Wednesday, November 04, 2009

Cameron Outlines New European Policy

I don't normally post entire speeches on this blog for obvious reasons, but I think it is important for people to read EXACTLY what David Cameron said this afternoon about a new Tory European Policy, rather than rely on people's interpretation of it. So these are his remarks in full, unedited.

“Yesterday in Prague, the Czech Constitutional Court rejected the one remaining challenge to the Lisbon Treaty, and the President of the Czech Republic signed it. The Lisbon Treaty has now been ratified by every one of the twenty seven member states of the European Union, and our campaign for a referendum on the Lisbon Treaty is therefore over.

Why? Because it is no longer a Treaty: it is being incorporated into the law of the European Union. Next week, the new posts that the Lisbon Treaty creates – a President and a Foreign Minister – will be filled.

We cannot hold a referendum and magically make those posts – or the Lisbon Treaty itself – disappear, any more than we could hold a referendum to stop the sun rising in the morning.

I know, from the many public meetings I’ve held around the country, from the huge number of letters and emails that I receive, how much the people of this country will resent the fact that we cannot now have the referendum we were promised.

The decision to promise, and then deny, a referendum was taken by Tony Blair and Gordon Brown. The betrayal was backed and matched by the Liberal Democrats.

And I believe it ranks alongside the expenses scandal as one of the reasons that trust in politics has broken down.

Of course I wanted a referendum on the Lisbon Treaty.

I’ve argued for it, campaigned for it, put it front and centre in our European election campaign.

We have voted for it in Parliament.

I’ve challenged the Prime Minister about his broken promise at every opportunity.

And if the Treaty had not been ratified by every European government when we came to the election, we would have held a referendum on it.

But now it has been ratified.

And I always said that if this happened, I would set out immediately how a Conservative Government would respond.

So today, I want to speak directly to the British people.

I want to explain what a new Conservative government will do to protect Britain’s interests in Europe and salvage something from the mess that Labour will have left us.

And I want to speak to our European partners too, to set out clearly what they can expect from a Conservative government in Britain.

NEVER AGAIN

First, we will make sure that this never happens again.

Never again should it be possible for a British government to transfer power to the EU without the say of the British people.

If we win the next election, we will amend the European Communities Act 1972 to prohibit, by law, the transfer of power to the EU without a referendum.

And that will cover not just any future treaties like Lisbon, but any future attempt to take Britain into the euro.

We will give the British people a referendum lock to which only they should hold the key – a commitment very similar to that in Ireland.

This is a major constitutional development.

But I believe it is now the only way to reassure the British people that powers cannot be given away without their explicit approval in a referendum.

It is not politicians’ power to give away – it belongs to the people.

So at the General Election, we will challenge the other political parties to accept the referendum lock and pledge never to reverse it.

NO MADE-UP REFERENDUM

I recognise there are some who, now that we cannot have a referendum on the Lisbon Treaty, want a referendum on something else...anything else.

But I just don’t think it’s right to concoct some new pretext for a referendum simply to have one for the sake of it.

That wouldn’t survive serious scrutiny.

I don’t think a made-up referendum will get Britain anywhere.

For instance, what about a referendum asking for a mandate for our negotiating aims in Europe?

We would have just asked for that mandate in an election and received it.

Would we really want to turn round straight after an election, with the public finances in the state they are in and the economy as fragile as it is and ask the same question all over again?

A made-up referendum might make people feel better for five minutes but my job is to put together a plan that lasts five years, and I don’t think a phoney referendum should play any part in that.

Let me repeat: a Conservative government will guarantee a referendum if there is any attempt to transfer further powers from Britain to the EU.

But if we wasted everyone’s time and taxpayers’ money on a referendum that has no practical effect, I don’t think the British people would thank us for it.

SOVEREIGNTY

In any case, there is more we can do than simply promise a referendum lock on any future handover of power.

Take the sovereignty of our laws.

Because we have no written constitution, unlike many other EU countries, we have no explicit legal guarantee that the last word on our laws stays in Britain.

There is therefore a danger that, over time, our courts might come to regard ultimate authority as resting with the EU.

So as well as making sure that further power cannot be handed to the EU without a referendum, we will also introduce a new law, in the form of a United Kingdom Sovereignty Bill, to make it clear that ultimate authority stays in this country, in our Parliament.

