An "impartial" website for the Irish ahead of June referendum

Irish voters now have one additional instrument to make up their mind ahead of the June referendum that will decide whether Ireland will approve or reject the Reform Treaty.

A new website, http://www.lisbontreaty2008.ie/, was launched on April 20 by an independent body, the Referendum Commission, to ensure that voters are "informed about the issues involved in the forthcoming referendum on the Treaty of Lisbon 2008."

The website says that "others will argue for a Yes or a No vote, but the Referendum Commission's role is to do neither". Its aim, as in every other referendum that Ireland has held in the past years, is to explain what this referendum is about and to encourage people to vote.

On April 28, the chairman of the Referendum Commission, Mr Justice Iarfhlaith O'Neill, said in a press conference: "Already, there has been considerable public discussion of the Lisbon Treaty, with people on both sides of the debate making their arguments. Many people say there is confusion over what the Treaty would actually do."

He said that in the midst of "heated exchanges", the Referendum Commission would give "an independent, neutral and clear interpretation of what people are being asked to vote upon."

The new website explains in five pages what the 300-page Treaty is about, how the European Union functions at present and how its activities will change if the Treaty comes into force.

It also explains who is entitled to vote, how to register and what to do before the vote.

In May, 2 million copies of the Refrendum Commission's handbook will be distributed to to all voting households, explaining the main issues in just 14 pages.

Czech Senate postopones ratification to seek Constitutional Court approval

The Czech Senate on April 24 decided to postpone the vote on the Reform Treaty, asking the Constitutional Court to see whether it was in line with Czech law.

The ratification, which was scheduled for April, was delayed after a majority of 48 in the 81-member Senate decided to ask for the opinion of the highest national Court, to see if the Treaty would conform to the country’s constitution.

Senators asked for an assessment of six points, including whether the change from a unanimity vote to a majority vote in many areas of the EU legislation would be in line with the Czech Constitution.

They also asked if the Czech Republic would have a legal obligation to observe the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights, wich is integral part of the Lisbon Treaty.

Sona Paukrtova, senator from the opposition party Open Democracy Club (KOD) said that there was no reason to call on the Constitutional Court.

She said that the ruling party, the Civic Democrats (ODS), had insisted to have the Treaty assessed, but the opposition was in favour of a quick ratification.

A poll released in April showed that more than half of Czech voters were in favour of the Treaty. According to the poll, released by STEM, of 1,341 Czech citizens surveyed, 53 percent said that their parliament should ratify the Treaty.

Irish minister says Treaty would secure taxation and neutrality

Ireland will not have its neutrality and tax sovereignty affected if it ratifies the Lisbon Treaty, Irish foreign minister Dermot Ahern TD said on April 17.

Speaking at the Forum on Europe, Mr Ahern welcomed the EU Commission president Jose' Manuel Barroso’s visit to Dublin and said that the Irish national interest would indeed be secured by the Treaty.

He said: “We believe that the Reform Treaty sets up the Union to continue to take the interests of all Member States - large and small - into account.”

“It recognises our common interests while at the same time respecting vital individual national interests, such as taxation and defence in our case, where decisions can only be taken by unanimity.”

His party, Fianna Fail, the largest in Ireland and currently part of the coalition government, is leading the campaign for a Yes vote.

But Patricia McKenna of the People’s Movement, which campaigns against any measures that further develop EU integration, called his statement “false and misleading” and said that Barroso’s visit was a “gross interference by the EU institutions in Ireland’s internal affairs”.

She said: “The visit is not only inappropriate, but clearly designed to give Irish voters a false sense of security in relation to this issue of taxation and the comments by the Commission president are clearly stage managed by PM Bertie Ahern, to reduce concern on one of the most significant aspects of public concern on the Lisbon Treaty.”

The Lisbon Treaty extends qualified majority voting to new policy areas and requires less unanimity votes on issues such as fighting climate change, energy security and emergency humanitarian aid to hot-spots around the globe .

However, unanimity will be retained in areas including tax, foreign policy, defence and social security.

10,000 farmers protest as Barroso visits Dublin

Some 10,000 farmers protested in Dublin on April 17, during the visit of EU Commission President Jose' Manuel Barroso, who was in Ireland to promote the EU treaty.

Farmers intended to mark their opposition to EU Commission plans that could penalise Irish agriculture, and namely the policies of EU Commissioner for trade Peter Mandelson.

