Parliament to investigate funding of Irish ‘no’ camp

Political group leaders in the European Parliament have asked for “comprehensive information” about alleged irregularities in the financing of the ‘No’ campaign against the Lisbon Treaty in Ireland, amid accusations that it received funding from US agencies.

The Conference of Presidents of political groups, the Parliament’s highest political body, warned on Thursday (25 September) that any irregularities found in the campaign “could lead to sanctions, including of a criminal nature”. 

A Parliament spokesperson told EURACTIV that it was up to the Irish authorities to decide whether the result of the referendum was still legally valid if the fraud was to be confirmed. 

Hans-Gert Poettering, the President of the European Parliament said on Monday (22 September) that serious questions needed to be asked about where the Irish eurosceptic group Libertas got its money from. 

Poettering called in particular to elucidate the links that Declan Ganley, one of the campaign’s main sponsor, may have had with the US military. 

“A total of €200,000 came from a single donor, who was a key organiser for Libertas and has military procurement contracts with the US government. I ask Dick Roche, the Irish Europe minister, to make sure he carries out a full and thorough investigation,” Poettering said. 

The Irish legislation restricts the size of donations to lobbyist groups to €6,348 per year per donor. But Ganley said the €200,000 for Libertas was a loan, not a donation. It is not a secret that Ganley’s US company, Rivada Networks, sells communications services to the US military and the US National Guard. 

The Greens group had earlier stated that if the allegations proved to be true, “this would clearly show that there are forces in the United States willing to pay people to destabilise a strong and autonomous Europe.” 

On Thusday, the Conference of the Presidents of political groups held “an extensive discussion” on the issue of transparency in the financing of the Irish referendum campaign. The Conference decided that relevant information on the case should be communicated to the authority competent to investigate electoral fraud, namely the Standards in Public Office Commission (SIPO) in Ireland, “and more widely, as appropriate”. 

Declan Ganley refuted all allegations in a statement, published on Libertas’ website. “The approach adopted by this European Parliament President’s group is a throw-back to an earlier era in history […] The Irish people made their decision on the Lisbon Treaty. That decision must be respected,” Ganley stated. 

Read more with Euractiv

Online campaigns 'key' to voter turnout in EU elections

The internet could help European parties to "reinvigorate and rejuvenate" politics and generate a higher turnout in the upcoming European Parliament elections in June 2009, a panel of election strategists told MEPs in Brussels on 17 September.