North Sea Oil Tax Regime (Hansard, 12 November 2003)

HC Deb 12 November 2003 vol 413 c393W 393W

§ Mr. Nicholas Brown
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what impact he estimates the Energy Chapter of the Draft EU Constitution will have on the North Sea oil tax regime. [137721]

§ Dawn Primarolo
The Draft EU Constitutional Treaty is currently being discussed in the Intergovernmental Conference. The Draft has no legal force until it is agreed unanimously by member states.
The Government made it clear in its White Paper "The British Approach to the European Union Intergovernmental Conference 2003" that it would not agree to a new Treaty which was not in the UK's interests, and that it will insist that tax matters continue to be decided by unanimity.