Lisbon Treaty — Change the date upon which the Treaty will come into force — rejected — 11 Jun 2008 at 19:24

The majority of the Lords voted against changing the time when the Lisbon Treaty comes into force.^[1] As the European Union (Amendment) Bill stood the Lisbon Treaty would come into force when the Bill received Royal Assent. The amendment attempted to change the wording of the Bill so that it would come into force when the Secretary of State introduced a statutory instrument to enact the relevant sections. However, the amendment was defeated.

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

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• [1] Lord Howell of Guildford, House of Lords, 11 June 2008
• [2] BBC News Q&A: The Lisbon Treaty, 5 February 2010

Debate in Parliament | Source |