The Taoiseach has launched the Government's referendum campaign in favour of the Nice Treaty. The campaign includes a declaration that many of the things said by those opposing it bear little or no relationship to reality. Mr Ahern said that the Treaty meant that the doors were being opened to EU membership for the countries of Eastern Europe. The Treaty of Nice, he said, would not create a two-tier Europe, nor would it create a European Army.
The Taoiseach dismissed suggestions by Sinn Féin that the Treaty would lead to a Federal European super state. Launching the party's Anti-Nice Treaty campaign in Dublin today, Gerry Adams argued that the Treaty was not about letting other states share in the benefits of EU membership. He said that it would further erode Irish neutrality and independent foreign policy.
The Taoiseach said that the Treaty had nothing to do with policies on moral or family issues. He said that he believed the voters would not be swayed by unfounded fears or reckless claims. Many of these claims, he said, had been made before by the long-standing opponents of Irish membership of the EU. Time and again, he added, they had been proven to be false. The Treaty will be voted upon on 7 June.
