Treaty draft deliberately unclear

YES campaigners have being doing their best to obscure, minimise or deny that a whole-scale reordering of our political system would come about should the provisions of the Lisbon Treaty come into effect.

Dutch and French voters, however, perceived these changes when the European constitution was originally presented to them in readable format in 2005 and they chose to reject them. That their choice was overruled underscores the democratic deficit at the heart of the EU.

The second time round the constitution was redrafted as the Lisbon Treaty with a few superficial changes to ensure the Dutch and French governments wouldn't have to ask their electorates their opinion. It was also made deliberately unreadable, designed to ensure that understanding the momentous changes contained in its articles would not be easy.