Lisbon Treaty — Act of parliament needed for the government to accept future changes to the Lisbon Treaty — 4 Jun 2008 at 22:40

The majority Not-Contents rejected an amendment^[1] to the European Union (Amendment) Bill. The amendment would have required an Act of Parliament to be made where the European Union (EU) wanted to move certain policy areas from being decided by unanimity to qualified majority voting (known as the passerelle clauses).

Lord Howell of Guildford moved this amendment because as the Bill stood the government could call a vote on this issue with little to no parliamentary debate^[2].

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

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• [1] Lord Howell of Guildford, House of Lords, 4 June 2008
• [2] Lord Howell of Guildford, House of Lords, 4 June 2008
• [3] BBC News Q&A: The Lisbon Treaty, 5 February 2010

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