Europe Says No - No to the Lisbon Treaty, Yes to Democracy

Labour MP: Lisbon 'puts future of democracy at stake'

A former UK government minister has warned that the Lisbon Treaty threatens the future of democracy. Labour MP Gisela Stuart - who helped draw up the original EU Constitution, since renamed as the Lisbon Treaty - said that the Treaty breaches the fundamental democratic principle that voters can get rid of those in power.

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Welcome to ‘Europe Says No – No to Lisbon, yes to democracy’. This is a pan-European campaign supported by individuals all over Europe who believe the Lisbon Treaty should be rejected, to make way for a better, more democratic European Union.

We are against the Lisbon Treaty because:

It is virtually identical to the EU Constitution which was rejected by French and Dutch voters in 2005
Voters in most EU countries have not been given a say – instead, the Treaty has been pushed through parliaments with almost no debate
It significantly reduces the control of national parliaments over EU legislation, as confirmed by the German Constitutional Court
It abolishes the national veto in more than 60 areas of policy
It reduces Ireland’s ability to block laws it disagrees with by more than 40%
It does nothing to address the EU’s serious problems with fraud, waste and lack of accountability

People in Ireland are being made to vote on exactly the same text they rejected in a referendum last year. EU leaders admit that the text hasn’t changed by a single comma, and that it will apply in exactly the same way as before. Despite this, Irish politicians are pretending it is different. This is an extension of the deeply undemocratic attitudes which saw EU leaders conspiring to deny the rest of Europe a vote on the Treaty after the EU Constitution was rejected by French and Dutch voters.

This cannot be allowed to continue. ‘Europe Says No’ is a coalition of pro-Europeans who want a better future for Europe. We believe in an EU where important decisions are taken as closely as possible to the citizens they affect – not by distant, unaccountable institutions which disregard the will of the people. We want an EU which safeguards the rights of national parliaments, and has respect for the hard-won democracies of its member states.

The Irish referendum represents the last real chance to reject this undemocratic Treaty and force politicians in Brussels to rethink. If the EU is allowed to continue growing in power without consulting the people this will spell disaster in the long run.

Join our campaign for a better, more democratic EU – post your comments on our ‘Voices from Europe’ page and encourage your friends to join in.

To read more about the Lisbon Treaty and how it will reduce democracy in Europe, read the ‘Why we say no’ and ‘FAQs’ page. To read about the Treaty in more detail, read our ‘Guide to Lisbon’ page.