Europe after Maastricht : interim report : report, together with the Proceedings of Committee, Minutes of Evidence, and Appendices : first report [of the] Foreign Affairs Committee.

  • Great Britain. Parliament. House of Commons. Foreign Affairs Committee.
Date:
1992
Catalogue details

Licence: Open Government Licence

Credit: Europe after Maastricht : interim report : report, together with the Proceedings of Committee, Minutes of Evidence, and Appendices : first report [of the] Foreign Affairs Committee. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    sion of the Twelve in the Birmingham Declaration that the Maastricht Treaty should not be amended is unclear. 8. Our evidence shows that a firm conclusion about whether Denmark’s proposals can be implemented without amendment to the Treaty is unlikely to be possible until at least the Edinburgh European Council meeting on 11 December.! Foreign Office officials explained that the options under consideration included a new Declaration attached to the Treaty, a new Protocol, or some other sort of free-standing agreement between Member States which might not modify the Treaty itself.2 The precise effects of any of these on the ratification process in the United Kingdom or on the passage of the European Communities (Amendment) Bill are not known.* However, there are obvious difficulties posed by the fact that the Danish propos- als, with possible amendments, have to be acceptable to the Danish Government, the Danish Parliament, the Danish people and, of course, the other eleven members of the EC. There are consequent problems of synchronisation, especially as the Danish referendum will probably not be held until Spring of 1993 at the earliest. Information about the Treaty 9. In Denmark and in France, before their referenda, the Governments made available to the general public the full text of the Maastricht Treaty. In the UK the Treaty was (eventually) published by the Government in May 1992 and is on sale to the public at a price of £13.30.4 The Government is shortly to issue a booklet about the Treaty aimed at the general public. In response to a request from the Committee, the Government has also agreed to make available to the House, before the Committee stage of the European Communities (Amendment) Bill, a further document, in straightforward English, explaining the Government’s interpretation of the Treaty [see Annex]. We welcome this and believe it is overdue. We hope that this docu- ment, and the evidence we have published, will assist the House in understanding the terms of the Treaty. ' See Ev 29 October 1992, Qs 84-91. 2 See Ev 29 October 1992, Qs 69, 80, 88. 3 See Ev 29 October 1992, Q 90. 4Cm 1934; the EC edition of the text is also on sale in the UK at a price of £6.50. The full text of the Treaty has also been published in the national press.