What We Owe Other EU Member States

Occasionally, one hears stories of people being told by their continental European friends that it is felt that Ireland is "letting its friends in Europe down" by contemplating rejection of the Lisbon Treaty. The purveyors of these stories tend, in my experience, to regard themselves as modern, sophisticated people, with a cosmopolitan outlook.

One of the core values of the European Union is a democratic approach to political issues. Ireland's constitution specifies that its People are sovereign, and a democratic approach requires that a change to its system of government cannot be made without its express consent. Further, such consent requires that a proper democratic debate take place first.

Democratic debate requires a full exploration of the advantages and disadvantages of the change in arrangements being proposed. Participation in such debates is a right and a duty of all citizens; it is not limited to those who were enthusiasts of the existing arrangements.

As I have made clear before, I am grateful to my fellow EU citizens for their support in the journey we have made together, in which we Irish have needed help more than most. However, I do not recognise any duty arising from that to accept without critical examination a complicated and far-reaching set of proposals - not from my fellow EU taxpayers, but from their "leaders" - to change the way the laws that govern my life are made. Indeed, because these changes also affect every EU citizen, I owe it to them to very carefully consider how to cast my vote. It is improper to criticise me for doing so, and if I happen to reach a conclusion with which they disagree, it is childish and disrespectful to suggest that I have got it wrong. It is even worse to put it to me strongly that, whatever I think, I have a duty to do what they want.

I could, in fact, put the question back to my fellow EU citizens: why are you so passively accepting such momentous changes ? Have you discussed them as intensely as we have ? Do you not owe us any duties in that regard ?

I think of Hungary whenever my mind comes to such issues. Apparently, some Hungarians are puzzled at us. Well, I am concerned at Hungary's approach: that country, whose prime minister has admitted that he lied to the electorate during the last election in order to maximise his party's seats in parliament, was the first to ratify the Lisbon Treaty. The Treaty was signed on a Friday, and the parliament- elected-on-a-lie ratified it the following Monday. That does not look like proper democratic procedure to me.

Perhaps I am insufficiently modern, sophisticated and lacking a cosmopolitan outlook.