The EU Lisbon Treaty Bill cleared its final Commons hurdle as MPs voted by 346 to 206 to approve it.

The decision follows weeks of detailed debates in which CGE Chairman Ian Taylor MP together with other pro-European Conservative MPs spoke out in favour of the Treaty, highlighting its benefits for the UK and Europe. MPs rejected the idea that there should be a referendum on the Treaty. Ian Taylor said in the House that "the best way of undermining the sovereignty of Parliament is to have a referendum, which is designed to bypass Parliament."

The Bill will now be debated in the House of Lords. Many Conservative Peers will be putting the positive case for the proposed Treaty as a measure which will improve the decision-making systems of an enlarged Union of 27 countries, resulting in a more effective, efficient and democratic Europe.*

Conservative Party policy is firmly in favour of Britain’s membership of the EU as well as the EU’s enlargement. It is therefore important that Peers should constructively engage in the next phase of the debate and consider the positive aspects of the Lisbon Treaty, particularly the scope for closer European cooperation to address common global challenges such as the environment, energy policy and security.

*A comprehensive summary of the Lisbon Treaty is available at: www.coalitionforreformtreaty.org.uk