This is not about Westminster striking down individual items of EU legislation.

It is about an assurance that the final word on our laws is here in Britain.

It would simply put Britain on a par with Germany, where the German Constitutional Court has consistently upheld - including most recently on the Lisbon treaty - that ultimate authority lies with the bodies established by the German Constitution.

But people will rightly say that the Lisbon Treaty does not just transfer powers to Brussels today.

It allows further powers to be transferred in the future, because it contains a mechanism to abolish vetoes and transfer power without the need for a new Treaty.

We do not believe that any of these so-called ratchet clauses should be used to hand over more powers from Britain to the EU.

Furthermore, we would change the law so that any use of a ratchet clause by a future government would require full approval by Parliament.

These changes: the referendum lock, the Sovereignty Bill, stopping the use of ratchet clauses, all these changes can be put in place by our own Parliament.

They do not require the approval of our European partners - merely the sanction of the British people at the ballot box, which we will seek at the forthcoming General Election.

They will put in place real protection for our democracy – protections other countries have but which are missing here in Britain.

They would increase accountability, and they would ensure that the breach of trust committed by this Labour Government could never happen again.

Those two words – never again – will be on our leaflets, in our Manifesto: we will make sure that the British people remember who it was that broke their promise – Labour, and who it is that will stop this happening again – the Conservatives.

BRITISH GUARANTEES

But these measures are all about preventing problems in the future.

They don’t deal with the problems we are facing today, which will now be made worse by the ratification of the Lisbon Treaty.

In essence, these problems boil down to the steady and unaccountable intrusion of the European Union into almost every aspect of our lives.

A Conservative Government will address some of these problems by negotiating three specific guarantees with our European partners guarantees over powers that we believe should reside with Britain, not the EU.

First, social and employment legislation.

Of course, Britain used to have an opt-out from the Social Chapter: but Labour foolishly gave this up.

And today, too much EU legislation in this area is damaging both our economy and our public services.

So we will want to negotiate the return of Britain’s opt-out from social and employment legislation in those areas which have proved most damaging to our economy and public services for example the aspects of the Working Time Directive which are causing real problems in the NHS and the Fire Service.

The second British guarantee we will negotiate is over the Charter of Fundamental Rights.

We must be absolutely sure that this cannot be used by EU judges to re-interpret EU law affecting the UK.

Tony Blair claimed that his Government obtained an opt-out from the Charter.

But what he got – as the Government have now admitted - was simply a clarification of how it works in Britain.

We will want a complete opt-out from the Charter of Fundamental Rights.

The third area where we will negotiate for a return of powers is criminal justice.

We must be sure that the measures included in the Lisbon Treaty will not bring creeping control over our criminal justice system by EU judges.

We will want to prevent EU judges gaining steadily greater control over our criminal justice system by negotiating an arrangement which would protect it.

That will mean limiting the European Court of Justice’s jurisdiction over criminal law to its pre-Lisbon level, and ensuring that only British authorities can initiate criminal investigations in Britain.

I recognise, of course, that taking back power in these areas, or negotiating arrangements that suit the UK, is not something we can do unilaterally.

It means changing the rules of an institution of which we are a member – changing rules that Britain has signed up to.

If we want to make changes, we will need to do that through negotiation with our European partners, and we will need the agreement of all twenty seven member states.

I also recognise that these are highly complex areas, where we need to think through the practical details with great care.

William Hague is now leading detailed work to examine precisely what we will need to change, and, if we win the next election, his work will draw on the specialised legal advice which the Government has available to it, as well as the expertise of officials from the Foreign Office and other relevant departments.

But success in these negotiations will establish an extremely important principle: that European integration is not a one way street and that powers can be returned from the EU to its member countries, a principle that was envisaged in the Laeken Declaration nearly a decade ago.

Let me be clear. Our guarantees are essential, realistic and deliverable.

Essential, because we have identified the areas of the Lisbon Treaty that cause the deepest concern, and the ones with greatest potential to interfere with our democracy.

Realistic, because we will propose that these British guarantees are added as protocols to a future accession treaty - like the recently concluded Irish guarantees.

And deliverable, because we have chosen areas where the return of powers from the EU to Britain protects our distinctive national interests without harming the interests of our European partners.

THE NEXT PARLIAMENT

So, yes, I believe we will be able to negotiate the return of the powers I have set out.

