The Irish ratification of the Treaty of Lisbon will pave the way for the biggest erosion of national sovereignty in Europe since the Second World War. After rejecting the Treaty in June last year, Ireland was forced to vote again. Lisbon, also known as the European Union Reform Treaty, is a rehash of the old European Constitution, which was emphatically rejected by voters in both France and Holland in 2005. It is in essence a blueprint for a European superstate, paving the way for the creation of a European Union president, foreign minister, foreign service, and diplomatic corps.
No doubt Euro-federalists in the White House and State Department are celebrating the Irish “yes” vote. Hillary Clinton already gave her backing to the Lisbon Treaty in an interview with the Irish Times back in March, and the Obama administration has sent strong signals that it supports of further European integration.
This enthusiasm is highly misplaced. The centralization of political power in Europe is not in the interests of the United States, and it will threaten both the Anglo-American special relationship and the broader transatlantic alliance. The Treaty is all about building a vast supranational political entity that will increasingly challenge and oppose American leadership on the world stage. It is inherently undemocratic, and it will ultimately strip away the ability of individual nation-states within Europe to shape their own destinies.
It is now highly likely that the last two countries that have failed to ratify the Reform Treaty — Poland and the Czech Republic — will do so under intense pressure from the European Union. A British referendum is the last remaining hope for Lisbon to be derailed. Under the Labour government of Gordon Brown, Britain has already ratified the Treaty, but a new Conservative administration — likely to seize power next May — could hold a popular vote on the issue. The polls show that a large majority of Britons oppose Lisbon and would put the Treaty to the sword if they had a chance to do so.
Conservative leader David Cameron has not yet committed to a referendum if the Czechs and the Poles decide to ratify the new EU Constitution, arguing instead that Britain could negotiate key opt-outs. But when he becomes prime minister, he should give the British people the final say over the Lisbon Treaty, as well as over the UK’s broader relationship with the European Union, and hand them the opportunity to halt the European Project. If Great Britain does derail the European train as it advances toward “ever closer union,” she will have struck a huge blow for the cause of liberty, freedom, sovereignty, and democracy in Europe.
– Nile Gardiner is the director of the Margaret Thatcher Center for Freedom at the Heritage Foundation.