EU Foreign Ministry plan condemned
Posted, September 19, 2012 @ 11:00
The Conservative foreign affairs spokesman in the European Parliament today condemned proposals to create an EU foreign ministry.
Charles Tannock MEP described the scheme as "unwanted, unwarranted and unlikely to prevail".
The move emerged today in reports of a policy paper drawn up by nine European states - excluding the UK but including France, Germany, Spain, Italy and Poland.
It calls for wholesale reorganisation of external and security policies to create an all-powerful foreign ministry, run on majority voting and thus bypassing the British veto on key foreign-policy decisions.
Mr Tannock said: "This plays into the hands of the hardline eurosceptics who have been predicting this type of move for years. There is no evidence that this is something the people of Europe desire and it appears as a political elitist top down project which will end in tears.
"There is no support for such a move in the UK by the public or the Government, which would result in a veto and a referendum which would almost undoubtedly reject it."
"Those who want to suck all sovereign power to the centre of a federalist Europea dream equally of global status for their superstate. They fantasise a United States of Europe, bestriding the international stage and wielding diplomatic and military might.
"The truth is that under the Lisbon Treaty we already have an External Action Service led by Baroness Ashton which should be there to represent to EU's interests abroad. Its scope and its responsibilities - not to mention its cost to the taxpayer - are quite enough already."