EIRE: STAND BY IRISH PEOPLES 'LISBON' DECISION MARTIN URGED

The Celtic League has written to Ireland's Minister for Foreign Affairs urging that he stand by the decision of the Irish people in the recent Lisbon treaty referendum.

League General Secretary, Rhisiart Tal-e-bot, says that the Celtic League:

«Firmly believe that it is not in the interests of the Irish people or the peoples of other nations within the EU, to belong to a Union that is given the constitutional form of a State».

The full text of the General Secretary's letter is set out below:

«Dear Minister Micheál Martin

Irish No Vote for the Lisbon Treaty

The Celtic League broadly welcomed the the Irish 'no vote' and campaigned actively for this result. The reason for this was set out clearly by the League's Convenor and Chair of the Eire Branch this weekend in correspondence to members:

»The NO majority reflects much wider concern at the way the EU project is going. Representative members of the Irish political class have broken with the predominant uncritical consensus on the Euro-Federalist project.«

The Celtic League is aware that you will be engaged in talks in Luxembourg with other EU Ministers over the next couple of days and that the Lisbon Treaty will be discussed. We are also aware that a two-day summit in Brussels, starting Thursday this week, will also debate the way ahead for the Lisbon Treaty after the Irish vote.

We would therefore like to urge you to stand by the people of the Éire during these discussions and show that the no vote provides Éire and Europe with an opportunity to take a fundamental and fresh look at the EU integration process. We firmly believe that it is not in the interests of the Irish people or the peoples of other nations within the EU, to belong to a Union that is given the constitutional form of a State. Moreover, we believe that democracy must be upheld at an EU level and therefore think that if one country says that it cannot ratify a treaty as it stands - in Ireland's case because the Irish people have rejected it - there is no point in the other countries proceeding.

Consequently we see it is now the duty of the Irish Government to request the EU to stop pushing the Lisbon Treaty forward at it stands and for Ministers to reform the text so that it is more compatible with what people want. If all states in the EU were given the right to decide on the Lisbon Treaty, through a referendum vote as in Éire, it would indeed be interesting to see the results. Fortunately, the people of Éire were given this opportunity and it is now up to the Irish Government and the EU to respect their democratic voice.

We hope that you will ensure that the will of the Irish electorate is respected in this matter and that their rights continue to be upheld as an independent state within the EU.

We wish you a successful week ahead.

Yours sincerely

Rhisiart Tal-e-bot General Secretary»

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J B Moffatt Director of Information Celtic League

17/06/08