Joe Higgins MEP (Socialist Party / United Left Alliance) To Travel To Strasbourg Tomorrow (Tuesday) To Seek Direct Answers From EU Commission President Barosso On Re-negotiation of EU/IMF Agreement
Socialist Party / United Left Alliance MEP and Dail Candidate To Tell Barosso That It Is Unfair And Anti Democratic To Expect Irish People To Vote On Mere Speculation and Will Seek Specific Answers
On the Pat Kenny Radio Programme on RTE today, Socialist Party/United Left Alliance MEP and Dail Candidate announced that he is to travel to the European Parliament in Strasbourg tomorrow to question EU Commission President Barosso on issues relating to a mooted renegotiation of the EU/IMF agreement.
Joe Higgins will explain that the question of renegotiation has become a central issue in the General Election Campaign in Ireland with the parties likely to be in the new government putting a lot of emphasis on achieving major changes – all mere assertion as of now.
Joe Higgins will tell Mr Barosso that he doesn't want him to intervene in the Irish election but that he has a responsibility to the Irish people to lay out some issues in a factual manner: Whether the EU Commission considers that a renegotiation should be put on the agenda immediately after the General Election; If so what the parameters are in relation to a reduction in Interest rates and in relation to bondholders rather than taxpayers taking the losses on their gambles in the Irish property market.
FG Leader Kenny Must Return From Berlin With More Than Some Pretty Photos
Commenting on the visit by Fine Gael Leader Enda Kenny to Chancellor Merkel today, Joe Higgins said; 'Mr Kenny must come back from Berlin today with more than happy snapshots of himself basking in the reflected importance of Frau Merkel. Considering that the savage austerity being imposed on the Irish people at the behest of the EU/IMF arises from Chancellor Merkel's and the European establishment's desperation to rescue German and other European banks from their reckless gambling in Irish property, Enda Kenny needs to be in a position to tell the Irish people exactly what he means by 'renegotiation' and whether he has firm commitments from the Chancellor.
The fact is of course that even if interest rates are eventually reduced somewhat, the amount of debt being piled on the Irish people is simply unsustainable and necessitates a clean break from the EU/IMF programme in favour of an alternative strategy.'
ENDS