The Reform Treaty - storm in a tea cup?

A few people have been asking my views on the Reform Treaty -I could write for hours on this but I'll try to keep it brief! In a nutshell, no I don't think the Treaty is a storm in a teacup as it brings wide ranging and much needed reform to the institutions of the Union, however, I also do not think it is the monstrous European revolution that some sections of the media like to play it up to be. As ever, sensationalism sells, calm rational evaluation does not.

The main argument always levelled, and the one the Conservatives do love to bleat on about, is that there should have been a referendum on the Treaty as promised by the Labour Government. The Labour Government did promise a referendum on any constitution but the Lisbon Reform Treaty is not the constitution. Eurosceptics highlight that the Treaty contains 96% of the contents of the original draft constitution. I personally haven't sat down and done a comparison of the two but let us assume that they are correct. As Richard Corbett MEP points out, the DNA of mice and humans is 90% the same - that10% difference is rather important! The constitution would have swept away earlier treaties and meant an entirely new legal order for the Union, the Treaty merely amends the existing order. Most crucially, the UK has negotiated various opt outs and the right to essentially pick and choose what EU policies to sign up for. No such right would have existed under any constitution. There are various other accusations levelled at the Reform Treaty, if you do wish to discuss your concerns about any particular one please do contact me.

So far the Treaty is as I write passing (comparatively) smoothly through the Commons. The Conservatives have been very vocal in their criticism of the Treaty and the decision not to have a referendum. Interestingly, they have been making very foolish promises of a retrospective referendum if they win power at the next general election. Such a referendum would be utterly fruitless. Even if such a referendum resulted in a "no" vote, how do the Conservatives propose to re-negotiate a Treaty that has already been ratified by the 26 other Member States? Any such proposal would inevitably lead to an invitation by the other member states to the UK to invoke clause 49A, the get-out clause in an EU treaty which allows the Member State to quit. This would lead to the Conservatives being left in the rather sticky situation of having to decide on the lesser of two evils: either taking the UK out of the Union or reneging on an electoral promise. Is that the path David Cameron really wants to lead his party and indeed this country down? I very much doubt it!

I agree entirely with Pierre Moscovici (France's Europe Minister from 1997-2002). The new treaty will not mark a political watershed for the EU, rather it is the tool box, the mechanism for decision-making that the Europe of 27 needs and it is the indispensable condition for relaunching the European project and that is why I would lend it my full support.