James Downey on the Treaty of Lisbon

The Irish Independent comments on the rekindled debate over the Treaty of Lisbon: "The battle lines have been drawn again in the Lisbon debate and we can now see them with a clarity denied to us before the June fiasco, when the 'No' campaigners befuddled so many voters with their garbage about sovereignty, abortion and the detention of three-year-old children. Nothing less faces us - and Europe - than a choice between liberal democracy and the unholy alliance between the 'economic right' and the fundamentalists. ... We have already experienced a diminution in our standing which may never be repaired. However, this is small potatoes compared with the worst-case scenarios for Europe and Ireland. The EU could fragment, becoming starkly exposed to disastrous economic and security consequences. In such a scenario, the large countries would protect themselves. They would have little interest in protecting Ireland. Our economy would be wrecked. Our currency would become worthless, like that of Iceland, unless we managed to stay in the currency union. And our security and economic dependence on Britain would increase. In other words, we would lose the independence Irish political leaders laboured for in the past. Does anyone want that?"

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