Lisbon Treaty — Excludes the European Union from imposing an obligation on Parliament — rejected — 27 Feb 2008 at 19:00

The majority No voters rejected an amendment^[1] to the European Union (Amendment) Bill. This sought, in relation to the Treaty of Lisbon, to exclude any obligation being made on the Parliament of the United Kingdom by the European Union (EU).

Particular reference was drawn to differences of weighting between the English and French translations of the Treaty which seemed to be more onerous on the Parliament of the United Kingdom.^[2]

However, Jim Murphy MP explained that EU legal experts had made the conclusion that no obligations would be imposed on national parliaments.^[3]

The European Union (Amendment) Bill implements the Lisbon Treaty into UK law. The main aims of the Lisbon Treaty were to^[4]:

• Streamline EU institutions
• Establish a permanent President of the European Council (as of 16 March 2010 held by Herman Van Rompuy)
• Establish the post of High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy (as of 16 March 2010 held by Catherine Ashton)
• Give new powers to the EU over justice and home affairs
• Remove the national veto in some areas such as energy security and emergency aid

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• [1] Dominic Grieve MP, House of Commons, 27 February 2008
• [2] Dominic Grieve MP, House of Commons, 27 February 2008
• [3] Jim Murphy MP, House of Commons, 27 February 2008
• [4] BBC News Q&A: The Lisbon Treaty, 5 February 2010

Debate in Parliament | Source |