Graham's blog Friday 20 June 2008

Published on Sat 21st Jun 2008

The main EU news in the UK this weekend will doubtless be 'EU pushes ahead with Lisbon Treaty despite Irish No'. I was at the summit and it was not like that at all.

First, everybody accepts that the EU will have to proceed on the basis of the existing treaties. Some countries, like the UK, have decided to continue to ratify the Lisbon Treaty in the hope that it may one day enter into force: others have made no decision yet.

Second, the Irish government asked for time and space to analyse the vote and see if they can find a way to save a Treaty which they and 26 other governments believe will improve the EU. All governments agreed, because they recognise it is an EU problem rather than just an Irish problem and hence no deadlines have been set. The EU will proceed under the current arrangements until further notice.

Third, all accept that the reforms in the Lisbon Treaty (designed to make the EU more democratic and more efficient) cannot go ahead, though many privately despair at the thought of carrying on just like before, which is the result of the Irish vote.

Will the sky fall in without the Lisbon Treaty? No. Next year's EP elections will take place as normal, the next European Commission will be appointed as before: the only real difficulties will be the lack of clear legal powers for EU action to fight climate change (making policies liable to challenge in the European Court of Justice) and the continuing inability of the bloc to stand united on the world stage (vis-a-vis the USA, for example). Probably the most worrying aspect of the Irish NO campaign is the evidence of huge financial resources which some suspect came from the American neo-Conservative right wing.

Ironically for Ireland, the number of EU Commissioners will be cut in 2009, meaning Ireland is likely to lose its Commissioner next year. (Under the Lisbon Treaty the number of Commissioners would have been reviewed only in 2014 and there was a clause which allowed the heads of state and government to decide not to cut the number: but of course nobody in Eire who voted No to 'save Ireland's Commissioner' compared the Treaty they were asked to vote on with the existing treaty provisions!).

Parliament met in Strasbourg this week and voted by a healthy majority to approve the Directive on return of illegal immigrants (see last week's newsletter). We also beefed-up European police co-operation with formal powers for Europol and agreed on the liberalisation of electricity markets, which will help limit the rise in energy prices.

On Wednesday we debated the preparations for the summit. The debate focused almost entirely on the Irish referendum result. (For my speech, see www.grahamwatsonmep.org)

I travelled to Rome on Wednesday afternoon to meet the leader of the Democratic Party (the major opposition party, some of whose MEPs sit in my Group) and address a conference of Liberal Democrats from five continents (speech also on my website); and to Brussels excruciatingly early Thursday morning to receive the Liberal Democrat prime ministers ahead of the European Council ('summit') meeting.

I am pleased to report that the 27 prime ministers (including our five) later agreed a lot of measures which will make the EU more relevant to the lives of each and every citizen. Action on custody of children in cross border matrimonial disputes, commitments to improve the rights of defendants in cross-border legal cases (especially trials in absentia) and so on. They also discussed ways of limiting food and oil price rises, but stopped short of significant government intervention in the market. (The full text of what they agreed should be available on www.europa.eu under the 'Council' or 'Consilium' section.)

What was the mood like? Pretty grim, but more of resignation than despair. To apply W B Yeats dictum about Ireland to the EU: 'Romantic Europe's dead and gone. / It's with O'Leary, in the grave'.