The European Union (Amendment) Act 2008 (c. 7) was an
Act of the
Parliament of the United Kingdom
The Parliament of the United Kingdom is the supreme legislative body of the United Kingdom, the Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories. It meets at the Palace of Westminster, London. It alone possesses legislative suprema ...
. It gives effect in the law of the
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...
to the
Lisbon Treaty
The Treaty of Lisbon (initially known as the Reform Treaty) is an international agreement that amends the two treaties which form the constitutional basis of the European Union (EU). The Treaty of Lisbon, which was signed by the EU member sta ...
, which was signed there by then-Prime Minister
Gordon Brown
James Gordon Brown (born 20 February 1951) is a British former politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Labour Party (UK), Leader of the Labour Party from 2007 to 2010. He previously served as Chance ...
on 14 December 2007. The Bill was first debated in the
House of Commons
The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. ...
on 21 January 2008, and passed its second reading that day by a vote of 362–224; Prime Minister Gordon Brown was absent that day, and left the Bill to be defended by then-Foreign Secretary
David Miliband
David Wright Miliband (born 15 July 1965) is the president and chief executive officer (CEO) of the International Rescue Committee and a former British Labour Party politician. He was the Foreign Secretary from 2007 to 2010 and the Member of P ...
who introduced it to the House of Commons. A
Conservative
Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization i ...
amendment led by the then Shadow Foreign Secretary
William Hague
William is a male given name of Germanic origin.Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 276. It became very popular in the English language after the Norman conquest of Engl ...
to hold a UK-wide referendum on final approval of the Lisbon Treaty was defeated by the Labour Government in a Committee stage debate on 5 March 2008, by 311–248 in the House of Commons. The enactment via
royal assent
Royal assent is the method by which a monarch formally approves an act of the legislature, either directly or through an official acting on the monarch's behalf. In some jurisdictions, royal assent is equivalent to promulgation, while in other ...
came on 19 June 2008. The Act does not actually ratify the treaty; it merely adds the Lisbon Treaty to the treaties listed in section 1(2) of the
European Communities Act 1972. The actual ratification by the United Kingdom of the treaty took place when the
British Government
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deposited the instruments of ratification in Rome on 16 July 2008.
Written Statement by Jim Murphy MP confirming the UK's Ratification of Lisbon Treaty
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The European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018
The European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018 (also known as the Great Repeal Act) is an Act of Parliament, Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that provides both for repeal of the European Communities Act 1972 (UK), European Communities A ...
repealed this Act on 31 January 2020.
See also
* Treaty of Lisbon
The Treaty of Lisbon (initially known as the Reform Treaty) is an international agreement that amends the two treaties which form the constitutional basis of the European Union (EU). The Treaty of Lisbon, which was signed by the EU member sta ...
* European Union Act 2011
The European Union Act 2011 (c. 12) was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, requiring that a referendum be held on amendments of the Treaty on European Union or the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union. Introduced in the H ...
* Acts of Parliament of the United Kingdom relating to the European Communities and the European Union
References
United Kingdom Acts of Parliament 2008
Treaty of Lisbon
Acts of the Parliament of the United Kingdom relating to the European Union
2008 in the European Union
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