EU: UK Membership

rose to call attention to the United Kingdom’s membership of the European Union and to the contribution which the European Union can make to the pursuit of United Kingdom national interests and to the management of global problems; and to move for Papers. The noble Lord said: My Lords, I am grateful to the noble Lord, Lord Rooker, for warming the House up and getting it into a European frame of mind for this debate. I called this debate in the anticipation that in a week’s time, the European Union approaches not so much a crossroads as a positive spaghetti junction of decisions. Our speakers’ list today reveals a great deal of road sense and collective wisdom about negotiating Europe’s tricky corners. So it is with more than the usual pious hope that I ask that the copy of Hansard that will contain our debate goes into the weekend Box for the Prime Minister. I am sure that he will find some useful advice from the European negotiation equivalents of Lewis Hamilton due to speak between now and 4.30 pm. I do not belong to that now select group which came back from the Second World War with a ““never again”” commitment to building a better and more united Europe. But I am part of that post-war generation who endured what President Kennedy termed, "““a hard and bitter peace””." I have been a member of the European movement since my student days because the arguments for co-operation with our nearest neighbours seem to answer fully Dean Acheson’s famous jibe that we had lost an empire and failed to find a role in the world. In the late 1960s, I had the honour of working with Jean Monnet, and I remember asking him what had been the driving force behind the schemes he had brought forward which had led to the creation of the Common Market. He told me, ““I wanted to create something that would make it impossible for France and Germany ever to go to war with each other again””. That ambition, a noble ambition given the history of the first half of the 20th century, has meant that the European project has always had a political as well as an economic agenda. The key arguments for Britain's membership have always been prosperity and peace. Looking back on 40 years of campaigning, I do not regret my youthful enthusiasm. Peace and prosperity have been delivered. Europe stands as an example to the world of how old enmities can be put aside and a new order established by consent on the basis of democracy, human rights and the rule of law. That our Union now consists of 27, soon to be 28, sovereign states, with others queuing to join us, is an example and a model which others are eager to follow. The political benefits are there for all to see. I know from direct personal experience in government inthe 1970s that it was the underpinning offered by membership of the European family that stabilised and strengthened the fragile democracies of Greece, Spain and Portugal as they emerged from right-wing dictatorship. Likewise, it has been the carrot of EU membership that has given strength to the reformers in former Soviet bloc countries to push through the reforms of governance and legal systems to underpin their fledgling democracies. So I do not speak today as an apologist for a Europe that has failed but for one that has succeeded beyond our wildest dreams. However, I am also aware of another reality. My children are aged 17, 13 and 11. The events that motivated the founding fathers and so influenced my Europeanism are now part of their history lessons, as remote to them as the Crimean War was to me. I cannot make the case for Europe to my children and their generation purely on the basis of the historic failures of the 20th century. The case has to be made anew on the basis of the challenges and opportunities facing those whose lives will stretch well into the 21st century. Making that case is urgent and necessary if we are not to be lured into a fatal wrong turn by old prejudices and out-of-date arguments. I will listen to two speeches today with extra care—I will, of course, listen to all of them. The first will come from the noble Lord, Lord Howell of Guildford, right at the end, but nevertheless most welcome. In recent months, he has tried to give an intellectual polish to his leader's attempts to bring his party's approach to Europe more in line with reality. As I said, in the past I have listened to him most carefully. However, too often, his analysis and solutions remind me of a cartoon of the early 1960s that showed a football team dressing room. In the dressing room were Adenauer, de Gaulle and the other leading European statesman of the day, all depicted putting on their football boots and football shirts. At the dressing room door, stood Sir Alec Douglas-Home, immaculate in his cricket whites and holding a cricket bat. The cartoon was entitled, ““joining the game””. The message is as clear today as it was then—it is no use turning up ready to play a game that the rest of Europe is not remotely interested in playing. The other speech that I will be examining with great interest is that of the noble Lord, Lord Triesman. In particular, I will be looking to see how much his remarks chime with those of Mr Ed Balls who recently published a Centre for European Reform pamphlet in which he called for a hard-headed pro-Europeanism. He explained it thus: "““Pro-European, because we recognise that we are stronger by co-operating with our partners. Hardheaded because we have the confidence to put our national interest first, to say ““no”” sometimes and to argue our case where we believe Europe risks taking the wrong course." That surely offers the basis for a broad consensus of approach, especially if it were to be matched by Ministers ceasing to treat every European decision in terms of victories for which credit is taken or defeats for which Brussels is blamed. The first test of hard-headed pro-Europeanism comes next week. As the Guardian pointed out last Monday, the Euro-sceptic British press is already cranking up discussions on treaty amendments to demand a referendum, whatever is agreed. It will take political courage in all parties to resist that clamour; but if what emerges from the discussions at the summit looks and feels different from the Constitutional Treaty, if it is no more than a prudent adjustment of the rules in recognition of enlargement and to make the EU more efficient and more effective, we should say so and deal with the measures accordingly. Though the negotiations will be Mr Blair’s last hurrah, the political test will be Mr Brown’s. Again as the Guardian put it in Monday’s editorial: "““The incoming Prime Minister has to decide. Does he want to bash Europe? Or does he now want to help build it? It is a big strategic moment. Mr Brown should embrace the strategic option in spite of the political difficulties””." If he does, I believe that addressing the real European agenda becomes easier, but no less daunting. As the G8 demonstrated, Europe’s response to climate change will be pivotal in obtaining constructive responses from the USA and the super-economies of Brazil, India and China. There is still a chance to rescue the Doha round of talks, but it has to retain its development objectives—and again there is a need for Europe to move. The Lisbon agenda seems badly stalled, yet its target of becoming, "““the most dynamic and competitive knowledge-based economy in the world””," is still the only realistic strategy for Europe. There is a need for Britain to play a full part in supporting the German initiative for a better Euro-American dialogue, as well as supporting Portugal’s ambition for its presidency of a Euro-African summit. Relations with Russia also need to be put back firmly on the European agenda. On issues nearer home, I know that some participants will have received the impressive briefing from the Corporation of London. The success of our financial services industries in Europe has been truly amazing. I will not delay the debate by quoting figures but I refer those interested to The Importance of Wholesale Financial Services to the EU—a piece of research recently published by the Corporation of London. Let me just quote one paragraph from that brief: "““For the EU to take advantage of the full growth potential for wholesale financial services, European policymakers should be encouraged to introduce measures to maintain and strengthen the process of integration in the financial service industry, enabling Europe’s financial clusters to contribute further to the wealth and international competitiveness of the Union and so to the fulfilment of the Lisbon agenda””." That is the message from Britain’s most successful sector—the goose that is laying the golden eggs. No wonder Mr Ed Balls, with his City experience, says: "““This old ideological debate about Britain in Europe seems increasingly out of place and time””." He sees, as the City sees, that there is practical work to be done on matters of urgent importance to Britain. Indeed at some stage Mr Balls and his Prime Minister will have to apply the test of hard-headed pro-Europeanism to Britain’s membership of the euro. Noble Lords will by now have gathered that the thrust of my argument today is that whateverthe topic, whether it be the fight against terrorism, the war on drugs and people trafficking, the protection of our environment or our capacity to influence events in Africa or the Middle East, or any of the other issues that I have touched on, Britain has a better chance of defending its own interests and influencing world events from within a successful European Union. Of course, the road ahead is not without its hazards, but none of the threats we face is greater than those faced by the ““Never Again”” generation. Of course, the shape and scope of 21st century Europe will not match exactly the Monnet blueprint. He knew that. In old age, he wrote the following: "““It is impossible to foresee today the decisions that could be taken in a new context tomorrow. The essential thing is to hold fast to the few fixed principles that have guided us since the beginning: gradually to create among Europeans the broadest common interest, served by common democratic institutions, to which the necessary sovereignty has been delegated””." So it will be our Europe, my children’s Europe, not Monnet’s, that we are building. That is not to ignore what has been achieved so far nor fail to take pride in those achievements. I genuinely look forward to listening to all the contributions because I am confident that in the next five hours Ministers will receive some very useful navigational advice as they approach Europe’s Spaghetti Junction. I beg to move for Papers.