Left Archive: Voice Special Supplement, No to Nice, Socialist Party, September 2002

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This is a useful document issued as a supplement to the Socialist Party newspaper Voice in September 2002 discussing the second referendum over the Nice Treaty.

It notes:

A SECOND referendum on the Nice Treaty is on the way. Despite being reject­ed once by the electorate, the establishment in this country is trying again to get the result they want.  Nice is about enlargement and protecting Ireland’s reputation” they cry. If we vote “No” we are bad Europeans and the rest of Europe will say we are being self­ish. Realising that they are not being believed, the establishment have now begun to suggest that Ireland will suffer economically If the Nice Treaty is defeated.
The Irish economy is on a downward spiral because of the neo-liberal policies of the estab­lishment parties and the crisis in the world economy caused by global capitalism. 

And:

Rejection of the Nice Treaty will not prevent enlargement (confirmed by none other than head of the European Commission Romano Prodi), but will stop the creation of an even more undemocratic and unac­countable EU bureaucracy than now exists.
Ireland is the only country in the EU that is holding a referen­dum and widespread opposition to the Nice Treaty in other European countries has been pre­vented from expressing its voice on the issue.

And:

The government is suggesting that the Declaration on Neutrality will alleviate fears about Irish neutrality.
This is being promoted by a government that cannot be trust­ed. Remember the U-turn on the promise of a referendum on Partnership for Peace. The Rapid Reaction Force (RRF) that Ireland is now involved in will operate as an arm of NATO (according to Tony Blair) and will engage in acts of military intervention. 

The supplement offers ’10 Reasons to Vote ‘No” including ‘The Irish people have already said “No”‘, ‘Nice gives more control to the big states.’ and ‘Nice is not necessary for enlargement [of the EU]’. On the later issue an article argues:

The real aim of EU enlarge­ment is to completely open up the  markets of the former Eastern Bloc countries to the bosses. It  will give them the power to dictate  economic competition. policy They and intend to eliminate close down many or reduce production in industries in Poland such as sugar production, steel and mining.

It also has a piece on a ‘European Superstate’ which it suggests will be an ‘unstable institution’.

By contrast it offers a view of an alternative – ‘a socialist Europe’.

A European-wide 24 hour gener­al strike would give big business a firm warning that they won’t get away with their neo-liberal agen­da. More importantly, it would also put on the cards an offensive and a political struggle by workers to challenge the rule of big busi­ness and to work towards a united socialist states of Europe.