THE TELEGRAPH: Britain's power to govern itself is to be surrendered increasingly to Brussels after the European Union’s Lisbon Treaty was finally ratified.
The treaty, which will come into force within a few weeks, will create the first president of Europe, as well as a European foreign minister, and will end Britain’s right to veto new EU rules in more than 40 policy areas.
The treaty's supporters say it will allow the EU to operate more efficiently and give it greater influence in world affairs.
But critics say it will cede too much more of Britain's sovereignty to Brussels.
Vaclav Klaus, the President of the Czech Republic, yesterday signed the Lisbon Treaty, ending eight years of resistance to its attempt to give more power to the EU.
The Czechs are the last of the 27 EU states to sign the treaty, and their move forced the Conservatives to abandon their pledge to hold a British referendum on Lisbon.
William Hague, the shadow foreign secretary, said it was “a bad day for British democracy”.
David Cameron, the Conservative leader, will today set out plans for an alternative Tory pledge to renegotiate several parts of Britain’s EU membership, trying to win back control over social and employment laws.
It is understood that one of Mr Cameron's options will be to guarantee a referendum for British voters under a Tory government if any more national powers were in danger of being ceded to Brussels.
Mr Cameron’s retreat on announcing a referendum on the newly ratified treaty has led to accusations of breaking his promise and betraying the British people.
The Lisbon Treaty is based on the European Constitution, which started at a summit in Brussels in December 2001.
Gordon Brown hailed the Czech signature as “a historic step,” and European leaders said it will create a more powerful EU.
Despite the scale of the changes the treaty makes, the British people have never been directly consulted on the document, which was ratified in a Commons vote and signed by Mr Brown in 2007.
Labour won the 2005 general election having promised a referendum on the European Constitution but then dropped the pledge, arguing that Lisbon was a different document.
The Conservatives gave a “cast-iron” guarantee of a vote on Lisbon.
But after Mr Klaus signed the text, the Tories admitted that they will not offer voters a say on Lisbon.
Mr Hague said that once ratified, the treaty will cease to exist as a distinct legal document, meaning no vote can be held on it.
He said: “Now that the treaty has become European law and is going to enter into force, that means that a referendum can no longer prevent the creation of the president of the European council, the loss of British national vetoes, these things will already have happened, and a referendum cannot unwind them or prevent them.”
Daniel Hannan, a Tory MEP and leading Euro-sceptic said the signing was a step towards a European super-state. “The boot continues to stamp on the human face,” he said.
Mr Hague last night attempted to blame Labour for the treaty’s passage. He said: “People have never been consulted or voted in a general election for this.
"The British people have never even voted once, and we will not let people forget whose responsibility that is.”
Mr Brown insisted that the signing of the treaty was something to celebrate. >>> James Kirkup and Bruno Waterfield | Tuesday, November 03, 2009
TIMES ONLINE: The Eurosceptic leader of the Czech Republic, Vaclav Klaus, has signed the Lisbon treaty, finally giving effect to a much-delayed accord designed to overhaul the institutions of the European Union and give the bloc a greater say in world affairs.
The move forced the Tory leadership to concede defeat tonight over their plans to hold a referendum on the treaty with David Cameron promising to clarify his party's policy on Europe tomorrow.
William Hague, the Shadow Foreign Secretary, said it was “no longer possible” to put the treaty to a popular vote. “Now that the treaty is going to become European law and is going to enter into force, that means a referendum can no longer prevent the creation of the president of the European Council, the loss of British national vetoes,” he said.
“These things will already have happened and a referendum cannot unwind them or prevent them.”
President Klaus confirmed that he had signed the pact only hours after the text was given the green light by a Czech court which had been asked to rule on its constitutionality.
"I signed the Lisbon Treaty today at 1500," he told reporters in Prague as an aircraft prepared to take the Czech articles of ratification to Rome, where the original treaty setting up the EU was signed.
Mr Klaus was the last EU leader to ratify the treaty, which began life as the EU Constitution, and his signature means the 27 EU member states can pick their first-ever full-time president as well as a new foreign affairs representative. >>> Philippe Naughton, Philip Webster and Roger Boyes | Tuesday, November 03, 2009
