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."
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