We will try to pinpoint some of the moves from the YES side that have already almost secured the rejection of the Renamed EU Constitution (REC) on the June referendum by the Irish voters:

1. Disregard of the basic democratic values (ignoring the Dutch and French rejection in 2005; practically the same document on the shelves again; fast-track approvals by the National Parliaments that revealed many cracks between the voters and the elected ones). Disrespect of the public results in the disrespect by the public.

2. Dirty Bertie affair (he received a series of payments from a property developer in the 1990s when he was Finance Minister).

3. Irish MEP Proinsias de Rossa’s fake beating. Official press wanted to smear EU-critical protesters as violent and brutal.

4. Problems on the right flank - Future EU plans on Tax Harmonisation (This is not, as German Chancellor Angela Merkel has suggested, about Ireland setting a tax rate which undermines our European neighbours. This is about our right, enshrined in existing treaties, to adopt a low-tax environment as a matter of political principle). ADDITION - another good article on effects on economy: How the Lisbon Treaty will damage business.

5. Problems on the left flank - Social structure of Europe under tectonic shifts due to the ECJ decisions in favour of social dumping (Viking, Laval-Vaxholm, Rüffert).

6. Transparency issues during the preparation stages of campaign:
   Case 1 - Leaked e-mail regarding the Irish campaign.
   Case 2 - MEP Jo Leinen’s similar approach within the EP (sweeping the dirt under the carpet until 12th of June)

7. Logical thinking by Unions in Ireland: The Technical Engineering and Electrical Union on Monday (5 May) urged its 45,000 members to vote against the treaty in the referendum next month. General secretary of the TEEU Eamon Devoy took the stance on the back of recent judgements by the EU’s highest court which he said had shown that the pendulum had “swung against workers’ rights and in favour of big business. “In the circumstances, it would be foolish to provide the institutions of the European Union with more power,” he added, according to the Irish Independent.

8. Survey shows 80% do not understand Lisbon Treaty. So why would they vote positively on something so badly presented to them by the elected politicians and public officers.

9. Movements within the body of voters are already in favour of protection of the present Irish Constitution.

10. Mr. Jose Manuel Barroso has been misleading the participants of public meeting in Ireland on the issue of taxes. Not to forget the unavoidable War on Climate Change.

11. Farmers actually don’t like it. There are fears regarding consequences of WTO trade talks. (Sinn Fein’s opinion, EU Commissioner Mandelson’s opinon, opinion of farmers).

12. REC goes against Irish neutrality (The end result of a consolidation of military capacities must be an European army, said Mr Steinmeier, according to German news agency DPA.)

13. They intend to disregard the laws on election campaigns - no campaigning on the day of the elections. European Youth for an Irish YES will campaign in Ireland between 11 - 12th June. To JOIN US, email toni.giugliano@jef.eu. This can be seen at JEF webpage.

14. ‘Cause even the “official side” says something like that but not precisely the same… Bad omens loom over Irish referendum by Hugo Brady; February/March 2008 - CER BULLETIN, ISSUE 58

15. This one will be tricky but still somehow likely to make EU emotionally even more distant from the Irish people: Dustin the Turkey. It’s much easier to explain that EU’s enlargement failed because of the turkey, not because of Turkey.

16. Loosing the referendum will definitely have much to do with the exposing of the greedy pocketing of taxpayers’ money at the European Parliament by the MEPs.

17. New Taoiseach (PM) Brian Cowen said he had not read the treaty cover to cover, but argued it was not an impenetrable document. Butiful.