Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2008-12-16-Speech-2-253"
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"en.20081216.31.2-253"2
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"Mr President, I fully support the last statement by Tunne Kelam.
It was an important summit with an important agenda. I would like to acknowledge and thank the French presidency for its untiring work on the recovery package and the climate and energy package. But for now I would like to concentrate on a third important agenda item.
Last week at the summit, our Taoiseach and Minister for Foreign Affairs secured a positive response from all the other heads of government to the concerns expressed on 12 June 2008 by a majority of Irish voters when they said ‘no’ to the question of ratifying the Lisbon Treaty. To those Member States which had doubts about aspects of what we were seeking, as our Minister Martin put it, I thank you for making the effort to accommodate us, with a Commissioner all round and legal guarantees on taxation, neutrality, the right to life, education and the family. There will still be those who continue to argue against a second referendum. However, the majority of the Irish continue to acknowledge and fully appreciate our EU membership, particularly at this time of unprecedented global economic difficulty, when marginalisation and loss of influence cannot be an option for us and when unfettered access to the single market of 500 million consumers is critical for Irish exports – including our delicious pig meat by the way – so we can trade our way back into growth.
There is a ‘but’ and that is that our increasingly hapless and rudderless government will have to do what it failed to do in June, which is to put its collective shoulder to the wheel and explain the Treaty, its purpose and its benefits. If not, its members’ realisation that they will otherwise be out of the door will perhaps their concentrate minds."@en1
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