The EU Constitution and those magical "red lines"

The BBC is reporting that a committee of MPs have concluded that the EU Reform Treaty is, essentially, the EU Constitution.

The EU treaty is "substantially equivalent" to the EU Constitution thrown out by Dutch and French voters in 2005, MPs have said.

The European scrutiny committee said it should be "made clear" the UK can keep opt-outs of parts of the document.

And how! Iain Dale has a list of amendments that the Tories wanted to make, but which were voted down. In the meantime, thinktank Global Vision has issued the following Press Release.

Today’s release of the European Scrutiny Committee report on the European Union Intergovernmental Conference is further proof that new Reform Treaty is essentially the same as the EU Constitution. In particular, this respected House of Commons Committee concludes that two documents are "substantially equivalent". Furthermore, in paragraph 50 the report states, "we do not consider that references to abandoning the 'constitutional concept' or 'constitutional characteristics' are helpful and consider that they are even likely to be misleading in so far as they might suggest the Reform Treaty is of lesser significance than the Constitutional Treaty."

Ruth Lea, Director of Global Vision, says,

“It is now perfectly clear that the government’s assertions that the reform Treaty is somehow different from the Constitution have no foundations. They promised a referendum on the Constitution; we should have a referendum on the Reform Treaty. The Government’s ‘red lines’ are essentially red herrings as they had been agreed prior to the Government’s decision on a referendum back in 2004.”

And what of these red lines? Well, the BBC report carries on...

But the government says it has secured opt-outs or "red lines" - in areas such as human rights, tax and benefits, foreign policy and justice - which makes it different.
...

And it warned that the UK's "red lines" may not prove effective.

Really? Why on earth would the Committee think that? Well, maybe it has something to do with this little investigation of the final draft by The Bruges Group.

JUSTICE AND HOME AFFAIRS RED LINE BREACHED

Uh-oh! But why am I not surprised? So, how exactly are the EU and our politicians going to bend us over and fuck us this time? [Emphasis mine.]

Under the terms of the so-called Reform Treaty, the notoriously centralising European Court of Justice (which always agrees with those who favour taking power from the nation-state) will seize more power over Justice and Home Affairs. For purely cosmetic reasons the UK has managed to delay the EU’s takeover of police and judicial cooperation in criminal matters for just 5 years.

After this 5 year period, the UK has a right to opt out from any legislation on that area. However, both the general 5 year transitional period and the UK opt out cover only the legislation in force before the treaty becomes law (which is expected to happen on 1st January 2009). Additionally under Protocol 10 Article 10 (4) the EU by Qualified Majority Vote can force the UK to pay financial penalties for the opt out.

Wow! Suddenly this red line—which is arguably in the most important area that is left to us—doesn't look so fucking red, does it? Let me repeat these points, in an easy to quote list form.

• The UK has managed to delay the EU’s takeover of police and judicial cooperation in criminal matters for just 5 years.


• After this 5 year period, the UK has a right to opt out from any legislation on that area. However, both the general 5 year transitional period and the UK opt out cover only the legislation in force before the treaty becomes law.


• The EU by Qualified Majority Vote can force the UK to pay financial penalties for the opt out.

What the fuck? And that Cyclopean Gobblin' King cunt is going to sign us up to this shit? Without a referendum? What the total fucking fuck is going on? No amount of supposed benefits is worth the subversion of our justice system.

Our justice system is completely different from that of the Continent. In brief, our legal system is based on the concept of Common Law—that everything is legal unless it is specifically made illegal.

The Roman Law system used on the Continent works in completely the opposite way—everything is illegal unless made specifically legal.

And this brief explanation does not even touch on the other concepts that we hold so dear—habeas corpus, jury trials, etc. As Trixy says:

Bye bye habeas corpus! Hello corpus juris. Bye bye Juries! Hello being thrown in jail and not being formally charged.

This is absolutely fucking unacceptable: this is no mere cosmetic change, this means a fundamental difference in relationship between citizen and state. No wonder those authoritarian, totalitarian fucks in the Labour Party love it so, the fat corrupt pieces of shit.

But—and I know that this does not seem possible—it just gets worse.

Furthermore, a new article, 4a (2) in the Protocol on the Position of UK and Ireland (in respect of the area of freedom, security and justice) has been added to the Treaty protocol, giving the legal right to the EU Council of Ministers to put pressure on the UK to participate in the EU’s plans to control Britain’s legal system.This will lead to pressure for the UK to surrender more power in the following areas:

• Immigration and frontier controls
  (Loss of any pretence that we control our immigration policy)


• Judicial co-operation in criminal matters
  (Legal harmonisation)


• Minimum rules for the definition of criminal offences and sanctions
  (EU to control criminal law)


• Eurojust (structure, operation, field of action and tasks)
  (EU control over the fight against organised crime)


• Police co-operation (data sharing and training)
  (Britain’s policing to become like policing on the continent)


• Europol (structure, operation, field of action and tasks)
  (EU Police)


• Specialised courts (establishment of specialised first instance courts)
  (The undermining of Britain’s system of Common Law)


• Establishment of integrated management system for external borders
  (EU control of Britain’s borders)


• Mechanism for peer review of member states' implementation of policies in the Justice and Home Affairs (JHA) area
  (Britain’s legal system to become accountable to the EU)


• Measures to promote crime prevention
  (More EU control over policing)

What is more if these powers are handed over there is nothing that our own democratic process can do to overturn those decisions.

Short of leaving the EU completely, of course (please, please, please...).

This would leave the EU completely in control of our justice system and police. And, quite apart from the fact that we would be effectively rule by a foreign power, and the differences between Common and Roman Law outlined above, let me remind you just what kind of organisation the EU is.

• The EU is an organisation that, in 1999, suspended and disciplined Paul van Buitenen for whistle-blowing, after his constant reports of fraud were ignored internally.


• The EU is an organisation which hired Marta Andreasen to clean up their accounts and then, when she reported that they were open to massive amounts of fraud, sacked her. The EU's excuse was that Marta was "disloyal".
  
  The Commissioner who sacked her was abject failure, Welsh windbag, Vice-President of the EU Commission and head of the Commission's anti-fraud drive, Neil Kinnock. During the House of Lords debate at which he was to be questioned and possibly censured for his actions, he found that he had better things to do.


• The EU is an organisation which ordered the arrest of Hans-Martin Tillack, a German reporter based in Brussels, for exposing fraud in Eurostat. His computers and all of his files were confiscated and he still has not got them back. When he protested, one of the Belgian police officers told him that in Burma "journalists get treated much worse."


• The EU is an organisation that will remove the pension of any of its former staff who "fail to uphold the interests of the European Communities".


• This is an organisation that is run more like the Mafia than a government; it is corrupt and totalitarian right to the very core. It's aims are more Stalin than Smith, more Hitler than Hayek.

In short, the EU is an evil organisation that is riddled with venality, authoritarianism and nepotism; do you really want these fuckers funning your legal system? Gordon Brown does, the one-eyed fuckbucket.

You can read the final draft (if you want to—it's hard work) at the following links:

1. Preamble (2pp) [PDF]


2. The Reform Treaty (152pp) [PDF]


3. Protocols (76pp) [PDF]


4. Declarations (25pp) [PDF]

To read this Reform Treaty Constitution is to read of the final death of Britain as an independent nation. Enjoy.