A No voter tells the story so far of the Lisbon Treaty and Ireland to a US audience. Published on the website Znet. Provides a bit of historical context and observations on the dominant Irish political elite. Tries to dispel sentiment about Ireland and looks at who is most likely to suffer if the The Treaty is approved.

Z Space - MiriamCotton

Whatever criticism might have been made about the commerce and trade focused-EU in the past (and there are many that can be made) there was a time when we in Ireland looked to its legal and other institutions to secure employment and other rights because our government were resisting EU rights initiatives with every means at its disposal. Domestically, Ireland's relationship with the EU as a member state has always been ambivalent depending on whether it was the beneficiary of financial largesse or having to meet unwanted EU-wide obligations - which it tries with all its considerable wile to wriggle out of - and frequently only conforms to nominally. Irish people have been denied many of the now diminishing benefits of membership by the cartel-like way much business is conducted here. Insurance, banking and other sectors frequently do not respect either the spirit or letter of earlier EU law which should have afforded citizens greater protection and opportunity than it does in many instances.
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