European Communities (Finance) Bill

Thank you for calling me to speak in this important debate, Mr. Deputy Speaker. If the Bill is passed tonight, it will set a dangerous precedent. It will mean that every time a new wave of relatively poor countries joins the European Union, we in the United Kingdom will somehow have to give up more of our taxpayers' money to support those new member states. As I told the hon. Member for Grantham and Stamford (Mr. Davies), the Foreign Secretary has stated publicly that he wants to expand the European Union to include countries in north Africa and beyond. The hon. Gentleman disputes that. Only time will tell, but what is genuinely agreed on all sides is that Turkey will inevitably wish to join the European Union and become a full and active member. I met the Serbian Foreign Minister today. He spoke of his concern about the possibility of Kosovo's becoming independent. If that happens, Kosovo will want to join the European Union as well. Many other poor countries either wish to join the EU or are in the process of actively submitting application forms. Ukraine, Georgia, Bosnia, Macedonia—all those countries are very poor, and will require massive financial assistance. At a time when budgets are being tightened here in our own country, with an ageing population and a massive borrowing requirement, the Government want us to go on bailing those countries out. I understand that we, as a nation, are already £700 billion in debt.