Ireland says YES to Europe

[updated:LAST EDITED ON 20-10-02 AT 07:44 AM (GMT)]http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/2339201.stm

A good move from the Ires, to vote yes on the EU enlargement. Though I have my doubts on the expansion to the east that soon, and I do think the EU should first organise itself internally before it expands.

Ireland understands the importance of the EU, without the EU, Ireland would still be a poor country, but thanks to money from foreign investors, it became a very attractive place to live in. (Ryanair }> Grrr)

I do think the EU can help the central European nations which still suffer from poverty, lack of health care etc. However, I do think the expansion should be divided into more stages. Like the Czech Rep., Malta and Cyprus joining in 2004, Poland in 2008 etc.

There are also some external problems related to the expansion. Like the issue “Kalinigrad” (Russian enclave between Poland and Lithuania). If both of these latter countries join the Union, that means that the native Russians living in Kalinigrad will need a European visum to travel to Russia.

And there’s still Turkey, which has always been seen as an enemy in Europe (historically since the break-up of the Roman Empire in 576 and the following decades). As long as Greece can use its veto, Turkey will not join the EU, but I think many countries (including pro-enlargement countries like Germany and Belgium) are happy with Greece’s decission.