Assuming that the Lisbon Treaty is ratified, that the Conservative Party wins the next election and that Angela Merkel and Nicola Sarkozy want Britain to remain in the European Union, what “sovereignty package” will EU leaders come up with for Prime Minister Cameron, so that the Tory leadership can placate its eurosceptic base? The deal cannot be cosmetic, but make it too tough and other EU leaders will not want to compromise.
Tactically, David Cameron and William Hague will need to strike a balance between telling the public that even if Lisbon is ratified by the Poles and Czechs, a future Conservative government may still open the debate, call a referendum or renegotiate its terms of agreement – while saying privately to EU leaders that they would compromise under certain circumstances. But what could be in a “sovereignty package”?
First, David Cameron should demand the old blue passport back, which John Major gave up for the burgundy-coloured machine-readable EU passports.
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