Treaty of Lisbon (No. 4)

We certainly do not oppose the principle of equal treatment, as we have repeatedly made clear over a long period. The text of the directive was not acceptable to the United Kingdom and other countries in the Council, which is why it was not possible to reach agreement on 5 December. The UK Government remain committed to trying to find an acceptable text on which we can agree, and which addresses our concerns about flexibility, which is crucial for the UK to secure and develop. Our labour markets are widely respected as flexible and for providing proper protection for workers. I do not want to compromise on any of those issues. With those comments in mind, I cannot see the logic of Opposition amendment No. 145, which not only deprives UK workers of the potential benefits I have just outlined but would take a step backwards. If the Opposition had their way, they would not allow us to use QMV to develop proper protection for self-employed workers in the single market. That is not sensible. We should not take their advice on that or anything else in this debate. As many will know, the European social fund is investing £3 billion in the UK in 2007-2013 to help the unemployed and disadvantaged improve their job prospects and skills.