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| Version 2 | Version 3 |
|---|---|
| EU treaty good for UK, says Blair | EU treaty good for UK, says Blair |
| (9 minutes later) | |
| An agreement reached in Brussels on a new European Union treaty protects Britain's interests, Tony Blair says. | An agreement reached in Brussels on a new European Union treaty protects Britain's interests, Tony Blair says. |
| It gives the UK an opt-out on a charter of human and social rights and keeps Britain's independent foreign policy and tax and benefit arrangements. | It gives the UK an opt-out on a charter of human and social rights and keeps Britain's independent foreign policy and tax and benefit arrangements. |
| Gordon Brown also intervened to persuade Mr Blair to demand a protocol to protect the EU's internal market. | Gordon Brown also intervened to persuade Mr Blair to demand a protocol to protect the EU's internal market. |
| EU leaders reached a deal after two days of tough talks. Critics in the UK have demanded a referendum. | EU leaders reached a deal after two days of tough talks. Critics in the UK have demanded a referendum. |
| Former SDP leader and Labour foreign secretary Lord Owen said: "These issues that the Prime Minister's been discussing over the midnight hours in Brussels are deep constitutional questions and to pretend otherwise is absurd." | Former SDP leader and Labour foreign secretary Lord Owen said: "These issues that the Prime Minister's been discussing over the midnight hours in Brussels are deep constitutional questions and to pretend otherwise is absurd." |
| 'Not a problem' | 'Not a problem' |
| Mr Brown and Mr Blair had several last-minute telephone conversations after the chancellor expressed his unhappiness at a concession to France which had removed a treaty objective of "free and undistorted competition". | Mr Brown and Mr Blair had several last-minute telephone conversations after the chancellor expressed his unhappiness at a concession to France which had removed a treaty objective of "free and undistorted competition". |
| But Foreign Secretary Margaret Beckett told Radio 4's Today programme the prime minister-in-waiting's objections had now been "sorted" and were "not a problem". | But Foreign Secretary Margaret Beckett told Radio 4's Today programme the prime minister-in-waiting's objections had now been "sorted" and were "not a problem". |
| She said Britain was not a country which "governs by referendum", adding: "People buy into the notion that somehow some massive change has taken place. This is not a massive change." | She said Britain was not a country which "governs by referendum", adding: "People buy into the notion that somehow some massive change has taken place. This is not a massive change." |
| But the leader of the UK Independence Party, Nigel Farage, accused Mr Blair of "stealth and deceit". | |
| "The real achievement of this summit - and Tony Blair's helped in this - is that the European Union itself has taken a significant step forward to becoming the global superpower that it always sought to be," Mr Farage told BBC News 24. | |
| This deal gives us a chance to move on Tony Blair | This deal gives us a chance to move on Tony Blair |
| The new treaty is planned to replace the failed EU constitution, which was rejected by voters in France and the Netherlands in 2005. | The new treaty is planned to replace the failed EU constitution, which was rejected by voters in France and the Netherlands in 2005. |
| Mr Blair said the most important thing about the deal was that it allowed the 27 European nations to move forward. | Mr Blair said the most important thing about the deal was that it allowed the 27 European nations to move forward. |
| "The truth is we've been arguing now for many years about the constitutional question," he said. | "The truth is we've been arguing now for many years about the constitutional question," he said. |
| "This deal gives us a chance to move on. It gives us a chance to concentrate on the issues to do with the economy, organised crime, terrorism, immigration, defence, climate change, the environment, energy - the problems that really concern citizens in Europe." | "This deal gives us a chance to move on. It gives us a chance to concentrate on the issues to do with the economy, organised crime, terrorism, immigration, defence, climate change, the environment, energy - the problems that really concern citizens in Europe." |
| 'Fundamental rights' | 'Fundamental rights' |
| Mr Blair had gone to Brussels with four "red lines" on human and social rights, foreign policy and tax and benefits which he did not want crossed before a deal could be made. | Mr Blair had gone to Brussels with four "red lines" on human and social rights, foreign policy and tax and benefits which he did not want crossed before a deal could be made. |
| He said the summit had secured all of Britain's four key demands and meant the treaty would not require a referendum in the UK. | He said the summit had secured all of Britain's four key demands and meant the treaty would not require a referendum in the UK. |
| We are very, very satisfied with what we have been able to conclude Angela Merkel EU leaders agree on treaty | We are very, very satisfied with what we have been able to conclude Angela Merkel EU leaders agree on treaty |
| It would, he said, allow the government to take on those parts of EU judicial and crime policy it chooses to. | It would, he said, allow the government to take on those parts of EU judicial and crime policy it chooses to. |
| At the end of the talks, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, the current EU president, said they had achieved "a detailed and clear mandate" for an inter-governmental conference which will draft the actual treaty. | At the end of the talks, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, the current EU president, said they had achieved "a detailed and clear mandate" for an inter-governmental conference which will draft the actual treaty. |
| "We are very, very satisfied with what we have been able to conclude," she said. | "We are very, very satisfied with what we have been able to conclude," she said. |
| The treaty will need to be ratified by each of the EU's member states at the end of the year, before entering into force in mid-2009. | The treaty will need to be ratified by each of the EU's member states at the end of the year, before entering into force in mid-2009. |
| Mr Blair told reporters he was "absolutely confident" of Mr Brown's support for the agreement, and he did not think there would be any obstacles in finalising the treaty in December. | Mr Blair told reporters he was "absolutely confident" of Mr Brown's support for the agreement, and he did not think there would be any obstacles in finalising the treaty in December. |