Press Release, 25th July 2007

The British Government’s white paper on the EU’s IGC deeply dishonest

Global Vision said today that the Government’s White Paper, The Reform Treaty – The British Approach to the European Union’s Intergovernmental Conference, July 2007, on the EU’s new Reform Treaty, was a deeply dishonest document. ^1,2,3

Specifically, the White Paper made some highly misleading points. Firstly, it claimed that, “the UK argued that the EU needed a new amending Treaty without constitutional characteristics” and implied that this condition was met in the Reform Treaty. But it is widely accepted throughout the EU’s political elites that the Reform Treaty is the Constitution in all but name. The symbols of statehood may have been dropped and some terminology may have changed but the substance of the Constitutional Treaty has effectively been preserved in its entirety.

Secondly, the White Paper restated the four preconditions for British agreement to the Reform Treaty and implied these conditions would be fully met if the Reform Treaty were to be enforced. These were the so-called ‘red lines’, designed to divert attention from the huge concessions made by the British Government in the run-up to the June 2007 Summit. They were:

Protection of the UK’s existing labour and social legislation – by opting out of aspects of the Charter of Fundamental Rights. But the European Court of Justice’s Advocate-General Tizzano has questioned whether such an opt-out can work.
Protection of the UK’s common law system and the police and judicial process - by agreeing to a voluntary ‘opt-in’ to the EU’s control over “police and judicial cooperation in criminal matters”. But this concession will be under permanent threat from the European Court of Justice, which will be considerably strengthened under the Reform Treaty.
Protection of the UK’s independent foreign and defence policy - by objecting to the creation of an ‘EU Foreign Minister’. But the agreed, newly empowered ‘High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy’ will retain the powers of the proposed EU Foreign Minister.
Protection of the UK’s tax and social security policy. This was a red herring as the Reform Treaty makes no substantial changes in these areas.

Ruth Lea, Director of Global Vision, said,

“Britain’s relationship with the EU will be profoundly altered by the Reform Treaty. Contrary to the impression being given by the Government’s White Paper, the Treaty is the Constitution in all but name. And the Government’s protection of Britain’s national interests, its so-called ‘red lines’, simply does not stand up to scrutiny.”

“The White Paper is a profoundly misleading document intended to justify the Government’s unprincipled backtracking from its promise of a referendum. No-one should be taken in.”

“It is all the more vital that a referendum is held on the Reform Treaty because it is unique. Once enforced, there will quite simply be no more significant powers left solely with the Governments of the Member States and outside the orbit of the EU’s formal institutions. And there will be no further need for any more major treaties.”

References

1. Foreign and Commonwealth Office, The Reform Treaty – The British Approach to the European Union’s Intergovernmental Conference, July 2007, Cm7174, 23 July 2007. Available at
http://www.fco.gov.uk/Files/kfile/CM7174_Reform_Treaty.pdf.

Europe Minister Jim Murphy’s speech to the House of Commons on the ‘UK Approach to the IGC 2007’ given on 23 July 2007 available at
http://www.fco.gov.uk/servlet/Front?pagename=OpenMarket/Xcelerate/
ShowPage&c=Page&cid=1007029391647&a=KArticle&aid=1184752602104

2. The IGC on the EU’s Reform Treaty began on 23 July with a view to finalising the text at the next European Council in Lisbon on 17-18 October for formal sign-off at the December European Council.

3. Draft Reform Treaty, 23 July 2007,
http://www.consilium.europa.eu/cms3_fo/showPage.asp?id=1317&lang=en&mode=g

4. For further details see Ruth Lea, Daily Telegraph, 30 June 2007,
http://www.global-vision.net/coverage43.asp

For and against the new EU Treaty, BBC News, 25 July 2007, http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/6914468.stm