Independence campaigner Walton Brown has warned that if the European Union?s proposed constitution is adopted, the EU could gain control over Bermuda?s ability to levy Customs duties on goods from EU member countries.

Mr. Brown issued the warning at a United Nations Caribbean regional seminar on decolonisation this month.

He said at the meeting in St. Vincent that Bermuda and other British overseas territories were already being ?Eurofied? by stealth.

Mr. Brown said Britain?s grant of British citizenship ? and by extension the right to live and work in the EU was something greatly valued by a number of people in the overseas territories and acknowledged it was a reason for some OT citizens to oppose Independence.

?This is, fundamentally, a right granted to individuals and does not in any way alter the constitutional relationship between the UK and the Overseas Territories,? he said.

?But by providing the opportunity for work and residence in any of the member states of the European Union this provides a compelling (reason) for some to maintain the status quo.?

But he warned that ?the second element of this Eurofication should, however, make it patently clear that the status quo is shifting ground and may do so rapidly in the years to come? because the EU was gradually eroding the autonomy of the overseas territories, both legally and economically without any consultation with the territories themselves.

?We are already aware that the European Court of Justice has a level of involvement insofar as it now represents the de facto final court of appeal on legal matters,? he said. ?What is less obvious is what the European Constitution portends for the overseas territories.

?This constitution recognises the overseas territories ? albeit in an appendix ? as part of the areas covered by it. More revealing, there are a set of parameters laid out in this document that refer to the levels of tax/duty an overseas territory can impose on imports from a European Union member state.

?While this provision offers flexibility in terms of not restricting the ability of the overseas territory to raise revenue for the public purse, it nevertheless grants constitutional authority to the EU over a matter that until now had been the exclusive preserve of the overseas territories themselves.

?This is a serious precedent that more fully ties the OT?s to the EU than any grant of citizenship. And this has taken place without, as much as I can determine, any consultation with the OTs, no input from the people.?

He added: ?In one deft move the precedent has now been set for the EU to assume tremendous control over the overseas territories. It represents a much closer integration with the administering power yet there are no greater political rights accorded.?

Mr. Brown also dealt with the issue of whether countries should pursue Independence via a referendum or a General Election.

He said a General Election remained a legitimate option for any territory to pursue Independence, and that Britain, which has stated a preference for a referendum, would be hard pressed to to make a referendum a requirement if a political party won an election decisively after having campaigned on an independence platform.

?It would be doubly difficult if the two main political parties in an overseas territory both campaigned for Independence and differed only in the mechanics of stepping down the path to statehood,? he said.

?The British Labour Government would also have a hard time explaining to the global community how an election in say, Bermuda, cannot decisively reflect the opinion of the people on Independence and simultaneously argue their own election results, in which 36 percent of the voters gave Labour a 60 seat majority, provide them with a mandate to govern.?

Mr. Brown admitted that a referendum was ?equally valid even though it is a form of direct participation in the political process and can at times conflict with representative government?.

?Seductive in its appeal, a referendum has immediate resonance,? he said. ?It is simple; a straight vote; one question; the answer is ?yes? or ?no?. Fashioned with integrity, it is not difficult to come up with suitable wording that is supported by those on either side of the issue.?

But Mr. Brown said the key question in a referendum was: ?What majority represents a legitimate decision??

He said: In Bermuda?s ill-fated walk down referendum lane (in 1995) the operational legislation required that 40 percent of all registered voters had to vote ?yes? in order to validate the outcome in that direction. In other words, a minority veto.

?But on what principle can a decision such as this allow for a minority of electors to decide the outcome,? he asked. ?The British have intimated they would prefer to see a substantive expression of the people?s will in any referendum but again this would be hard to sustain in light of global practices in the area of referenda.

Every country that has had a referendum to join the European Union has had the decision rendered by a simple majority ? in some cases the slimmest of majorities. If this is the standard globally why should it be any different for an overseas territory??