Britain ‘should be able to opt out of EU deals’

Andrew Porter
London Telegraph
Monday, Sept 8, 2008

Britain should be able to have “special status” within the European Union that would allow it to effectively opt out of agreements such as the Lisbon Treaty, the author of the European Union Constitution will say today.

Valéry Giscard d’Estaing, the former French President who was the key architect of the constitution, will tell a special conference in London that members states have to accept that not everyone believes European integration should continue. The furore over the Lisbon Treaty – effectively a revived version of the Constitution – has once again led to a debate about how many powers Britain cede to Brussels.

Mr d’Estaing will tell the conference organised by the Daily Telegraph and campaign group Global vision: “Integration is vital for Europe: it is a question of scale that will become vital in the world of tomorrow. The European Union has already come too far with the project of closer integration to stop now.

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“However, we have to accept that not all countries share the same vision, or are comfortable proceeding at the same speed. If countries such as Britain do not want to move to the next stage we should be prepared to agree with them on a special status that would preserve close ties, but avoid them acting as a brake on the progress of others.”

The event, which takes place at the Houses of Parliament, will look at what options Britain and Europe has in the wake of the Lisbon Treaty. The treaty was rejected by Irish voters earlier this year, throwing its ratification process into doubt.

Lord Blackwell, the Chairman of Global Vision, will argue that Britain needs to look again at loosening its ties with the EU.

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