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The first English text of the Draft Treaty amending the Treaty on European Union and the Treaty establishing the European Community – which replaces the Treaty Establishing a Constitution for Europe – has been published.
Prime Minister Gordon Brown is said to be firmly against a referendum, and soon after the draft was first agreed Downing Street ruled one out, saying “this is in the territory of an amending treaty”.
But questions have been raised about the extent to which the two treaties really differ. The Conservative Party has said there is no substantial difference and the government should agree to a referendum.
Open Europe, a think tank that calls for reform of the EU, provided the first English translation of the draft treaty and calculated that it was 96% the same as the Constitutional Treaty – which the government did think worthy of a referendum.
Judge for yourself – the original documents:
The two documents are not directly comparable – the old constitution is a finished product, signed off by national leaders. The other is a work in progress, to be discussed further later in the year. The following links may help in interpreting the differences – and indeed in deciphering the documents themselves:
Mark Mardell’s Euroblog - the BBC's Europe Editor considers the importance of the new document.
Open Europe’s analysis– concludes: “Only 10 out of 250 proposals in the new treaty are different from the proposals in the original EU Constitution. In other words, 96% of the text is the same as the rejected Constitution.”
European Movement’s analysis – concludes: “The proposed new treaty is less far-reaching than the previous Constitutional Treaty, but nevertheless it opens the way to a new era in the European Union’s development.”
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