Should EU Commission money fund the Yes campaign in Lisbon Two?

[He3]

The EU Commission intends to back the Yes campaign in Lisbon Two. Money or other resources allocated to the Yes campaign by the Commission will be outside the control of SIPO.

Is this move by the Commission a good thing or a bad thing in your view?

THE EUROPEAN Commission will hold a special meeting next week to determine how it can help the Government campaign to secure a Yes vote in the second Lisbon referendum.

All 27 EU commissioners will meet the head of the commission’s Irish representation office, Martin Territt, in Brussels on Wednesday to consider a range of initiatives that will better inform the Irish about Europe and the treaty.

They will discuss the launch of a new publicity campaign designed to inform the Irish public about the merits of EU membership. They are also expected to agree on a high-profile series of visits to the Republic by EU commissioners and commission president José Manuel Barroso.

“One of the lessons the commission and the European Parliament learnt from the first referendum on the Lisbon Treaty was that the pro-Lisbon voices were too often absent from the public debate,” said a senior commission source, who added that the EU’s most visible institution – the EU executive – could not be absent from the debate this time

http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/...242848144.html

[marmurr1916]

Great idea for the EU to launch an information and publicity campaign in Ireland. Anything that clarifies the workings of the EU and might help to swing a few votes is welcome. It's not as if it's our money: Ireland is a net beneficiary from the EU still.

[setanta]

Another lie from He3. It is illegal for any body or person resident outside of the State to fund any election or referendum campaigns in this jurisdiction. If you become aware of any such monies or other materials being donated to any campaign in the Autumn you should have a chat with An Garda Siochána.

[He3]

Being wrong just never troubles setanta. A great way to be. Talk to ibis setanta, if you are too busy to look up the actual rules.

[Lthse]

Another lie from He3. It is illegal for any body or person resident outside of the State to fund any election or referendum campaigns in this jurisdiction. If you become aware of any such monies or other materials being donated to any campaign in the Autumn you should have a chat with An Garda Siochána.

It seems he was telling the truth, here's what the SIPO report said:

Funding from European political groups
The Standards Commission also received legal advice on the issue of the use of funding which might be provided to Irish MEPs and political parties by their political groups in the European Parliament. Section 22(2)(b)(ii) of the Act provides that any payment, service or facility provided to a person out of monies provided by an institution of the European Union by virtue of the person being an MEP or a political group is not regarded as a donation. The Standards Commission was informed that political groups are funded by the European Parliament and only make funds available to an Irish MEP or political party which is a member of the political group. On the basis of this information, the Standards Commission was advised that, in accordance with section 22(2)(b)(ii) of the Act, such funding would not be regarded as a donation to an Irish MEP or political party. The Standards Commission advised each MEP and the appropriate officer of their political parties accordingly.

[marmurr1916]

Being wrong just never troubles setanta. A great way to be. Talk to ibis setanta, if you are too busy to look up the actual rules.

He's almost right. Only Irish citizens resident abroad can donate to Irish political parties or 'third parties' during referendum campaigns.

However, what the EU Commission is proposing doesn't amount to funding the Yes campaign in any legal sense.

They propose to inform the Irish public about the EU and have some Commissioners visit Ireland:

The commission is unlikely to propose getting directly involved in the referendum campaign itself, which will remain the primary responsibility of the Government. But it will propose providing information to the public to ensure they understand how Europe plays a role in their everyday life and to clarify points of the treaty that are disputed. A new EU-funded €1.8 million publicity campaign in Ireland is due to begin shortly.

That's not campaigning and they're not funding the Yes campaign.

[Christine Murray]

l think the decision of the commission could be seen as indicative of a lack of confidence in the ability of the government to present the issues, saying that l reckon anyone who thinks that the pro-treaty side was under-represented in public discourse has a screw loose ! media saturation is not putting too fine a point on how political and media types campaigned and still managed to present absolutely nothing of any substance, unless alienation counts -

[He3]

He's almost right. Only Irish citizens resident abroad can donate to Irish political parties or 'third parties' during referendum campaigns.

However, what the EU Commission is proposing doesn't amount to funding the Yes campaign in any legal sense.

They propose to inform the Irish public about the EU and have some Commissioners visit Ireland:



That's not campaigning and they're not funding the Yes campaign.

This report will strike most fair minded people as a clear declaration of intent to campaign, put beyond doubt by this:

“One of the lessons the commission and the European Parliament learnt from the first referendum on the Lisbon Treaty was that the pro-Lisbon voices were too often absent from the public debate,” said a senior commission source, who added that the EU’s most visible institution – the EU executive – could not be absent from the debate this time

http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/...242848144.html

[marmurr1916]

This will strike most fair minded people as an intention to campaign, especially when they read this:

“One of the lessons the commission and the European Parliament learnt from the first referendum on the Lisbon Treaty was that the pro-Lisbon voices were too often absent from the public debate,” said a senior commission source, who added that the EU’s most visible institution – the EU executive – could not be absent from the debate this time

The EU is proposing to launch an information and publicity campaign which will explain how the EU affects people's daily lives and how the EU works.

Surely, if as some people argue, the EU's effect on people's daily lives is so negative and its workings so obscure and undemocratic, such a campaign will only be likely to make more people vote No.

It's not as if the No side should be worried that explaining what the EU does, how it works and clarifying the Treaty of Lisbon is going to make people more likely to vote Yes, is it?

[Dare to Dream]

no - conflict of interest should apply here. the people are their bosses and have the right to decide however hard that decision might be. In this current climate if the people are effectively being "told" to do one thing, by way of mass posters, lierature etc, they might well go the other purely out of spite.

However an impartial document stating fact would be okay in my opinion.