Tories face fresh questions over Euro alliance

News in pictures
News in pictures
On Facebook
From the blogs

Bahrain: One year on

I am used to endless lies and criticism from the BNP and its favourite blogster, as well as Islamist...

HIV orphans in Thailand prepare for the future

In Baan Gerda, a community for HIV infected or affected youngsters in Northern Thailand, a group of ...

Online House Hunter: England’s most romantic places

Our Online House Hunter goes in search of romance this Valentine's Day...

Roy Hodgson for England: A club of one

To argue against Harry Redknapp for England is akin to arguing in favour of bankers bonuses. While s...

The Tories faced fresh questions over their new European Parliament alliance today after it emerged its Polish chair has backed both the Lisbon Treaty and the Common Agricultural Policy.

Law and Justice Party MEP Michael Kaminski told his Law and Justice Party's website that the treaty "guarantees Poland's sovereignty".

That would appear to put him seriously at odds with David Cameron who is strongly opposed to the treaty which he wants to put to a referendum in the UK.

It is the latest controversy to hit the political marriage of convenience with centre-right MEPs entered by the Tories to meet a pledge by the party leader to split from the mainstream centre-right European People's Party (EPP) grouping.

Mr Kaminski, who chairs the new 55-strong European Conservatives and Reformists Group (ECR), has already been forced to deny holding anti-Semitic and homophobic views.

The Tories conceded that there was a difference in policy over the treaty but said it was not explicitly referred to in any of the 10 founding principles of the grouping.

One of those principles is: "The sovereign integrity of the nation state, opposition to EU federalism and a renewed respect for true subsidiarity."

Eurosceptic Tories would have expected Mr Cameron's creation of the new group, which was designed to satisfy their concerns over EU expansion, to involve opposition to the treaty.

Timothy Kirkhope, Tory leader in the European Parliament, said: "Polish Law and Justice, like all other members of our group, has signed up to a set of common principles under the Prague Declaration. This commits us to fundamental reform and change in the EU.

"This includes the EU showing greater respect for the decisions of national governments and therefore we do not believe it is our place to dictate policies to them in matters such as this."

Europe Minister Glenys Kinnock said the grouping was "coming apart at the seams" and called for the Tories to clarify their position on the future of the treaty.

Mr Cameron has promised a referendum on the treaty - which replaces the failed EU constitution - if he reaches office before ratification is complete.

But the party has declined to spell out exactly what it would do if the treaty has been implemented, as is likely if the Irish vote 'yes' in a re-run referendum this autumn, saying only that it "would not let matters rest".

Baroness Kinnock said: "David Cameron needs to get a grip. The fringe is coming apart at the seams. Cameron and (shadow foreign secretary William) Hague must say where they stand. Do they agree with the leader of their group or do they oppose him and move further from reality?

"Repeating the vague Hague mantra 'matters will not rest ' won't do. They must tell us are they supporting their leader Kaminski or will they go further Beyond the Fringe?"

Nick Clegg, the Liberal Democrat leader, said: "David Cameron and William Hague's European policy is now lurching from dogma to farce.

"Even their own handpicked European allies disagree with them. Cameron and Hague have become an irrelevant laughing stock in Brussels."

The Observer said Mr Kaminski, in an interview with his party's website, also declared that: "We must be allied with those EU countries that defend the Cap."

Europe's agricultural policy is criticised in the UK by both eurosceptics and strong supporters of the EU, such as Labour former Europe minister Denis MacShane.

"It now turns out that Michal Kaminski who is leader of the Tory MEPs in their new group in Strasbourg is a strong advocate of the EU's most corrupt, wasteful spending programme," he said.

"What is David Cameron doing in alliance with this man? Critics of the Cap like the Yorkshire Tory MEP Edward Macmillan Scott have been expelled from the Conservatives to appease this Cap junkie from Poland."

Independent Comment
blog comments powered by Disqus
Career Services

Day In a Page

Apple admits it has a human rights problem

Apple admits it has a human rights problem

After years of complaints and workers' suicides in China the technology giant faces up to the human cost of its gadgets
Peter Moore: 'I feel guilty I'm the only one alive'

Peter Moore interview

'I feel guilty I'm the only one alive'
Sellafield faces nuclear option as overspending threatens plant's future

Sellafield faces nuclear option

Overspending threatens plant's future
Israel blames Iran for embassy bomb attacks

Israel blames Iran for embassy bomb attacks

Tehran rejects Netanyahu's 'lies' after diplomats in India and Georgia targeted
Former manager enjoying Apoel crack at the big time

Tommy Cassidy interview

Former manager enjoying Apoel crack at the big time
James Lawton: Patience may not be a virtue this time, Roman – Andre Villas-Boas looks all at sea

James Lawton: AVB looks all at sea

Abramovich's visits to training reinforce the idea of a coach feeling pressure from above and below
The 10 Best sledges

The 10 Best sledges

Not all of them require snow...
Procrastination: Not now – I'm busy

Procrastination: Not now – I'm busy

Confronting the real reasons for puttting things off can help us beat it
Fun in the sunset years

Fun in the sunset years

A new movie follows retirees moving to India for low-cost care and a culture of respect for the elderly. For many Britons, it's already a reality
Picture preview: Lucian Freud drawings

Lucian Freud drawings

Picture preview
Silent revolution at the Baftas as the French take top awards

Silent revolution at the Baftas

The Artist wins in seven categories, with Meryl Streep the other big success story
Whitney Houston: The diva who had – and lost – it all

The diva who had – and lost – it all

Nick Hasted charts the highs and lows of Whitney Houston's life
How Picasso won over (some of) the British

How Picasso won over (some of) the British

Winston Churchill and Evelyn Waugh hated his work, but Picasso provided inspiration for a whole generation of UK artists
Topshop: A Decade Of Design

Topshop: A Decade Of Design

When London Fashion Week starts on Friday, Topshop will celebrate 10 years backing its brightest young stars
John Prescott: 'My wife thought I'd just retire, but I'm not a slippers man'

'My wife thought I'd just retire, but I'm not a slippers man'

At 73, John Prescott isn't mellowing. In fact he's taking a shot at becoming a police commissioner