Robert Oulds
PRESS RELEASE
for immediate release
Referring directly to the once thought dead EU Constitution the IGC mandate agreement, under the guise of bringing forth a new treaty to reform the EU, will bring in the key aspects contained in the Constitution that were rejected in the French and Dutch referenda.
This will lead to the surrendering of a substantial amount of power to Brussels. If this agreement comes into force it will hand over more than twice the number of powers given away at Maastricht and over five times the number needed for the creation of the Single Market. Blair’s red lines were obviously as effective as the Maginot Line.
ANALYSIS
This agreement could lead to British control in 63 areas being surrendered to Brussels. That is the loss of SIXTY THREE vetoes!
Blair's 10 years of handing power to the EU
133 vetoes lost
Add the 24 vetoes lost as part of the Amsterdam Treaty, the 46 from Nice and the 63 from this agreement creates a total of 133 vetoes lost since Labour came to power in 1997.
That is well over one hundred areas where our Parliament will no longer have the right to legislate in. It is also over 100 areas where our Government cannot stop the EU from passing new laws that add costs onto British businesses and as members of the EU there is nothing that our own democratic process can do to overturn those decisions.
Other key aspects of this agreement:
Competition policy
France has managed to remove from the list of EU objectives the aim to ensure that competition is not distorted. In other words, the government of Sarkozy want to be able to subsidise national champions, prevent competition in services and take protectionist measures
This clause will now become a Protocol of any new treaty, which although giving it some relevance, diminishes its legal force and thus reduces the free market in the EU
The Charter of Fundamental Rights
The Charter of Fundamental Rights will be binding on Britain as long as it does not conflict with UK national law
Energy policy
Solidarity in energy policy
Legal Personality
The EU will have a legal personality enabling it to make international agreements that Britain may not be able to veto
Foreign Policy
A parallel EU foreign policy
National Parliaments
Bogus strengthening of roles of national parliaments
Voting
63 articles introduced as Qualified Majority Voting or moved to QMV.
The voting system that was in the EU Constitution will be brought in after a transitional period.
Withdrawal
The agreement will include a treaty provision by which the UK can amicably leave the European Union
The German Presidency mandate is of additional importance because the Intergovernmental Conference (IGC) can only discuss matters that are in this agreement and will be tasked with simply finalising the technical wording.
The constitutional implications of the proposals contained in the IGC mandate, when incorporated into a new treaty, are so severe that they must be voted on in a referendum. To force this onto the British people without such a vote will be the Government's ultimate betrayal of our independence and democracy.