GUERNSEY’S independence is seriously under threat from the EU and more has to be done to safeguard it. That was the overwhelming verdict from politicians gathered at La Trelade Hotel yesterday discussing the surrender of sovereignty by the British Government to the EU.
The other fear was that not enough islanders appreciated the importance of what is taking place in the Houses of Parliament at the moment.
Housing minister Dave Jones, who was representing Guernsey, said the position had grown even more precarious under a Labour Government, especially with Prime Minister Gordon Brown having signed the Lisbon Treaty, subject to parliamentary approval.
‘Our allegiance in this island belongs to the Crown, not to the men in grey suits who are at the head of the Labour Government who are here today and gone tomorrow and believe the sovereignty of our people belongs to them,’ he said.
‘From our point of view we have seen increasing problems over the last couple of years with getting legislation through the Privy Council.
‘It’s slowed to a snail’s pace on occasions.’
Deputy Jones was joined around the table by Jersey deputy Paul Le Clair and a selection of members of the European Parliament from the UK Independence Party, which included Roger Knapman, MEP for the south-west and Tom Wise, MEP for the east of England.
Mr Knapman’s colleague, Piers Merchant, a former Conservative MP for Newcastle Central and then Beckenham, said many people in Guernsey perhaps did not recognise how the Lisbon Treaty could affect everything they had taken for granted should the UK sign it.
He said it covered a whole range of matters, including fisheries policy.
‘We will be approaching the position where the Channel Islands will have to make some very difficult decisions about their future because otherwise they will find that they are dragged into the whole edifice of the European Union by default because the goal posts around them are being moved.
‘If the UK adopts the euro - and this treaty takes a big step towards that - then it will have a major monetary impact on the Channel Islands.
‘The main thing we are worried about is that the people of Guernsey will not be aware of the importance of the treaty because they are not directly involved. They will just regard it as something that is happening on the mainland.
‘But then it will be up to them how they react. We are all very supportive of the Channel Islands and we regard it as a very successful constitutional set-up.
‘We are quite envious actually that Guernsey has such a loose relationship with the UK. It has much more local control and say.
‘It’s a structure we would like to see much more in many parts of the UK mainland.’
Article posted on 25th January, 2008 - 12.00am
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