9 February 2005 - Green Euro-MP Caroline Lucas has welcomed the government’s decision to pave the way for a referendum with an EU Constitution bill receiving its second reading in parliament today.

“This treaty is a flawed document that will make the EU less accountable, less sustainable, and less just – but I welcome Blair’s courage in keeping his word and giving the British people a chance to reject it once and for all,” said Dr Lucas, South-East England’s Green Party Euro-MP, and member of the advisory board of the pro-European think-tank centre for a Social Europe.

But she warned the government was trying to stifle parliamentary debate but hoodwinking MPs into debating the planned referendum – rather than the constitution itself.

“The truth is this Constitution, if adopted, will tie the hands of future British parliaments, and by rushing through a technical debate rather than giving MPs the chance to discuss the treaty itself the government has today signaled the start of its corrosive effect on British democracy,”  said Dr Lucas.

“Undoubtedly we need an EU constitution, just as we need a British constitution, to spell out the relationships between citizens and the institutions that govern them – but this just isn’t it.

“The need for radical reform to place social and environmental justice at the heart of a transparent and democratically accountable EU has never been greater – but this proposed constitution is a step away from, not towards, these goals.

ENDS