NICE - WHY IT HAS TO BE YES!
The Talking Head - October 16, 2002
With just three days left before we go to the polls in the Nice Referendum, campaign developments have only strengthened my belief that a ‘Yes’ vote is in the interests of the gay community and Irish society in general.
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 With just three days left before we go to the polls in the Nice Referendum, campaign developments have only strengthened my belief that a ‘Yes’ vote is in the interests of the gay community and Irish society in general. There are many reasons why we should vote in favour of the Nice Treaty. It would be completely wrong to exclude or even delay the admittance of the applicant countries that are eligible to join under the Treaty. Also an enlarged EU (and despite the misleading statements of the ‘No’ side that’s what this vote is essentially about) means a more modern and civilised Europe. Poland, Slovakia, Slovenia etc. are in many ways similar to the Ireland of the early 1970’s when we were allowed to join the EEC. They are traditional countries with, for the most part, strongly conservative laws on social issues. However this will invariably change if the Nice Treaty goes through and they are allowed to join. Our gay brothers and sisters living in these developing Eastern European countries would certainly benefit from EU membership. All member states of the EU are obliged to conform with basic anti-discrimination measures which includes protection for the community. Like Irish society before we joined the EEC, most of the applicant countries are hostile to gay rights. However if we give them the green light to join on Saturday, their governments will be forced to adopt anti-discrimination policies as a condition for joining and, as history has shown, being part of Europe also enlightens citizens attitudes on issues such as gay rights. Does anyone seriously believe that the dramatic changes that have occurred in Irish society over the past number of years would have happened even if we were not part of the EU?! The link is obvious. Vote ‘YES’ TO IMPROVE THE RIGHTS OF GAY PEOPLE AND OTHER MINORITIES IN EASTERN EUROPE. From our experience as a community we, more than most, should be keenly aware of the damage caused by exclusion and narrow mindedness. For so long Irish gays were treated as second class citizens, criminals in our own country. Any gay voter contemplating voting ‘No’ on Saturday should realise that such a vote would be a vote in favour of exclusion. It would also be an incredibly narrow minded thing to do – it would be saying that those applicant countries desperate to join and EU that they are not worthy to share in the great success story that is the European project. That they are destined to forever remain second class citizens in the continent of Europe. And have no doubt about it - That’s how it would be interpreted by the citizens of those countries if we voted No. A ‘YES’ VOTE IS A VOTE FOR INCLUSION; A ‘NO’ VOTE IS A VOTE FOR EXCLUSION. Although a ‘No’ vote would not see us withdrawing from the EU, it would certainly weaken our position. We would lose the trust and friendship of the other members and be rightfully dismissed as obstructionists who are only in Europe for the amount of money we can squeeze out of it. Is that the message we really want to send out on Saturday? I hope not. Europe has had a positive influence on this country, not just confined to economic matters. Unquestionably the improvement in gay rights is directly linked to our strong involvement in the EU. A ‘Yes’ vote on Saturday will continue to see us playing our full part in Europe, except in a bigger and more exciting Union. A ‘No’ vote will set in train a series of events that will see us becoming marginalised and sidelined in the decision making process in Brussels. In effect we would be on the periphery of Europe both geographically and spiritually. Polls conducted during the campaign indicate that the main reason stopping people voting for an enlarged Europe is concerns over neutrality. When the Greens and groups like Afri trot out the old line that our neutral status would be jeopardised by a ‘Yes’ vote I say look at the history. These prophets of doom have been arguing since 1972 (when we voted to join the EEC) that neutrality is incompatible with membership and have repeated this unfounded claim at every Euro vote taken since then. However we have remained militarily neutral in all those years and this will continue to be case if we vote in favour of Nice at the weekend. In fact our neutrality will be constitutionally protected for the first time if we say ‘Yes’. Although I believed it was unnecessary because Nice has nothing to do with neutrality, the government got the Seville Declaration inserted into the Treaty which specifically prohibits Ireland joining any European Common Defence that might emerge at some future date. The great irony is that far from weakening our neutral status a ‘Yes’ vote would actually strengthen it because if Nice is passed we could only join a Euro army if the people approved such a move in a new referendum. As things stand now our neutrality is subject to the whim of the government of the day. A YES VOTE WILL PROTECT NEUTRALITY. I can well understand why people would be tempted to use next Saturday as a stick to beat this extraordinarily inept government with. However I would say – hold your fire; wait in the long grass and hit Bertie and Mary when it really matters – at the next general election. Regardless of how we would on Nice, the sad fact is that thanks to the dishonest campaign they waged last May we are stuck with Fianna Fail and the PD’s for the next five years. A No to Nice won’t shorten their tenure in office by one day but it will dash the hopes and dreams of a whole generation of people who want to experience the same benefits of EU membership that we have enjoyed. I am a passionate about the EU. I consider it one of the great success stories of the 20th century. It’s a vehicle for social and economic advancement that dragged this country out of the dark ages. I consider myself just as much European as I do Irish and I see no contradiction in that statement. I want to see us become more integrated into Europe not less. I also want to see a bigger and stronger Europe exerting its influence on the world stage. At a time when the world is becoming increasingly polarised between the United States and the Middle East, it’s more important than ever for an enlarged Europe to come together and advance the cause of peace, tolerance and social liberalism. These values are confined to only certain parts of the States and are completely absent in the Arab world whose countries are, without exception, run by despots where gay people are persecuted and in certain cases sentenced to death!! Europe, to put it mildly, has a slightly different perspective on these matters. So come out on Saturday and show your continued support for Europe and all the benefits that it brings. VOTE YES AND KEEP IRELAND AT THE HEART OF EUROPE! >> Voice your opinion about this issue here.
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