[JURIST] European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso [official profile] Monday called on the UK to support the proposed EU Reform Treaty [PDF text; EU materials]. During a speech [text] to delegates of the UK Liberal Democratic Party [party website], Barroso emphasized that the reform treaty is not simply a retread of the failed EU constitution rejected by French and Dutch [JURIST reports] voters in 2005. Barroso also stressed the need for the treaty to evolve to accommodate the changing EU.

Last week, Sir Menzies Campbell [personal website], a leader in the Liberal Democratic party, said that Britain should focus on the larger issue of whether it should remain involved in European politics at all rather than whether it should ratify the treaty. The Liberal Democrats have traditionally identified themselves as the pro-EU party. UK Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs David Miliband last month rejected calls for a general referendum on the proposed treaty [JURIST report], but said that the treaty would not infringe on British independence. The Guardian has more.