But no, we will not rush into some massive Euro-bust-up.

We will take our time, negotiate firmly, patiently and respectfully, and aim to achieve the return of the powers I have set out over the lifetime of a parliament.

I know some people will want me to go further, and faster. To them let me say this:

If we win the election, we will inherit the worst public finances of any incoming government for fifty years.

We will have a generational challenge to get Britain to live within her means, to secure economic recovery and to deliver this country from the appalling mess left by this Labour Government.

That has to come before anything else.

THE LONGER TERM

These steps: a referendum lock to prevent this ever happening again, and the return of a specific set of powers. I believe these things can stop Britain’s relationship with the EU from heading in the wrong direction.

Clearly we will be asked the question: what if you cannot get these guarantees and what if Europe continues to head in the wrong, centralising direction? Let me answer that question in advance.

Well, if that were to happen, then of course we can return to this subject in a manifesto for the parliament after the next one.

Let me be clear: this is not something we want to happen. Nor is it something we expect to happen.

But if those circumstances were to occur, we would not rule out a referendum on a wider package of guarantees to protect our democratic decision-making, while remaining, of course, a member of the European Union.

But that would be a judgement for the future, not for this election or for the next Parliament.

What I have set out today settles our policy for the next parliament.

CONCLUSION

I just want to conclude by saying something clearly to our European partners.

My purpose in committing any government I lead to these measures is not to frustrate or to sabotage the operation of the European Union.

It is to put Britain’s role in the EU on a more positive footing.

As we commemorate the twentieth anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall, we should remember that the European Union has done much to reconcile the painful division of Europe and to spread democracy and the rule of law across our continent.

But it should not rest on those achievements.

Today, European countries need to work together to combat global climate change, to fight global poverty, to boost global economic growth.

If I am elected Prime Minister, the British Government I lead will be an active member of the European Union.

On energy security, on climate change, on growth, on global poverty, we will look forward to working with our European partners to make progress on those issues.

We will press to keep the doors of the European Union open to new member states, especially to entrench stability in the Western Balkans where so much European blood has flowed, and also to Turkey.

We will stand for open markets, and a strong transatlantic relationship; an EU that looks out to the world, and that builds strong and open relations with rising powers like China and India.

We will want to see a tough financial settlement in the forthcoming negotiations on the EU budget, ensuring that Britain does not pay more than its fair share.

We will pay particular attention to the area of financial regulation, where we will be vigilant and tenacious in defending the competitiveness of the City of London.

Like every other Member State, we will fight our corner to advance our national interests.

But our guiding principles will be these: we believe Britain’s interests are best served by membership of a European Union that is an association of its member states, we will never allow Britain to slide into a federal Europe and that means we will watch closely how the Lisbon Treaty works out in practice.

We will put in place a referendum lock, so never again can a British government transfer powers to the EU without the people giving their consent in a referendum.

We will enact a United Kingdom Sovereignty Bill, making clear that ultimate authority rests with our Parliament.

And we will negotiate for a specific set of British guarantees that are realistic, deliverable – and essential.

That is our programme for Government.

That is the mandate we will seek at the next election.

In this area – Britain’s relationship with Europe – what people want from their politicians is some straight talk and plain speaking.

They were told we were joining a Common Market and it turned out to be a European Union.

They were told they would have a say over the European constitution but that promise was broken.

People are fed up with the endless lies and spin, they just want to know what we can achieve and how.

That is what I will deliver.

I said we would leave the federalist group in the European Parliament and we did.

I said we would have a referendum on the Lisbon Treaty and if it hadn’t been ratified we would have had that referendum.

But I did not promise a referendum come what may because once the Lisbon Treaty is the law, there’s nothing anyone can do about it and I’m not going to treat people like fools and offer a referendum that has no effect.

What I am promising today is doable, credible, deliverable.

That’s what this is all about.

Giving the British people a policy on Europe that they can actually believe in.”

44 comments:

Norton Folgate said...

Just sounds to me like a prelude to years of political bollocks that will achieve little or nothing.

Quiet_Man said...

To be honest, if it isn't in the interests of any one of the 27 states then it will not pass. Cameron and any future UK government will be pissing into the wind as far as change goes.

It's time to ask the people in or out. Politicians have failed us time and time again, time to move them out of the loop and ask all of us what we want, not just 646 people acting on the whatever the whips decide is policy for that day.

