Generation YES launched in April from nothing. It was built on the hard work and enthusiasm of its members and fans, each and every one of whom played a crucial role in mobilsing the power and energy of young people from all over Ireland. Young people who were not prepared to sit by and let their country be over run by naysayers and cynics.

We were determined to roll up our sleeves and get stuck into a debate about the future of our country.  We made sure that the electorate were not patronised, but were instead confronted with the substantive benefits brought in by the Lisbon Treaty.

The numbers speak for themselves; 3630 hours spent canvassing, 5000 facebook fans, 21415 website views, 180000 leaflets distributed. We could go on, but you get a sense of the scale of the campaign, a scale made possible by the contribution made by everyone of you.  We mobilised not only our own target audience, of 18-30 year olds, but we regularly heard that people outside of our age group were influenced by our campaign, as energy, enthusiasm, and the refusal to talk down to people won us friends in all sorts of places.

Ours was a victory of rationality over fear, of the power of engagement over apathy. It was a victory made possible by a committed team of volunteers who worked incredibly hard with the aim of securing Ireland’s future in Europe. But more than all of these things, it was your victory. Everyone who posted a facebook status; who talked to their family, or their friends, or their colleagues; who gave out leaflets played a role. Distribution was the key to our success, and as the numbers on our website show, distribution was something that people from all over Ireland played a part in.

This wasn’t just our victory, for proving that people can get involved and make a huge difference. It was a victory for the whole of Europe. Should the Czech Republic pass the Lisbon Treaty, which they look very likely to do, the EU will be able to take advantage of the reforms which we have been talking about for the last 5 months.  It will be able to effectively fight climate change, essential in the run up to Copenhagen. It will better combat human trafficking. The EU will become more democratic, allowing citizen’s to have a greater say. Without your efforts this would not be possible, and this is something that we should all be extremely proud of.

Gratefully yours,

The Gen YES team.

Ireland is suffering from an international crime pandemic that we cannot fight alone. Voting yes to the Lisbon Treaty will give our justice system the tools it needs to respond to the growing problem of cross- border crime and relieve the suffering it causes in our cities and towns.

In the last year, gangland shootings have almost doubled the murder rate in Ireland. The drugs problem grows steadily worse, spreading to new areas, wasting lives and fuelling these needless killings. Only last week it emerged that at least nine major Irish gangs are operating across Europe. These gangs bring weapons and drugs into Ireland with impunity, despite the best efforts of the Gardaí. NGO Ruhama say that human trafficking is on the rise. The Serious Organised Crime Agency (SOCA) has said there are strong cross-border links between mafia-style gangs, networks of traffickers of both drugs and human beings. But these are not separate issues: they are one issue: Cross- Border Crime is out of control.

Yet we are not powerless in the face of these problems- instead we must act- and act together. These issues highlight the need for a coordinated approach to crime that knows no borders. This doesn’t mean giving up control, in fact, it means the very opposite. It means European Nations taking control away from the criminals by cooperating to fight a common threat. Because the EU always acts under the principle of subsidiarity, it can only make laws where the action of individual countries is insufficient. It is a principle easily applicable to the enforcement of law and order, and particularly to the worst problems like gangs, drugs and human trafficking.

Lisbon addresses cross border crime in articles 81 to 89 of the Treaty on the functioning of the European Union. Under the new Treaty, the EU will aim to tackle “trafficking in human beings and the exploitation of women and children; illicit drug trafficking; illicit arms trafficking; money laundering; corruption; terrorism; counterfeiting of means of payment; computer crime and organised crime”. These problems are bigger than any one nation- but Lisbon isn’t just about good intentions, but delivering results in a tangible way.

Article 85 commits Eurojust, the EU’s Judicial Cooperation Unit, to the initiation and coordination of criminal investigations and prosecutions by national authorities. It strengthens judicial cooperation and the resolution of conflicts by closely cooperating with the European Judicial Network. This means that Europe’s legal systems will work to ensure that criminals don’t “slip through the net”. Lisbon will help make sure that these serious crimes are recognised in the same way all across the EU, and that the evidence needed to convict them can be shared between states.

