Ireland’s 100 Reasons to Vote ‘No’ to the Lisbon treaty

[Bi ciuin]

1. The European Union has already created massive pockets of unemployment, with countries such as Spain – who have ratified Lisbon – suffering with unemployment rates of 18%. Why should Ireland sign up to a failing European Union?

2. About 450,000 people are unemployed, crushed by cuts, taxes, mortgage payments, on top of public bank-bail-outs and yet, the politicians who brought this upon Ireland are also asking for trust over the Lisbon treaty.

3. MEPs claim up to €1,000,000 in expenses each term, while massive job losses continue on an everyday basis.

4. Ireland remains a full member of the EU without the Lisbon treaty, and is in fact economically and politically better off without the treaty.

5. If Ireland votes No, she will continue to have access to Europe’s single market – the Lisbon treaty is concerned more with intensifying European government, using a constitutional document, which will crush trade, jobs and industry in Ireland .

6. Foreign investment has actually increased since Ireland voted No last year.

7. Under the Lisbon treaty, the EU can levy taxes on Ireland for the first time.

8. 150,000 Irish jobs, at least, are under threat through direct employment in multinational companies. Since Lisbon will interfere in taxation and the low corporate tax rate, those multinationals will simply leave for lands with lower corporate tax rates.

9. Lisbon will not aid the recession – to the contrary, it will make it worse.

10. The Lisbon treaty allows big business to import cheap labour and undercut Irish workers, in much the same way as it has done in labour disputes in the UK and the Nordic countries.

11. The EU has created a programme for Ireland to cut public spending, enforcing tough cuts on ordinary people who are trying to make a living wage in difficult times.

12. As Minister Brian Lenihan has said, massive and uncontrolled immigration of EU labour into Ireland helped to c au se the crash. Overseas workers now make up almost 20% of Ireland ’s unemployed.

13. Lisbon hands full control over immigration and asylum policy to the EU, under Article 79, for workers inside and outside the EU – from England to India .

14. EU politicians have falsely assured people that on Lisbon, they are protected from EU changes to the law on abortion, taxation and defence, but those assurances are not part of the Lisbon treaty (Judge Frank Clark, Chairman of the Referendum Commission) and are not EU law – so Lisbon would in fact lead to changes on abortion, taxation and defence.

15. Under the Charter of Fundamental Rights, attached to the treaty, the EU Court will decide on laws relating to abortion, raising children, marriage and euthanasia. It removes the voice of the Irish people on those issues.

16. Lisbon weakens Ireland in the European Union: while countries such as Germany double their voting power to 17%, Ireland ’s voting power will be reduced from 2% to 0.8%. It means Ireland will have no say over key issues.

17. Lisbon would drastically reduce Ireland ’s place in the European Union. It would reduce Ireland ’s representation leaving her completely isolated. There are new provisions to put EU law-making on a pure population size basis, just as in any unitary or federal state. At present, big states have 29 votes each in making EU laws and Ireland has 7 – a ratio of 4 to 1. Under Lisbon , EU laws would be made by a majority of the EU member states as long as they have 65% of the total EU population between them. Instead of the big states having 4 times Ireland’s voting weight, as it is now, this change to a pure population basis would give Germany 20 times Ireland’s weight and France, Britain and Italy 15 times each.

18. Lisbon means that Ireland loses the right to veto harmful measures in over 60 areas. If a proposal comes up that Ireland cannot abide by, it will not have the power to block it, as she will have given up her veto.

19. The treaty is a new European Constitution, which by law, will have superiority over the Irish Constitution. If it is accepted, the Irish people will give up their constitutional rights under the Irish Constitution and be subject to very different constitutional arrangements under the European Constitution.

20. Under Lisbon, Europe assumes a new position over Irish national security: Article 61F pushes for the development of Super-Union cooperative arrangements, under which, the drive towards federalist cooperation is first supported actively by the Union for measures going beyond EU law, and second that such super-Union cooperative agreements will in turn become EU law.

The other 80 reasons can be found here.


The European Journal: Ireland?s 100 Reasons to Vote ?No? to the Lisbon treaty


Makes a good read and some very valid points.

[He3]

Intel, Pfizer and PwC have your best interests at heart. Set them free. Vote for a Corporate-sponsored Constitution for Ireland and the EU.

[Bi ciuin]

There seems to be a real fear of the Lisbon treaty.

[Howard Devotee]

14. EU politicians have falsely assured people that on Lisbon, they are protected from EU changes to the law on abortion, taxation and defence, but those assurances are not part of the Lisbon treaty (Judge Frank Clark, Chairman of the Referendum Commission) and are not EU law – so Lisbon would in fact lead to changes on abortion, taxation and defence.

