David Cameron’s made quite an impact with the latest spiel he delivered on Europe last Wednesday, says Gabriel Milland in the Daily Express.
His about-turn on the Lisbon Treaty referendum prompted the resignation of two Tory MEPs, including Daniel Hannan. His promise to try and wrest back powers from the EU provoked France’s Europe minister, Pierre Lellouche, to accuse the Tories of “castrating” Britain’s position in Europe.
The Tories are “howling in the night”, says Simon Heffer in The Daily Telegraph. Cameron’s new policy consists of three vague proposals: to hold referendums on any new European treaties; to introduce a Sovereignty Bill to prevent certain powers being transferred abroad; and to repatriate Charter of Fundamental Rights powers.
These promises are “meaningless”. There will be no new treaties in the foreseeable future. And a Sovereignty Bill smacks of “shutting a stable door after the horse has bolted”. As for repatriation of powers, it would require the agreement of all other EU countries, which won’t happen. So it is hard not to see these promises as a cynical bid to hang on to Eurosceptic votes.
Cameron’s pledges do indeed look “like hot air”, agrees Jackie Ashley in The Guardian. However, it “won’t take long for the pfennig to drop”. If the Tories win the next election, the Eurosceptics will “go to town” and weaken Cameron’s government.
True, says Matthew D’Ancona in The Daily Telegraph. The Tory party may be sedated with the “sweet smell of imminent electoral success, but that won’t last once power is secured”. Expect a big headache for Prime Minister Cameron, who has the small matter of the economy to attend to before trying to unpick the Lisbon treaty.
The fact that our economy is in a mess doesn’t mean that the British people no longer care about the status of our nation, says Stephen Glover in the Daily Mail.
If Lisbon cannot be renegotiated, it would “certainly be possible to have another referendum on Europe”. I agree, says Julia Hartley-Brewer in the Sunday Express. “We demand to be heard. If Labour and the Tories won’t listen, then they will pay the price.”