By Brian Johnson - 4th March 2008
Two extreme right MEPs have turned down a controversial invite to speak in Dublin ahead of Ireland’s referendum on the Lisbon treaty.
Jean-Marie Le Pen and Bruno Gollnisch were invited by University College Dublin’s law society in January to debate the treaty.
The pair said in a statement on Tuesday that they had reliable information that "convinced us that our presence would be exploited by agitators in favour of this treaty".
"As patriots, ardent defenders of the independence and the freedom of the nations, respectful of national sovereignties, and particularly of those acquired by the struggle and the sacrifices of the people, like the sovereignty of Ireland; we do not intent to be manipulated by such unfair manoeuvers.
"This is why we do not want to answer these invitations favourably," they added.
Responding to the news, centre-right Irish MEP Colm Burke told theparliament.com that the Lisbon treaty debate "is not just about people being pro or anti this treaty; it is also about the EU charter of fundamental rights, which will attain legally binding status if the Lisbon treaty is adopted in Ireland.
"Seeing as Le Pen and Gollnisch want us to vote no to the Lisbon Treaty, they are then also asking us to reject fundamental rights for all EU citizens which are set out in the charter.
"Both pro- and anti-Lisbon treaty campaigners in Ireland should be entitled to bring in speakers from outside the country to put forward their arguments.
"However, in the case of Le Pen especially, he has the clear intention of stalling the further development of the EU by promoting his own national political agenda in Ireland."
The press office for the Irish delegation in the UEN group told this website, "The policies of Jean-Marie Le Pen, Bruno Gollnisch and the European far right are not welcome in this Irish referendum, and we wouldn’t even extend the courtesy of welcoming this decision."
When the row broke in January, even the anti-treaty Sinn Féin MEP Mary Lou McDonald said that Le Pen's brand of xenophobic politics was "not welcome" in the Irish No camp and warned that he would "most likely end up helping the Yes campaign".
For their part, Le Pen and Gollnisch "hope that the Irish people will make good use of their freedom to choose their destiny which has been scandalously refused to all the other nations of Europe".
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