Time To Revisit My Simplifying Treaty
Brussels -- Monday 5 December 2011
It's time to revisit my Simplifying Treaty, first published in 2003 with a great foreword by William Hague. Some readers will remember that I re-issued it during the debate over the Lisbon Treaty, but I now feel it is, once more, relevant and necessary. Therefore I'm planning to publish it again.
Europe is in crisis: financial, economic, monetary (call it what you like) and decision makers are trying to find a solution. My belief is that mistakes were made in the past and that we are paying for some of them now.
Attempts at European integration were too deep and too hasty. The focus should have been on completing the Single Market, but the temptation to create a single monetary system proved too alluring for some. The result, the Eurozone, is under pressure, and the whole of Europe is being dragged down by it.
Now, with talk of re-visiting the Treaties in order to force through even closer monetary and possibly greater political union, another constitutional debate is about to begin whether we like it or not.
My Treaty has always made the case for a simpler, cheaper and more transparent Europe - a Europe that most citizens would appreciate. It rejects further integration and also places limits on the areas in which the EU should get involved. Furthermore it sets out a way forward that aims to increase the engagement of national parliaments, and perhaps more importantly, the public in a positive but reflective fashion.
So, watch this space. The Simplifying Treaty (Mk 3) is on its way.
