1. Power politics instead of co-determination

In 26 EU member states the population is not allowed to vote on the Lisbon Treaty, even though in all these countries a large majority was in favour of a popular vote and in a democracy all rights derive directly from the sovereign – the people. The Irish people are the only European sovereign allowed to vote on the Lisbon Treaty – and they turned it down.

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2. Illegibility instead of transparency

Who understands 478 pages of legalese? Binding laws ought to be understandable. The Lisbon Treaty is both over-complex and unreadable: It consists of two treaties and numerous protocols, appendices and statements.  30 per cent of Irish people voted no on July 12, 2008 simply because they did not want to approve something they didn't understand. The governments made a conscious effort to draw up an unintelligible treaty.

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3. Concentration of power, lacking separation of powers, nuclear energy and genetic engineering

The treaty undermines democratic principles such as the separation of powers, the democratic transfer of sovereign rights, or direct democracy. And it contains issues which majorities in many member countries clearly reject.

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4. Armament obligation and combat groups instead of peace project

The underlying idea of the EU at the time of its foundation was to ensure lasting peace within and outside its borders.  The Lisbon Treaty is breaking with this tradition: It obliges all member states to take part in armament, it envisages EU combat groups and it allows military action abroad without a UN mandate.

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5. Capital freedoms instead of social standards

Central principles of the treaty, such as the free movement of capital or global competition have contributed to the EU contracting the financial crisis. Instead of erasing these principles from the treaties, the Lisbon Treaty grants them an even higher importance. In contrast, governments were not able to agree on common social standards or the precedence of civil rights.

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6. Speed kills democracy

Governments argue that the hasty forcing through of the Treaty is necessary because of a threatening inability to function properly. This argument is not only wrong – the EU is fully operational on the basis of the valid Treaty of Nice – it is also dangerous: If a steamboat is headed the wrong way, it doesn't need more power, but a change of course. We therefore call for a democratic grass-roots process involving the people.

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