We believe in an open, flexible Europe in which countries work to achieve shared goals rather than the ever greater centralisation of power in Brussels.
We believe that in democracies nothing lasting can be built without the people's consent - and yet people have been denied their say on the renamed EU Constitution.
I can't disagree with any of that, and it could easily have come from the Libertas website. But this is where the similarity ends.
If the Lisbon Treaty is not yet in force at the time of the next general election, and a Conservative Government is elected, we would put the Treaty to a referendum of the British people, recommending a 'no' vote. If the British people rejected the Treaty, we would withdraw Britain's ratification of it.
Well... then what? If Britain stops the Lisbon Treaty, just as the Irish have, then what happens next for Europe? Are the Tories really suggesting that the EU should remain how it is? Even the EU claims that it is broken, which is why they pushed the Constitution/Lisbon Treaty to 'make it work'.
And NONE of that is relevant to the EU elections - it is all dependent upon a Tory Government being elected at some time in the future (probably 2010 ) and that the Lisbon Treaty hasn't been ratified by then. So what will their MEPs be doing for the next five years?
The EU must adapt to the times we live in - and it should act where European countries together can achieve things they cannot do alone. So our priorities for the EU are today's challenges of global competitiveness, global warming and global poverty.
That means:
- Ending the remaining barriers to free trade within the EU
- Taking back control of social and employment policy so we can make our own decisions in these vital areas for Britain's prosperity and social well-being
- Improving the EU's Emissions Trading Scheme
- Reforming the EU's aid policy so that it is more focused on poverty reduction and less entangled by bureaucracy and administrative short-comings.
It would be hard to argue with any of that, but there is no mention of reform at all. Not even a nibblet of change. The Tories are happy to keep the EU as it is.
One only has to look at the voting record of Conservative MEPs to see that they consistently support the EU's anti-democratic policies and structures. Most people don't seem to realise that the Conservative MEPs are members of the EPP-ED, home to both Hans-Gert Pöttering, President of the European Parliament, and José Manuel Barroso, President of the European Commission. That's right, the Tories are part of the largest group in the European Parliament.
So what difference would it make if all 72 of Britain's MEPs were Conservatives for the next five years? None, because the Tories have no plans for reforming the EU, and no means of actually implementing them anyway.
This is NOT what the British public want.
This is why Libertas and the Conservatives are offering completely different positions to the electorate. Libertas is not just saying 'No' to the Lisbon Treaty, we are offering a pan-European solution to make the EU more democratic, more accountable and more transparent. We want to return national sovereignty. We want to ensure that everyone making major decisions and forming European law should be directly elected and accountable to the public.
So if you are happy with the EU as it is, then vote for the the Tories in June.
However if, like most people in Britain, you think that the EU is over centralised, authoritarian, corrupt and anti-democratic, and you want to change it, then please support Libertas.
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4 comments:
"Conservative MEPs are members of the EPP-ED"
Minor correction - thought they were leaving - albeit only after the elections? The FT has the latest here: http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/359e5780-fc50-11dd-aed8-000077b07658.html
They are indeed still members of the EPP-ED. Cameron promised in 2006 that they were leaving, so I wouldn't hold your breath :)
Disappointed that you are trying to suggest the Conservatives are against EU reform. The opposition to Lisbon Treaty is due to opposing the Treaty's move to more centralisation and less democracy.
I think it does you harm/disservice to try and suggest otherwise.
Just accept that the Conservative and Libertas stance is similar on reform EXCEPT Libertas is a one-issue party solely focused on the reform of the EU and is not a sovereign state party.
Cameron continues to make it clear that it will be part of a new group post the elections. It does not make sense to disaffiliate until that point as this Parliament is still functioning.
I note that the new Libertas members (like Philippe de Villers, Georgios Georgiou) have not yet left their groups. They won't and nor will the Conservatives until the new Parliament forms.
By the way, when will Libertas publish its views or beliefs on EU issues?
I am only going by the evidence. The Tories do talk about reform behind the scenes, but there is little evidence of them taking any serious action on it. How often do we hear David Cameron talking about EU reform? Not very often.
It may be that I was a little harsh in my assessment. It could just be that the Tories are unable to implement their desire for EU reform because they are a domestic party with a very limited number of MEPs. In which case, Libertas is, again, offering something that the Tories can't - the potential for a major party in the European Parliament founded on the principles of democracy.
You say that there is no point leaving the EPP-ED yet, but it was a decision taken in 2006, three years ago. Clearly the Conservative leadership doesn't see a serious conflict of interest there. That worries me and many other people. If they are serious about reform, why are they still in a party promoting a European superstate?
Being against the Lisbon Treaty and wanting a couple of powers back from Brussels is not the same as supporting wholesale reform of the EU. I would love for them to adopt our policies of course, and I would hope that the Tories will join the Libertas group in the EU Parliament after June.
In fairness, I found a statement of principles for the ED group here:
http://www.conservatives.com/pdf/ED-principles.pdf
That looks fantastic to me. Sovereign nations, democracy, personal liberty, less regulation etc. But is this actually how Conservative MEPs vote? And how is this remotely consistent with membership of the EPP-ED which is the chief proponent of the Lisbon Treaty?
This sums up the Tory position; confused.
The confused message hasn't been helped by the reappearance of arch-europhile Ken Clarke on the front bench. Does that signal a party in favour of reform? Not really.
My hope is that the success of Libertas will spur the Tories (and the other parties in Britain) into a new kind of thinking on the EU. Change can happen, but only if we are willing to really grab the opportunity that the Lisbon Treaty crisis has created.
Libertas *is* that opportunity and for any Conservative voters reading this, I hope that they will support us to go places that other parties can't reach :-)
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