European Union Bill — Requirement for Referendum on Decisions Under Existing Treaties — Joining Euro — Border Controls — EU Prosecutor's Office — 13 Jun 2011 at 17:56

The majority of members of the House of Lords voted not to require a referendum prior to making the Euro the UK's currency, the UK joining the European Public Prosecutor’s Office, or changes impacting the UK's border controls, or other decisions made within existing existing European Union treaties.

The House of Lords was considering the European Union Bill^[1]. The amendment which was accepted by the majority of Lords in this vote was:

• Amendment 14: Clause 6, page 4, line 34, leave out from "Parliament" to end of line 35

The effect is to remove subsection (b) from subclause 6(1) which at the time of the vote stated:

• A Minister of the Crown may not vote in favour of or otherwise support a

decision to which this subsection applies unless—

• (a) the draft decision is approved by Act of Parliament, and
• (b) the referendum condition is met.

The referendum condition is set out in section 3(2) of the Act which states:

• (2) The referendum condition is that—
• (a) the Act providing for the approval of the decision provides that the provision approving the decision is not to come into force until a referendum about whether the decision should be approved has been held throughout the United Kingdom or, where the decision affects Gibraltar, throughout the United Kingdom and Gibraltar,
• (b) the referendum has been held, and
• (c) the majority of those voting in the referendum are in favour of the approval of the decision.

The effect of the amendment would be to remove the requirement for a referendum prior to specified decisions under the treaties underpinning the European Union; those specified decisions, set out in Section 6(5) of the Bill, those decisions include:

• Certain changes to the governance of the EU.
• Participation by the United Kingdom in a European Public Prosecutor’s Office
• Making the euro the currency of the United Kingdom;
• Decisions under Article 4 of the Schengen Protocol (relating to free movement within the Schengen Area) that remove any border control of the United Kingdom.

On the 13th of June 2011 Janet Fookes, known as Baroness Fookes, stated:^[3]

• My Lords, I have to announce a correction in the voting figures in Division No. 1. The correct figures are: Contents, 214, not 213 as announced; Not-Contents 209.

No correction to the list of voters was provided.

==

• [1] Parliament's webpage on the European Union Bill (now an Act)
• [2] Clause 6 of the European Union Bill as at the time of the vote
• [3] Baroness Fookes, House of Lords, 13 June 2011

Debate in Parliament | Source |