§ Mr. CashTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will publish a White Paper on the legal and constitutional implications of his policy of acceding to a European constitution [104983]
§ Mr. MacShaneThe Government will continue to ensure full opportunity for the involvement of Parliament in considering the draft Treaty articles being produced by the Convention and which will be considered in the next Intergovernmental Conference.
We are considering further how best to do this as the Convention approaches its conclusion before the IGC begins.
§ Mr. CashTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the legal basis upon which Her Majesty's Government will give legal effect to(a) the principle of a Charter of Fundamental Rights and Freedoms and (b) the European Constitution. [104985]
§ Mr. MacShaneThe product of the Convention on the Future of Europe will be a draft Treaty. The draft, including any reference in it to the Charter of Fundamental Rights, will require the agreement of all Member States in the next Intergovernmental Conference. The Government has put forward its views in detail on the draft text produced by the Convention so far. These have been placed in the Libraries of both Houses.
256WAny new restructured treaty, or amendments to the existing treaties, will need to be ratified according to the individual constitutional requirements of all Member States. In the UK, as with the Nice Treaty, and all other treaties amending the original treaty structure, any new amendments would have to stand up to vigorous scrutiny by Parliament before the UK would ratify.