Apparently the Foreign Office are planning soon to release their own new draft treaty for the future of Europe.
The idea, presumably, is to try and steer Nicolas Sarkozy's "mini treaty" idea - around which a considerable consensus has formed in Brussels - in a less dangerous direction for the Government.
Can they pull it off? Seems to us that the basic elements that are always mentioned as part of the mini-treaty idea are enough to prompt calls for a referendum in the UK (and trigger votes automatically in Ireland and Denmark too). Sarko talks about an EU President, an EU Foreign Minister, more majority voting and a changing in the voting system to make it easier to pass legislation.
Our view: doing all that without giving people a say won't wash.
I would be very happy if the FCO published a draft treaty proposal, regardless of its content.
ReplyDeleteBritain must be more actively engaged in the debate about the EUs future, and from that viewpoint the draft treaty seems to be a step forward. Time for Britain to have a European vision again!