Anthony Barnett (London, OK): I was puzzled by John Palmer’s post (below) on the EU summit. If he is right, what is so wrong with making the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights legally binding? I’d gone along with the general prejudice against all forms of Euro-penetration from above. All I’d read about the Charter recently was Bill Emmott insisting that if it was agreed then whatever opt outs Britain might have there should still be a referendum. A little bit of research led me to the excellent Spyblog. This points out that Europe’s Charter stipulates:
- Everyone has the right to respect for his or her private and family life, home and communications.
- Everyone has the right to the protection of personal data concerning him or her.
- Such data must be processed fairly for specified purposes and on the basis of the consent of the person concerned or some other legitimate basis laid down by law.
- Everyone has the right of access to data which has been collected concerning him or her, and the right to have it rectified.
- Compliance with these rules shall be subject to control by an independent authority
Now, what kind of government could possibly disagree with that!
So I read the Charter. It's short, clear, powerful and every European country that enjoys its protection must be fortunate. It is six pages long, each with its own heading, namely: Dignity, Freedoms, Equality, Solidarity, Citizens' rights and Justice. Under Justice it even stipulates: "Legal aid shall be made available to those who lack sufficient resources in so far as such aid is necessary to ensure effective access to justice". Something that seems to have been taken away from us in Britain over the last ten years. I can't think of anything more healthy for British politics than to put the Charter through everyone's front door - and have a referendum.
