EU treaty debate 'must end'

The debate over the new EU treaty must be resolved if Britain is to have any chance of tackling 21st century challenges, according to the leader of the European Parliamentary Labour Party.

Gary Titley told Labour delegates at the party's annual conference in Bournemouth that globalisation brought with it the challenges of climate change, people trafficking, terrorism and the need to regulate corporations.

And he said that Gordon Brown would ensure the treaty agreed in December "is one that represents the best deal for Britain".

"The 21st century challenges are tough and if the EU is to face them, then we have to get away from debates about treaties, institutions and processes," Titley said.

"That is why we need to ratify the reform treaty and move on. The deal that Tony Blair struck in June ripped the constitutional heart out of the treaty."

He added: "It shows once and for all that the European Union is not a state, it is a political process. A process which allows us to work together to meet global challenges more effectively and to protect ourselves from shared vulnerabilities."

Titley argued that people who oppose the treaty "do so because they oppose the EU" and do not want environmental regulations or working directives "getting in the way" of free markets.

"The truth is this: the battle over the reform treaty is a battle being fought against the neo-conservatives on the right," he said.