EU referendum: David Cameron’s deal is – in legal terms – not worth the paper it’s printed on per City A.M.

A fascinating article in today's City AM that you should read in full.

'When David Cameron set out his plans for a renegotiation followed by a referendum in his Bloomberg Speech three years ago, he said the best way to give effect to the outcome would be a new EU Treaty. Government ministers promised they would secure that before the referendum. They have failed to do so.

Why does this matter? Because any promised changes which are not contained in a new Treaty will not be worth the paper they are written on. The European Court of Justice (ECJ) has made clear that the EU Treaties can only be changed by a new EU Treaty. This must be ratified by every member state in accordance with its constitution. Some might have to hold referendums. We would not know the result until several years after we voted.

The government contends that a promise to change the Treaties after the poll can be legally binding. That is not the case. The former director general of the Legal Service of the Council of the European Union, Jean-Claude Piris, has said that the notion of a binding promise to change the Treaties in the future is "bullshit". Sir Konrad Schiemann, the UK's former judge in the ECJ, agrees with him.'

Why is David Cameron misleading the British public? Why are other MPs and ex MPs happy to go along with this? Why are the supposedly unbiased BBC not interested in reporting the facts?