asked Her Majesty's Government:

Further to the Written Answer by Lord Malloch-Brown on 1 October (WA 218), whether Parliament will be able to amend the new European Union treaty; and whether they will propose that all parties should allow Members of both Houses a free vote on that treaty. [HL5381]

The reform treaty will have to be ratified by all member states according to their own constitutional procedures. In the UK, all treaties, including EU treaties, are laid before Parliament, which has the right to examine and debate them in detail. An Act of Parliament will give legal effect to the treaty. So Parliament must be satisfied that a treaty is in the national interest before that treaty can be implemented in national law.