European Union (Amendment) Bill

My hon. Friend, as is his wont, makes an apposite point. In the British Cabinet, there is a Secretary of State for International Development and a Foreign Secretary, but in a slimmed-down Commission it looks as though there will be a Foreign Minister—by another name—but probably not a Commissioner for development. However, perhaps when the Minister replies he can reassure us that there will still be two posts. We certainly want to hear the Government's view and their answer to the question that my hon. Friend was entirely right to raise. BOND also pointed out that as well as the possibility that the EU's development budget could be put under that of the Foreign Minister, there is the possibility that development aid could be left without its own Commissioner. As we know, the Lisbon treaty will reduce the number of Commissioners from 27 to 18, but like much of the treaty the details of which portfolios will be in the charge of the remaining Commissioners will be known only after the treaty is ratified—a point raised earlier by my hon. Friend the Member for Sutton Coldfield (Mr. Mitchell), the shadow Secretary of State. A leaked document from the EU Slovenian presidency also made that point clear, so I shall press the Minister on whether he can guarantee that EU development aid will have its own Commissioner, in the Commission, after Lisbon is ratified. A yes or no will do. In the absence of such reassurance on that point, BOND has said:"““What is at stake is the future political space for development within a new institutional structure…This would not only blur the division of powers between the institutions but it would also allow development policy to be at the disposal of the High Representative.””" The Lisbon treaty could therefore have a damaging effect on international aid. In practice, it could lead to the further concentration of EU aid on the EU's near neighbours and political priorities. Already, three of the top five recipients of the Commission's aid are middle-income countries—Serbia-Montenegro, Turkey and Morocco—that lie within the EU's immediate neighbourhood. Countries with the lowest incomes are notable by their absence, with only the Congo and Afghanistan making the top five. The Committee will realise that there are special reasons in the case of Afghanistan. With the Lisbon treaty, we can expect the EU's political aims to be further prioritised over those of the least developed countries. That may have led to the words ““developing countries”” specifically being omitted from the treaty's objectives for financial and technical co-operation, a deficit that we would remedy with amendment No. 273. A lot of competing quotations from BOND were cited during the previous debate. The Government prayed it in aid, and Conservative Members rightly pointed out some of its concerns. Let me put on record something that BOND said on the treaty as a whole:"““BOND and its member organisations do not have a position on whether or not the EU reform treaty is adopted, or whether or not there should be a referendum.””" On Second Reading, the Foreign Secretary was keen to give the House the impression—I choose my words carefully—that there was considerable support for the treaty among the NGO community in this field. Bearing in mind that BOND represents a collection of important NGOs, I think that the Foreign Secretary over-egged his case, to put it mildly. That is why it was important that I had the opportunity, which I have been pleased to take, to read that point into the record. I shall conclude my remarks so that other hon. Members may speak. Amendment No. 245 is designed to remedy one of the treaty's major defects on international aid. It would make the EU's aid budget independent from its foreign policy and allow it to be used to the best advantage of the least developed countries in particular. Specifically, it would take responsibility for EU development aid away from the EU Foreign Minister and remove the risk of the EU's aid budget being diverted to the furtherance of the EU's foreign policy. Amendment No. 273 would allow financial and technical co-operation to be targeted to developing countries. Given the dangers that I have outlined, I ask the Minister to give the Committee two specific assurances. First, if Lisbon is ratified, will the EU have its own development commissioner, independent of the Foreign Minister—yes or no? Secondly, if Lisbon is ratified, will development officials working in the External Action Service be responsible to that development commissioner, if we have one? If we do not, will they report directly to the EU Foreign Minister? I hope that the Minister will attempt to answer those two clear questions, not least because we must consider whether to press the amendment to a Division.