No "quick Fix" for Europe

Taoiseach Brian Cowen (left) has told EU leaders that there is "no quick fix" to resolve the dilemma caused by the rejection of the Lisbon Treaty by Irish voters. Speaking at a press conference after the EU Summit meeting, he made it clear that it is "too early to know how we can move forward at this time".

He said that it has been a busy number of days and that the only potential way forward would need to be acceptable to Ireland and other countries. He added that a number of EU members have indicated that they have no interest in reopening negotiations on the Lisbon Treaty.

When asked about whether a second referendum would be held, the Taoiseach said he could not say whether there would be a further vote on Lisbon. The Irish government could not go beyond where they are at the moment. They are currently analysing the results of the Lisbon Treaty's rejection.

It was also revealed that French President Nicolas Sarkozy will visit Ireland at the beginning of his EU presidency and in the aftermath of Ireland's rejection of the Lisbon Treaty.

Earlier President Sarkozy said he intended to go to Ireland to help finding a solution, but he said he was determined not to re-open the debate on the institutions of the EU.

The French President also declared that the (British) EU's Trade Commissioner Peter Mandelson (right) is partly to blame for Ireland's rejection of the Lisbon Treaty.
Mandelson, a former Northern Secretary, had upset Irish farmers with his strategy at the World Trade Organisation (WTO) talks.

Speaking on the second day of the EU summit in Brussels, President Sarkozy said: "We were going to negotiate, in the case of the WTO, a 20% reduction in European agricultural production. Reducing agricultural production by 20% in a world where there are 800 million people dying of hunger, every 30 seconds a child dies of hunger, is unacceptable."
"Quite honestly," the French President added, "there is one person who is of this opinion, and that is Mr. Mandelson. It is not France's position."

Padraig Walshe, the President of the Irish Farmers' Association (IFA), stated that Mr. Sarkozy was correct in highlighting the damage that Commissioner Mandelson had done to farmers' opinion in the run-up to the Lisbon referendum.

Meanwhile Ireland's Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food rejected comments from Mr. Mandelson that NO campaigners in the Lisbon Treaty campaign were "allowed to spread misinformation".
Speaking at the Farmfest event in Co. Galway, Brendan Smith said the government's focus was now on addressing the issues raised during the campaign, as part of the effort to resolve the difficulties raised by the Irish rejection of the treaty.

The increasing hesitation of the Czech Republic over the Lisbon Treaty was also a point of focus at the EU summit. Ahead of today's session, EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana said he did not think the Czechs would block the treaty. He added that he thought the treaty would be ratified in all the remaining member states.

However, the Belgian Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs Olivier Chastel was sceptical, saying the Czechs were "not willing to listen to reason". This statement coincides with the strong views expressed by the Czech President Václav Klaus three days ago. Klaus had congratulated Ireland on a "victory for democracy against bureaucracy and elitist EU plans". Meanwhile the Lisbon Treaty has been referred to the Czech Constitutional Court for closer examination and a growing number of politicians from the ruling party have expressed their doubts about the value of the Lisbon Treaty for their country and progress in the EU.

Luxembourg has warned that the EU will not be able to enlarge further without the Lisbon Treaty. This is quite a correct analysis, but in my opinion it is actually a good and welcome fact. The EU is already too large and has admitted in recent years new members without proper scrutiny. While - for example - Greece, Portugal and Spain had to wait many years for their EU membership (which was only granted after they had reformed their political systems and laws), Bulgaria and Romania were admitted to the EU after only a few years, without achieving the required and necessary stability and democracy. Bulgaria is virtually run by organised crime gangs, and Romania has still great shortfalls in the fields of economy and political participation.

Slovenia, another new member which currently holds the EU Presidency, said that Ireland's rejection of a new EU treaty should not slow down the process of enlarging the union. This is, however, a minority position.

Separately, the Czech Prime Minister Mirek Topolanek said he expected negotiations with Ireland on what it might do with regards to the rejected Lisbon Treaty would take place in the first half of next year. On January 1st, 2009 the Czech Republic will succeed France (which takes the chair on July 1st) in the rotating six-months EU Presidency.

The Emerald Islander

Farmers threaten to say NO to Lisbon Treaty

Mary Coughlan (right), the Minister for Agriculture, is taking a recent threat by Irish farmers to vote NO in the forthcoming Lisbon Treaty referendum "seriously". Speaking on RTÉ Radio 1, Ms. Coughlan said she was working to ensure that the outcome of the World Trade negotiations is balanced, with the appropriate protections for Irish farmers and the agri-food sector.

Responding to the minister's statement, Padraig Walshe, President of the Irish Farmers Association (IFA), said he had no disagreement with her stark assessment of the damage to Ireland's farm and food industry posed by WTO negotiations.

Meanwhile Fine Gael MEP Mairéad McGuinness said she is "concerned about the mounting anger among farmers" ahead of the Lisbon Treaty referendum on June 12th. She urged the government to come out very strongly and say it will use its veto on World Trade Talks.

But Education Minister Mary Hanafin said that "the [Irish] government knows that farmers have genuine concerns about what is being proposed at the talks". But she insisted that it was "too early to use the Irish veto". She stated that it was about getting an agreement that is balanced both within agriculture and between trade and agriculture.

Well, she would know, of course... But what she does know - as a former Fianna Fail treasurer and a woman born in Tipperary - is how to hoodwink and pay off the farmers, as FF has done it so successfully in the run-up to previous referenda.

It will be interesting to see if Ireland's farmers are this time wise and forward-looking, and actually mean what they say. In that case they would have to vote NO in the referendum, and that might well defeat it.
Or are Irish farmers still more after the quick buck made now than after a solid income over many years? In two months we will know.

On Thursday more than 10,000 farmers had taken part in a demonstration in Dublin, protesting against current European proposals in negotiations on world trade. Farmers from all parts of the country came to the march, and original turnout expectations were well exceeded.

The farmers gathered at Leinster House and marched to Dublin Castle, where European Commission President Jose Manuel Barosso was addressing the National Forum on Europe.
Farmers are unhappy about the stance EU Trade Commissioner Peter Mandelson is taking in the current negotiations on world trade. They say that the beef and dairy sector could be virtually wiped out.

IFA President Padraig Walshe said the current proposals to cut import tariffs will have an impact on how farmers vote in the Lisbon Treaty referendum. He warned that farmers would not support a European Commission that sells out their industry.

The European Commission's Director General for Trade, the Irishman David O'Sullivan, defended the proposals, saying that if implemented, the deal would take effect over a number of years.

EU Commission President Jose Manuel Barosso stated that a deal at the Word Trade Organisation talks would be in Ireland's interest, but did not say in which way. He said getting a deal sooner rather than later would guarantee the reform of the Common Agriculture Policy (CAP) agreed four years ago. But he warned that delaying the deal could mean that a review of the CAP starting in the autumn could result in a less favourable outcome for farmers.

Farmers are angry over the stance being taken by EU Trade Commissioner Peter Mandelson in the current round of negotiations to liberalise the rules on world trade. They say Ireland's livestock industry would be decimated, and there would be cuts in the dairy, grain and other sectors. This could result in 50,000 rural jobs being lost and 100,000 cattle farmers being made redundant.

The Emerald Islander