Brussel haalt krenten uit pap: implementatie EU Grondwet via achterdeur

[Dr. Marc-Alexander Fluks]

REPLY TO: D66 at nic.surfnet.nl

Maandag a.s. zal de Britse minister van Buitenlandse Zaken Jack Straw in het
Lagerhuis aankondigen dat de U.K. afziet van een referendum over de EU-Grond-
wet. Maar volgens het Britse 'No Campaign' zit hier een addertje onder het
gras... en dit sluit haarfijn aan op de weigering de Grondwet in het Neder-
landse parlement in stemming te brengen. Precies om de reden die ik eerder
noemde...


Bron:  The No Campaign
Datum: 3 juni 2005
URL:   http://www.nocampaign.com/media-centre/bulletin.aspx?bulletinid=25


Danger that EU Constitution will be implemented by the 'back door'
------------------------------------------------------------------

This week plans to 'cherry pick' large parts of the Constitution and
implement them without consulting the people came to light.

Giuliano Amato, the vice-president of the Convention that drafted the
Constitution, said that parts of the document could be 'transplanted' into
the Nice Treaty (FT, 1 June)

Chris Patten, one of the board members of the Britain in Europe campaign,
argued on the Today Programme that 'the job for the UK in the presidency
will be to pick out the bits of the Constitution which don't require
treaty change which would help us to run this extraordinary enterprise...
I think we've got to pick out the bits that would enable us to run it
better.' (1 June)

He also said, 'I think it would be absolutely barmy to give the impression
that we were trying to smuggle the treaty in by the back door if it's got
a big thumbs down from voters... We've made considerable progress in the
last few years; not all those institutional changes require treaty change.
To say there is nothing that can be done now because of the vote in France
is completely preposterous.'

Lord Brittan, another BiE board member, previously said on Newsnight that
if there was a no vote EU leaders should 'cherry pick' parts of the
Constitution and go ahead with them - without a referendum. He said that
the EU President in particular, should still go ahead. (24 May)

Britain in Europe appears to be split over the issue. BiE Campaign Director
Lucy Powell has repeatedly said that there is no prospect of back door
ratification. But two powerful members of her board appear to disagree.
Douglas Alexander, the new Europe Minister, has also refused to rule out
allowing parts of the Constitution to be introduced by stealth. (Today
programme, 2 June)

Javier Solana, the EU Commission's high representative has signalled that
the EU will continue to press ahead with the diplomatic service that is
proposed in the Constitution, regardless of the referendum results. He
told the German newspaper Handelsblatt, 'neither the constitutional text
nor the ideas contained in it are dead... There's no doubt that sooner or
later the EU will have a foreign minister and a diplomatic service... What
is of crucial importance now is that we keep on working as we did before
and that we do not get into a psychological paralysis.' (31 May) The EU
has already started implementing several other aspects of the Constitution,
including the European Defence Agency, the President of the Eurogroup, and
the European Police College.

Some of the no campaign's new business supporters responded to suggestions
that parts of the Constitution be 'cherry picked' by sending a letter to
the FT demanding that no parts should 'be ratified by the back door. Indeed
the government should commit itself to hold a referendum in the UK before
implementing any substantial part of the Constitution.' The signatories
included, Stuart Rose, Marks and Spencer’s Chief ExecutiveKarl Ludvigsen
the Former Vice-President of Ford Europe and Sir Crispin Davis the Chief
Executive of Reed Elsevier. (3 June)

While pro-euro campaigners talk about implementing only a few innocuous
bits of the Constitution, the reality is that any 'Constitution lite' is
likely to include some of the most significant parts of the Constitution,
like the EU President, EU Foreign Minister and changes to voting weights
(which would cut the UK's power to block legislation by 30 percent).
Pressing ahead with a few parts of the Constitution would gradually lead
to implementing much of the rest of the proposals it contains. It is
extraordinary that the yes camp is already talking about pressing ahead,
so quickly after the French and Dutch votes.

--------
(c) 2005 The No Campaign

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