Libertarians against Nice support ATTAC picket of the referendum commission

national | miscellaneous | news report

Thursday October 10, 2002 11:57

by Libertarians against Nice

The citizens? association ATTAC na hÉireann will demonstrate today at 3pm outside the Referendum Commission to demand fair and balanced information on the privatisation consequences of the Nice Treaty. Members of Libertarians against Nice will join them there

Press Release - Oct/10/2002 - No embargo
Libertarians against Nice

Libertarians against Nice support ATTAC picket of the referendum commission

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The citizens? association ATTAC na hÉireann will demonstrate today at 3pm outside the Referendum Commission to demand fair and balanced information on the privatisation consequences of the Nice Treaty. Members of Libertarians against Nice will join them there.

Andrew Flood of LAN said
"The Referendum Commission has been refusing to provide information critical of the changes to Article 133 in the Nice referendum. This is despite the fact that the changes to this article are central to the opposition of groups like ATTAC and LAN who are campaigning for a No vote. We have learned that even in response to an individual enquiry specifically on this article the Referendum Commission failed to provide even the documents submitted to them by ATTAC and the Forum on Europe on this issue.

"The Nice treaty represents an important step in the EU's privatisation agenda. Nice will change Article 133 of the Treaty of Europe, so that the un-elected European Commission gains the power to impose "uniformity in measures of liberalisation". What this means is that they can order national governments to privatise services.

"Article 133 will also give the EU Council and Commission power to negotiate agreements with the WTO, rather then national governments. At the WTO summit in Seattle in 1999, the EU commission announced their support for a bio-technology working party, causing 15 EU trade ministers to issue a joint statement of disagreement. If Nice passes, their disagreements would be irrelevant.

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More information on Article 133 at
http://struggle.ws/ireland/nice/analysis/corporate.html

Libertarians against Nice
http://more.at/stopnice

Comments (4 of 4)

do the good people of ATTAC Ireland have website yet?

by a writer - Lunatic fringe

Thu Oct 10, 2002 13:01

and if so would they leave the address here?
and if not when will they set one up?

Its well time someone exposed the ref con

by REF. CON. JOB

Thu Oct 10, 2002 20:53

The self styled 'independent' ref con badly needs to be picketed continously, this would be more useful work for a few people rather that spending hours travelling there and back from shannon or even taking a break for the whole weekend as a few swmmies were overheard saying recently.

ATTAC documentation on NICE?

by adelante

Thu Oct 10, 2002 20:55

Has ATTAC produced any other documentation/analysis on Nice? Their material is usually good and well researched and not as skimpy as the usual swp leaflet

Thanks to all who showed

by Eamonn C.

Thu Oct 10, 2002 21:34

Thanks to all who showed - good gang heads + green sf and sp tds. No thanks to the press who despite being comprehensively informed continuously have managed to black out to the point of indecipherability campaigning and awareness raising around the 133 issue. TV 3 did show but nothing on their bulletins as far as I am aware.

Attac have been co-operating with the Article 133 info group throughout the campaign on Nice and contributed to the research and writing of this open letter among other things: www.indymedia.ie/article133/

I agree with the contributor that drastic action is needed to raise this issue despite the media blackout. Thoughts and strategies would be welcome as our conventional lobbying/info distribution methods are not making an impact beyond the Green/broad left/SF audience.