Rocky road to the Reform Treaty

16 October 2007

Readers may be surprised to hear that the UK has already agreed the EU Reform Treaty (AKA the EU Constitution), writes Stephen Gardner. Or at least the UK government legal service has rubber-stamped it. All that remains now is for Gordon Brown and his peers from other member states to achieve political agreement. The stage is thus set for two days of grandstanding in Lisbon on Thursday and Friday (October 18-19) when heads of state meet to discuss the draft. Everyone expects Poland, which has an election two days after the summit, to kick up a fuss over points already signed off by its lawyers. But Brown can afford to keep a much lower profile. This is because Britain has imposed its stamp on the treaty already. A number of exceptions have been negotiated that look good on paper. But if these opt-outs have any significant meaning in the real world is another question. For example, Britain has secured a convoluted protocol to the treaty that is in effect an opt-out of the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights – a handy apparent concession to the tabloids. But the Charter is largely the writing into EU law of the European Convention on Human Rights, which the UK is already bound by. The practical usefulness of the opt-out to the average British citizen will most likely be zero. The practical usefulness to Gordon Brown will be greater however, as he can argue away calls for a referendum on the basis that the UK's 'red lines' have all been protected and the rest of the treaty merely involves some administrative adjustments in the day-to-day running of the EU.

 

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