The Lisbon Reform
Treaty
 The Lisbon Treaty’s technical name will
be the Treaty Amending the Treaty
on European Union and the Treaty Establishing the European Community. It will
change those treaties so that the combined text will be essentially the same
as the original EU Constitution. Don’t just take our word for it; Michael
Connarty MP, the Labour Chairman of the European Scrutiny Committee, said in
Parliament;
"Every provision of the Constitutional Treaty, apart from
the flags, mottos and anthems, is to be found in the Reform [Lisbon]
Treaty. We think that they are fundamentally the same, and the Government have
not produced a table to contradict our position."
The Red Lines
The Government claims to have defended the UK's sovereignty so that the Lisbon
Treaty will not be able to affect; taxation, social security, foreign and
defence policy and justice and home affairs. They also assert that there is an
opt-out from the Charter of Fundamental Rights. These are the so-called red
lines.
Annexed to the Treaty are Protocols and Declarations, designed to enforce the
red lines, however they do not have sufficient legal force, and are often too
vaguely worded, to defend Britain’s interests from encroachment by the EU.
Michael Connarty MP has also said on behalf of the European Scrutiny
Committee,
"We believe that the red lines will not be sustainable.
Looking at the legalities and use of the European Court of Justice, we believe
these will be challenged bit by bit and eventually the UK will be in a
position where all of the treaty will eventually apply to the UK. If they
can't get these things firmed up, we think they will leak like a sieve."
Even if the red lines were effective as the Government claims they can only
defend
British interests as long as the Government is determined to protect our
freedoms and independence.
Quotes
Click here to read about the
Lisbon Treaty in their own words
Treaty of Lisbon
Click here to read the Lisbon Treaty
online
Consoldiated EU treaties
Click here to read
the
consolidated version of the treaties governing the EU
See below more analysis of the Lisbon Treaty. |
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| Papers |
In support of the case for a referendum the Bruges Group is exposing the
damage that the Lisbon Treaty will do to our freedom, prosperity and democracy
if it is ratified. Our research clealy shows that the Lisbon Treaty is
essentially the same as the Constitution rejected in the French and Dutch
referenda |
| Press
Releases |
The Bruges Group, has welcomed the Irish 'No' vote to the Lisbon Treaty, which
is nothing more than the Constitutional Treaty Mark II. The Constitutional
Treaty had been rejected by the people of France and Netherlands. Now the
people of Ireland, the only country that had a referendum on Lisbon, have also
rejected the re-heated EU Constitution. The peoples of other member states
were refused a say on the Lisbon Treaty |
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In 2005 every major party promised that the people of the United Kingdom will
have a referendum on the Constitutional Treaty. The Lisbon Treaty is clearly
no different from the previous one. This has been affirmed by numerous
political leaders and commentators. Yet the government, Labour MPs and the
Liberal-Democrats do not intend to honour their promise and vote for the
referendum amendment |
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Gordon Brown’s surrender in Portugal will sign Britain up to a Treaty that
will allow the European Union to undermine the last vestiges of Britain’s
competitive free market, bringing to an end the reforms introduced by Margaret
Thatcher |
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The Bruges Group has uncovered that the revived and renamed EU Constitution
will blow a hole wide open in Britain’s borders allowing the EU to take full
control over Britain’s asylum and immigration policies. |
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Gordon Brown’s Government has watered down the UK’s opt-out on justice &
security matters so that it becomes almost meaningless. As the text of the new
treaty to be decided at the IGC Summit this month has become available, no
doubt can remain in anybody’s mind that this is the same treaty that was
rejected two years ago by the electorates of France and the Netherlands. The
Bruges Group has pointed to many aspects of the text that show that those
politicians who maintained that the constitution had been saved were right and
our own |
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The Bruges Group has today pointed out that the European Council has, in
effect carried out a coup d’état in the European Union by usurping the powers
of the member states’ governments. In its conclusions and attached documents,
the European Council has issued a mandate to the Inter-Governmental
Conference, something it has no right to do |
| Comment and
Analysis |
Exposing the implications of the renamed EU Constitution
|
| Press
Releases |
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 |
| Comment and
Analysis |
Roland Vaubel, Professor of Economics at the University of Mannheim in Germany
and member of the Bruges Group, argues that the so-called Reform Treaty is
really the EU Constitution revived |
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The European Parliament approves the mandate for the Reform Treaty and exposes
the fact that it is a guise for reviving the EU Constitution |
| Speeches |
On the day of the final vote in the House of Lords on the Lisbon Treaty, Lord
Willoughby de Broke spoke on the EU, the House of Lords and the Lisbon Treaty.
Gerry Frost discussed the topic of Euroscepticism: Why has it failed? |
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Bill Cash MP, Lord Pearson of Rannoch, and John Hayes MP speak on the campaign
against the Lisbon Treaty, its progress through Parliament and why there must
be a referendum on the revived and renamed EU Constitution |
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The conference showed how the EU's revived and renamed constitution threatens
you and exposed what the EU plans for us next |
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John Redwood MP, Champion of lower taxes and smaller government, and Syed
Kamall MEP, Member of the European Parliament and trade expert, demand that
the public have a say on the EU |
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MEPs Daniel Hannan and Nigel Farage demand that the British people have the
final say on EU integration
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