UK opposition leader backs Klaus on Lisbon Treaty delay

UK opposition leader backs Klaus on Lisbon Treaty delay
2009 09 25

In a show of support for Czech President Vaclav Klaus's continued refusal to complete ratification of the EU's Lisbon Treaty, the leader of the British Conservative Party has sent Mr Klaus a letter noting that the party intends to hold a referendum on the document if they are elected into government next year.

The move, reported on Wednesday (23 September) in the Daily Mail, a British tabloid, would appear to support the theory that Mr Klaus is delaying signature of the treaty, already ratified by the Czech parliament, for as long as it takes for the Conservatives, currently on the opposition benches, to come into power.

David Cameron (Who Married into the Astor Family), the leader of the eurosceptic party, has repeatedly promised to hold a referendum on the treaty if he becomes prime minister and if ratification has not been fully completed in the rest of Europe.

David Cameron is 'Con Man of British Politics', Says Lib Dem Leader Nick Clegg

A general election must be called in Britain by the middle of next year and the Conservatives are widely expected to win.

A spokesperson for the Conservatives said he had not seen the letter but confirmed that one had been sent to the Czech president "some weeks ago."

"There certainly wouldn't have been any pressure on Mr Klaus," said the spokesperson. "It was just basically restating our position and underlining the point, our stance on the Lisbon Treaty."

"If the treaty is not in force at the time of the next general election and a Conservative government is elected we would suspend Britain's ratification of the treaty and hold a referendum urging its rejection," he said.

A referendum on the treaty in Britain, known for its largely eurosceptic population, is likely to result in a No vote, which would kill off the treaty.

However, if all other member states have ratified the treaty, it is not clear what, if any, moves Mr Cameron can make. To date, he has only said the Conservatives "will not let matters rest."

Mr Cameron's move is set to infuriate other EU leaders, particularly France and Germany, who have thrown their weight behind the treaty.

Both countries were already riled by the fact that Mr Cameron teamed up with Mr Klaus' eurosceptic Civic Democrats and left the federalist European People's Party in the European Parliament to form their own anti-federalist outfit after the June EU elections.

Last week, Nicolas Sarkozy said there would be "consequences" for the Czech Republic if Mr Klaus kept postponing signature of the document.

The pressure from other capitals is likely to intensify if Ireland votes Yes in its referendum on the treaty next week (2 October).

"Cameron is going to destroy Britain's credibility as a European Union player," UK liberal MEP Andrew Duff told this website after news of the letter came out.

The treaty creates an EU foreign minister and president of the council post and greatly extends the powers of the European parliament to co-legislate with member states. It must be ratified by all member states if it is to come into force.

Source: euobserver.com

Share |

Latest News from our Front Page

So It Begins: Darpa Sets Out to Make Computers That Can Teach Themselves
2013 06 18
The Pentagon’s blue-sky research agency is readying a nearly four-year project to boost artificial intelligence systems by building machines that can teach themselves — while making it easier for ordinary schlubs like us to build them, too. When Darpa talks about artificial intelligence, it’s not talking about modeling computers after the human brain. That path fell out of favor among computer ...

Atacama Humanoid: Stanford-Geneticist Says Specimen "not worth scrutiny"
2013 06 18
The documentary SIRIUS has intrigued and shocked many, and has stirred debate about the scientific findings regarding the ’Atacama Humanoid’. Recently, daily German science news site GreWi.de followed up with Dr. Garry Nolan, the Stanford geneticist that headed the investigation into the mummified remains. grenz|wissenschaft-aktuell reports: Since the documentary movie "Sirius" showed the first results of an investigation of a just 15 ...

The Illuminati Depopulation Agenda
2013 06 18
While the global elite construct underground bunkers, eat organic and hoard seeds in Arctic vaults; the global poor are being slowly starved thanks to high commodity prices and poisoned with genetically modified (GMO) food. Austerity measures aimed largely at the poor are being imposed on all the nations of the world. Weather events grow more deadly and brushfire wars more ...

Ron Paul on Syria: This Is How Vietnam and Iraq Started
2013 06 18
President Barack Obama’s pledge to initiate a limited operation in Syria will likely escalate into a full-blown war, with Americans supporting a rebel cause that is backed by al-Qaida, retired Texas Rep. Ron Paul is arguing. "The president has opened a can of worms that will destroy his presidency and possibly destroy this country. Another multibillion dollar war has begun," Paul ...

Google’s deep CIA and NSA connections
2013 06 18
The Western media is currently full of articles reporting Google’s denial that it cooperated in a government program to massively spy on American and foreign citizens by accessing data from Googles servers and those of other U.S. software companies. The mainstream media has, however, almost completely failed to report that Google’s denial, and its surface concern over ’human ...

More News »