Allister rejects insult and puts Dublin MEP in his place
25 March 2009
Addressing the European Parliament on a report on "citizenship" Traditional Unionist MEP Jim Allister took grave exception to an insult within it, which declared that opponents of more EU integration were likely to be less educated.
In an aside Mr Allister also replied to an earlier outburst by Dublin MEP Gay Mitchell about it taking 700 years to get the British out of Ireland. The Ulster MEP humorously pointed out that it was a good job they hadn't succeeded entirely because they needed the help of some British subjects from Northern Ireland in the Six Nations campaign!
In the course of his remarks Mr Allister said:-
Jim Allister (NI). – Mr President, after five years in this House, there is little in reports that can surprise one. But I do have to say that I was staggered by the sheer arrogance of aspects of this report and the calculated insult to those who dare not to roll over in sycophantic endorsement of the European project. To say in this report –as it does – that the less educated are more likely to oppose further European integration is an audacious insult and arrogance of unbelievable proportions.
The truth is that those who bothered to read the EU Constitution or the Lisbon Treaty and educate themselves about it are exactly the people more likely to vote against. Those more likely to vote for it are those – like Commissioners – who never even bothered to read the documents and simply accept the propaganda. So I do reject the insult of this report.
Could I also say, in response to Mr Mitchell’s first outburst – his Republican outburst about getting rid of all the British out of the island of Ireland over 700 years – that he should be glad they did not entirely succeed because he did need the help of some British subjects from Northern Ireland to attain the rugby victory in the Six Nations.
The speech can be viewed at:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cLHdoI9aHn0
