Lisbon Treaty — Prevent competition rules from becoming an exclusive policy area of the European Union — rejected — 6 Feb 2008 at 19:45

The majority No voters rejected an amendment^[1] to the European Union (Amendment) Bill. This would have prevented competition rules from becoming an exclusive policy area of the European Union as proposed by the Treaty of Lisbon. In particular, the Aye-voters sought to allow "the UK to retain the freedom to complement the internal market where deemed necessary."^[2]

The amendment can be seen as an attempt to limit Britain's further integration with the European Union.

The European Union (Amendment) Bill implements the Lisbon Treaty into UK law. The main aims of the Lisbon Treaty were to^[3]:

• 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] Mark Francois MP, House of Commons, 6 February 2008
• [2] Mark Francois MP, House of Commons, 6 February 2008
• [3] BBC News Q&A: The Lisbon Treaty, 5 February 2010

Debate in Parliament | Source |