European Union (Amendment) Bill

My Lords, I support the Bill and the treaty. It should be seen as a success story for Britain, as it is so firmly linked with a successful policy championed for a long time by this country: that of enlargement of the European Union to include, in particular, the countries of central and eastern Europe. The treaty’s aim is to ensure that the new, enlarged EU functions efficiently and can tackle some of the important challenges that will face Europe in future: economic reform, climate change and relations with the rest of the world. The treaty for the most part contains modest and useful provisions. I agree with those who have said that it is less important than the Single European Act or Maastricht, both of which were breakthrough treaties into new areas entirely. For that reason, I reject some of the hype that has been expounded about the treaty, notably by its opponents. However, even supporters of the treaty—although, happily, not so far in this debate—are occasionally guilty of overstating the case, claiming that the enlarged EU will simply not be able to function at all if these provisions do not come into force. The point needs to be made that it is remarkable, given the EU’s current size, that so much of its day-to-day business is agreed harmoniously and that on so many issues in ministerial councils there is consensus without formal votes being taken. This is the day-to-day truth of the way that the EU operates, although it is not the impression given by the press, which always highlights disagreements rather than the much greater areas of agreement. However, I believe that the treaty’s provisions, not least those that give increased voting strength to this country and those which strengthen and enhance the role of national parliaments, are a clear improvement on the current provisions and should be supported. It is not surprising that the issue of a referendum cropped up early in this debate. The noble Lord, Lord Forsyth, largely talked about that to the exclusion of the treaty. I was not in favour of a referendum on the failed constitution as I did not regard it as a constitution—it was an example of euro hype—but I believe it was a European treaty of the kind we had seen before in the Single European Act and Maastricht. However, although I did not support my own Government in their promise of a referendum, I accept their view that the Lisbon treaty is significantly different in a number of key aspects from the failed constitutional treaty, which my noble friend Lord Kinnock brought out very clearly in his contribution. I believe that Parliament is the place to consider detailed European treaties of this kind which contain so many different provisions, not because I think the public are incapable of reading or understanding long treaties or the issues at stake, but simply because in our representative democracy the people vote in a Parliament and a Government to do the detailed work and at a general election they can vote to remove that Government if they do not approve of their record. Furthermore, I remain uneasy that there are no ground rules for when referendums are held in our country, and I do not think that, whoever does it, calling for a referendum simply because it seems politically convenient to do so on a particular issue is an acceptable way to proceed. If referendums are to continue as part of our democracy, there need to be rules about when and where they should be resorted to. Ideally such rules should emerge from cross-party consensus. I am a member of the Constitution Committee of the House, and I note that the chairman of the committee, the noble Lord, Lord Goodlad, is in his place and intends to speak. I am glad that the committee agreed a report, referred to by the noble Lord, Lord Rodgers, which clearly states that the Lisbon treaty does not have any major damaging consequences for the British constitution. I am also glad that the committee welcomes strongly the provisions in the treaty concerning an enhanced role for national parliaments. In paragraph 113 of the report, the committee calls for a requirement for parliamentary approval to be given if the Government wish to make use of opt-ins or opt-outs available under the treaty. Securing parliamentary approval is recommended in the report, and I prefer that to Parliament being given a veto simply because the word ““veto”” in the European context so often has a negative, emotive connotation. However, I recognise that this is semantics rather than substance since the requirement to secure parliamentary approval gives Parliament the right to say no as well as yes. The report from the Constitution Committee also states that the new arrangements governing the European Charter of Fundamental Rights would have no significant impact on the British constitution. I agree, especially as the charter restates existing rights rather than conferring new ones. The Government have been concerned that British law should not be changed by the back door by inappropriate use of the charter. I understand that, but I urge them to accompany their statements on the charter with a readiness to recognise that it has been an aim of Europe from the time of the ECSC onwards that people working within the single market should have decent living and working conditions. The social dimension in Europe has real achievements to its credit, and we should be prepared to defend them. I vividly remember the Conservative hysteria against the social chapter and the minimum wage in the early 1990s. Rather than those allegedly monstrous policies destroying our economy and creating unemployment, the opposite turned out to be the case. I also urge the Government, during our debates and when the treaty is ratified, to embark on a positive programme of information about the European Union. That is essential to combat some of the excesses of the Europhobic press, which is doing the British public a disservice by alarming them unnecessarily and unjustifiably with inaccurate reports about threats to our independence and our way of life. Take the coverage in the press about the proposal in the treaty for the high representative on foreign policy. People would be forgiven for thinking as a result of some of the press coverage that Britain is unable to conduct its own foreign policy. Yet we all know that on the most important foreign policy issue in recent times, the war in Iraq, European countries adopted very different attitudes from each other. We may not all like that, but it is certainly the case. During his visit to the UK last week, President Sarkozy put great store on Britain and France taking initiatives together. I did not get the impression that he was talking about taking initiatives only after being ordered to carry out the policies by some Brussels foreign policy autocrat. Furthermore, can anyone seriously pretend that our new partners in the European union, the countries of central and eastern Europe, want to submerge their new independence in some centrally run European Union? Those countries did not throw off the Soviet yoke to submit to some new master. They want to be full, equal members of a freely entered-into form of co-operation in Europe, which the EU represents. I hope—perhaps without much expectation—that the Conservative Official Opposition will modify their views during the passage of the Bill. I certainly wish the distinguished Conservative rebels, including the noble and learned Lord, Lord Howe, whose speech I greatly enjoyed, well in seeking to persuade their Front-Bench colleagues of their views. Otherwise, the Conservative Party will continue to be poleaxed by Europe and unable to work out co-operative policies in Europe on areas such as the environment. The Opposition’s stance will be a real obstacle to their aim to be seen as a credible alternative Government, although I accept that that is their prime concern, rather than mine. In conclusion, I firmly believe that this treaty represents not a threat to our country but a real opportunity for us to play a full and constructive part in the European Union of the future. For that reason, I wish the Bill and the treaty a swift and smooth passage through this House.