broken arm
New Member
- Joined
- Jul 9, 2003
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- 12,083
Dunno - it's all so vague. I'm actually more annoyed at the yes campaign this time around. 'Vote YES for jobs' is an outright lie.
Vote YES so that we don't get sidelined 10 years down the line would be more honest.
The issue of sovereignty seems the most contentious but at this moment in time I wouldn't mind a few years of being governed by the French or Germans
he he. ooo lala mein liebling..
It is vague but the way I have understood the "vote for jobs" is that business requires some stability (espcially in a time of crisis) and there is concern in "the market" about the outcome of Lisbon and the political confusion and upheaval it will cause.
to give a very practical example. From time to time I have to work with companies on environmental legislation/policy. These include things like the European WEEE, RoHS and EuP directives. These can be difficult for companies to comply with at the best of times but where it gets really confusing is if the company exports their products/services to other member states. If the otehr country has decided to implement a directive differently it can cause problems (different paperwork, procedures etc). They want to know that there is good relationship between member states so issues can be ironed out quicker, better co-operation etc.
That example is on the micro-level but the issue gets bigger. As i said, what companies want is clarity. They want to know if they are going to invest in something (new factories, new office locations, new jobs) that the political and legal infrastructure is going to remain somewhat coherent in teh short, medium and long term.
I have a cousin that works with the IDA. His job is to travel around the world and encourage businesses to set up in Ireland. They are already finding it difficult because of the current perception of uncertainty in ireland.
The IDA are saying - "come to ireland, give jobs to our people and we'll sort you out" and the companies are saying "we'll we haven't a clue who is going to be in government in the near future and we don't have a clue what your relationship will be with the rest of Europe, which may be our biggest market"