[ARTICLE 17 ]

HUMAN RIGHTS:

BRITISH CITIZENS WILL BECOME EU CITZENS,

SURRENDERING THEIR NATIONAL CITIZENSHIP

FOR LOYALTY TO THE UNION

[ARTICLE 17]

AMENDMENT TO: Treaty of Lisbon amending the Treaty on European Union and t= he Treaty establishing the European Community (Lisbon, 13 December 2007)<= /span>

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Policy Area:

Treaty= on the Functioning of the European Union, Part II, Non-Discrimination and Citizenship of the Union, Article 17

Amendment:<= /o:p>

Clause 2, &nb= sp;page 1, line 12, after ‘excluding’, insert—

‘(i) Article 2, paragr= aph 34(b) to (d), amendments to Article 17 TEC (TFEU) relating to the rights and duties of citizens of the European Union; and

(ii)’.

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<= st1:City w:st=3D"on">Lisb= on Treaty: =

“34) Article 17 shall be amended as follows:<= /o:p>

(a) in paragraph 1, the word "complement" shall be replaced by "be additional to";

(b) paragraph 2 shall be repl= aced by the following:

"2. Citizens of the Union shall enjoy the rights and be subject to the duties provided for in the Treaties. They shall have, inter alia:

(a) the right to move and res= ide freely within the territory of the Member States;

(b) the right to vote and to stand as candidates in elections to the European Parliament and in municipal elections in their Me= mber State of residence, under the same conditions as nationals of that State;

(c) the right to enjoy, in the territory of a third coun= try in which the Member State of which they are nationals is not represented, t= he protection of the diplomatic and consular authorities of any Member State on the same conditions as the nationals of that State;

(d) the right to petition the European Parliament, to ap= ply to the European Ombudsman, and to address the institutions and advisory bod= ies of the Union in any of the Treaty languages and to obtain a reply in the sa= me language.

These rights shall be exercised in accordance with the conditions and limits defined by the Treaties and by the measures adopted <= span class=3DSpellE>thereunder."

Consolidated Treaty Article(s):

“Article 17<= /span>

1. Citizenship of the Union is hereby established. Every person holding t= he nationality of a Member State shall be a citizen of the Union. Citizenship of the Union shall complemen= t and not replace national citizenship.

2. Citizens of the Union shall enjoy the rights conferred by this Trea= ty and shall be subject to the duties imposed thereby.”

Expl= anation:

The Treaty falsely states that Union citizenship will occur but this will not take the place of national citizenship. The = claim that Union citizenship will be merely supplementary is highly suspicious and must be voted against. Under the present Articl= e 17 (1), it is confusingly stated that “…Every person holding the nationality of a Member State shall be a citizen of the = Union. Citizenship of the Un= ion shall complement and not replace national citizenship.” The Lisbon Tr= eaty provides that “Citizenship of the Union shall be additional and not replace national citizenship,” which was added at the request of the European Parliament. The Lisbon Treaty confirms= the existing concept of the Union citizenship and massively develops it. <= /o:p>

There is a new definit= ion of European citizenship which will provide each citizen with a real dual citizenship: Union citizens and citizens of their national states. Each cit= izen can only be a citizen of its State. However, with the Lisbon Treaty every citizen is demand= ed to have the loyalty to the Union as to thei= r own State. However, citizens do not trust the European institutions, nor want to have loyalty to it, and have no identification with the creation of a Europ= ean demos. Although it is said EU citizenship will not replace national citizenship, what is meant by that abstraction? When EU citizenship is prioritised and enforced, will that then mean that Br= itish citizens can now have British passports, and claim British rights and claim= to be judged by the British judiciary under British law. No it will not. The c= laim that Union citizenship is merely supplementary is a highly suspicious judgement and deserves nothing but complete refutation.

British citizenship will become an abstraction and will mean that the British people have mere entitlements towards an abstrac= ted citizenship. The people’s new EU citizenship – with its associa= ted rights and obligations – will take its place. Under the amended Artic= le 17 (2) “Citizens of the Union shall enjoy the rights and be subject to the duties provided for in the Treaties” therefore the Lisbon Treaty replaces “this Treaty” by “in the Treaties.” Moreov= er, the Lisbon Treaty adds to this Article a list of rights enjoyed by the Union citizens. It is clear that these rights are already provided for in the exi= sting Treaties [TEC in Articles 18, 19, 20 and 21] which will be further discusse= d. Article 17 as amended also states that “These rights shall be exercised in accordance with the conditions and limits defined by the Treaties and by the measures adopted <= span class=3DSpellE>thereunder." This cannot be agreed to and it mus= t be stopped.