Europe minister warns that Cameron's plan to reclaim powers won't succeed "for a minute"

The Conservatives' EU policy has been denounced by a French government minister who described it as an "autistic" approach that would "castrate" UK influence in Europe.

Pierre Lellouche, France's Europe minister, who said he was conveying Nicolas Sarkozy's "sadness and regret", told the Guardian that David Cameron's plan to renegotiate EU treaties would not succeed "for a minute".

The Tory leader yesterday outlined a new approach to the EU after abandoning his pledge to hold a referendum on the Lisbon Treaty if the Conservatives are elected.

He promised that any future treaty which transfers powers from Britain to the EU would be automatically subject to a referendum.

"Never again should it be possible for a British government to transfer power to the European Union without the say of the British people in a referendum," he said.

Cameron also announced plans for a sovereignty bill that would "lock in" the supremacy of UK laws.

And he vowed that a future Conservative government would repatriate a series of powers over social, employment and criminal legislation.

But Cameron was dealt a blow when Tory MEP Daniel Hannan announced that he had quit his role as the party's legal affairs spokesman in Europe in order to campaign for a referendum on EU membership.

The Conservatives' opposition to the Lisbon Treaty and their right-wing alliance with Eastern European parties accused of homophobia and anti-Semitism has alienated centre-right leaders including Sarzkoy and Angela Merkel but Lellouche's comments are the fiercest criticism yet.

He said: "It's pathetic. It's just very sad to see Britain, so important in Europe, just cutting itself out from the rest and disappearing from the radar map .... This is a culture of opposition ... It is the result of a long period of opposition. I know they will come back, but I hope the trip will be short."

"They have essentially castrated your UK influence in the European parliament," he added.

But the shadow foreign secretary, William Hague, insisted that Lellouche's comments did not reflect the genuine European response to the Tories' plans.

"I don't think you will find that's representative of the reaction in Paris or other European capitals," he told BBC2's Newsnight.

He added that the Tories had established good relations with Sarkozy's UMP party.

Questioned on his party's decision to renege on its promise to hold a referendum on the Lisbon Treaty, he said: "We have to deal with the world as it is not as we wish it to be."

The Lisbon Treaty was fully ratified on Tuesday after Eurosceptic Czech president Vaclav Klaus finally added his signature. It will come into force on 1 December.

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