Europe cannot afford to waste time in institutional crisis

13 June 2008

Commenting on reports that there will be a ‘no’ vote in the Irish referendum on the Lisbon Treaty, PES President Poul Nyrup Rasmussen said:

“A no to the Treaty is not a no to Europe. There is still so much we need to do together. Europe cannot afford to waste any more time in institutional crisis or pausing for reflection. If we want citizens to support Europe we need to create a Europe for citizens. We need to tackle the insecurities of ordinary people and families – we need to create more and better jobs, we need to tackle climate change and ensure a secure supply of affordable and sustainable energy, we need to manage globalization in a fairer way for all, we need to deal better with migration.”

“The Irish rejection of the Treaty means we will also have to find a solution to the most urgent institutional issues. This may take some thought and some time, but it must not deflect our attention from the real issues facing us.”