Europol is given extended authority under Lisbon. Our European police office will be further supported and strengthened by the Gardaí and the other Member States’ police authorities. Their cooperation in combating gangs is vital in the fight against cross border crime. Members of An Garda Síochana are already based full-time with Europol in The Hague: a partnership that has been giving excellent results. Under the treaty, any operational action by Europol must be carried out with the unanimous agreement of each Member State and the application of coercive measures shall be the exclusive responsibility of the competent national authorities. This means that our own elected government, advised by the Gardaí retain full control over investigations. Europol doesn’t make arrests, instead, it facilitates the fast exchange of information; sophisticated intelligence analysis; and co-ordination, expertise and training. This is of huge benefit to our police forces. Lisbon gives Europol a stronger legal foundation while article 88 legislates for oversight by the Dáil and the European Parliament. As things stand, even where the Gardaí catch drug smugglers, they are often forced to stop there. So in 2007 out of a recorded 18, 583 controlled drug offences, 3,751 resulted in convictions. With Lisbon, there will be a network of police cooperation, facilitating and supporting the Gardaí, who will be able to track the illegal drugs from their entry point into Ireland, and a legal system that is equipped to ensure that criminals who do the cime, do the time- not go on holiday to Spain.

Cooperation between states to combat crime is a proven solution. The Maritime Analysis and Operations Centre (Narcotics) was launched in 2006. It is a seven nation European agency and has seized €11bn worth of cocaine since 2007. Experts reckon the seizures account for a massive 20% of the cocaine supply that has been sent out from South American drug cartels to European cities. Ireland was the first country to sign up to the MAOC-N centre, which is based in Lisbon. This operation is directed toward combating drug smuggling by sea- and this is only one of a number of problems. More importantly, It is a perfect example for what can be achieved when European States work together to tackle a common problem

It’s great that we can travel freely throughout Europe- we can visit friends, see new places or study in other countries. Generation YES think it’s one of the best things about being in the EU. But this freedom also entails risk. To maintain the open borders that have served us so well, we need to respond at a European level. We can keep on talking about the problem- or we can act: it’s your choice.

If you want to live in a country where those criminals who bring the very worst problems to our streets are arrested and punished, Vote YES on October 2nd

The referendum on the Lisbon Treaty will be crucial in determining the future of our country. Irish people deserve an honest debate on the real provisions in the Treaty. So it has been extremely disappointing to see organisations like Cóir presenting distortions, mistruths and downright lies as legitimate arguments for a No vote in October.

Cóir’s posters, which have gone up across the country over the weekend, show the cynical willingness of many on the No side to use any tactics to advance their narrow agenda on an issue which will have grave national consequences.

Minimum wage

One poster proclaims, “€1.84 minimum wage after Lisbon?”

This extraordinary statement is so far from the truth that most Irish people would immediately know it has no basis in reality. The EU has not currently, nor will it have under Lisbon, any power over the minimum wages of member states. Ireland’s minimum wage will be completely unaffected.

It is impossible to decipher the process by which Cóir arrived at the figure of €1.84 from the source they quote, but they appear to be referring to an already existing EU law, whereby temporary workers on short-term contracts abroad are subject to the employment laws of their own country (Posted Workers Directive). But this law is already in place, and however much we may disagree with it, Lisbon will do nothing to change it.

In fact, the Lisbon Treaty brings in a whole range of provisions which safeguard workers’ rights and make EU Treaty law far more socially progressive.

• The Charter of Fundamental Rights means that rights such as those of fair and just working conditions (Charter, Article 31), collective bargaining and action (Article 28) and prohibition of child labour (Article 32) are protected as never before.
• Article 152 (TFEU) “recognises and promotes the role of the social partners at its level, taking into account the diversity of national systems. [The EU] shall facilitate dialogue between the social partners, respecting their autonomy.”
• Article 207.4 (TFEU) gives each member state a veto on aspects of the common commercial policy “in the field of trade in social, education and health services, where these agreements risk seriously disturbing the national organisation of such services and prejudicing the responsibility of member states to deliver them.”

