Lisbon Treaty — Delay till 20 October 2008 — rejected — 18 Jun 2008 at 18:07

The majority of Lords voted against passing the following motion to the European Union (Amendment) Bill during its Third Reading debate that:^[1]

• Notwithstanding the normal practice of the House, this Bill be read a third time no earlier than Monday 20 October 2008 to allow --
• Parliament to consider the most appropriate response to the changed circumstances and uncertainties caused by the rejection of the Lisbon treaty in the Irish referendum; and
• any amendments to the Bill made necessary by those changed circumstances to be considered in detail by the House, if necessary on recommitment.

The European Union (Amendment) Bill implements the Lisbon Treaty into UK law. The main aims of the Lisbon Treaty were to^[2]:

• 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

----

• [1] Lord Howell of Guildford, House of Lords, 18 June 2008
• [2] BBC News Q&A: The Lisbon Treaty, 5 February 2010

Debate in Parliament | Source |