Les garanties irlandaises sur Lisbonne à la loupe[en] 

The United Kingdom Independence Party (UKIP) leader said he had doubts about the legal status of the guarantees, which he says are being sold to the Irish people as something that is legally binding.

"In reality, our belief is that they are not. They are not protocols, if they were protocols they would have legal force and would therefore be worth the paper they are written on," Farage said.

Farage said he was disappointed, but not surprised, at President Barroso’s reaction to the Irish Lisbon Treaty 'No' vote. "Within hours of the Irish referendum result being known last year, he said that 'this result must not stop the Lisbon Treaty'," lamented Farage. 

The will of the people is just being ignored, said Farage, making reference to the 'No' votes in the Dutch and French referendum. "This European project does not have popular consent," he stressed.

The UKIP leader spoke of how he had listened to Barroso talk about the European Union as an "empire" and how that told him "as much about Mr Barroso as he needs to know"

Barroso is "not undemocratic, he’s anti-democratic," he said, adding that the European Commission had become "increasingly tyrannical" under Barroso’s leadership.

Asked whether he thought the new Parliament would endorse Barroso for a second term as Commission president, Farage replied that the Parliament would not. "Barroso is an absolute disgrace to democracy," he explained.