Weak, weak, weak
It is beyond absurdity for the Government to acknowledge that the Lisbon Treaty cannot now be adopted legally by the EU, but that we should ratify it anyway.
When the French and Dutch rejected the Constitutional treaty, Tony Blair, with Britain holding the EU Presidency, called for a period of reflection, and characteristically allowed the subsequent void to be filled by others. He had the opportunity to kill the Treaty, as Gordon Brown now has, and he in turn has flunked it too.
Yesterday David Miliband talked of the technical adjustments to deal with EU enlargement as if this was what the Treaty is all about. He talked nonsense about the Conservative position on the Nice Treaty. We were very happy to approve changes in the voting weighting in the Council of Ministers because of enlargement. We objected to other features like the Charter of Fundamental Rights, proclaimed on the sidelines of Nice, which of course – as we forecast – turned into a fully fledged judicial entity.
The Laeken Declaration in 2001 set the tone and asked the right questions about the future of the EU, the need for greater transparency, democratic accountability and institutional reform. At the time we pleaded with Tony Blair to set out a clear view of what the architecture of the EU in the 21st Century should be. He did nothing, and the whole process was hijacked, against the very spirit of Laeken, and the EU constitution emerged.
So we have a pattern in our EU relationship that we have domestically - a failure to act decisively on outstanding problems. Do you remember the Lisbon agenda, to make Europe the knowledge powerhouse of the world? Tony Blair set out a compelling vision, and then did virtually nothing to push the agenda, much to the amazement of our European neighbours.
Labour hides behind the assertion that the Tories are anti-European, but by their weak and flabby approach to the EU, always in the slipstream of others, the EU is now more distrusted and disliked in many parts of Europe. Labour has failed to address the democratic deficit in the true spirit of Laeken. The Irish vote said it all.
Now this week they are shilly – shallying again. It is against both our national interest and a modern, viable EU fit for purpose. No referendum here and no clear leadership. It is more than a lost opportunity. It is a disgrace.