Jon Bright (London, OK): Lots and lots of roaring and slavering still over the EU treaty. This from the Open Europe newsletter, on an article called "Beware the grip of the Euro monster":
The Sunday Times noted that Andrew Duff, one of the three MEPs who helped to draft the treaty, has called the UK's ‘safeguard' on the Charter into question. "I am surprised the British feel so confident they have a cast-iron guarantee. It is not the view over here. "The charter obviously has to be tested in the courts and it lies with the courts to decide. There are some circumstances where it [the opt-out] could work and some where it wouldn't."
Duff believes that case law could arise from cross-border issues, in particular. "A Frenchman in England who was in trouble could use the charter in his defence, or British companies that work abroad could raise the charter in litigation," he said.
Describing the new treaty as "extremely significant" in terms of European integration and on a par with Maastricht, Duff said the opt-outs and opt-ins had been drafted by legal experts with the specific aim of pressuring Britain to join in.
Bill Emmott said much the same thing on these pages at the beginning of September - this treaty does have teeth. Prodicus has a lengthy sum up of why he feels it is a betrayal here, which seems to capture the mood of most of the pro-referendum camp. But the most interesting thing I've read has to be David Miliband's blog - which proves once again the usefulness of the medium:
Here's what I didn't know before attending my first European Council for Heads of Government and Foreign Ministers last night. People smoke. Three on cigarettes, one cigar and one pipe. Everyone thanks everyone else for their excellent contribution even when they disagree. It seems to be ok to do a lot of texting and even to read a book. And a bit like a basketball match all the excitement is in the last five minutes when huddles of tired people stick to their guns or make compromises to get a solution.
"Inside the EU monster" is what he calls the post - unclear to me if there is a Times connection. As I've written many times, I'm not worried about this monster nibbling at our sovereignty per se (as I'm pro-EU in theory). But I do feel as if it is trampling on what is left of our democratic process. I just can't see how ever closer union will work in this country if people believe they have no say over the EU - and even pro-EU MEPs like Duff are admitting that talk of "red-lines" is just more artful misdirection. We need an EU decided on by people outside smoky rooms - that would be something I, and perhaps others, could subscribe to being swallowed by.
UPDATE: Exclusive quote from the EU treaty itself - listen here:
[audio http://www.wavcentral.com/sounds/movies/godzilla/roar.mp3]
