Ireland rebuff spurs commission into action

Now commissioners are promising to make more effort to explain and simplify the EU’s workings - implying that the Irish would not have delivered a ‘‘No’’ vote if they fully realised what was at stake.

The Nice Treaty must be ratified by all 15 EU Parliaments to pave the way for EU enlargement.

Without the Treaty’s provisions for major changes in the running of the EU, the whole project could be scuppered.

But Ireland put the Treaty to a referendum vote and it is feared in Brussels that a wider protest against Europe inadvertently netted the ‘‘no’’ to enlargement.

Commission president Romano Prodi expressed disappointment and conceded: ‘‘This situation undoubtedly underlines the need for greater efforts from all of us to explain Europe to our citizens and to involve them more thoroughly in the debate about the Union, its role and its future direction.’’

The Irish EU Commissioner David Byrne agreed: ‘‘We need to examine the reasons why the Irish people have taken this dramatic decision to reject the Nice Treaty.

‘‘I believe there is considerable confusion about the treaty, what it means and more particularly what its implications are. This is not unique to Ireland.

‘‘Clearly we all need to do more to explain what is taking place in the EU and to have a greater involvement of the public in the debate on the future direction of the Union.

‘‘While the Irish people have spoken, I do not believe that fundamentally they wish to stand in the way of enlarging the Union and the contribution enlargement will make to peace and prosperity in the candidate countries.

‘‘I would be confident that, with sufficient reflection, consideration and assurance, the Irish people will in time be in a position to endorse the enlargement of the EU.’’

The deadline for ratifying the treaty is the end of next year, leaving the Government and the commission plenty of time to get the process back on track.

But the rejection is a setback and a reminder that the workings of the EU remain a mystery to most people.

A commission spokesman said it was too early to tell whether the Irish people had rejected the treaty because they did not understand it, or because they did not like it.

He said: ‘‘There are probably multiple causes, but we must respond to our citizens. We need more democracy, more involvement and more enlightenment.

‘‘I say that with all humility. We take due and humble account of what the Irish are telling us. The commission is well aware that we need to make a greater effort to involve citizens in the EU.

‘‘The Nice Treaty is complex and it is not the most user-friendly text, nobody would pretend otherwise. These are complex matters. Enlargement is the great goal in Europe.’’

The hiccup will now be discussed by EU foreign ministers meeting in Luxembourg on Monday, with no-one precisely clear about the legal and political implications of the Irish vote.

Mr Prodi said: ‘‘The objective of an enlarged Europe must be realised. We must now find the most appropriate way to pursue the goals of the Nice Treaty. Our will to secure the accession of new members must be clearly demonstrated."

Ironically the only EU country to have ratified the Nice Treaty so far is Denmark - which set the commission into a similar frenzy in 1992 by rejecting the Maastricht Treaty in a referendum.

On that occasion the Danish government staged a second referendum, rewording the question about approving the Treaty and it scraped through.

The leader of Britain’s Labour MEPs Simon Murphy said: ‘‘The message from this result is that you have to involve people.

‘‘National concerns and national interests cannot be overlooked. It is hardly surprising that there is no enthusiasm for this if you don’t explain what it is about.

‘‘EU leaders hatched this treaty over four days in Nice last December and people genuinely don’t understand what is going on. You cannot move ahead faster in Europe than the pace at which the public is willing to be taken.’’