Lisbon Treaty will lead to quicker decisions Dukes

THE LISBON Treaty sets out to modernise and streamline the governing system of the European Union so that decisions can be made more quickly and effectively in the interest of its member states,  according to former leader of Fine Gael Alan Dukes.

The treaty will also enshrine a Charter of Fundamental Rights in European Law which takes most
of its inspiration from the European Convention on Human Rights, he said.

Mr Dukes said: "The Lisbon Treaty is the latest in a series of treaties that modify the original Treaty of Rome passed over 50 years ago. It sets out to equip the European Union as it is today better to deal with the world around it."

The national vice-president of Fine Gael was speaking in Cork last night at a national public meeting on the Lisbon Treaty held by the Fine Gael party, which is advocating a Yes vote. The event was one of the party's series of 30 national public meetings on the charter which began in Dublin last week.

The Government has yet to announce a date for the referendum, but Taoiseach Bertie Ahern is believed to favour early June.

A former director general of the Institute of European Affairs, Mr Dukes said many of the opponents
of Lisbon and other treaties were against handing over power to the "faceless bureaucrats in
Brussels".

However, he said that in reality, the European parliament was a far more influential body than almost
any individual parliament in any of the 27 member states. And the bureaucrats in Brussels were a
good deal more accessible than most bureaucrats in national governments.

"I would have been very happy when I was in Dáil Éireann if I had the powers they have in the European Parliament. We have the type of situation where the Government decide what legislation they
want, produce a Bill and bring it into parliament. You rarely find any real negotiation."

© 2008 The Irish Times

This article appears in the print edition of the Irish Times