In the Irish referendum on the Lisbon Treaty, as with the French referendum of May 2005, the real issue had nothing to do with the text that was put to the vote — the ‘no’ campaigners did not criticise it in substance — and nor was it about a so-called ‘divorce’ between ordinary people and the European Union, for the Irish recognise that no other nation has gained so much, financially, economically, politically and indeed historically, from membership of Club Europe. That is clear from all opinion-poll findings as recently as three months ago, and it will be clear again three months from now. So what is the problem?
The real obstacle we have come up against is the method of ratification, which has three crucial flaws.
The first and most glaring – although strangely the least discussed until now – is the requirement of unanimity. A European treaty cannot come into force until it has been signed and ratified by all the Member States. That was workable in a Europe of six nations. With 27 member countries the task becomes near impossible and the fate of Union hangs on the whim of the most Euro-sceptical, or simply the shakiest, government of the day.
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Extrait de la lettre adressée par Alain Lamassoure au Président de la République sur les conclusions de sa mission sur « Le citoyen et le droit communautaire »:
« Les référendums récents et les sondages confirment l’insatisfaction de beaucoup de citoyens envers la marche de l’Europe.
Une première raison est évidente. Jusqu’à présent, l’Europe n’a pas été à portée de leurs bulletins de vote. Les vrais décideurs à Bruxelles sont les dirigeants nationaux, qui sont élus sur les seuls enjeux de la politique intérieure. Et la Commission européenne, qui inspire toutes les politiques communautaires, apparaît comme un aréopage de super hauts fonctionnaires échappant à tout contrôle. Le traité de Lisbonne transformera radicalement ce système, en donnant le pouvoir aux citoyens : ce sont eux qui éliront les vrais législateurs européens (le Parlement de Strasbourg, qui obtient la plénitude du pouvoir législatif) et le chef de l’exécutif européen (le futur Président de la Commission).
Mais cela ne suffira pas. Il est temps, il est grand temps que l’Union mette les citoyens au coeur de ses politiques, alors qu’ils n’apparaissent aujourd’hui qu’une préoccupation seconde, derrière la réalisation du marché intérieur.
Extract from Alain Lamassoure’s letter to the President of France on the conclusions of his mission to investigate ‘Citizens and Community law’:
‘Recent referendums and opinion polls confirm that many ordinary people are dissatisfied with the way that Europe works.
One reason for this is obvious: the votes that they cast in European elections do not carry enough weight. The real decision makers in Brussels are the national leaders, who are elected solely on the basis of national domestic politics. As for the European Commission, originator of all Community policies, it comes across as a caucus of learned top-flight civil servants who are a law unto themselves. The Lisbon Treaty will radically transform this system by putting power in the hands of the people: they will elect the real law-makers for Europe (the Members of the European Parliament in Strasbourg, which will acquire full legislative authority) and the head of the EU executive (the future President of the Commission).
But that in itself will not be enough. It is time – high time – that the Union put its citizens at the heart of its policy making, for they seem thus far to be merely a secondary consideration, of less importance than the completion of the single market.
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