Lisbon will not have any impact on our minimum wage. In fact it provides for even greater social protection than is currently guaranteed in EU law.

Voting weights

Another blatant misrepresentation is Cóir’s poster suggesting that our voting strength in the Council of Ministers will be reduced to 0.8% in comparison to Germany’s 17%. This looks solely at the second of two stages in Qualified Majority Voting decision-making, that which requires a law to have the support of countries with 65% of the population of the EU. It deliberately ignores the first stage which is designed to counteract the kinds of concerns Cóir is raising.

• In the first stage, all states have one vote and 55% of countries are needed to approve a draft law (Article 16.4 TEU). Here, Ireland and Germany each have one vote and at least 15 countries need to support a proposal before it can even move on to the next stage.

• The second stage is based on population size – but no proposal can be forced through by a small number of large states if they don’t have wider support, because of the requirement for agreement from 55% of countries.

• Ireland still retains a veto over sensitive areas, including taxation (Article 113 TFEU) and defence (Article 42.4 TEU).

The bottom line is that on the most important issues to Irish people, Ireland has a veto. Where there is voting (which is extremely rare because most decisions are taken by consensus), the two-stage system means large states are counter-balanced by the need to get wide support from over 15 other states.

Farming

Cóir also make the emotive claim that Irish fishermen have been ‘milked dry’ by the EU and that if we vote Yes to Lisbon, farmers will be next.

There can be no doubt that Irish fishermen are having a hard time. However in fact the EU is not their problem: since joining Ireland has increased its catch four-fold. The problems they are facing now will not be resolved by rejecting Lisbon. Unlike Cóir, we are not prepared to simply give up on Irish fishermen, or farmers. These hardworking people are best served by Irish voices raising Irish concerns in Europe.

The Lisbon Treaty makes very few changes in the area of agriculture and fisheries. The only major difference is that the budget for the Common Agricultural Policy will now be subjected to a vote in the European Parliament, meaning that farmers will have a greater chance to influence decisions by lobbying their elected MEPs (Article 43.2 TFEU).

The Irish Farmers’ Association has come out unanimously in support of Lisbon. IFA President Padraig Walshe said, “It is in farmers’ best interests that Ireland remains at the heart of Europe influencing important decisions, particularly the review of CAP payments after 2013… A Yes vote will best position the IFA to defend Irish agriculture’s interests and meet future challenges in Europe.”

Lisbon will be good for Irish farmers, and good for Ireland as a whole.

Cutting off our nose to spite our face

Irish people need to make an informed decision on the Lisbon Treaty. We need to make the right call, for the right reasons. We need to avoid just kicking the government by voting No, when our interests lie in voting Yes. We need to not let ourselves be intimidated by the blatantly false propaganda of groups like Cóir which aren’t looking out for the good of our country but for their own agenda. The Irish people are not easily-tricked and we will make up our minds rationally based on what is actually in the Treaty. Lisbon is good for Ireland and good for Europe, and no amount twisted reasoning by the No side will change that.

Many people will have seen the emotive poster put up over the weekend by anti-Lisbon campaign group Cóir which, under a picture of Pádraig Pearse, Thomas Clarke and James Connolly, claims that, “They won your freedom. Don’t throw it away.” It is shameful to see the legacy of those who laid down their lives for our country abused to prop up an emotionally manipulative misinterpretation of the Lisbon Treaty. The EU has been at the heart of Ireland’s development over the last 30 years, enabling us to emerge from under British domination and reinvent ourselves as an outward-looking, positive force in the world.

Garret FitzGerald, former Taoiseach and son of two Irish freedom fighters, comments:

“Ninety-three years ago my parents were both in the GPO with Pearse, Connolly, and Clarke. In 1919 just before his appointment as head of the Dáil Government’s propaganda office, my father spoke of our need to go beyond securing just political independence from Britain by getting out from under other forms of dependence on that country through closer links with the rest of Europe.

