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OLD
OR NEW? THE LATEST EU TREATY ANALYSED
The
Lisbon Treaty, approved in October 2007 and signed by Gordon Brown in
December has, as expected, simply re-packaged the same big institutional
changes and power transfers that were proposed in the first version
of the EU Constitution.
These
include:
- a full-time
EU President;
- an EU Foreign
Minister, re-named as 'High Representative';
- an EU diplomatic
service ('External Action Service') for the new Foreign Minister;
- a big extension
of majority voting and change to our voting strength, greatly
reducing our influence over EU laws;
- single legal
personality for the EU to make international agreements in its
own right and represent its members on international bodies, reducing
Britain's influence in the world;
- the same steps
towards an EU justice system, including the power to set common
rules on legal procedures by majority vote, the power to
define criminal offences (already being exercised), and the
re-introduction of a European Public Prosecutor. Also, the
role of Eurojust is expanded to include not just the co-ordination
of investigations but their "initiation", with further
expansions possible by majority voting;
- the same extension
of the powers of the EU's growing police force, EuroPol, to
include the ability to 'implement' operational action. EuroPol retains
its immunity from criminal prosecution;
- a reference
to the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights
- rather than making it part of the treaty - which will still give
it full legal force. Serious doubts have been raised about the value
of the government's claimed 'opt out'. This 'Charter' asserts the
vague ability of un-named authorities to inflict "limitations"
of basic rights "if they are necessary and genuinely meet
objectives of general interest recognised by the Union" (Constitution
Article II-112);
- increases
in EU power over social policy, social security, employment and
public health policies.
That
the Lisbon Treaty is essentially the same as the EU Constitution was
confirmed by the cross-party House of Commons European Scrutiny Committee
in its October report on the Lisbon Treaty.
The
committee concluded that the Treaty was "substantially equivalent"
to the EU Constitution (read
more).
This
basic re-introduction of many measures that defined the EU Constitution,
ignoring their overwhelming rejection by the French and Dutch peoples,
is a blatant affront to democracy.
Join
our campaign to hold the government to their manifesto promise of a
referendum.
READ
MORE...
KEY DOCUMENTS
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