Wow, you must have a PhD in logic!

The assurances are assurances of what the Treaty says. As the no side says when it suits its argument, the assurances do not change the Treaty. It's the same Treaty.

The flawed logic of your statement above is that if the assurances were to be legally binding from ratification (given that they will be when included in a future Treaty), Lisbon could not lead to changes on abortion, taxation and defence. As it's the same Treaty, you must accept that regardless of the assurances, no such changes can result.

That is the position as set out by the authority you yourself cite - the Referendum Commission!

[linoisbest]

Intel, Pfizer and PwC have your best interests at heart. Set them free. Vote for a Corporate-sponsored Constitution for Ireland and the EU.

Since when did it become acceptable for multinational corporations to publicly interfere with the democratic process?

These organisations speak from a position of power and influence, but with no democratic mandate.

Democracy in Europe is under attack from all sides, just today Barroso got re-elected by the European Duma, it wasn't too hard for him, he was the only candidate.

.

[SKELLY]

Since when did it become acceptable for multinational corporations to publicly interfere with the democratic process?

These organisations speak from a position of power and influence, but with no democratic mandate.

Democracy in Europe is under attack from all sides, just today Barroso got re-elected by the European Duma, it wasn't too hard for him, he was the only candidate.

.

you mean Pat Cox?

[linoisbest]

you mean Pat Cox?

What?

.

[SKELLY]

Intel, Pfizer and PwC have your best interests at heart. Set them free. Vote for a Corporate-sponsored Constitution for Ireland and the EU.

You are annoyed about these mnc interfering, well Pat Cox is a special advisor in europe to intel and pfizer and numerous other mnc.

[He3]

Imagine.

[darkhorse]

1. The European Union has already created massive pockets of unemployment, with countries such as Spain – who have ratified Lisbon – suffering with unemployment rates of 18%. Why should Ireland sign up to a failing European Union?
*** Rubbish - Spains unemployment has nothing to do with the Lisbon treaty - it hasent even been ratified yet.

2. About 450,000 people are unemployed, crushed by cuts, taxes, mortgage payments, on top of public bank-bail-outs and yet, the politicians who brought this upon Ireland are also asking for trust over the Lisbon treaty.
*** Not true - FG and Labour are also advocating a YES vote and they have been in opposition for years

3. MEPs claim up to €1,000,000 in expenses each term, while massive job losses continue on an everyday basis.
*** Another red herring - John O'Donoghue did the same as did many UK politicians.

4. Ireland remains a full member of the EU without the Lisbon treaty, and is in fact economically and politically better off without the treaty.
*** Why? No proof given.

5. If Ireland votes No, she will continue to have access to Europe’s single market – the Lisbon treaty is concerned more with intensifying European government, using a constitutional document, which will crush trade, jobs and industry in Ireland .
*** Not necessarily so - the consensus is that a 2 tier Europe will emerge with Ireland in the slow lane.

6. Foreign investment has actually increased since Ireland voted No last year.
*** Coincidence. Wait until you see next years figures.

7. Under the Lisbon treaty, the EU can levy taxes on Ireland for the first time.
*** Not true - they already take a portion of VAT receipts. Read http://www.politics.ie/lisbon-treaty...own-taxes.html

8. 150,000 Irish jobs, at least, are under threat through direct employment in multinational companies. Since Lisbon will interfere in taxation and the low corporate tax rate, those multinationals will simply leave for lands with lower corporate tax rates.
*** The companies are advocating a YES vote - e.g. Intel

9. Lisbon will not aid the recession – to the contrary, it will make it worse.
*** Not true. A NO vote will make our economic situation immeasuably worse

10. The Lisbon treaty allows big business to import cheap labour and undercut Irish workers, in much the same way as it has done in labour disputes in the UK and the Nordic countries.
*** Not true. Labour rates in each country will continued to be enforced for migrant workers.

11. The EU has created a programme for Ireland to cut public spending, enforcing tough cuts on ordinary people who are trying to make a living wage in difficult times.
*** Not true. The Government are doing this because they are losing €500 million every WEEK on an overpaid and bloated civil and public service

12. As Minister Brian Lenihan has said, massive and uncontrolled immigration of EU labour into Ireland helped to c au se the crash. Overseas workers now make up almost 20% of Ireland ’s unemployed.
*** Argueably true but nothing to do with Lisbon

more to follow soon on these 100 incorrect reasons