letter to the editor from Richard Corbett MEP |
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8th April 2008 |
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Newcastle Journal |
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Dear Editor, Phillip Warren (letters, April 1st) claims the European Parliament voted against respecting the result of the Irish referendum on the spurious ground that it decided not to add a specific statement on this to a resolution evaluating the treaty. As the author of the resolution, allow me to explain why we rejected an amendment that would have added such a statement. First, such a statement was not necessary as every EU treaty needs to be ratified by every single member state. It therefore goes without saying that the Lisbon Treaty could not come into force if the Irish voted no to it in their referendum. Second, the amendment referred only to Ireland, whereas every country's decision has equal status. If any country - not just Ireland - says no, the treaty cannot enter into force. This situation may strike some readers as undemocratic - why should one country's decision prevail over all the others (or two, as when France and the Netherlands rejected the constitution, thereby causing it to be abandoned)? - but it shows that the EU rulebook is something that has to be agreed by all of its member countries. Yours, Richard Corbett Labour MEP for Yorkshire & Humber
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