Summary of the Government's White Paper on the Treaty of Amsterdam
Department of Foreign Affairs Press Release
IVEAGH HOUSE, ST. STEPHEN'S GREEN, DUBLIN 2
Tel: 353 -1- 478 0822 Fax 353 -1- 478 5942 / 475 7476 / 478 2708
Internet: http://www.irlgov.ie/iveagh
Summary of the Government's White Paper on the Treaty of Amsterdam
available to the public
The Minister for Foreign Affairs, Mr David Andrews, T.D., has noted that a thirty-page summary of the Government's White Paper of the Treaty of Amsterdam has been available to the public in English and in Irish for the past three months and continues to be available. This was advertised by the Department of Foreign Affairs in the national press on 1 and 2 February last.
Mr Andrews said that the summary " has been highly commended , including by some opponents of the Treaty, for its objectivity, clarity and readability. While the summary was produced originally in conjunction with the Government's White Paper on the Treaty of Amsterdam , I have arranged for it to be reprinted so that there will be no shortage of copies in the run-up to the referendum on 22 May".
Mr Andrews praised the work being done by the Referendum Commission in raising public awareness of the referendum on the Treaty of Amsterdam. This has put a greater spotlight on the Treaty itself and has generated renewed interest in its contents which the summary of the Government's White Paper can help explain.
Mr Andrews said "I appreciate that the Amsterdam Treaty is a complex legal document. What we have tried to do in the White Paper summary is to describe the Treaty's provisions in non-legal language with a view to promoting greater public understanding of the Treaty's significance. I consider it to be important that any voter requiring more detail on the Treaty should be able to get a copy of this very readable summary".
Mr Andrews said that the Amsterdam summary is available free of charge, in English and in Irish, from the Department of Foreign Affairs, and a copy will be sent by post to anyone who requests one. The address is 76-78 Harcourt Street, Dublin 2 and the telephone number is 01-4082358. The summary is also available on the Department's Internet website at www.irlgov.ie\iveagh. Top
