Majority of Irish still undecided about EU Treaty

60% of Irish people are still weighing their options for the 12 June referendum on the Treaty of Lisbon, according to a poll published ahead of a visit to Ireland this week by German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Commission President José Manuel Barroso.

Only 28% of Irish citizens are certain to vote in favour of the Lisbon Treaty, while 12% said they would reject it, according to the poll, published by the Irish Sun newspaper on Monday (14 April). 

But although the number of undecided voters has decreased from 72% to 60% compared to a similar poll in December, the outcome of the referendum is still far from certain.

An earlier poll in March showed a much lower proportion of undecided voters, with 31% saying they were unsure about how they would vote (EURACTIV 03/03/08).

The indecisiveness seems largely due to the lack of knowledge about the treaty: Only 6% said they fully understand it, while 25% said they had no understanding of it at all and 40% very little understanding, according to the poll.

In an attempt to rally support for the treaty, Merkel delivered a pro-European speech at the National Forum of Europe in Dublin yesterday (14 April), saying that “the Lisbon Treaty offers the best preparation for Europe’s future” and allows the EU to “continue to flourish”.

The Lisbon Treaty would increase the power of smaller EU states such as Ireland, the chancellor pointed out, as a new majority voting system allows them to block bigger countries such as Germany. The new majority voting system is rather “a problem for the bigger states,” she said. 

Addressing the sceptics, Merkel added: “I can only say that if everything remains as it is now, your concerns will definitely not be better addressed.”

Irish Prime Minister Bertie Ahern told journalists that Merkel’s speech was the kick-off for a pro-European campaign in Ireland this week, followed by Commission President Barroso visiting on Thursday (17 April).

The pro-European Ahern said he will step down in May to fight allegations of financial irregularities but his likely successor, former foreign minister Brian Cowen, has pledged to make securing a “Yes” vote his top priority (EURACTIV 03/04/08).

His efforts might, however, be complicated by an Irish government memo leaked to the Irish Daily Mail on Monday (14 April). The document stated that Commission Vice-President Margot Wallström had told Irish Foreign Minister Dermot Ahern “that the Commission was willing to tone down or delay messages that might be unhelpful” in advance of the referendum. 

According to the memo, the government believes that “most people would not have time to study the text and would go with the politicians they trusted”. Therefore, it says the “aim is to focus the campaign on the overall benefits of the EU rather than on the treaty itself”.

The Taoiseach downplayed the memo at a joint news conference with German chancellor Angela Merkel, saying “the suggestion that Europe will somehow deliberately change announcements ahead of the referendum is without any foundation”.

Read more with Euractiv

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