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Nessa Childers Eamonn Farrell/Photocall Ireland
fiscal treaty
Labour plays down Nessa Childers comments on fiscal compact
Childers told a newspaper that the treaty was “designed to satisfy the Germans”, and would have been voted down by MEPs.
THE LABOUR PARTY has played down comments by MEP Nessa Childers after she criticised the fiscal treaty, saying it is “designed to satisfy the Germans”.
A spokesperson for the party told TheJournal.ie that Childers’ comments were “in line” with the party’s position, which was that the fiscal compact was only part of the solution for the eurozone.
Childers told the Daily Mail that the treaty, which her party will campaign for alongside Fine Gael in an upcoming referendum, would have been voted down by MEPs if it had been put to the EU parliament.
She said: “It’s designed to satisfy the Germans – it’s not an EU treaty, it’s a political act.”
The MEP said she would be “reluctantly” voting for the treaty as it would be “too risky” for Ireland to reject it.
A spokesperson for the Labour party said: “Our view would be that nobody in the Labour party believes the fiscal compact is the total solution. But we believe that it is part of the overall solution. From my reading of it, that’s in line with what Nessa is saying.”
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