Damaging blow to democracy

On February 20, the European Parliament in Strasbourg approved the Lisbon Treaty, a document that is more or less the same as the EU Constitution, which had already been rejected by the French and the Dutch voters. Before the vote was taken, a debate was held in the EU Parliament on the Corbett-de Vigo Report on the Lisbon Treaty, and some amendment proposals were made to this report. One of these amendments - Amendment No. 32 - asked that the European Parliament "undertake to respect the outcome of the referendum in Ireland". In other words: Should the European Parliament respect the result of the Irish referendum on the Lisbon Treaty, which is likely to be held in June 2008?

To no surprise this proposed amendment was rejected by 499 MEPs. Only 129 voted in favour of this motion and 33 abstained. That means that the European Parlaiment is telling the Irish people that Europe does not care what they say on the Lisbon Treaty. That is a further step in the decline of a democratic culture in the European Union.

Żminijietna - Voice of the Left believes that the European Parliament is using all methods to ratify this treaty at any cost. The Irish referendum now seems to have no value for the European Union. The majority of MEPs are losing their respect for democracy and the people they ought to represent. MEPs are using the mandate which was given to them by democratic means to seriously damage democracy.