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 suprem ...

. 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 ...

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 from 2007 to 2010. He previously served as Chancellor of the Exchequer in Tony ...

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. T ...

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 ...

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 in ...

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 oth ...

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 ga, Rialtas a Shoilse gd, Riaghaltas a Mhòrachd , image = HM Government logo.svg , image_size = 220px , image2 = Royal Coat of Arms of the United Kingdom (HM Government).svg , image_size2 = 180px , caption = Royal Arms , date_est ...

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
/ref> The

European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018 The European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018 (also known as the Great Repeal Act) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that provides both for repeal of the European Communities Act 1972, and for parliamentary approval to be require ...

repealed this Act on 31 January 2020.

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 {{UK-statute-stub

See also

References