Does the Charter of Fundamental Rights feature in the new treaty?
No. There is a reference to it, making it legally binding, but the full text does not appear, even in an annex. The UK has secured a written guarantee that the Charter cannot be used by the European Court to alter British labour law, or other laws that deal with social rights. However, experts are divided on how effective this will be. Poland won an opt-out from the Charter, because it insisted on retaining national control over family issues and morality, such as abortion. The Czech Republic also has an opt-out – secured by the Eurosceptic Czech President Vaclav Klaus as a condition for signing the treaty. He wanted a guarantee that his country would not be exposed to property claims by Germans expelled from the then Czechoslovakia after World War II. Q&A: Charter of Fundamental Rights Did any countries seek more opt-outs? The Irish Republic and the UK currently have an opt-out from European policies concerning asylum, visas and immigration. Under the new treaty they have the right to
