Est. 1min 21-05-2003 (updated: 07-11-2012 ) Euractiv is part of the Trust Project >>> Languages: Français | DeutschPrint Email Facebook X LinkedIn WhatsApp Telegram The British Prime Minister, Tony Blair, has warned the Convention Chairman, Valéry Giscard d’Estaing, that Britain will not give up its powers in the area of taxes and social policy. Read more with Euractiv Eurobarometer finds strong support for common security and defence policyThe decisive majority of the Union's citizens support the idea of a common foreign and security and defence policy, a new Eurobarometer survey reveals. Subscribe now to our newsletter EU Elections Decoded Email Address * Politics Newsletters BackgroundOn 19 May, at their third and last dinner in Downing Street before the end of the European Convention, Mr Blair demanded that the word "federal" be removed from the draft Constitutional Treaty. The British Prime Minister also insisted on the proposed creation of a permanent EU President and on the right that any Commission proposal be reconsidered if a third of national parliaments consider it inappropriate. He said Britain would veto the future EU Constitution if it erodes national sovereignty in the area of economics or foreign policy. Mr Blair is facing a growing push for a referendum on the future EU Constitution. Frank Field, a Labour MP and former member of Blair's government, is planning to propose legislation in parliament that would oblige the Prime Minister to call a vote on the EU Constitution. However, the proposal has little chance of being passed because the Government controls the Parliament's timetable. The Labour Government is facing a hostile press at home, with the country's two best-selling newspapers, the Sun and the Daily Mail, as well as the Daily Telegraph, which supports the Conservatives, campaigning against Giscard's proposals and UK membership of the euro.
