Wednesday, June 13, 2001

Czechs, EU downplay Irish 'no' vote Officials insist enlargement sure despite Nice rejection By Michael Mainville Czech and European Union officials are putting on a brave face after Irish voters unexpectedly rejected the Nice Treaty, which paves the way for EU enlargement into Central and Eastern Europe. "It was a surprise to everyone, but it is no reason for dramatic assessments," said Libor Secka, the Czech envoy to the EU. "We do not believe this will have a concrete impact on the enlargement process." Fifty-four percent of Irish voters rejected the Nice Treaty in a June 7 referendum marked by low turnout. The treaty overhauls how the EU operates in order to prepare the union for the entry of 12 former Eastern bloc nations, including the Czech Republic, Poland, Hungary and Slovakia. The EU's 15 member states have until the end of 2002 to ratify the treaty, negotiated during an acrimonious summit in the French city of Nice last December. Ireland is the only EU nation required by its constitution to hold a referendum on the treaty. Anti-treaty groups had argued that Ireland would lose influence in the EU under the treaty and would have to contribute additional funds to pay for regional development in Eastern Europe. But observers say Irish voters were most influenced by another aspect of the Nice pact -- the creation of a common defense and security policy, including the setting up of a 60,000-strong rapid-reaction force. Observers said the Irish rejection was largely a result of the defense project, which campaigners against the Nice deal argued would jeopardize Ireland's prized neutrality. "My understanding from talking to the Irish ambassador and others is that the main reason [for the rejection] was the military aspects of the Nice Treaty," Secka said. EU officials now believe they can make the Nice Treaty more palatable to Irish voters by changing its wording to reflect their concerns. Some have suggested, for example, that Ireland could be given an opt-out on the defense portion of the treaty, as was done when Denmark negotiated opt-outs from the EU's 1992 Maastricht Treaty on military cooperation and the euro. A new version of the treaty would then be put to another vote by the end of this year. Michael Mainville's e-mail address is mmainville@praguepost.cz