§ Lord Tebbitasked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether the proposed European constitution, if ratified by every member state, would become a common constitution for the member states of the European Union. [HL2822]
§ The Minister of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Office (Baroness Symons of Vernham Dean)No. The treaty would not be a constitution for the UK. The European Union currently has treaties that set out its competences and govern its operations. These treaties effectively already form a constitutional framework for the EU. This treaty's use of the term "constitution" only makes this explicit. It would not turn the European Union into a state—any more than UNESCO is made into a state by possessing a constitution, for example.