MEDIA
RELEASE
Thursday 9 September 2004
Embargo:
Immediate
STRAW DODGES HONEST DEBATE
ON EU CHANGES
Jack Straw has today
made a statement in the House of Commons on the EU Constitution, and
presented a White Paper.
Reacting
to the Foreign Secretary's statement, Democracy Movement campaign director
Marc Glendening said:
"Today's
White Paper clearly shows that the government's plan is to dodge honest
debate and instead play down the EU Constitution's real significance.
"In
reality, the Constitution will give the EU powers in many new areas,
change the fundamental nature of the EU, formally enshrine its legal
supremacy over its member states and set its undemocratic structure
in stone.
"Far
from an EU "rule book" or "tidying up exercise" as the government
likes to call it, the Constitution directly impacts the fundamental
issue of who governs this country and whether they can be held to
account for their decisions.
"Centralising
ever more power in remote institutions that cannot be held to any
meaningful account is a recipe for instability and the re-emergence
of extremism on our continent."
<Ends>
For
more information, contact Marc Glendening on
020 7491 3072 or by e-mail.
NOTES:
- The Democracy
Movement has today published its own 10 point summary of the EU
Constitution.
Click here
to read it.
- The
Democracy Movement is the non-party grass-roots campaign against
Britain's immersion into a centralised EU State - a campaign to
save democracy and for a more modern, truly international future
for Britain.
With
over 325,000 registered supporters and 120 local branches nationwide,
it is the largest non-party organisation campaigning on the issue
of Britain's relationship with the European Union and will play
a leading grass-roots role in the campaign for a 'No' to the EU
Constitution.
- Click here
to visit our EU Constitution campaign mini-site.
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