S08007                                                                                          22 January 2008

EU MEMBERSHIP IS GOOD FOR UK

In yesterday’s vote on the Bill to ratify the new EU Treaty (the Lisbon Treaty), Stafford’s Labour MP David Kidney voted in favour. He says that he believes that the next stage of development of the EU will be as most people would wish – a coalition of member states pursuing common goals together while retaining their individual sovereignty and character:

“Of course we in Britain want to make our own decisions on the future of our economy, taxes and social security and our identity. But when it comes to tackling global issues like trade liberalisation and tackling climate change we are stronger by joining together in a coalition of nearly half a billion people. In defence, NATO continues to be the cornerstone of our global security.

“Labour promised a referendum to approve a Written Constitution for the EU. But the voters of France and the Netherlands rejected that Constitution, and the Lisbon Treaty states that the Constitution has been abandoned. This is why we cannot offer a referendum on the Constitution now. As for approving a further amending Treaty by Parliamentary proceedings, this is what our country has done every time – Single European Act, Maastricht, Amsterdam and Nice.

“For those who worry that we are on a path to a super state called the EU, I say that the yearning of a few politicians for such an outcome is a thing of the past. The best antidote to that movement was the enlargement of the EU. Now with 27 member states, and with other nations wishing to join, the future of the Union lies in co-operating together over issues where we are stronger by working together, and otherwise doing our own thing.

“Of course some things will stay the same. The EU will still have a parliament, a Council of Ministers, a Commission and a Court of Justice. But some reforms in this Treaty demonstrate a desire for the enlarged EU to work more effectively – for example, a slimmer Commission, a new power for national parliaments to block EU proposals and even, for the first time, a procedure for a member state to give notice and leave the EU if it wants”.