Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2008-06-18-Speech-3-042"
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"en.20080618.2.3-042"2
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"Mr President, the Irish people have said 'no' to the Treaty, and the EU grandees' response was to infuriate the Irish by summoning the Taoiseach to the European Council in order to give an account of their 'misconduct'. This is childish and unworthy of the founding fathers' European vision. It is even more shortsighted, however, to demand Ireland's exclusion or attempt to push the Treaty through. If we repeat the vote until the desired outcome is achieved, that really will inflict irreparable damage on Europe's image.
We have held 290 referenda in Europe since 1990, and yet there are no referenda on fundamental decisions of major importance such as Turkey's accession or the introduction of the euro, and now we are not being given a say on something as important as the Lisbon Treaty. Brussels' understanding of what constitutes democracy – whereby citizens are simply expected to give their blessing to EU decisions or vote for the parties that the EU approves of – really is reminiscent of the Soviet Union. Instead of taking umbrage, the EU should accept the Irish 'no' vote for what it is: a chance for a new direction, towards policies which are geared to the people and the citizens of Europe."@en1
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