Republican News · Thursday 17 July 2003

EU Constitution - yes or no?

BY JOANNE CORCORAN

In their quest to create a United States of Europe, the powers that be have come up with a new EU Constitution - in draft form at the moment - aimed at finally putting the nail in the coffin of its members' national sovereignty.

At a press conference on Tuesday, Sinn Féin launched its response to the draft document, and said that currently, it represents a serious challenge for Irish society.

"There are a number of key provisions in the Draft Constitution which give a clear indication of the drive that is on to create a world superpower out of the EU," the party's EU candidate for Dublin, Marylou McDonald pointed out.

The Dublin government will have the opportunity to negotiate the constitution through the InterGovernmental Conference (IGC), so as part of its response, Sinn Féin lists a number of issues which the party says should be debated before the constitution is put before citizens in Europe for approval or rejection.

The Sinn Féin view

Sinn Féin says that while it agrees that the simplification and consolidation of existing EU Treaties is necessary, it opposes the process being used to diminish national sovereignty.

It points to a number of articles in the draft that impinge on sovereignty and puts forward recommendations to change their content.

Key provisions of the Draft Treaty

As pointed out by Sinn Féin, some of the more contentious parts of the draft are as follows:

• It will respect national identities, but no reference is made to national sovereignty.
• It makes a provision for EU law to have primacy over member states' law
• It makes the EU a single legal entity for the first time, meaning it will be technically able to represent Europe, sign treaties on its behalf, e.t.c.
• It requires member states to cede most or all of their remaining independence on foreign policy.
• It provides for the establishment of a common defence that can act outside the Union.
• It directs member states to contribute forces to a Common Defence
• It directs other member states to come to the aid of each other when a member is subject to unfair military occupation - but doesn't mention Ireland or Cyprus' case.
• It proposes a permanent President, setting aside the partnership model of a rotating presidency.
• It entails the loss of right of each state to appoint a voting commissioner.
• It does not include the charter of fundamental rights.
• It further harmonises criminal procedure, eroding national parliaments' rights to pass criminal laws
• It advocates a single competitive market, hindering states from exercising control over their economies.

Engaging in debate

Speaking at the conference Sinn Féin chairperson Mitchel McLaughlin said:

"Sinn Féin wants to be in the forefront of the debate on what type of Europe is best for us all."

However, he added, "we are opposed to the development of the European Union into a state, therefore we do not accept the argument that the EU must have a Constitution.

"Notwithstanding our scepticism about the whole notion of a European Constitution, Sinn Féin believes that it is our responsibility to influence the debate and to ensure that the 26-County government uses its negotiating position to ensure that those anti-democratic elements currently contained in the Draft Constitution are excised."

Further militarisation

Aengus Ó Snodaigh, the party spokesperson on International Affairs and the EU, commented on the militarisation of the EU contained in the draft.

"Sinn Féin has long warned that the EU is becoming progressively militarised, and predicted that developments pointed towards the establishment of an EU army with both force projection capabilities and an internal security function," he said. "Some dismissed this as exaggeration. But the provisions in the draft Constitution confirm our prediction.

"We believe that it is the duty of IGC negotiators to protect Irish independence in defence policy, and specifically the traditional policies of military neutrality and UN primacy, by at minimum securing a specific article

explicitly recognising the right of those states requiring a UN mandate for military operations. They must also insist that this be given the same weight of recognition as that accorded to the obligations of NATO states."

Ó Snodaigh went on to discuss the area of Common Foreign and Security Policy, saying that there were a number of provisions in the draft constitution that represent serious incursions on Irish sovereignty.

"IGC negotiators, at minimum, must protect Irish exercise of sovereign independence in international affairs by securing an explicit statement that development cooperation and humanitarian aid, and the exercise of EU competence in foreign policy, shall not result in Member states being prevented from exercising their competence in foreign policy," he said.