Lisbon Treaty rejected – respect the will of the people

international | eu | press release Friday June 13, 2008 13:18 by Campaign Against EU Constitution - www.sayno.ie 085 7131903, 01 8727912, 086 1787925

The Irish people have spoken. Contrary to the predictions of social and political turmoil, we believe that hundreds of millions of people across Europe will welcome the rejection of the Lisbon Treaty. The proposals to further reduce democracy, to militarise the EU and to let private business take over public services have been rejected. Lisbon is dead. Along with the EU Constitution from which it came, it should now be buried.

Press Statement, June 13, 2008 – immediate release

Press conference at 17.00, Buswells Hotel, Molesworth St, Dublin 2

Campaign Against EU Constitution – www.sayno.ie

Lisbon Treaty rejected – respect the will of the people

The Irish people have spoken. Contrary to the predictions of social and political turmoil, we believe that hundreds of millions of people across Europe will welcome the rejection of the Lisbon Treaty. The proposals to further reduce democracy, to militarise the EU and to let private business take over public services have been rejected. Lisbon is dead. Along with the EU Constitution from which it came, it should now be buried.

We call on the Irish government and those who supported this Treaty to respect the will of the Irish people and abandon this failed Treaty: there must be no re-run, like they did with Nice.

We call on the European Commission, the European Parliament, and the governments of the Member States of the EU to respect the will of the Irish people: there must be no more threats or attempts to bully the people.

This vote shows the gulf that exists between the politicians and the elites of Europe, and the opinions of the people. As in France and the Netherlands, the political leaders and the establishment have done everything they could to push this through – and they have failed.

We call for a change of direction. We call for a halt to European militarisation and reductions in arms spending – with the money going to socially useful projects.

We call for a halt to the privatisation of all public services, and the exclusion of public services from the dictats of the market.

We call for an end to the central role given to the markets and the banks in deciding how society should be run: we want serious measures to stop the race to the bottom and protect workers rights, to deal with unemployment and poverty, to end inequality and oppression, and to reverse global warming.

We call for a change in European relations with developing countries, giving priority to the needs of the peoples of the 'global south'; and for the real prioritising of human rights – not support for repressive regimes because they do favours for European states or businesses.

We call for the peoples of Europe to now take a leading role in deciding our common future. This is no longer an issue for Ireland alone. The future of Europe is for the people of Europe to decide. We will not tolerate a situation where, over time, focus is returned to the question of how Ireland might be made to 'vote right'. Where Lisbon represented a denial of democracy for the overwhelming majority of the population of the EU area, we now call on the people of Europe to reclaim their democratic right to decide their own future.

For a social, demilitarised and democratic Europe !

Ends.

For information and comment: 085 7131903, 01 8727912, 086 1787925