Lisbon Treaty — Disapproves of the government's policy towards the Lisbon Treaty with regards to the single market — rejected — 6 Feb 2008 at 16:18

The majority No voters rejected an amendment^[1] disapproving of the Government's policy towards the Treaty of Lisbon in respect of that Treaty's provisions concerning the single market.

It was observed that the Conservatives (the bulk of the Aye-voters) should be in favour of "the single market, because a free trade area is what they essentially believe in, [and] yet they walk away from it."^[2]

However, the Tories argued that "this treaty downgrades the objective of an open and competitive single market from its place at the heart of the EU's agenda to an obscure protocol tacked on to the back of the treaty..."^[3]

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] Philip Hammond MP, House of Commons, 6 February 2008
• [2] Stuart Bell MP, House of Commons, 6 February 2008
• [3] Philip Hammond MP, House of Commons, 6 February 2008
• [4] BBC News Q&A: The Lisbon Treaty, 5 February 2010

Debate in Parliament | Source |