline for eastern Europe after rejecting the more expensive labour in Ireland?