Unknown said...

This is not good enough - how many votes does he wish to lose to UKIP?

Mr Eugenides said...

"ultimate authority rests with our Parliament"

I think someone wants to hand Mr Cameron a copy of the judgement in the Factortame case, which every first year law student reads as a matter of course:

"Addressing the public criticism expressed following the ECJ's decision and the alleged erosion of Parliamentary sovereignty, Lord Bridge remarked that such comments were 'based on a misconception', and that under the European Communities Act 1972, the law regulating the UK's membership of the EU, it had 'always been clear that it was the duty of a United Kingdom court when delivering final judgment, to override any rule of national law found to be in conflict with any directly enforceable rule of Community law.' "

Shamik Das said...

:Yawn:

Care to explain what happens if a future Government brings in legislation to unpick the lock?

Victor, NW Kent said...

Barry - UKIP is perhaps trying to secure a hung parliament so that a LibLab coalition can drive us further into Europe. Then they will be able to survey their handiwork proudly and say "I told you so".

It is called shooting oneself in the foot.

simonh said...

This is very thin stuff.

1 Parliament cannot bind itself. So any measure to guarantee a future referendum could be overturned.

2 The chances of Dave negotiating any meaningful opt-out are negligible unless he is prepared to use the threat of pulling out of the EU. Which he clearly isn't

p smith said...

I particularly enjoyed the part where Cameron insulted David Davies and other esteemed colleagues by accusing them of wanting a "phoney" referendum.

At least Davies has principles. As anyone who is not a paid fluffer for "Dave" will know, Cameron never had any intention of holding a referendum. He made his "cast-iron" pledge (stop sniggering at the back) in the full knowledge that there would be no referendum if the treaty was ratified but he REFUSED to confirm that until this week leaving the public with the clear and understandable misapprehension that they would get a referendum. If it is crystal clear today that you cannot have a referendum on a ratified treaty then why not be honest enough to acknowledge that plainly before? The reason of course is that he wanted to sound tough to dupe the more eurosceptic among you to believe he was one of you. Now you know he is not but he reckons you are so desperate to get rid of Brown that you will whore your values for him. Good luck with that Dave.

The other point that is not acknowledged is the utter dishonesty of the position that he would offer a referendum before the treaty was ratified. Dave knew full well that there would be no election (and therefore no Prime Minister Cameron) until 2010, namely after ratification. Thus his pledge to hold a ratification was about as meaningful as a pledge to hold a referendum on Congolese farming subsidies.

As with Blair, we have a leader who has what it takes to win elections but who hosts a vacuum where his political principles should be. It is a very good day for UKIP.

Michael Heaver said...

The Lisbon Treaty is self-amending, Cameron would have to have a referendum on this Treaty itself to stop future transfers of power anyway. This is the ultimate cop-out.

Unknown said...

I'm amazed anybody believes a word of it!

Beware of Geeks bearing GIFs said...

Let me repeat: a Conservative government will guarantee a referendum if there is any attempt to transfer further powers from Britain to the EU.

The treaty has been signed. There will be no more treaties. Power has already been taken.

We do not believe that any of these so-called ratchet clauses should be used to hand over more powers from Britain to the EU.

Whether you believe or not is irrelevant - it will happen anyway.

Thanks to those b'stards brown and bliar we've been assimilated.

So, unless Cameron is lying, the UKIP are basically sucking farts from a swan because there's nothing legally they can do? So what do they stand for and why vote for them?

JuliaM said...

"It's time to ask the people in or out."

Yes. Enough is enough.

Looks like it's a UKIP vote for me again in the GE!

The Flying Spaghetti Monster said...

Hmm....

Mirtha Tidville said...

Think Norton Folgate has called this one about right......so lets see, we will negotiate with unelected gauleiters over at least 5 years, begging and pleading...my arse. The only thing these buggers understand is full frontal assault and that is what they fear.

Then the crowning glory was that the idiot wants Turkey in the EU...dear God now what did I do with that UKIP joining form......

Roland Deschain said...

Meaningless piffle. "Never Again" pretty much describes my vote for the Conservatives.

Lady Finchley said...

I see the Euro-bores are out in force. DC was brilliant - he demonstrated true leadership.

John said...

What do some of you guys want. I thought it was a super speech, and a vote winner.

