Tory condemns 'treaty creep'

Mr Maude says the UK is at the mercy of "treaty creep"

Shadow foreign secretary Francis Maude is to call for a call for a referendum on new moves towards closer European integration.

Speaking in Berlin, Mr Maude will go on the offensive over moves to reduce the British veto which are to be discussed at the forthcoming inter-governmental conference in Nice.

He will say that EU has reached a "fork in the road" and faces a choice between a "flexible Europe" or a "superstate".

Francis Maude aims to distinguish between Labour and the Tories

Mr Maude says he will demand a UK referendum on the measures on the Treaty of Nice if the government tries to push it through Parliament before the next general election.

His intervention comes in a week in which former Conservative Prime Ministers John Major and Edward Heath both launched attacks on anti-European propaganda, and called for an early referendum on the the single currency.

Warning about the effect of successive EU treaties on Britain's sovereignty, Mr Maude will coin the phrase "treaty creep".

He will reaffirm the Conservatives' pledge to guarantee the supremacy of the British Parliament.

'Clear blue water'

"The EU today has reached a fork in the road, one route at this fork leads to an open, flexible, free-enterprise Europe which celebrates diversity," he will tell his audience.

He will say that the alternative route will lead to "uniformity and integration" where the national veto is "all but abolished" .

Mr Maude will also state the Tories' opposition to plans to create a common defence policy for the EU separate from Nato, and call for reform of the EU's overseas aid budget.

A senior Conservative source said the speech was an attempt to put "clear blue water" between Labour and the Conservatives over Europe.

Earlier in the week, the party launched 'Keep the Pound' cards, as part of their campaign against the single currency.

This week saw the 25th anniversary of the referendum in which Britain voted to remain part of the then European Community.