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Thursday, 24 April 2008 |
Irish MEP's should be asked to explain why they voted to suppress a report on corruption in the European Parliament, Libertas is saying today.
Fine Gael and Labour MEPs voted against publication of the report, which detailed the findings of an enquiry into corruption in MEPs expense claims. Fianna Fail MEPs voted alongside their Fine Gael and Labour Colleagues, but later "changed their mind" in accordance with parliament rules.
Independent MEP's Kathy Sinnott and Marian Harkin, along with Sinn Fein's Mary Lou MacDonald, voted to publish the report.
Libertas executive director Naoise Nunn said that the votes of the Labour and Fine Gael MEPs were at odds with their stated commitment to increased transparency and accountability in Brussels:
"This vote exemplifies everything that is wrong with the EU. The European Parliament is so divorced from reality that it thinks that it's ok to hide the truth about its own activities from the voters.
Fine Gael and Labour have been telling the voters that the Lisbon treaty will be "reforming the structures and institutions of Europe". They say that it will make these institutions more transparent. In reality, these same MEPs are voting in lockstep with their European Colleagues to hide as much information from the ordinary citizen as possible.
What does the Lisbon Treaty do to address problems like this one? Nothing. The truth is that our MEPs feel safe saying one thing to the Irish people and another thing to their European Colleagues, because they know that the institutions of Europe, even the parliament, are remote and disconnected from real political discourse in the member states.
This is an abject disgrace. Further, I question why Fianna Fail MEPs initially voted to suppress this report, but then changed their mind after the vote and went so far as to ask that this repentance be formally acknowledged?
The European Union's accounts have not been signed off for 13 years. Our own Government estimates that unnecessary regulation costs Irish Business over half a billion Euro every year. Now, we see the EU Parliament blatantly giving the middle finger to the electorate to whom they are allegedly accountable.
The Lisbon Treaty will not change this one iota. We will still have an arrogant and unaccountable European Union, only this time around it will have to worry even less about the concerns of ordinary people, in whom sovereignty is allegedly vested. It will have more power, less responsibility, and at the top of it all will sit an unelected President, travelling the world in a private jet speaking for the people of Europe.
In recent days we have seen the odds on a "No" vote slashed. Is it any wonder why?" |
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Sunday, 20 April 2008 |
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 Declan Ganley and Ulick McEvaddy chat in front of the Libertas Campaign Bus Ulick McEvaddy has spoken of his "Very difficult" decision to call for a "No" vote in the Lisbon Treaty referendum at a Press Conference in Dublin this afternoon.
Mr. McEvaddy was joined by Libertas Chairman Declan Ganley in Dublin's Merrion Hotel, where he had called reporters to tell them about his decision.
He said:
"When it came time to decide how to cast my vote in this campaign, I looked around and saw an alliance of people I respect and admire on one side of the debate. Therefore, my decision should have been an easy one, you might think.
Nonetheless, having read this Treaty four times, I have been unable to find it worthy of my support, and I am certainly unable to say that it is going to be in any way beneficial to the interests of the Irish people, or the Irish business community. |
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Thursday, 17 April 2008 |
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Speaking after an exchange with EU Commission President Jose Barroso at the Forum on Europe this afternoon, Libertas Executive Director Naoise Nunn has said that it Mr. Barroso's refusal to deny the possibility of a court challenge to Ireland's Corporate tax rates after ratification of the Lisbon Treaty was a "devastating" indictment of the Treaty.
In an exchange with Mr Barroso at the forum, Mr. Nunn asked the Commission President to answer yes or no to the question of whether the ECJ could be asked to rule on whether Ireland's corporate tax rates "distort competition".
Such a challenge could mean that Ireland would be forced by the EU courts to abandon the one policy that has been most responsible for the country's economic success over the past 15 years. |
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