EU treaty passed by British parliament
LONDON (AFP) — The European Union's Lisbon Treaty was passed by Britain's parliament late Wednesday, hours ahead of an EU summit set to be clouded by Ireland's crushing rejection of it last week.
After a stormy debate in the unelected upper House of Lords, peers effectively ratified the treaty, giving the European Union (Amendment) Bill a third and final reading without a vote.
The bill is set to go for Royal Assent by Queen Elizabeth II on Thursday morning, hours before Prime Minister Gordon Brown takes his place at the EU summit in Brussels.
Brown's government defied critics in Britain -- where euroscepticism runs deep -- who had pressed hard for a referendum.
The Lisbon Treaty, which aims to streamline EU institutions after the bloc's expansion eastwards, was approved by members of parliament's lower House of Commons prior to last Thursday's referendum in Ireland.
All 27 member states have to ratify the treaty for it to take effect, but there have been increasing calls for it to be scrapped following its rejection by Irish voters.
European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso congratulated Britain on approving the document, and called on the bloc's other countries to continue with the ratification process despite Ireland's "no" vote.
"I believe it is important that all member states express their position on the Treaty of Lisbon and I call on all of those that have not ratified the treaty to continue the ratification process."
"Another endorsement of the treaty proves that it is still a living document," said Slovenia, which currently holds the rotating EU presidency.
Wednesday's debate in the Lords was stormy at times, and at least four protestors had to be ushered out of the public gallery. One protester, wearing a red t-shirt, shouted "the Irish have voted no."
Peers voted to reject a proposal to postpone the decision until October.
An opposition Conservative Party member of the Lords proposed an amendment which would delay approval of the treaty bill to take account of the changed situation after the Irish "No."
Lord David Howell, who sought to delay Wednesday's approval, said it was senseless to ratify the treaty if, as critics claim, it was killed by the Irish vote.
Conservative Lord Richard Shepherd added: "Why can't you simply rejoice in (what) the Irish people have done?"
Brown was bullish earlier Wednesday, telling the Commons that Britain respected the Irish decision but pointing out that Dublin had asked for more time to discuss the way forward.
"They have not suggested either (that) they wish to postpone the ratification of the treaty of other countries or that they wish to stall the whole process," he said.
Any second vote by the Irish would be a matter for Dublin, he added.
"Just as we have respect for the Irish, we should have respect for the other countries that are processing the treaty and ratifying the treaty as well," he added.
Britain could, in theory, ratify the treaty and have it on the statute book by 11:00 a.m. (1000 GMT) Thursday, just before EU leaders meet in Brussels to discuss the ramifications of Ireland's rejection, the Foreign Office said.
The usually brief procedure could be complete before Brown travels to Brussels for the late-afternoon start of the two-day summit, a spokesman said.
The Lords' approval of the text agreed by the Commons bypasses the need for further "ping-pong" consultations between the two houses on the fine print.
