Shadow Foreign Secretary William Hague addresses the Conservative Party Conference on October 8, 2009 in Manchester, England. (Christopher Furlong/Getty Images)
The Conservatives, favourites to win an election expected next May, say they want to remain in the EU but are committed to holding a British referendum on the Lisbon treaty if it is not in force across Europe when and if they take power.
Since the British parliament has already ratified Lisbon and all but two other EU states have approved it, the Conservatives' wish to reopen the Lisbon question could put a Conservative government on a collision course with EU partners.
While attacking the Lisbon treaty for being undemocratic and unaccountable, the Conservatives' foreign policy spokesman, William Hague, said the EU was an important way for Britain to exercise its influence in the world.
"Indeed when it comes to dealing with Iran over nuclear policy, Russia over energy security, or the Balkans to prevent new conflict or disorder, we need Europe to use its collective weight in the world and indeed to do so more often," he said.
But a Conservative government would also have a "distinctive British foreign policy, geared to the promotion of the British national interest," he said.
As well as cooperating with the EU, the Conservatives would pursue foreign policy goals by working with the United States, building new alliances and working with the Commonwealth, a group of mostly former British colonies, Hague said.
Opposition to Lisbon
The Conservatives opposed the Lisbon treaty because "the ever greater centralisation of power beyond the democratic control of the people is not in keeping with the needs of the 21st century ... It diminishes our ability to pursue our own global relationships," Hague said to loud applause and cheers."We seek a European Union that acts by agreement among nations, rather than by placing its own president or foreign minister above any nation," he said.
Conservative foreign policy would seek to promote free trade and sound development aid, press for Middle East peace, seek to prevent conflict in Africa and work with other members of the U.N. Security Council to uphold international law, Hague said.
Under a Conservative government, Britain would retain a prominent international role in tackling issues such as nuclear proliferation and climate change, he said.
On Afghanistan, he said a Conservative government would work with President Barack Obama and other NATO allies to give a new strategy time and support to succeed. But Britain's 9,000 troops in Afghanistan would not be there forever, he said.
Unless Iran changed course on its nuclear programme, he said the time was approaching for "serious and far-reaching sanctions on Iran's financial transactions and oil and gas development."
The West suspects Tehran of seeking to develop nuclear weapons while Tehran says it only wants civil energy.
A Conservative government would create a National Security Council to integrate the work of Britain's foreign, defence, energy, home and international development departments, Hague said.
