Last week the Legal Guarantees negotiated between the Irish Government and its European partners were published. What follows is a brief explanation of the content and legal force of the guarantees, with a link to a full report.

CONTENT

Research done after the rejection of the Lisbon Treaty last year showed that the Irish people had a number of key concerns with the Treaty. These concerns needed to be addressed if a New Deal was to be offered to the Irish people.

Commissioner – The concern most cited by the Irish was the loss of a commissioner. A decision in the European Council in December 2008 made sure that Ireland, and every other member state, will permanently keep a commissioner.

Taxation – The guarantees state explicitly that the European Union will have no influence on a Member States direct Taxation policy. This includes Corporation tax.

Right to life, family, and education – The legal guarantees specifically reference the Irish constitution, and guarantee that the European Union will not interfere with the fundamental rights guaranteed in this document.

Security and defence – The guarantees enforce the Union’s respect for the Irish policy of military neutrality. They also confirm that the Treaty of Lisbon does not provide for a European Army, or for conscription to any military formation whatsoever.

LEGAL FORCE

The guarantees are legally binding on all members of the European Union, as they are an international agreement. The member states all clearly express that the guarantees are legally binding on them in the document. Furthermore the guarantees will be lodged with the United Nations alongside the Lisbon Treaty upon ratification. To put the issue beyond any doubt whatsoever the guarantees will further be made into a protocol at the earliest possible date, most likely upon Croatia’s accession to the EU.

For further analysis of the legal guarantees, please click here for an independent report on the matter.

At the EU Council Summit (Friday, 19 June), Ireland and the other Member States agreed a package of legal guarantees that will mean that we will have a permanent Irish Commissioner, and that our neutrality, our corporate tax rate and our position on abortion will not be affected by the Lisbon Treaty. We will be posting a full guide to the guarantees and what they mean for you as part of our ‘Guide to the Lisbon Treaty’ later this week.

We will also be holding public information meetings explaining the Lisbon Treaty in the light of the new guarantees throughout the summer. Look out for details on here or on facebook.

On Friday, we hosted our first online townhall event, with Commission Vice-President Margot Wallstrom. We decided we wanted to go with a quirky venue and someone suggested IKEA’s new store in Ballymun – seeing as like Margot, it’s Swedish, and it’s also a place where jobs are being created through trade with other European countries, we went with it!

The event was great fun, and a surprisingly big operation. We got plenty of questions submitted online through Uservoice, YouTube and email and it made for some interesting discussion, which was streamed live online. As a first-time interviewer, I was a little uncertain about the whole undertaking, but Margot was completely relaxed, and the whole thing was pretty enjoyable.

One of the most refreshing things about the event, was just how down-to-earth and honest Margot was. I was surprised to hear her condemn Poland’s position on the Copenhagen Climate talks (the successor to Kyoto). She was adamant that the EU has to speak with one voice, and give leadership on Climate Change. She was equally adamant that Poland “needs to get its act together”. Strong words.

Thanks to everyone who helped out organising the whole operation, especially Jaclyn, Sharon, Gregg, Michael and Dave.

We might look at running more events like this, depending on feedback. We had about 70 people there, and over 100 watching online. So, what did you think?

You will need to have flash installed to view this video.

We’re hosting a bloggers meet up in the Odean, on Sunday 14th, at 2 p.m.

ustream of event here at 2 p.m.:
Video clips at Ustream
We’re going to ustream the event here on www.generationyes.ie in case you can’t make it.

If anyone is interested in coming along, do. You can get to know what the campaign is about and ask us any questions you have.
If you’re interested, gimma a shout on dave@generatonyes.ie

Dave.

Margot Wallstrom, Vice-President of the European Commission, will take questions from Irish youth on Europe, the EU, and the upcoming Lisbon Treaty. The event is taking place in the Ikea store in Ballymun in Dublin, and will be webcast below at a point just after 1pm on Friday the 12th of June.

Make sure to have Flash installed in order to watch the video.

On Friday next (June 12th), we’re hosting an interview with Margot Wallström, Vice President of the European Commission, and we want you to be there. The interview will be a live @ 1:30 pm., online Town-Hall style discussion and you get to decide which questions should be discussed.

Margot is the EU’s most senior female official, and if you’ve ever wondered what the Commission does, or who they are - now’s your chance!

For the week leading up to the event, you can go online and submit and vote on questions about the EU, its future, and the challenges it faces. Margot will discuss the most voted issues in front of a live audience and the whole show will be streamed live online.

This is your chance to put questions to the people Libertas call “faceless bureaucrats” and see what’s actually going on with the EU
We’re holding the event in IKEA’s new store in Ballymun – like Margot, IKEA is Swedish and it’s one of the few places in Ireland where jobs are being created. There will be plenty of free Swedish food and refreshments for all who come, and we will have a bus to bring people from O’Connell Street at 11am.

Why don’t you come along? Email Jaclyn@generationyes.ie to RSVP.

If you can’t make the event itself, take part by submitting a question here: wallstrom.generationyes.ie

The event will be streamed live on this website.

What a fortnight! Generation YES has now hit Cork, Limerick, Galway, Letterkenny, Waterford and Dublin. If you missed us you can easily keep track of events around the country by checking out our facebook page. Please come along if you can, we want as many people as possible to stand up and be counted in the fight for Lisbon, and the future of our country.

We have spent a lot of time so far focusing on Third Level campuses, as all the students will be going away for the summer. However, we are now turning our attention very much to those outside the college network. So if you are a graduate, or never went to college, please come along to one of our regional events, again details are on the facebook page, and will be posted here soon.

Bart - Director of Recruitment