“We achieved that in 1973 when, in the spirit of 1916, we at last secured our economic independence from our near neighbour, within the framework of what is now the European Union. That economic break with Britain is what enabled us virtually to treble our living standards within a generation, raising our national output per head from barely half that of Britain to a higher level than in that country.

“Let us ignore those who want us to put all that at risk by joining with Britain’s Euro-phobes to oppose Lisbon - which would threaten to draw us back again into debilitating economic dependence upon that country.”

Lisbon continues Ireland’s empowerment by protecting the areas which Ireland views as crucial to its national interest and expanding what Ireland as an equal member state of the EU can do in the wider world, standing up for the values which we share with our European partners, values of “respect for human dignity, freedom, democracy, equality, the rule of law and respect for human rights” (Article 2 TEU). As a small nation we have far more power to determine the issues which affect us when we are at the centre of the EU than we ever would on the sidelines where we would be condemned merely to suffer what others decided.

We need to focus on the Ireland of today, and what will improve the lives of our citizens now. The founding fathers fought to establish a state which would move forward and represent the interests of Irish people as they evolved – not one which would held hostage to a vision of Ireland as forever Britain’s poor relation. They fought for us to stand up and embrace the rights and the responsibilities of what it means to be a nation of the world. To do this we must stand proud at the heart of Europe.

UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon speaks at Dublin Castle

European Defence policy is based around the “Petersberg Tasks”. Composed of humanitarian and rescue tasks, peace-keeping tasks and tasks of combat forces in crisis management, including peacemaking, these objectives demonstrate not only the humanitarian focus of the EU’s Security and Defence Policy but are also proof positive of Europe’s commitment to responding to the crises in many parts of the world that have cried out for outside intervention. The Lisbon treaty will enable the Union to respond more quickly and coherently to crises by introducing a permanent President of the European Council and a single High Representative for Foreign Affairs.

On his recent visit to Dublin, Ban Ki- Moon reflected these sentiments, saying that if Ireland passes the Lisbon Treaty, it would be “completely in consistence with the goals and ideals of the United Nations”. He expressed surprise that the role of Irish military forces caused confusion during the previous referendum campaign, and drew attention to the need for regional coalitions such as the European Union to be able to respond rapidly to emerging crises with a mandate from the United Nations. He praised the Irish triple lock system, under which the UN mandate is a requirement to send peacekeepers, “not just as a matter of policy but as a matter of law”.

Referring to the Irish- led mission in Chad, he stressed the important role that EU forces play in supporting United Nations peacekeeping work, praising Ireland as an exemplary peacekeeper and an example to other nations. He drew attention to the need for closer international co-operation and greater resourcing of peacekeeping missions. He saw the EU as a model for future missions, saying “The EU offers critical donor support for peacebuilding and early recovery. It has well-developed capacities for crisis management, humanitarian relief and rapid response. And of course, the EU can deploy well-equipped missions as part of, or alongside, UN peacekeeping operations”.

The Irish triple lock, which requires the explicit approval of the Dail, the Seanad and the UN for Irish troops to be deployed mean that Ireland’s involvement in any peacekeeping operation is entirely at its own discretion- a fact that was further reconfirmed by the legal guarantees obtained by the Irish Government. These guarantees state “The Treaty of Lisbon does not affect or prejudice Ireland’s traditional policy of military neutrality”.

As Ban says “we are in this together”. Irish neutrality has always been a cornerstone of our state, and it should always continue to be. But this does not mean we should bury our heads in the sand and ignore crises in other countries. For alongside our tradition of neutrality has been a proud tradition of serving humanitarian aims in countries like Cambodia, Lebanon, Liberia, and East Timor. As Ban Ki Moon’s remarks demonstrate, The Lisbon Treaty is fully compatible with our neutrality while facilitating more effective leadership in the humanitarian realm.

Irish troops have a proud tradition. Let’s continue it.

