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The Nice Treaty - why Fine Gael is advocating a "Yes" vote on June 7th
The Nice Treaty is about the hope of a stable, peaceful and prosperous future for the nations of Europe. It is about creating a European Union, which is able to welcome in as many as 13 new member states and 180 million more people.
Fine Gael supports the idea of the Treaty of Nice as an important milestone in the development of a new, expanded Europe. There is an onus on everyone to display a commitment to Europe, to be generous towards the principles of the European Union and to show the applicant states the benefits we have obtained from membership of the EU.
We can often forget the fact that in 1973, when we applied to and became a member state of the EU, we were a poor country. We were crippled with borrowings and damned by emigration. We must take that picture of Ireland and place it against what we now are. Ireland is now a prosperous, modern, forward-looking country. We must acknowledge that it was our membership of the European Community, which contributed greatly to this change.
Enlargement of the European Union is an opportunity, not a threat. It will be seen as the major act of greatness of the European Union at the start of the 21st Century. The Nice Treaty changes are reasonable compromises between all EU member states to make enlargement possible. Fine Gael believes that the Irish People will see it this way and vote YES for the Nice Treaty on June 7th.
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