Some reasons to vote ‘No’, there are many more but this is a small page! One point about the treaty, one about the Irish governments information campaign, one about the EU commission, one about the Irish media, one about the minimum wage, one about your children’s right to democracy, one about prominent ‘Yes’ Campaigners.
- The Guarantees: They should be called promises. Whereas they may be legally binding for now, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) can overrule them at any point. But even as they stand, and if they are not overruled by the ECJ, they cannot come into force until the next country joins the EU (Accession treaty). This will be either Croatia or Turkey; this may not be until 2020. Brian Cowen quote in relation to the ‘guarantees’ on ‘This week’ show on RTE Radio 1 on 21/6/09; “We have an Agreement from our Colleagues that should we ratify the Lisbon Treaty there will be a subsequent Protocol at the next Accession Treaty when the European Union enlarges further which will give full Treaty Status to what has been achieved”. Between now and then we will definitely be ruled by the Lisbon Treaty, alone. No guarantees in effect during this time. This could be 10 years or even longer!
- The Department of Foreign Affairs website www.lisbontreaty.ie is not informing the public of all of the Lisbon treaty. For example a big omission is ‘The primacy of the EU over the individual states (Articles 1, 47, Declaration 17)’ which means that Irelands’ constitution will be second to that of the EU constitution, which the Lisbon treaty is. I quote the treaty document ‘17. Primacy of Union law– moved from Art. I-6 in the rejected EU Constitution / All (ECJ) case law is accepted – including verdicts making the legal system constitutional law above national constitutions’. – ‘17. DECLARATION CONCERNING PRIMACY; The Conference recalls that, in accordance with well settled case law of the EU Court of Justice, the Treaties and the law adopted by the Union on the basis of the Treaties have primacy over the law of Member States, under the conditions laid down by the said case law’ (Page 331 of the consolidated reader friendly version of the Lisbon treaty.) There are many more omissions from this www.lisbontreaty.ie website, but you get my point. You are not getting told much of the really relevant detail.
- I want to introduce you to the current vice-president of the EU ‘Barosso’ commission. His name is Jacques Barrot. I want you, my fellow Irish citizen, to know who our government are dealing with. But I would say that RTE, the Independent, the Irish Times or even Brian Cowen failed to inform you of this. Jacques Barrot is a convicted criminal, he was convicted in a French court of embezzlement in 2000. The case involved the diverting of £2 million of government money to his party. He received an eight month suspended prison sentence. This is the current EU Vice president we are talking about. How does the EU reward his good behaviour? Well, let us just say that in 2008 this criminal got a promotion to EU Justice Commissioner. One of the main people leaning on Ireland to pass Lisbon and your current EU Justice Commissioner and current EU Commission Vice-president is a convicted criminal. Nice touch.
- The Broadcasting Commission of Ireland (BCI, government appointed) just decided, after Lisbon was rejected last year, that it had the power to decide what was constitutional for you and I. Over and above the Supreme Court of Ireland, of course. The Supreme Court ruled in 1977 in the RTE vs Coughlan case that it is a unconstitutional not to deliver a 50:50 split for airtime on the national broadcaster RTE. This is with regard to giving equal airtime to both the ‘yes’ and the ‘no’ sides of any future referendum campaign. The BCI just upped and sanctioned the removal of the 50:50 requirement for 50:50 airtime on the national broadcaster RTE. The BCI is meant to be independent, but clearly this is not the case. This is why you see and hear so much ‘Yes’ bias on RTE TV and radio. And also in the Irish print media, and so much ‘No’ bashing going on. It’s not because everyone else is voting yes, far from it. But that is what state funded RTE would have you believe. There is an unconstitutional and very much illegal bias in the Irish media yes to Lisbon campaign. So now you know why yes ’seems’ like the popular choice, when in fact the reality will reveal itself on Friday the 2nd of October, make sure you cast your informed vote.
- The Irish minimum wage of €8.65 is protected under Lisbon, which is a fact. Passing Lisbon WILL NOT affect the Irish minimum wage. Like a lot of things we are told by Cowen & Co. it is said in such a way as to make you think one thing, but in fact the reality is the opposite of what you think. €8.65 is the minimum wage an Irish worker working in Ireland can be paid, fact. However, under Lisbon, a Polish worker can work, in Ireland for the Polish minimum wage if he is employed here by a Polish company. This is something else you probably would not think possible as the government says ‘Irish minimum wage will not be affected’. True, but no one will give Irish companies work in Ireland because our minimum wage is too big, so it doesn’t matter that the wage is unaffected we will be more uncompetitive than ever and in effect unemployable in our own country. The only real solution to this upcoming problem is that if the government decides to lower the minimum wage, so that Ireland Inc. can ‘get competitive’. If we pass Lisbon, then any EU country can send workers to legally work here for the minimum wage of the country they originate from. Fact. (See the Laval case) and for both public and private sector employees the Laval ruling also means it will be illegal to partake in industrial action if you don’t like it. Nice touch. Criminalising the right to strike.
