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| Europe |
| Ireland Shocks Europe With Plans For A Referendum On The EU's Fiscal Treaty |
| 2012-02-29 |
| Premier Enda Kenny said Dublin was acting on legal advice from Ireland's attorney-general that "on balance" the fiscal compact requires a vote under the country's constitution. "It gives the Irish people the opportunity to reaffirm Ireland's commitment to membership of the euro," he told ashen-faced members of the Dail. All three major parties back the treaty but analysts say there is a high risk of rejection by angry voters in the current fractious mood. The compact gives the EU intrusive powers to police the budgets of debtor states, and has been denounced as feudal bondage by Sinn Fein and Ireland's vociferous eurosceptics. The Irish voted "No" to both the Nice and Lisbon treaties before being made to vote again. Dublin has ruled out a second vote this time. The Taoiseach's announcement sent the euro into sharp dive against the dollar, though it rebounded later. Europe's leaders thought they had tweaked the wording of the text just enough to avoid an Irish vote. Ireland cannot stop the process since a quorum of 12 states brings the treaty into force, but it would be politically untenable to create a new eurozone structure that left one member in limbo. The fiscal compact has totemic significance in Berlin and any sign that the package is fraying may harden opposition in the Bundestag to further EMU rescue measures. Mrs Merkel suffered a serious blow on Monday when she had to rely on opposition votes to pass the Greek loan package due to mounting defections in her own ranks. Her coalition base is in revolt over demands from Brussels and the International Monetary Fund for a boost in the EU rescue machinery (ESM) to €750bn (£635bn), the unspoken condition imposed by the rest of the world for unlocking global aid. Any decision has been postponed until after this week's EU summit. The new requests would push the German share of the funding to well over €300bn, breaching a €211bn ceiling set by the Bundestag in September. Ireland will continue to receive loans under its €67bn package from the EU-ECB-IMF "Troika" even if it votes "No" but would be in serious trouble if it needed a second package later. The fiscal compact forbids to use of the ESM bail-out fund for non-signatories. |
| Posted by:Anonymoose |
| #2 I strongly suspect that other countries will suddenly realize that "Golly, we forgot to have a referendum on this, which we will *have* to have before it goes into effect. Because of, you know, stuff." Aka, rats can be very perceptive about the condition of a ship. |
| Posted by: Anonymoose 2012-02-29 08:28 |
| #1 "It gives the Irish people the opportunity to reaffirm Ireland's commitment to membership of the euro," he told ashen-faced members of the Dail. Fearing the will of the little people were they? Reach for your knot flask you wonk! |
| Posted by: Besoeker 2012-02-29 08:01 |