The Lisbon Treaty faces the Irish people again in the Autumn. This time the Irish are to be assured that it does not abrogate or alter their sovereign, constitutional powers in matters of neutrality, nor interfere with abortion lawmaking, or taxation. That's quite a list. What is more, guarantees of the Brown 'red line' variety that were negotiated by Blair were rejected as not worth the paper etc., (ouch) and protocols added to the Treaty were insisted on. Protocols form part of the body of the Treaty and re-ratification by member-states that have completed the process might be in order.
At this point Brown entered private discussions with the Prime Minister of Ireland. What has he done now that enabled the final communique to state that Ireland would accept the protocols being joined to 'a' Treaty? If the plan is to add them to the Croatian Accession Treaty there are problems with that from current member-states who have no love for Croatia. And if not that Treaty, which treaty? The Irish people might insist on being told and looking at the wording, and who could blame them? We all need to hear what an Irish prime minister might have obtained from a UK prime minister, a notorious liar and a Scottish Protestant liar at that. What is the bribe? Or was it threats? Probably both. And why should the Irish people believe a word? Still it will be interesting to hear what they are promised.
In any case, President Klaus of the Czech Republic is correct. Any protocols modifying the Lisbon Treaty so profoundly with respect to a signatory need the other signatories' assent. The people of the United Kingdom may not have a means of constitutional redress, but other member-states' people most certainly do, not least Germany's which currently has two challenges to the Lisbon Treaty under consideration.
And Brown will learn to regret the reputation he has earned for not being able to tell the truth or keep his word.
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3 comments:
Never mind the Lisbon Treaty, which is a combination of red herring and Trojan horse; we're overdue a proper vote on IN or OUT. Let everybody make the best case he can, then let the people decide and move onward (or backwards) together.
That would be ideal, S, but can you see a way to getting there? In the meantime UK governance is wholly subjected to the European Union timetable for getting Lisbon up and running.
Except what will get Lisbon up and running isn't necessarily the Irish vote. There is a media presentation that all that is standing in the way of a 'strengthened' Europe is the Irish vote but that is not so. Apart from the Czech Republic, Poland might decide to require some changes if Ireland can obtain so much. Germany has its general election in September (lucky them); will the Constitutional court give both rulings before then? And might more representations be made to that court if one member-state can so alter the Treaty retrospectively. I think the German court accepts representations from any German citizen, so further appeals would be hard to control.
Lisbon was not an amicable or unanimous settlement and lots of deals to settle acceptance must have been deeply disturbed by the financial crisis, as well as the everyday situation in which the member-states find themselves now, which will refocus priorities.
Ireland's referendum reopens the Treaty, no matter what we are told that it doesn't. And in the UK prising Brown's administration from office opens it further. The Europe embodied in Lisbon is only one of the Europes we might have, and its supporters are running out of time and have entered adverse circumstances.
Anyway, I find it offensive that on top of everything else done over the last dozen years, the Brown regime answers only to the Lisbon group's imperatives and not to our country's requirements.
"...can you see a way to getting there?" I have a suggestion on my blog - samizdat.
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