SHANNON PROTEST:LEFT-WING ACTIVISTS and anti-Lisbon Treaty campaigners from several EU member states will gather at Shannon airport today to put forward their arguments against the treaty and voice their opposition to closer co-operation between the EU and Nato.
Among the speakers at today’s gathering are: Socialist Party MEP Joe Higgins; former Sinn Féin MEP Mary Lou McDonald; Cllr Richard Boyd Barrett, chair of the Irish Anti-War Movement; and former MEP Patricia McKenna of the People’s Movement.
At a press conference yesterday, former German MEP Tobias Pfluger described the Lisbon Treaty as promoting a “militaristic, neo-liberal” agenda that would “change the EU absolutely”.
Reiner Braun, a German lawyer and activist, agreed. “Ireland is our hope that militarism will not be the future for Europe,” he said. “This is a battle for Europe, not against Europe.” Similar views were aired by French, Greek and American activists present.
Ms McDonald predicted Irish neutrality would again play a major role in the referendum.
