Oh dear. Here comes Lisbon again.

Less than two weeks ago I quoted William Hague:

"A sovereignty clause on EU law will place on the statute book this eternal truth: what a sovereign parliament can do, a sovereign parliament can also undo."

Today Gavin Hewitt tells us:

"Yesterday, on the Deauville boardwalk, they were in harmony, backing a radical rewriting of EU rules. Some say the changes are the most significant since the creation of the euro in 1999."

"The key change is that the EU is committed to embracing sanctions against those states that blow their budgets and threaten the eurozone. To bring all this about President Sarkozy and Chancellor Merkel believe that treaty changes are needed. Angela Merkel has long argued that amendments to treaties would be needed. The French president now agrees with her.

The problem with EU treaty changes is that they come with all kinds of baggage."

You don't say!

The British government reiterated again today "we will not support anything that involves a transfer of powers from Westminster to Brussels".

Cameron, for the sake of his party's unity, can't afford another humiliating backdown on this. He'll be hoping that sanctions will only apply to those countries in the eurozone, but as Economics Commissioner Olli Rehn wants to extend the new rules to all 27 members, there could be very exciting times ahead...