The Fine Gael Leader, Enda Kenny, claimed in the Dail yesterday that the interference of the EU Commission and Council of Ministers in the budgetary affairs of Member States was “completely contrary to the Lisbon Treaty.”
Deputy Kenny boasted to his EPP colleagues in April 2009 in Warsaw, regarding the Lisbon Treaty, that he would “lead the campaign for a YES vote in Ireland when the issue is put to our people for a second time later this year.” Either Deputy did not know what he was asking the Irish people to vote for or he is deceiving them now.
As I pointed out in an article that I wrote in Village Magazine during the Lisbon Campaign last autumn:
“. . . .the Irish people must be strongly alerted to new proposals in the Lisbon Treaty, which along with provisions in the existing treaties, would substantially reduce their democratic control over measures that could be taken to address such crises. [regarding budget deficits and borrowing - JH]
“Lisbon clearly hands far more power to deal with deficits and borrowing to the EU Commission and out of the control of individual Member States and their people. This change can have very far reaching implications. The current Fianna Fáil/Green Party Government is implementing a policy of “slash and burn” as far as public services and the living standards of working people are concerned. They refuse to embark on a policy of major investment into public projects which could be used as a lever to halt job losses, create new jobs and reverse the growing, catastrophic level of unemployment.
“However, there could be governments in the near future which would be forced to take such a path in response to massive pressure and mobilisation of working people and the unemployed. This would require flexibility in the size of the deficit and borrowing requirements. If Lisbon is passed, the EU Commission would do all in its power to block such a move, no matter what the big majority of citizens might want. Under the current treaties the EU Commission can merely make recommendations to the Council of Finance Ministers that some action be taken where a Member State has a high deficit and borrowings. A Protocol attached to Lisbon for the future fixes a maximum allowable Budget deficit of 3% of Gross Domestic Product and borrowing of 60% of GDP.
“The Lisbon changes enshrined in the new Article 126 (TFEU) strengthens the hand of the Commission to demand of the Ministers of Finance strong action to force governments to comply with EU requirements. Henceforth where it is decided that a Member State has breached the guidelines, the Council of Finance Ministers ‘shall adopt’ recommendations from the EU Commission “with a view to bringing that situation to an end within a given period.” These recommendations can be “to invite the European Investment Bank to reconsider its lending policy toward the Member State concerned.” This is a direct threat that the EU will use its power to block loans for investment to such a Member State. Other sanctions are “to require the Member State concerned to make a non-interest-bearing deposit of an appropriate size with the EU until the excessive deficit has, in the view of the Council, been corrected” and “to impose fines of an appropriate size.”
One would look in vain on the Fine Gael website for any past reference to the Growth and Stability Pact. The process under discussion at EU level is simply making the above Lisbon provision a reality. Fine Gael cannot shirk its responsibility along with the rest of the political establishment who hid this undemocratic feature of the treaty from the people during the referendum debate.
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