Brussels, 18/09/2007 (Agence Europe) - Speaking on Monday 17 September before the British Liberal Democrats' Annual Congress in Brighton, the president of the European Commission, José Manuel Barroso, urged for parliamentary ratification of the future amending treaty in the United Kingdom, without a referendum. This is also the position upheld by the British government that is having to face increasing pressure from the Conservatives, the media and a large part of the public who all want the people to be consulted. “The Treaty (Ed.: currently being finalised within the IGC), including the hard-fought UK red lines, is not the Constitution”, Barroso said, while experts agree to say that the amending treaty in fact takes up 90% of the draft European Constitution, which was buried after being rejected by the French and the Dutch. Stressing that the way ratification is carried out “is of course for each individual member state to decide, including here in the United Kingdom”, Barroso said he shared the “feeling that the sooner we move beyond the institutional debate and focus on issues of concern to our citizens, the better”. (hb)