- If you believe in democracy then I think it is only fair that the people of Europe get a chance to vote on this also. I mean Ireland, has a very small percentage of the European population. Should a minority enforce their view on millions of other people who were denied a vote? If Lisbon is passed then Ireland will Never again be asked to vote on matters affecting the EU constitution. To put it in context, if we say yes to Lisbon then you are denying the right of your children and future generations to have a referendum on matters that will affect them in their lifetimes. You will be passed on, but your legacy will not. I don’t think your children will thank you for it. On a practical level we don’t want phlegm balls(sorry) in our soup and terrible service when we go on holidays in Europe as we will not be thanked by the everyday people of Europe for forcing this treaty upon them. Why is the EU commission against a pan-European democratic vote if it respects democracy so much?
- Whatever future benefit of the small amount of ‘Social’ charters in the treaty will be, the negative aspects of the treaty far outweigh any practical benefit. I outlined above that the ECJ will ultimately decide what the law is. The European Court of Justice is an unelected body. No Democratic union should be ruled over by an undemocratic body.
- You should vote Yes if you agree with the following people. These are the people pushing for a ‘Yes’ Vote. I have already introduced you the ‘Criminal’ EU Justice Commissioner and Vice president of the EU Commission, Jacques Barrot
- Pat Cox; He is a member of the Comite d’Honneur of the Institute of European Affairs. In 2006 he was elected President of European Movement, an international pro European lobby association. In June 2009 Pat Cox temporarily stepped down as President and took over the position of the campaign director for the pro Lisbon treaty initiative, Ireland for Europe. Since 2009 Pat Cox is considered to be a favourite for the Irish post in the European Commission in autumn 2009(this is a selected, not elected position. Pat Cox is a paid advisor for Microsoft, Michelin and lobbying consultancy APCO. He is also lobbyist for Pfizer the Pharmaceutical giant, who were recently hit with a record US court fine in the amount of $2.3 Billion for healthcare fraud. Check the BBC website for further details on Pfizer fraud.
- Michael O’Leary (Ryanair); The man who likes charging us to bring our bags on holidays is pushing for a yes vote to ‘curry favour with the Irish government so he can takeover Aer Lingus’. They and the EU blocked him last time around, remember. Check out last weeks ‘Business matters’ show presented by Ivan Yates on TV3. Its on their website, the admissions about 18 minutes into the show.
- Jim O’Hara (Intel chief) is urging a ‘Yes’ vote. Again Intel are trying to get out of paying a $1.45 Billion fine slapped on them in May of this year for uncompetitive practice by the EU for breach of its anti trust laws. Check BBC website for details, Ditto for Pat Coxs’ Microsoft 2004 fine.
- Our kids should be left alone to enjoy being kids, but the EU does not think so. The European Commission and European Parliament want Ireland to vote Yes on October 2. They have also sent EU staff to schools before polling day. Is that appropriate? Having said it would respect the fact that we have to make this important decision (again) for ourselves, the Commission had said it would not support any campaign group in our national referendum. It did say it would correct factually inaccurate statements coming from either side. The Commission has however broken its word and a Commissioner addressed a Yes group meeting in Galway last week. Eighty Commission and Parliament staff who come from Ireland will visit their old schools – schools in twenty two counties are involved reportedly – visiting schools between the beginning of September and polling day, ostensibly to impart information. Educators have always been careful to protect their students from political lobbying under any guise. Really the Commission and Parliament staff visits were very underhanded and should not be allowed. This is a very worrying development. Even our kids are not safe from political lobbying interference anymore, when we send them off to school in the morning. I think now is surely the best time to seriously consider which direction our Europe is heading, when it sanctions and partakes in the above behaviour. Check the advertiser.ie website for more info.
- I sincerely and respectfully thank you for taking the time to read and consider the brief content of this information. It is provided, not to scare you, but to inform you. As a nation and a people we have the responsibility of taking a huge decision this Friday. Whichever way you vote, please go out and vote. Vote for the right reasons. Do not make a selfish decision. The contents of this are factual and can be verified very simply. The sources are reputable and enough detail is provided for you to source the source of the information, check the points raised and form your own opinion. Let democracy decide not the corporations and the vested interests. Democracy means you, right here, right now.
Lisbon Treaty Vote; A Yes is good for Corporations, A No is good for Citizens.
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Filed under: Lisbon Treaty
