UK Parliament / Open data

European Union (Amendment) Bill

I am sorry; I did walk out earlier on. I was very cross. I have laid down in a darkened room, and I am back here feeling a lot better, thank you. The Committee was looking into relations with India and talking about the Doha round and the complete blocking by the European Union, which would not allow market access in order to protect French farmers. As a result, people in Bangladesh and other parts of the world were losing out. I said to a very senior business man from India, ““What is the best thing that could be done to improve trade and relieve poverty in the sub-continent?”” He said straight away, with no hesitation or prompting, ““The best thing would be to pull out of the European Union.”” That is the problem. Most people outside the EU think that the development aid budget has been a complete failure and believe that the Government's influence at the heart of Europe is absolutely zilch. I do not see how this Bill will improve the situation; in fact, it will make it worse.
Type
Proceeding contribution
Reference
472 c856 
Session
2007-08
Chamber / Committee
House of Commons chamber
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