A blank cheque: leaked EU document reveals Government doesn't even know what it is signing up to in the Lisbon Treaty
28 January 2008
Open Europe today releases a confidential strategy paper prepared by the Slovenian EU Presidency for heads of Governments which identifies 31 areas of the Lisbon Treaty where decisions have not yet been taken on how the arrangements will actually work in practice.
The leaked document provides a list of decisions that will need to be taken and "preparatory work" which will need to be carried out during the course of 2008 - before the Treaty is even ratified in all member states.
In particular, the document shows that EU leaders plan to make a series of important decisions only after ratification in "difficult" countries such as the UK. Many decisions are to be taken "as soon as possible" after ratification is out of the way. So MPs will effectively be signing a blank cheque if they vote for the Treaty without a referendum.
Open Europe Director Neil O'Brien said:
"Much of the Lisbon Treaty is about giving the EU the power to create new institutions and arrangements and to decide on how they will actually work in practice at a later date. Many of these crucial decisions will be made by majority voting - so the UK is unlikely to be able to stop any details it doesn't like the look of."
"Once the Treaty is ratified, there'll be no going back. There are so many deliberately unanswered questions in there - about things as important as the role and powers of the EU President and Foreign Minister - that MPs would effectively be signing a blank cheque to the EU if they ratify this Treaty without a referendum."
See link below to read the paper (partially in French:
http://openeurope.org.uk/research/sloveniannote.pdf
See link below to read a translation of the French parts:
http://www.openeurope.org.uk/research/presidencynotetranslation.pdf
Issues which remain to be resolved include:
Institutions
The role of the EU President. The exact role of the President remains to be defined. For example, will he represent the EU abroad, and, if so, what will be the role of the Foreign Minister? How will the President interact with the rotating presidencies of the Council? Will he have the entire body of civil servants at the Council Secretariat (6,000 in total) at his disposal?
The EU President and Foreign Minister's "conditions of employment" - this includes pay, benefits, pensions etc. To put this into context, the EU President is likely to be better paid than the Commission President, who is paid £180,000 a year, on which he pays a special EU rate of tax of just 15 per cent. He can also claim accommodation expenses of £27,000, £7,000 for entertaining, and an official car worth up to £75,000. His pension, which also attracts the low Brussels tax rate, is £120,000 a year.
Home Affairs
The structure, operation and field of action of Europol. The Treaty gives new tasks and powers to Europol in general terms - giving it a role in operational action on the ground (e.g. dawn raids etc) - but how this will work will need to be defined by specific legislation.
The new powers and operation of Eurojust. The Lisbon Treaty gives the European prosecutors' group new powers including the "initiation of investigations". The UK Government initially opposed this, but later gave way. Johannes Thuy, a spokesman for Eurojust, confirmed that "We could compel the British police to make a prosecution." However, exactly how this will work is yet to be decided.
The rules governing the European Public Prosecutor and its functions. The Lisbon Treaty allows for a regulation to be agreed which would establish the EPP and lay down its "general rules". Despite opposing the idea for years, under the Lisbon Treaty the UK would no longer have the right to stop the prosecutor from going ahead.
The powers of the new "Operational Committee on Internal Security." There is an ongoing debate over whether the Committee will be able to propose legislation; whether there will be any parliamentary oversight of its work; and what the goal of "internal security" includes.
Foreign Policy
The "organisation and functioning" of the EU External Action Service (diplomatic service). What the EU diplomatic service will look like and do, its size and composition, are some of the biggest remaining question marks hanging over the Lisbon Treaty. The UK originally opposed the service, saying "We believe that it remains for EU Member States to organise their respective bilateral diplomatic services at the national level." (Denis MacShane, Hansard, 17 June 2002) These decisions will be taken by qualified majority, following a proposal from the new Foreign Minister. Estimates of the size of the diplomatic service vary between 7,000 and 20,000. A report by the European Parliament already warned that it could "take on an uncontrollable life of its own" and become "an independent super administration." Spanish PM Jose Zapatero has said, "We will undoubtedly see European embassies in the world, not ones from each country."
The role and powers of the EU Foreign Minister. Despite the UK's objections, the EU Foreign Minister (now known as the "high representative") will have the automatic right to speak on behalf of member states on the issues where the EU has a position. However, other aspects of the role remain to be decided. According to Valery Giscard d'Estaing this week he or she "will be able to talk about aid and cooperation programmes." According to a report in EUobserver, "If it is decided that common foreign and security policy should influence these areas then it is likely to mean that the commissioners responsible for trade and development will become junior commissioners, answering to the foreign minister." (28 November 2007) France hopes to reach agreement on who will be Foreign Minister during its EU Presidency in the second half of the year.
Defence
The size and arrangements of the new foreign policy fund. The Lisbon Treaty allows for the creation of a "start-up fund" for foreign policy operations. Everything about the fund remains to be decided - including its size and how much member states will pay into it - and the decision will be taken by QMV. During negotiations on the original EU Constitution the Government demanded that decisions about the fund should be taken by unanimity, but it was overruled.
Structured cooperation in defence. Following ratification of the Treaty, member states that are interested in establishing permanent, structured cooperation in the field of defence may set up a group to do so. A briefing paper by the European Federalists argues that the group is a "significant step towards a single European Army." But how it will work is still very unclear.
Arrangements for the implementation of the Defence "Solidarity Clause." The Lisbon Treaty states that "Should a Member State be the object of a terrorist attack or the victim of a natural or man-made disaster, the other Member States shall assist it at the request of its political authorities." The UK Government opposed this, but later gave in. The exact meaning of this is still to be decided, and the decision will be taken by qualified majority vote.
Several EU officials have suggested that these controversial decisions are deliberately being put back until after ratification.
Guenter Burghardt, a former EU ambassador to the US, warned that "we have to make sure that there are no discussions [on foreign policy] taking place in the open air" before the UK parliament has ratified the reform treaty and Ireland has held its treaty referendum. (EUobserver, 29 November 2007)
An unnamed EU ambassador said this week: "The issues of the EU Foreign Minister and the common diplomatic service will be dealt with last, after ratification of the Lisbon Treaty by Britain, because the subject is too explosive." (Libération blog "Coulisses de Bruxelles", 22 January 2008)
This fits a wider pattern of dishonesty in the handling of the issue. As Luxembourg Prime Minister Jean-Claude Juncker has said: "Of course there will be transfers of sovereignty. But would I be intelligent to draw the attention of public opinion to this fact?" (Telegraph, 3 July 2007)
Notes for Editors
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