EU Reform: Treaties
Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs

Nigel Evans (Ribble Valley, Conservative)

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what the differences are between the original planned EU Constitution in 2005 and the new proposed EU Constitutional Treaty 2007.

Jim Murphy (Minister of State (Europe), Foreign & Commonwealth Office; East Renfrewshire, Labour)

The Treaty establishing a Constitution for Europe, on which the Government proposed a referendum, is now defunct. The mandate for a Reform Treaty agreed by the European Council states clearly:

"The constitutional concept, which consisted in repealing all existing Treaties and replacing them by a single text called "Constitution", is abandoned".

As my right hon. Friend the then Prime Minister (Mr. Tony Blair) set out in his statement to Parliament on 25 June, the Reform Treaty will differ fundamentally from the Constitutional Treaty in both form and substance. Among other things, we have ensured that there is nothing in the mandate for the Reform Treaty which will require us to change our existing labour and social legislation. Our common law system and our police and judicial processes will be protected. Our independent foreign and defence policy will be maintained. Our tax and social security system will be protected.