Lisbon Treaty — Ratification by all states before coming into force — rejected — 18 Jun 2008 at 18:59

The majority of the Lords voted against inserting a new clause into the European Union (Amendment) Bill^[1] which said:^[2]

• Consequences of non-ratification by other Member States
• For the avoidance of doubt, until the Treaty of Lisbon has been ratified by all Member States of the European Union, Her Majesty's Government shall continue to act in accordance with the provisions of the existing Treaties and within the institutional arrangements established by those Treaties.

The government had argued that this amendment was unnecessary because the condition outlined in the amendment already existed elsewhere.^[3] However, it was probably submitted "for avoidance of doubt" to make it more difficult to fudge the issue in any way.

This vote was the last that was cast on the Bill. It finally passed the House of Lords at the end of this debate.

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] European Amendment Bill, House of Commons
• [2] Lord Campbell of Alloway, House of Lords, 18 June 2008
• [3] Baroness Ashton of Upholland, House of Lords, 18 June 2008
• [4] BBC News Q&A: The Lisbon Treaty, 5 February 2010

Debate in Parliament | Source |