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Brussels, 13 June 2001 PRESS RELEASE IRISH PEOPLE SAID "NO" TO A BAD TREATY The only citizens within the EU who have had the chance to take a stand on the draft Treaty of Nice via referendum have overwhelmingly said "No". Both the dramatic abstention and the refusal of long-time pro-European Irish people indicate that this project lacks of vision as regards the future of the EU and cannot create citizens' enthusiasm. Despite of the fact that the EP legitimally represents European people, it is not endowed with the power to ratify the Nice Treaty, which it is very critical about. Irish citizens have taken the political responsibility to refuse the intergovernmental future of Europe designed by the draft Treaty of Nice. The European federalists consider that the EU Member States should not try to "win" Irish public opinion back by means of small agreements among governments. The Irish democratic vote must be respected. Moreover, it should force all Member States' governments to draw the consequences immediately. It is high time for Heads of State and government of 15 to propose an appealing political project for the future of the EU and to initiate a new method of democratic legitimation of this project with the Laeken declaration (December 2001). After the Irish refusal, a Convention to draft a European Federal Constitution before the end of 2003 becomes more necessary than ever, as the only way to win the citizens' support back. "Governments should give up trying to find an intergovernmental solution to the current crisis of confidence, because it is precisely the intergovernmental method which is at the source of Europe's illness", Jo LEINEN declared, MEP and President of the Union of European Federalists (U.E.F.). Contact : Bruno BOISSIERE (Tel : 32-2/508.30.30)