07 March 2008 - It is ‘perfectly possible’ to take a progressive pro-European stance in the debate over the Treaty of Lisbon while at the same time opposing the Treaty itself, said the South East’s Green MEP Caroline Lucas today.

           

Commenting on the political storm over the controversial EU Treaty which has left the Westminster parties troubled and divided, Dr Lucas - who is also Green Party Co-Principal Speaker - said:

 

“Political leaders throughout the EU have shown extraordinary arrogance and disregard towards their citizens in refusing to hold referenda on the Treaty, as well as in trying to pass off what is essentially a repackaged Constitution as a new ‘Lisbon Treaty’.

 

“Even one of the key architects of the original text, Valery Giscard D’Estaing, has admitted that the proposals in the original constitutional treaty are practically unchanged. As he says, “they have simply been dispersed through the old treaties in the form of amendments."

 

"I don’t oppose the principle of a constitution. But I oppose this particular one – and the Treaty which reproduces it – because EU citizens deserve better.

 

“While the Treaty of Lisbon includes some positive measures, in my view these are outweighed by negative ones - the further militarisation of the EU, for example, as well as measures to promote increased free trade and economic liberalisation. 

 

She continued: “Worse still, it squanders a unique opportunity to put sustainability and climate security genuinely at the heart of the Union, and fails to bring the EU institutions closer to European citizens.

"The Green Party’s vision of the European Union is one based on peace, democracy, and social justice. We have a vision of a Green Europe, which enforces ambitious policies for a more sustainable future, and which allows for rich cultural and social exchange between nations and regions."

ENDS