EU: UK Membership

My Lords, like other noble Lords, I thank the noble Lord, Lord McNally, for securing and introducing this debate and for presenting the achievements of the European Union and its forerunners in such an enthusiastic but balanced way. I had to leave the Chamber to attend a meeting of the European Union Select Committee for a short time, and I hope that other noble Lords have not troubled the House with the article by the chief political commentator of the Financial Times that was published this month in Business Voice, the journal of the CBI. Among other things, he wrote: "““After a long period of stagnation, the pace of growth in Europe’s largest economies has picked up strongly. Overall, the European Union is expected to expand by three per cent this year and, on present trends, by almost the same in 2008. It is also creating jobs””." He goes on in similar vein and concludes: "““Nor is there a danger of the UK being ‘sucked in’ to a European superstate. Europe’s federalist tides have long receded. Whatever the nightmares of UKIP, the reality will remain what de Gaulle called the ‘Europe des patries’. The political currents of today’s EU are flowing in the UK’s direction—more so, perhaps, than ever before during three decades of membership””." I unfortunately could not be here last Friday for the Second Reading of the Bill sponsored by the noble Lord, Lord Pearson of Rannoch, on the implications of withdrawal from the European Union. I am glad that he is in his place and will speak in the gap. Today’s debate is an opportunity to redress the somewhat unbalanced and gloomy view of things that was presented last Friday. I would not fear the outcome of any such inquiry, but that does not prevent me regretting that after so many years of membership of the European Union, our membership can be considered to be an issue by large numbers of responsible people. Why are we in the United Kingdom incapable of debating the issue of Europe without introducing the suggestion, directly or implicitly, that we would rather not be there at all? I read Friday’s debate, and a great deal of emphasis was put on the cost of membership and rather less on the political implications of withdrawal. There has always been a political implication and a political dimension to the old European Economic Community and now to the European Union. Surely those who question the wisdom of our membership do so, and say so, because they believe that the United Kingdom is a country of considerable influence and economic power. They therefore cannot believe that if we were to withdraw, or to be seen to be seriously contemplating withdrawal, that would not have a serious political impact in Europe and the European Union. What impact would it have on those member states that joined recently, who share so many of our approaches, especially in economic areas? Those new member states cherish their freedom and sovereignty after years of it having been denied. Why is it that after those experiences they can enthusiastically embrace membership and we cannot do the same? What would the future of the European Union be without the UK? Unless we totally devalue our own political and economic importance and put it on the same level as that of those admirable countries Switzerland and Norway, which are often cited as successful countries outside the European Union, we cannot believe that we could do anything other than have a very serious effect on Europe. As noble Lords said on previous occasions, the proposed constitution was not the constitution of a federal state. It was a consolidating or amending treaty, and it should have been recognised as such. It was unfortunate that it was misrepresented as something different and that those who chose to misrepresent it used that as an excuse to demand, and eventually to persuade, Her Majesty’s Government to commit themselves to a referendum. Many noble Lords have made the case that an amending and consolidating treaty is still required, and it should not be the subject of a referendum. The opponents of change or any new treaty always cite the French and Dutch referendums and ignore the 18 ratifications, the votes in national parliaments and the positive result of the referendum in Spain. It seems that for some people the only valid referendum results are those that say no. My fear is that if there is an agreement between Heads of Government next week, the pressure for a referendum will reappear. Yet who is not in favour of replacing the rotating president? Will not the double-hatting ofthe high representative and the External Relations Commissioner lead to a more effective common foreign policy? The recent events in Russia on energy surely show the weakness of not having an effective common European position. Who is against the other issues that noble Lords raised? The noble Lords, Lord Kerr and Lord Hannay, outlined acceptable and important changes to introduce in a mini- treaty. I hope that we will embrace those changes as a Parliament and will be prepared to give a lead in the country. We must put aside the misconceptions so often put about regarding the European Union and stop representing it as a conquering enemy, forgetting that it is, in fact, the construct of free sovereign states in which we all played a part. If we are to take this forward, we need to have confidence in the European Union, but it is most important that we have confidence in ourselves. Pride in Europe and pride in one's own country are not mutually exclusive. I agree entirely with noble Lords who say that the amended or mini-consolidated treaty must rid itself of all the unnecessary elements that are likely to cause controversy, including the symbols of the European Union. However, while I too think it important to achieve an agreement, I hope that one day a confident and committed member of the European Union—the United Kingdom—will, like so many of our partner states who have equal pride in their sovereignty and their country, be ready to see the European Union flag flying alongside the union flag, and will not see it as a symbol of something foreign and threatening but as a symbol of something to which we belong and of which we have played a full part.