Vote No

Fight attacks on working

people: Vote NO!

On May 31st Irish citizens will have an opportunity to make their voice heard throughout Europe by voting NO in the fiscal treaty referendum. There are many reasons to vote against this senseless, oppressive and unjust treaty, here are just a few of them:

  • A significant number of extra cuts and taxes will be needed to meet the structural deficit target laid out in Article 3 of the Treaty. In Ireland’s case, this is estimated to be at least €5.7 billion worth of extra cuts and taxes. The amount in extra cuts and taxes required across Europe will be over €166 billion. This will devastate people’s lives and national economies across Europe.
  • The government claims that this is a ‘Stability Treaty’. It is no such thing. The level of austerity required by this Treaty across Europe will devastate the European economy and turn a recession into a deep depression.
  • Ireland will not be kicked out of the euro or the EU if we vote No. This is a separate Treaty to the EU Treaties. There is no mechanism for Ireland to be kicked out of the euro or the EU. Don’t be influenced by government scaremongering to the contrary.
  • The government is claiming that Ireland will not be able to access ‘bailout funds’ if we vote No. This is because of a ‘blackmail clause’ that was inserted by the European Council with the agreement of the Irish government. However, the government still has the power to have that clause removed, by vetoing the European Stability Mechanism Treaty. In any case, the Irish government could still access extra bailout funding from another fund, the European Financial Stability Facility (EFSF).
  • It is important to realise that ESM funding would only provide a ‘bailout’ for the bondholders and bankers, not the ordinary people of Ireland. It would entail yet more savage cuts that would destroy the economy, as has happened in Greece. The only way to avoid needing a second ‘bailout’ now is to reverse our economic course and instead of more austerity, implement radical socialist policies to get people back to work and redevelop the economy.
  • In the second Lisbon Treaty campaign, Fine Gael said “Vote Yes for Jobs”. There are 80,000 less jobs in the country since that vote. They are again trying to claim that this Treaty will create more jobs. That is not true. The austerity required by this Treaty will devastate the economy and result in an increase in unemployment, which is already at its highest rate in Europe since the introduction of the euro.

The fiscal compact has been described as the longest and most boring suicide note in history. It is a recipe for permanent austerity that can only lead to the long-term decline of Europe. It is bad enough when one government – such as Ireland’s – tries to take the austerity route but when a whole continent follows a similar path, the market for goods and services will literally freeze up, and the recession will deepen.

We have an important opportunity to strike a blow against the attacks on working class people all across Europe. A No vote would be warmly welcomed by millions across Europe, including workers in Greece, Portugal, Spain and Germany. It could be the beginning of a European-wide struggle against austerity and for a socialist Europe, where the needs of the millions come before the profits of the millionaires.

Don’t let Europe’s neoliberal elite get away with imposing their disastrous and unjust austerity policies on the Irish population – vote NO on May 31st.