Osama the Nazarene said...

Wavey Davey cannot bind all future parliaments with his referndum lock!

The only way forward is to have an "in or out" referendum like the LibDums wanted but for different reasons. Its obvious Wavey Davey is not going to do that so UKIP will probably get my vote, providing that this would not let NuLiebor back in.

Johnny Norfolk said...

Very dissapointing.

We need to ask the British people to decide.

1. Stay as we are.

2. Re negotiate our membership.

3. Come out completly.

It could be done and should be done.

Camerons statement is just not good enough and if it stays like this I will vote UKIP in protest, Its time the people were heard and there are alternatives if the Tory leadership has not got the bottle for it.

Jimmy said...

Come on everyone. This is a tory blog. Surely someone here is going to defend this gibberish.

No?


Oh dear.

Stu said...

When are senior MP's going to really show they understand how the public expect them to lead. Today, Cameron, in one single announcement has sadly given a real boost to UKIP and lost the trust of a lot of supporters.

Nigel said...

Mr Eugenides,

>>... Lord Bridge remarked that such comments were 'based on a misconception', and that under the European Communities Act 1972, the law regulating the UK's membership of the EU, it had 'always been clear that it was the duty of a United Kingdom court when delivering final judgment, to override any rule of national law found to be in conflict with any directly enforceable rule of Community law.'...<<

But the legislation Cameron is proposing would override that aspect of the European Communities Act.

Shamik,

>>Care to explain what happens if a future Government brings in legislation to unpick the lock?<<

As Parliament cannot bind its successors, a future Government could do so. But in so doing it would be have to legislate to explicitly remove the right to a referendum.
That is certainly a higher hurdle than we have now, even if it doesn't satisfy you.

Anonymous said...

Impressed by the speech - enough to keep me out of the hands of UKIP (and I was floating in that direction, believe me).

Fail to deliver though, Dave, and you can kiss your second term goodbye.

Rebel Saint said...

Can someone answer me this question (it's not a rhetorical one either!):
Since our Prime Mentalist had already signed us up to the EU constitution ande it has been ratified by parliament could DC have held a referendum anyway? Was he going to remove our signature?

If he could do it then, why can't he do it now?

strapworld said...

Shamik...Cameron covered that point extremely well.

Can you imagine anyone voting for a party that proposed such a thing?

Indeed, each party would more than likely agree to the law.

I thought, under the circumstances he (Cameron) did well. He reminded people who betrayed the Country over this treaty (Blair and Brown aided and abetted by the Lib Dems)! and I believe the 'lock' is very innovative and will be greatly welcomed by the people.

Let us all remember that the EU is way down the order in the public perception.

Chris and Laura said...

This is not going to satisfy those who want to leave the EU - but it was never going to. Cameron dangled the possibility of an in/out referendum in the parliament after next but that was the best he could do. Now that the game is up on Lisbon there may be a few defections - but not I suspect among those with anything to lose. Cash, Carswell et al will likely not get back to Westminster if they join UKIP so they'll stay put. UKIP may cost the Tories a handful of seats - for example in LibDem marginals - but probably not enough to deny Cameron an overall majority if the Labour vote collapses in the way we expect. This is the calculation he is making. I expect everyone to fall in behind this (with varying degrees of enthusiasm) until the election. Then it will all kick off!

ukipwebmaster said...

"Giving the British people a policy on Europe that they can actually believe in"
Is he going to be following UKIP's lead then?

Paul Halsall said...

Since the Lisbon Treaty is meant to last for a long time (10-15 years), this is Cameron essentially giving up.

Which I think is a good think.

OTOH, the Lisbon Treaty does actually have an exit clause (unlike all the previous treaties), so Cameron could have called for an IN or OUT referendum.

So he is clearly shafting the eurosceptics.

Gendeau said...

Not good enough CallMeCastIronDave.

Any mention of negotiating the return of powers is bullshit.

Not voting for you again - there'd be no point

Mr. Musicology said...

Most of that statement, I'd say is frankly speculative.

They aren't even "cast iron". Nearly all of it will rely on factors he has no control over

Mr. Musicology said...

When politial blogger turns into cheerleader, you lose respectability.

I've read online weeks ago, that the tory bloggers would be circling their wagons around this to protect Cameron.

Anonymous said...

I have never voted Tory in my life.

This speech will make me do so.

