Recycled Eurosceptic myths and misunderstanding – the Labour rebels' 12 point plan on the Reform Treaty

Elements of the press have claimed that a group of Labour MPs want 12 changes to the EU Reform Treaty as the price for dropping their campaign for a referendum. However, what are these demands and do they stand up to scrutiny?

Keep policing and criminal justice away from the European Court of Justice.

Unnecessary since the UK anyway has an opt-out this area of policy, so t he ECJ has jurisdiction only where we want it. Changes won't apply to us in any case, unless we choose to opt in. The UK government secured an extension of its existing opt-in to cover new areas of police and criminal judicial co-operation.

Under the Reform Treaty the UK opt-in will cover measures on visas, immigration, asylum, judicial and police co-operation. If it is not in our national interest, the UK will not opt in. But cross-border crime and terrorism pose a significant threat to the UK , so Europe-wide co-operation to protect the UK often makes far more sense than attempting to act alone.

Prevent the court using EU competition law to undermine public services.

The Reform Treaty expressly protects public services. A new protocol will require the Union to respect services of general economic interest, including the way they are organised and financed by Member States in order to ensure that public services are able to fulfil their duties. In other words, EU competition policy rules could not be used to undermine public services. If you have concerns about public services, you have another good reason to support the new Treaty!

Scrap the new post of EU foreign policy chief and the EU diplomatic service.

This so-called ‘new' post is actually a merger of the two existing EU foreign affairs posts (External Affairs Commissioner and the High Representative). The new EU High Representative will not have any extra powers over policy. It is unnecessary to have two voices when one will do.

Moreover, the creation of the External Action Service in the new EU Treaty, although not noticed by many, is a reform that Eurosceptics should not criticise. At present all EU external "embassies" are run by the Commission. The EAS will give national governments a role in running and staffing them, a clear step away from a federal system.

Member states to regain international aid budgets.

Member States already have control of their own international aid budgets – the UK international aid budget can be as large or small as it likes and spent according to its own priorities.

The EU's development aid is additional to that given by individual EU countries. Therefore, to remove this aid would cut the total amount of aid to developing countries as some Member States would not increase their own budget to compensate. It is frankly unbelievable that Labour MPs should seriously call for a cut in aid to developing countries.

Applying QMV to the EU's urgent humanitarian aid and not just to international aid spending is in the interest of countries like Britain who are at the forefront of the campaign to increase aid to the third world, as it makes it harder for other Member States to block aid. Developing countries anyway usually prefer the multilateral EU aid to the “tied” aid given by some individual countries.

Scrap rules that allow EU leaders to introduce majority voting into new areas without the need for treaty changes.

Changes to the EU Treaties will require unanimity – as now. There are, as before, ‘passerelles' (allowing a decision to switch from unanimity to majority voting) in the Reform Treaty, but national parliaments would have to agree to their use - so the UK parliament will have a veto also. Besides, passerelles are not new – they were first introduced by the 1986 Single European Act.

Drop plans for further extension of majority voting and stick with the provisions agreed in talks on the Nice Treaty in 2000.

Sticking to the provisions of the Nice Treaty would preserve the status quo – with the EU institutions having to conform to treaty arrangements designed for an EU with twelve fewer countries and over 100 million fewer people. Keeping to the existing treaties would make EU decision-making harder and lead to institutional gridlock.

Drop plans for a list of areas where the EU "shares competence" over policy with Member States.

This demand is surely based on a total misunderstanding! EU competences can be “exclusive”, where only the EU is competent to act, or “shared” where both EU and Member State action is possible. Almost all EU competences are “shared” – and rightly so. There are few areas where it makes sense for the EU alone to have the right to act. So, unless they are arguing for the EU to have exclusive competence, they are in fact arguing for abolishing almost all of the EU's current responsibilities: internal market, environment, consumer protection and so on.

Return powers over regional spending to national governments.

The Reform Treaty does not alter the rules on regional policy, so it therefore appears that the rebels are urging the EU's regional policy to be scrapped. This is unlikely to be welcomed by many of the poorest areas of the UK who are beneficiaries of EU aid.

Enable the Government to "automatically" deport foreign criminals.

 All well and good, but not something that can be affected by the Reform Treaty.

Scrap plans to deprive national voting rights if they breach EU economic rules.

 Eh? It's not at all clear what on earth they mean!

Abandon plans to give Brussels the power to determine composition of the European Commission.

This is another baseless eurosceptic myth. The Commission will, as now, be composed of members nominated by national governments. As now, they would require collective approval by the European Parliament which can also dismiss the Commission, but not choose its successor. The choice of the President of the Commission, as now, requires approval of the Parliament.

Retain national veto over trade agreements relating to public services.

 Do we really want France to be able to veto trade agreements?

To sum up, most of the changes demanded by the Labour Euro-rebels either fall into the categories of Eurosceptic myth or are already catered for in the proposed Reform Treaty.

This emphasises that there is much in the Reform Treaty to be welcomed by Eurosceptics. The treaty strictly limits the areas and ways in which the EU can act and is clear move in the opposite direction from a federal Europe . Rather it will help us to deliver the “ Europe of results” focusing on policy rather than institutional tinkering.