UK law now requires that all future EU treaties and treaty change decisions have to go through a clear process of increased Parliamentary, and where appropriate public, approval. This increased scrutiny of treaty changes gives people more of a say over the future decisions taken in the EU by the Government. The three steps that are needed in this process are as follows:

1. a statement must be laid before Parliament in accordance with section 5 of the Act, stating whether or not the treaty change decision would fall within section 4 of the Act, which sets out cases where a referendum would be required;
2. the treaty change decision must be approved by an Act of Parliament;
3. where the treaty change decision falls within section 4 of the Act (cases attracting a referendum as involving a transfer of competence or power from the UK to the EU), the EU Act’s “referendum lock” would be activated. The British Government would have to hold a referendum on the treaty change, and a majority of people voting would need to approve the treaty change before the UK could agree to it.