Worrying about a falling support for the Treaty showed in a recent poll, Irish Prime Minister Bertie Ahern urged farmers to vote Yes during the June referendum.

He said: "It would be a disaster for this country not to pass it. It would have repercussions that would severely damage us, and the biggest beneficiaries are the agricultural community and they should be the ones leading this campaign for it."

The Irish Farmer Association (IFA) President Padraig Walshe addressing the protest said that Mandelson's plans would destroy the Irish beef industry and put 50,000 farmers out of business.

He said: "The Lisbon Treaty Referendum is on the 12th of June, but for farmers, the referendum decision comes on the 20th of May. That's the date Mandelson will be in Geneva and he has a decision to make."

"If the sell out goes ahead on the 20th May in Geneva, then I will not ask farmers to support a Commission that has destroyed the future of our farming and food industry. That is my clear message to President Barroso."

In January Walshe had recommended a YES vote.

During his speech on April 18 at the University of Cork, Mr Barroso implicitly responded when he said that Ireland would be able to preserve its economic model if it backed the Treaty.

He said: "Agriculture will be part of the modernization agenda of the Union. We will build a European agriculture for the future, which respects the social and economic well-being of the farmers; guarantees the right of Europeans to have quality food; and maintains a prosperous rural life, with strong rural communities and an efficient and working rural economy, which is a core part of the European way of living."

Merkel to promote Treaty in Ireland, as voters remain undecided

German Chancellor Angela Merkel was in Dublin on April 14 to discuss the benefits of the Lisbon Treaty, shortly after a national poll had showed that 60 percent of Irish voters are still undecided about whether they will back the paper, which was signed in Lisbon last December.

According to a poll published last week by the Irish Sun, which surveyed about 1,000 Irish people, 28 percent said they would vote in favour, 12 opposed it. Only 6 percent declared they fully understood the changes that the Treaty would bring, whereas 40 percent said they had little undestanding and 25 percent no understanding at all.

Chancellor Merkel, speaking in Dublin, encouraged the voters to approve the Treaty, saying that it would be beneficial "even to sceptics". She assured that there would be no superstate in Europe, and that the new rules were to benefit Europe as a whole, but Ireland and individual states as well.

Irish PM Bertie Ahern, who will leave his post in May to fight allegations of financial irregularities, has backed the Treaty and assured that his country will gain from it. His successor next month has pledged to continue to highlight the benefits of a "yes" vote before the June referendum.

Speaking last week before Merkel's arrival, and ahead of Commission President Barroso's visit to Ireland on April 17, Ahern said: "The number, and stature, of our European visitors this week and next is testimony to our standing in Europe. (...) It is a good time to be Irish. And it is a great time to be an Irish European."

Most politicians support the Treaty, although some organisations are campaigning vigorously against it. One of them, Libertas, speaking about Merkel's and Barroso's visits, has denounced a "foreign interference".

Libertas Chairman Declan Ganley said that their visit "intended to boost support for the Lisbon Treaty" and would be conducted in the "most message-controlled manner possible".Ireland will be the only EU member state to have a referendum on the Treaty, which in the intentions of its makers should simplify the functioning of the EU institutions.

Austria ratifies Lisbon Treaty amid protests

The Austrian Parliament ratified on April 9 the Lisbon Treaty, despite some protests which were held in the country by some minority groups demanding a referendum.

The treaty was approved by a large majority, with 151 votes in favour and 27 against the new charter, which would make EU legislation simpler and EU institutions more effective once it comes into force next year.

The Social Democratic Party (SPOe), the People's Party (OeVP), both in the "grand coalition" government, and the Green Party all backed the treaty, agreeing that it would represent a progress for Austria.

However two small far-right opposition parties voted against the treaty, saying it would endanger national sovereignity, and have campaigned since last December, when EU leaders signed the new document in Lisbon.

Some 1,000 people staged a protest the day before the ratification in the streets of Vienna, asking for a referendum.

The Parliamentary session went on for eight hours before the ratification itself took place in the evening. Chancellor Alfred Gusenbauer, during the parliamentary debate, highlighted that the ratification represented an "important, necessary and right step" for his country, according to the International Herald Tribune.

Austria is the eighth EU member state which has ratified the treaty, as of now. In the last ten years, the country has seen a wave of Euro-scepticism that was fomented by far-right leaders, including current governor of Carinthia and former leader of the Austrian Freedom Party Chancellor Jörg Haider, known at home and abroad for his extremist views.