Tories promise to kill Lisbon if Ireland stands her ground

[Coleman]

FINANCIAL TIMES 23.7.08


Hague looks at Lisbon treaty


By George Parker in London


An incoming Conservative government in Britain would try to kill off the European Union's Lisbon treaty, unless Ireland reverses its No vote on the controversial text before the next UK election.


William Hague, the Conservatives' foreign affairs spokesman, called on EU leaders to "declare the Lisbon treaty dead" and to concentrate instead on making the Union work under its existing rules.


In the week Nicolas Sarkozy, the French president, urged the Irish to reverse their No vote, Mr Hague warned that his eurosceptic party stood ready to drive the final nail into the treaty's coffin if it were to win the next general election, expected in 2010. Mr Hague told the Financial Times a Conservative government would hold a referendum on the Lisbon treaty, unless it had been ratified by Ireland before the next British election.


"We would withdraw ratification by Britain and subject it to a referendum, in which we would recommend a No vote," Mr Hague said. Opinion polls suggest Britain would almost certainly reject the text.


Mr Hague's comments confirm that Mr Sarkozy and other EU leaders face a race against time and need to secure Irish agreement to the Lisbon treaty before the British election.


The Conservatives are currently 20 points ahead of Gordon Brown's ruling Labour party in the opinion polls. Mr Brown is expected to hold out until the last possible moment - summer 2010 - before going to the polls.


David Cameron, the Conservative leader, has a parliamentary party that is almost entirely eurosceptic in nature, and promises to lead Britain into a renewed battle to seize power back from the EU in Brussels.


Mr Hague said the Tories were "very positive about many aspects of the EU", including its commitment to tackling climate change and opening markets, particularly in the services area, and joint foreign policy action on issues such as Iran.


But his promise to stop what he calls "the centralising ratchet" of the EU - epitomised by the Lisbon treaty - is a signal that he is prepared to put Britain at the head of what he believes is an ever more sceptical mood among European voters.


"There are moments when Britain can productively size the initiative and set out an agenda and find friends," he said. "We are not afraid to do so."


If the Lisbon treaty has been ratified by Ireland and all other 26 member states before the 2010 British election, Mr Hague has indicated he would not try to back out of it.


However, he says that a Conservative government would "not let matters rest there", suggesting a Cameron administration would try to exempt Britain from unspecified areas of the treaty, triggering an inevitable dispute in Brussels.


Mr Hague confirmed that a Tory government would also try to renegotiate Britain's participation in the EU's social and employment laws, which have spawned regulations such as trade union consultation and increased protection for temporary workers. This would require unanimous approval by all other EU member states, an unlikely outcome.


Mr Hague also insisted that the Tories would pull out of the centre-right European People's party alliance after next year's European parliament elections, to form a new "centre-right non-federalist" group. The centre-right Czech ODS party is the main prospective partner.

[Keith-M]

Another reason to get this sorted asap. If the UK general election is next May as many believe, we will need to have ratified by March to put it to bed.

[fergalr]

SF must be delighted that Cameron is their closest ally in Europe For the rest of us, it's not going to be a diplomatic triumph to be knee high to the Brits once more.

[Coleman]

Another reason to get this sorted asap. If the UK general election is next May as many believe, we will need to have ratified by March to put it to bed.

It's already dead. Sarkozy is just attempting to re-animate it. Hopefully the Tories will put the stake through its foul heart.

[toxic avenger]

We must 'get this sorted', eh? I thought we just had...

[Catalpa]

Excellent news on this front anyway!

William Hague would not be making such a statement unless he cleared it in advance with Cameron.

This is a huge boost for the NO side as all we have to do now is keep our nerve and reject any second attempt to hold a Referendum.

Conversely its a kick in the nether regions for Cowen who is now caught on the horns of a dilemma - either go early for Round 2 this side of the Euros and be accused of bum rushing Joe Public or hold off until later next year with a few token changes thrown in but when the shadow of the Tories being in power in 2010 (if not sooner) looms larger in the mind of the public.

Either way it looks like he's caught by the ***** now!

[fergalr]

How is he going to go about this, btw? Can you just rescind your signature?

[toxic avenger]

How is he going to go about this, btw? Can you just rescind your signature?

He knows the onus is on us, they won't have to withdraw their ratification if we refuse to give ours, so it's a moot point. Plays well with the British electorate, but in reality the battle is ours.

[generick]

How is he going to go about this, btw? Can you just rescind your signature?

Not sure, I'd imagine that he could probably kill any declarations made for Ireland at the European Council, and thus prevent them from going ahead. That would seem to be a plausible approach, but as I've never sat on the EC, i'm not entirely sure.

[hiding behind a poster]

Mr Hague told the Financial Times a Conservative government would hold a referendum on the Lisbon treaty, unless it had been ratified by Ireland before the next British election.


"We would withdraw ratification by Britain and subject it to a referendum, in which we would recommend a No vote," Mr Hague said. Opinion polls suggest Britain would almost certainly reject the text.




If the Lisbon treaty has been ratified by Ireland and all other 26 member states before the 2010 British election, Mr Hague has indicated he would not try to back out of it.

This raises an interesting point for No people on this site. If they agree with Hague's reasoning on this, then presumably they accept that a member state's first attempt to ratify Lisbon does not necessarily represent their final word on the matter. In other words, given that Hague is saying that, if Lisbon wasn't yet ratified by all member states, the British government would, having notified the EU of ratification in 2008 (as Brown's government did), subsequently inform them of "un-ratification" by a Conservative government in 2010. So if that principle is accepted as reasonable, surely its also reasonable that the Irish government's current position of not being able to ratify Lisbon, owing to the referendum result, need not necessarily be its final word on the matter either? If one member state can go through a ratification process more than once, surely any other member state can do the same?

Mr Hague confirmed that a Tory government would also try to renegotiate Britain's participation in the EU's social and employment laws, which have spawned regulations such as trade union consultation and increased protection for temporary workers.

So, how do our Sinn Fein and Socialist Party friends feel about their new anti-Lisbon allies now?