By Tim Montgomerie
Although Open Europe's Mats Persson concedes that the Coalition has disappointed Eurosceptics so far he argues that the referendum lock announced yesterday by Europe Minister, David Lidington, should not be dismissed. On a blog for The Spectator's Coffee House he explains why:
"New crises, situations and politicians’ egos will always drive the need for another treaty and further integration. For example, German Chancellor Angela Merkel has repeatedly called for a new treaty to fix the eurozone*, likely to spill over to Britain in one way or another. The threat of the UK’s referendum lock could be an important strategic asset to argue that a repatriation of powers is the only way the British electorate would agree to the changes. If negotiated intelligently, the net effect would be more powers for Westminster and less for Brussels."
Mr Persson continues that it is vital that Mr Lidington's lock covers a range of possible transfers of power:
Read the full blog.
* ConservativeHome hopes that Chancellor Merkel pursues a Treaty that builds deeper fiscal integration among Eurozone member states. Closer fiscal union is necessary for monetary union, as Eurosceptics have long argued. The price of agreeing to the new Treaty should be a substantial renegotiation of the UK's own relationship with Brussels.