Main focus of Wednesday, February 29, 2012

Irish to vote on EU fiscal compact

Prime Minister Kenny has yet to name a date for the referendum. (© ddp images/AP)

The Irish government announced on Tuesday that it would put the EU fiscal compact to a referendum. If the pact is rejected the country will lose its entitlement to loans from the ESM bailout fund. The decision puts Ireland's economic recovery at risk, commentators warn, and call on opponents to the pact to at least work out reasonable alternatives.

Ireland must opt in

Ireland is set to hold a referendum on joining the EU fiscal compact for tighter budgetary discipline. A rejection of the pact would have fatal consequences for the country, writes the left-liberal daily Süddeutsche Zeitung: "If they don't accept the fiscal pact they will be excluded from the bailout packages of the European fund. That would mean that Ireland would pretty soon be at the mercy of the market forces. Speculators could gleefully devote themselves to making their bets and ruining the country. The fragile economic recovery is therefore once again at risk. A drama to which there is now only one solution: a quick vote and a clear result. It is in the interest of the Irish to accept the pact. Otherwise the country will be beyond help." (29/02/2012)

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Who's saying what » Ways out of the debt crisis

Irish referendums evoke bad memories

The planned referendum in Ireland on the fiscal pact brings back bad memories of the two plebiscites on EU treaties, writes the liberal daily Corriere del Ticino: "The way out of the crisis seems to be growing longer and longer. Although unlike with the earlier referendums on the EU treaties of Nice and Lisbon a no from the Irish can't prevent the fiscal compact from coming into effect because ratification by 12 states is sufficient. But the Irish prime minister's announcement is enough to awake memories of the nightmare the EU went through for years because of the two failed referendums. So Ireland may deprive itself of the help it needs from the future ESM bailout fund. And that won't exactly improve the tense mood." (29/02/2012)

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Who's saying what » Ways out of the debt crisis

Nay sayers must present alternatives

If the Irish don't go along with the fiscal compact they must be aware of the consequences, warns the liberal daily Irish Examiner: "Those who would oppose it, rather than just reject it because they are justifiably angry about so many of the ugly, inequitable consequences of losing economic independence, must present a viable, alternative way of financing this bankrupt state. That must be the litmus test of any proposal other than ratification. ... This is a pivotal, decisive moment and the focus must be on the specific issue of the treaty, not the myriad and disheartening consequences of economic collapse." (29/02/2012)

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