The Green Party today warned that the Nice Treaty would increase the influence of big business over EU trade policy and public services.
At a press conference today, the party said: "Article 133 will remove the veto in the Council of Ministers for more areas of EU international trade. This could lead the way to greater privatisation of our public services and be harmful to developing countries and to sustainability".
Green Party Chairman, Mr John Gormley accused the Yes side and the Referendum Commission of hardly mentioning Article 133.
"It's imperative that these issues of globalisation be highlighted in the Nice Treaty debate. Now important negotiations on trade are going to be 'fast-tracked', away from democratic scrutiny and democratic control," he said.
British Green MEP Ms Caroline Lucas said there was a central contradiction in the espoused goals of the European Union.
"The EU tries to appear as a friend of the developing countries but this is countered by the EU's trade liberalisation agenda at WTO talks and the EU's consumption of developing countries' resources. The EU uses export subsidies and other protectionist measures to distort trade," she said.
DIT lecturer in Entrepreneurship Dr Thomas Cooney rubbished claims by members of the No2Nice group that voting No to protect Irish jobs is nothing more than "scaremongering".
Dr Cooney said although the Nice Treaty "is about many important issues, it is not about the loss of Irish jobs as a result of mass migration from Eastern European countries. That issue is more closely related to xenophobia than it is to the Nice Treaty".
