Under pressure David Cameron faces calls for a new EU vote

By Daily Mail Reporter
Last updated at 10:20 AM on 20th October 2010

David Cameron was under fresh pressure to hold a referendum on Europe last night - as France and Germany called for the controversial Lisbon Treaty to be redrawn.

In a surprise move, German chancellor Angela Merkel and French president Nicolas Sarkozy called for a new EU treaty to be agreed within two years.

In a joint statement the two leaders said it was ‘necessary to revise the (Lisbon) Treaty’ in order to deal with the fallout from the financial crisis.

David Cameron is under fresh pressure to hold a referendum on Europe after France and Germany called for the Lisbon Treaty to be redrawn

Ministers have pledged to introduce a ‘referendum lock’ which would require the Government to hold a public vote on any treaty changes affecting Britain.

But privately they are desperate to avoid a referendum on a subject which could split the coalition partners. Douglas Carswell, a senior Eurosceptic Tory, last night warned that right-wingers would use any move to renegotiate the Lisbon Treaty to press for a referendum.

And Mats Persson, of the think tank Open Europe, said: ‘A new EU treaty would have huge implications for the UK.’

France and Germany want to change the Lisbon Treaty to bring in tough penalties for eurozone countries such as Greece, which break the rules of the euro pact.