The electorate is "massively wrong" if it thinks that a No result in the forthcoming Nice referendum will not threaten prosperity in the Republic, according to former EU Commissioner Mr Peter Sutherland.
He said yesterday that a second No to Nice would damage the Republic's "good standing" in EU circles, thus limiting the Government's ability to negotiate favourable economic policies.
He said that a No result would render Irish policymakers akin to a Skibbereen Eagle "bleating our views into the Atlantic".
The Nice referendum is, according to Mr Sutherland, a question of "morality", which relates directly to allowing former Communist states to enjoy the same economic and social support from the EU as the Republic has enjoyed since accession.
He said that he, as EU Commissioner, had direct responsibility for the EU tax concession that allowed for the establishment of the International Financial Services Centre (IFSC), which now employs 11,000 people. This, according to Mr Sutherland, is "part and parcel" of the core of thinking within the EU.
He added that he did not expect the lower-cost environments of states such as Hungary and Slovenia to attract future job creation away from the Republic, since the economies of the accession countries were at "different stages of development". His views, expressed during a meeting organised by the IFSC For Yes campaign, were later echoed by the Minister for Finance, Mr McCreevy.
The Minister said that if the Irish people rejected Nice, the Government would find it difficult to achieve support when discussing policy at EU level. "No one out there owes us a living. We should be the first up to say that this is the greatest idea of all time," he said.
He assured the audience, a mix of IFSC professionals and students, that the Nice Treaty did not affect the Republic's right to oppose tax harmonisation across the EU. He said an enlarged EU would open opportunities for Irish business rather than threaten its future, observing that "any half-sensible person" should see a Yes vote as the correct option.
