It's Not Easy to be King of Airstrip One!

Referendum demand over Blair 'sell-out' By Melissa Kite in Brussels, Sunday Telegraph Last Updated: 12:35am BST 24/06/2007 A key pledge safeguarding British control over its own foreign policy that was secured by Tony Blair at the Brussels summit is not legally binding, it became clear last night. The Prime Minister said the agreement allowed European nations to focus on the issues that most concerned their citizens The Opposition stepped up calls for a referendum after it emerged that a clause negotiated by Mr Blair allowing exemption from a common EU foreign policy was merely a "declaration of intent" and not an enforcable part of the treaty. The Prime Minister's hard-fought deal began to unravel as the Conservatives accused him of surrendering British sovereignty and boxing in his successor, Gordon Brown. William Hague, the shadow foreign secretary, said Mr Blair had broken the most important of his four "red lines" - the limits of the powers he was prepared to cede to Brussels after the rejection two years ago of the EU's planned constitution. The blueprint for a new Reform Treaty, signed by the 27 EU member states at 5am yesterday, was hailed by Mr Blair, who leaves office on Wednesday, as a key part of his legacy. He claimed that it safeguarded British sovereignty on foreign and defence policy, criminal law and justice matters, social policy and tax, and gave Britain an opt-out from a legally binding EU Charter of Fundamental Rights that would apply to the work place. Critics said, however, that the deal was simply a repackaged version of the rejected EU constitution. Crucially, a "declaration" in the footnotes of the treaty giving member states an exemption from common foreign and security policy would not stand up to judicial scrutiny, they said. Mr Hague said: "Tony Blair says he has safeguarded British foreign policy from EU interference, even though he has agreed to an EU diplomatic service, which will mean EU embassies and an EU foreign minister by any other name. "But when you examine the small print it is clear that his so-called safeguards have no legal guarantees at all. "By concentrating on headlines he can try to sell, Tony Blair has yet again neglected what really matters. This is a sell-out of British interests, not a case of standing up for them." Mr Blair also surrendered Britain's right to veto EU decisions in more than 40 other areas of policy, including energy, tourism, transport, civil protection and migration. He and Mr Brown clashed during the summit over a clause watering down the EU's commitment to free trade. Emerging from the talks yesterday, the visibly tired Prime Minister said the agreement allowed European nations to focus on the issues that most concerned their citizens. "We've been arguing for many years about the constitutional question," he said. "This deal gives us a chance to move on. It was important to get out of this bind into which we'd got with the constitutional treaty." The pressure group Open Europe warned that many key elements of the failed EU constitution would be reintroduced, including an EU diplomatic service and an EU foreign minister, renamed as a "high representative". Mr Brown supported Mr Blair's assertion that a referendum on the treaty would not be required. However, in a television interview to be shown today, he appeared to leave the door open for an about-turn. Interviewed for BBC1's Politics Show, he said: "Thanks to the negotiating skill of Tony, they [the four red lines] have been achieved and I think people when they look at the small print will see that we did what we set out to do, and that was to make sure that in these areas we were properly protected as a country to make our own decisions when we want to do so." Mr Brown praised Mr Blair's "skills" in securing a deal that protected Britain's national interest in key areas. "While many other people will call for a referendum," he said, "it seems to me that we have met our negotiating position." Sir Menzies Campbell, the Liberal Democrat leader, said that Mr Blair's "insistence on playing to the press with his 'red lines' has undermined the UK's ability to get the best out of the negotiations".

Plus Tony Monster is widely rumoured to be about to pervert to Continental Papism himself personally. Never a dull moment in the Airstrip One Follies show!