Weighing in on Lisbon
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I've been a bad blogger here of late. The problem is not that I don't have anything to say, as much as it is that I have too much to say, but feel I have neither the expertise or eloquence to get across what I need to. But after reading so many posts on the Lisbon Treaty, I just felt I had to weigh in.
I was always a big supporter of the EU back in my more political days. I grew up on the continent and got involved in Brussels during the summer. I was fascinated with the EU and UN and got involved any way I could, whether through volunteering, summer jobs or Model UN. I was even the Irish Ambassador in The Hague one year! ;-)
I felt both these organisations were built on noble policy and could really work to the benefit of mankind. Although, I still feel that way, I find myself having less and less confidence in both.
Economically, there is no doubt the EU has been of great help to Ireland, ultimately helping us pull out of a recession, aiding farmers and allowing mutually beneficial movement of goods and services. It has also been good for us socially. EU intervention and memberships helped us move forward in womens liberation, disability and made some progress on the homosexual front. Ultimately it has helped us give up our reliance on the church and become a government in our own right.
I wrote a financial thesis on the introduction of the Euro back in 1998 when everyone thought it would bomb. I just couldn't understand the logic. How could anything that incorporated the German Mark, one of the world's strongest and stable currencies and the French Franc possibly flop? I predicted in my thesis it would out value the dollar and British pounds. Although, this doesn't necessarily help us economically, it still puts us as part of a financially stable world group, something we never could have dreamed of thirty years ago.
We really have a lot to be thankful to the EU for. This is something the pro-Lisbon lobbyists are keen to remind us of. As if we owe them something. The signs all say "Vote Yes to Europe." That is false advertising. We are not voting for Europe, we are voting for a treaty. Voting no will not kill our membership to the EU.
When I was in Belgium a month ago it was interesting how many of my former classmates begged me to vote no. One Dutch fellow told me we were their only hope. He said they tried to vote no back in 2005, but they re-wrote it to preclude another referendum, despite them and France blatantly saying no. It is commonly agreed that the Lisbon Treaty is a loosely disguised re-write of the EU constitution so rejected by France and The Netherlands.
Initially I decided I was voting no for economic reasons. I didn't like the idea of mandates from Brussels directing our tax affairs. Then I read about our loss of voting power. In this day and age, that is a biggie. Imagine if they tried to implement that in the UN? Sure there's the debatably useless Security Council, but in the General Assembly, everyone gets an equal vote. How can anything otherwise be even remotely democratic? How can we sign away our right to an equal vote? I understand introducing new countries adds to the bureaucratic burden, but taking away voting power from a country, regardless of population or size, is certainly not the answer.
I kept finding lots and lots of reasons to vote no, but very few to vote yes. In fact the only reason I can think of to vote yes is sheer spite. Spite for the church bigots and Sinn Fein who are urging us to vote no. In any other situation the fact that these two groups are on the same side would be laughable, but in this case it's a bit ironic. I am actually in agreement with two groups that stand for everything I am against, albeit for different reasons.
Having said all that, the most compelling reason I see to vote no is the incomprehensible nature of the document. I was listening to a debate on Pat Kenny's show the other morning and was just amazed. Two men, both reading the exact same section of the treaty were able to read two completely different things into it. Upon hearing what it said, I read a third meaning. How can we vote for something that both sides understand differently?
How could the EU even use such a document to govern if everyone who reads it understands it differently? It just doesn't make sense.
Having lived out of Ireland for most of my voting career, I was never allowed to vote, until this past election. I take my responsibility as a voter very seriously as a result. And I cannot, under any circumstance, understand how any responsible voter could vote for a document that is ambiguous and ultimately incomprehensible.
Voting no does not say no to Europe. It says "Oi, Brussels, this is a load of shite, now get back there and come up with something that makes sense."
Europe is a wonderfully historic and diverse continent. As much good as the EU does, I honestly feel that this treaty, incomprehensibility's aside, takes away some of our individual culture. And that goes for ALL of the countries. Wars were fought to draw the borders between our lands. Great wars, Holy Wars, even the frighteningly recent wars in the Balkans. Heroes died on all sides. Governments were formed and sovereignty was achieved - history was made. Are we going to throw that all away for some document our own Taoiseach has not even read?
The election last year severely deflated my opinion of the general public, but this is much more important and I don't think people understand that at all.
I'll shut up now. :)
The lovely and talented 
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