What on earth are all these flat-earther wingnuts doing on an intelligent blog?

Anonymous said...

Chameleon should say he will bring in a referendum if he wins the next election because otherwise lots of charming people, aping Major's "Bastards" will make HMG impossible, as they did Major's.

Either Chameleon doesn't believe he can win (quite likely, it is evident Heseltine expects a hung parliament) or his judgement is in line with his veracity.

Anonymous said...

The stuff about UK sovereignty having already been handed over in 1971 is baloney, not least (but not only) because The British Parliament can still choose to leave the EU.

The EU, in the Lisbon Treaty, even enshrines this in the new treaty.

If we were out EU laws would not apply in the UK.

Karen said...

Five votes in our household, five votes that now belong to UKIP.
Very disappointed with Dave.C.

Word ver: thectime

Drew said...

Oh dear. The Treaty is definitely self amending, so this is not a helpful stance. Mind you, Mr Cameron thinks the Barnett Formula and West Lothian Question are fine, but he does promise to rule Scotland with "respect".

That's nice for them.

Unknown said...

@Mr Eugenides, Nigel:

You both misunderstand the legal position. What Cameron is proposing in terms of a National Sovereignty Act (going on what he said, i.e. that he's trying to achieve parity with Germany under their written constitution) is compatible with Factortame and would not in any sense override or amend the ECA 1972.

My problem with it is that it's meaningless: all it would do is restate the existing legal position. Ultimate sovereignty lies with Parliament and the UK courts now, which is why Parliament could have rejected the Lisbon Treaty, and why the courts have in the past ruled on legal claims that the government could not sign up to EU treaties, as in the Rees-Mogg case. Remember, too, that it was the House of Lords, not the ECJ, that suspended an Act of Parliament in Factortame.

We are, now, in the same position as the Germans. It's just that our constitution isn't written. Extraordinary that a Tory leader should flirt with a partly written constitution in this way.

Anonymous said...

@ Carl Gardener

Surely we do have many writings which are at least part of our constitution?

We have No Written Codified Constitution.

To put it otherwise makes it sound to some as though we rely solely on the present prejudices of our politicians, judges etc.

Jack Straw's proposal that we begin with a new Bill of Rights, which he expects to take years to prepare, will be a good first step to a Constitutional Code.

Unknown said...

Yes, many constitutional rules are written, but that's not the same as having a written constitution as such. I'm against it - I don't see how it's compatible with Parliamentary sovereignty, at least not the model most written consitutioneers have in mind.

Anonymous said...

@Jimmy
Gibberish is what Bliar and Gordo said when they were questioned about the Lisbon treaty being the Euro constitution, which Gisgard agrees it is. What about that Jimmy? Why did both your Labour leaders renaged on referendum?
Euro problem is not the major problem for Brits. Immigration and economy are. Labour is in trouble. Phil Wollas is a joker.
Boom and bust not fixed by Gordo.Care to talk about it?
Next you are happy to promote your banana boy as the 'weighty' EU Foreign Minister. Pathetic again.

phil said...

as others here point out, the options Cameron have suggested shows a complete lack of understanding about the power the EU already has on our democratic rights as a nation, There is no way any of Cameron's proposed "blocks" will be possible to maintain, whilst we remain within the European Union.

If he really wants these powers, he needs to work for complete withdrawal from the EU, no other path will work.

TheBoilingFrog said...

@ Quietzapple The British Parliament can still choose to leave the EU.

Not quite true, we can't choose, we have to negotiate with the other members states and have their unanimous agreement.

If one state says no, we can't leave

Paul Halsall said...

@Boiling Frog.

You are misinformed. Unlike previous treaties the Lisbon treaty has an easy exit clause. Negotiations after announcement of withdrawal are called for for two years; then the withdrawing state is simply not counted as a member *even if the negotiations* fail.

TheBoilingFrog said...

@ Paul Halsall: Negotiations after announcement of withdrawal are called for for two years

'Announcement' of withdraw is not the same as 'right' of withdraw.

Basically within the two year notice we could give, we lose our influence in the Council for that period, which gives the EU time to decide our terms and conditions

The EU sets all the terms for withdraw, the UK cannot set it's own terms.

It's most certainly not an 'easy' exit clause - and the self-amending clauses of the treaty can easily extend our 'withdraw notice' to however long it likes.