British voters should be under no illusion about the EU’s draft ‘Reform Treaty’, said Daniel Hannan in The Daily Telegraph. It contains the four pieces of the jigsaw that allow the EU to call itself a sovereign state: a head of state; a foreign policy; a system of criminal justice; and the ‘legal personality’ of an independent government, which confers treaty-making powers and the right to sit in international associations. It also contains the Charter of Fundamental Rights, the abolition of some 40 national vetoes and a 30% reduction in Britain’s ability to block new initiatives.
The changes to the original constitution, which was rejected by European voters, were “decorative, not structural”, said Hannan. But this is how the EU behaves. “When people vote ‘No’ to closer integration – as they usually do, given the chance – their opposition is seen as an obstacle to be overcome not a reason to alter course.” In one regard, the new draft is actually worse. As a constitution, further alterations would have required a “cumbersome amendment process”. Thanks to an ‘escalator clause’ in the treaty, Brussels can extend its jurisdiction without the need for further treaties.
Brown will be in hot water if he ratifies the reform treaty without a referendum, said William Rees-Mogg in The Times. The Labour Party committed itself to a referendum on the European constitution. “British voters get angry when they consider they have been deceived” and if that promise is not kept, Brown will pay a high political price.
Calm down, said The Guardian. Climate change, energy security and policing a UN deal on Kosovo all require a single European voice. The EU must be more than a “collection of competing domestic interests”. Britain is currently in a strong economic and diplomatic position; if Brown concedes a referendum, other countries are poised to fill the gap.
It’s not as if the reform treaty contains anything new, said David Aaronovitch in The Times. There is “hardly anything in here that wasn’t confirmed in principle at Maastricht”. The main changes are to allow what has been agreed to be pursued more effectively. “I wonder whether it isn’t the threat of a more efficient EU that so enrages some Europhobes.” Don’t be naive, said Melanie Phillips in the Daily Mail. The public isn’t stupid. “They can see this constitution for what it is… This is not just another tiresome political row. What is at stake here is democracy itself.”