Yesterday saw an opinion piece published in the Irish Times written by Richard Greene from Coir. This article was marked not only by the fact that it nowhere referred to a single article in the reform treaty but it also repeated an assertion that the Lisbon Treaty would somehow affect the Irish position on abortion. Coir obviously subscribe to the “If you repeat something often enough it becomes true” school of debate. We at Generation Yes think that it is past time to put this particularly baseless untruth to bed permanently. Luckily, our friends at the European Movement Ireland had a similar idea. They write: “For the record:

The Lisbon Treaty will not bring abortion into this country.

• Since 1991 we have had a protocol in EU Treaty law clarifying our position on abortion. That’s eighteen years now. And still no piece of EU legislation that has questioned or affected this Protocol. In fact, since 1973 there has not been a piece of EU law that has sought to change our position on abortion.
• The Catholic Church has confirmed that our position on abortion is not affected by the Lisbon Treaty. During the first Lisbon Referendum, Diarmuid Martin, Archbishop of Dublin said that ‘Catholics could vote for the Treaty in good conscience’.
• We are not alone. There are in fact five countries that have clear restrictive measures on abortion - Malta, Spain, Poland, Portugal and us. In fact, Malta has even stricter rules than we have.
• Just to make sure, we got an extra guarantee a couple of weeks ago from our European partners reassuring us that reasserts that our original 1991 protocol cannot be touched. “

We couldn’t have done it better ourselves! Generation Yes is committed to debating this treaty on its own merits, by referring to fact at every step of the way. This “Fight the Lies” section will continue to expose the fabrications of an unscrupulous no campaign with honest debate and clear arguments. Ireland’s position on abortion will be decided only by you, its citizens, as is firmly enshrined in both Irish and European law.

The debate around Lisbon is now beginning to take-off, with internet forums such as boards.ie providing excellent fora for debate.

Below are some of the highlights from one such discussion, which asked people to explain in a single sentence why they were voting for the treaty.

o   Ireland’s and Europe’s voices will be stronger on the world stage.

o   EU competency will be increased to a common energy policy, which should hopefully result in cheaper fuels/electricity (PopeBuckfastXVI)

o   More power to the democratically elected European Parliament

o   The Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union will be enshrined in the law.

o   Lisbon makes it easier to handle more than 27 member states. (Turgon)

o   More national influence on legislation, Irish Dáil (and other parliaments) gain early access to influence new legislation. (Blitzkrieg)

o   Making the EU more democratic-giving the parliament more power and making it more accountable. (Conchubhar1)

o   It will make the running of the EU more efficient. (Mark200)

o   Time for national parliaments to review legislation increased from 6 weeks to 8 weeks.

o   First ever exit procedure contained in the treaties.

o   The role of the EU (European Council President) is changes to a 2.5 year term, which provides continuity in the work of the EU. (Hitman Actual)

o   More power to the European Parliament. (Iwasfrozen)

o   Citizens Initiative. (Mollyjh)

o   Vastly improves the current inefficient presidency system. Finally gives Ireland a say in the choice of the president of the council, as opposed to having to accept without question whichever EU leader’s turn it is.

o   It [Lisbon] enhances the powers of the European Parliament and allows National Parliaments more of a say in EU legislation. (Ixtlan)

For the full discussion please click here.

Generation YES continues to grow, with our Dublin based team moving to bigger offices soon to accomodate everyone. In fact, we are looking to recruit a video editing intern (see the job description), so if you think that you could help us out, why not send an email to info@generationyes.ie?

We are continuing to bring the campaign around the country, with Legal experts outlining the impact of the Legal Guarantees on Lisbon in various locations nationwide. We really need help promoting these events though, so if you, your friends, or family are interested in finding out more about Lisbon, and what the Treaty is really all about, please be sure to join us. You can find all the details on our facebook page, or by checking out our events on pingg.com (see links below).

Looking forward to seeing you soon.

Bart and the Gen YES team.

Cork Event
Waterford Event
Donegal Event
Galway Event
Limerick Event
Dublin Event

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.