Kindgo
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Ireland Launches Information Campaign to Overturn Voters' Rejection of EU Expansion Treaty
DUBLIN, Ireland Sept. 2
— Irish government leaders unveiled a nationwide information campaign Monday to overturn voters' rejection of the European Union expansion treaty and conceded that the previous defeat was partly caused by their own low-key campaigning.
Prime Minister Bertie Ahern said voters must say "yes" in a second referendum on the EU Treaty of Nice, which would pave the way for admitting up to a dozen new nations into the 15-member union. Ireland's failure to ratify the treaty is threatening to hold up the ambitious project.
"Let's be blunt about it. We would be letting people down in a major, major way if this is not passed. Ireland would be seen to have blocked and opposed the enlargement of the EU," Ahern said. "We have an obligation as a government, and as a people, to make sure we get this passed."
A second referendum, though not yet scheduled, is widely expected next month. Lawmakers will return from their summer recess later this week for special debates on a referendum bill.
The other 14 EU nations have already approved the treaty.
Endorsed by EU chiefs in the southern French city of Nice 1 years ago, the document contains complex plans for reforming each country's levels of representation in EU policy-making bodies as new members are admitted. Irish opponents contend that the proposed formula favors the biggest members, particularly Germany and France.
But many voters said they had chosen "no" simply because they couldn't decipher the document.
"Last year, at least some people were persuaded by the slogan `If you don't know, vote no,'" Ahern said as he unveiled a detailed booklet on the treaty that will be mailed this week to households nationwide.
The booklet, he said, should "ensure that there is no information deficit, that people will feel informed and will come out and vote in large numbers."
"We recognize that many people felt less than well informed at last year's referendum, and we accept our share of responsibility," added Deputy Prime Minister Mary Harney.
In the June 2001 referendum, barely a third of registered voters cast a ballot, and 54 percent said "no." Anti-EU campaigners on the far left and far right of Irish politics struck a popular chord by arguing that EU leaders were growing too remote, wielding too much power and threatening to undermine Ireland's tradition of military neutrality.
In Ireland's parliamentary elections last May, the two fringe parties most hostile to the Nice Treaty the environmentalist Greens and ultranationalist Sinn Fein made the biggest gains in seats. The most pro-European party, Fine Gael, suffered its biggest losses in history.
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God bless,
Kindgo
Inside the will of God there is no failure. Outside the will of God there is no success.
Posts: 4320 | From: Sunny Florida | Registered: Jun 2002
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