Giscard confirms that the European Constitution is back
Posted, July 17, 2007 @ 16:00
Timothy Kirkhope MEP challenges UK Government on Giscard statement
Brussels, July 17th 2007 -- In a keynote address to the European Parliament this morning, former French President and author of the 2004 European Constitution Valery Giscard d'Estaing confirmed that the new EU treaty is essentially the old rejected European Constitution.
In a meeting of the Parliament's Constitutional Affairs Committee, Giscard said that "the changes compared to the 2004 (IGC) are few and far between...and more cosmetic than real".
Giscard also said that the term 'constitutional' had been dropped simply to "make a few people happy".
In a direct response to questioning from the Leader of the Conservatives in the European Parliament Timothy Kirkhope MEP, Giscard warned against a referendum in the UK, saying it could do to the work of the forthcoming IGC what the French referendum did to the old European Constitution. He said the chances of approval of a new treaty in a UK referendum were "uncertain to say the least".
Mr Kirkhope said:
"Gordon Brown says there are no constitutional elements to the treaty text on the table - that is now confirmed by Giscard as spin and deception.
"Gordon Brown has made much of the fact that he will not indulge in spin, which was the hallmark of his predecessor. Giscard's comments today simply reinforce what every other European leader has said about this new treaty - the Constitution is back.
"We will keep up the pressure on Gordon Brown to come clean with the British people and offer the referendum they were promised by this Government."