European Union (Amendment) Bill

My Lords, we saw the publication today of your Lordships’ economic committee’s report on migration policy in the United Kingdom and its effects on our economy, itself a consequence of our membership of the European Union. The report was trumpeted all morning in the media as a rebuttal of Her Majesty’s Government’s current migration policy. I will get the opportunity to read it later on, but what a contrast with the publication of the European Union Select Committee’s analysis of the Lisbon treaty under the astute and measured chairmanship of the noble Lord, Lord Grenfell. Despite a rare press conference to launch that comprehensive analysis of the implications for the United Kingdom of the implementation of the Lisbon treaty, we had no such fanfare. I suspect that the lack of reference to a referendum, or indeed to a decision about the now defunct constitutional treaty, meant that the media, with their usual short attention span, passed over this major contribution to our debate. I think that is a shame. I believe our report is well constructed. Noble Lords of all party persuasions and none—each of them eminent in European Union matters—produced a factual and dispassionate look at the treaty’s complexities. The report was agreed by all noble Lords and its central task was to assess whether the effect on Britain of life under the Lisbon treaty was worthwhile, compared with the status quo. I believe that it represented the genius of the House of Lords, which has always been a Chamber of sharp policy analysis. We complement the House of Commons, the Chamber of sharp political debate. In our report the former defunct constitutional treaty did not feature. Why? Like Monty Python's parrot, the constitutional treaty is a dead treaty, deceased, expired and has fallen off its perch. Why then do the Eurosceptic taxidermists continue to stuff the wrong bird? If it could reasonably be shown that HMG had reneged on their promise to hold a referendum on the treaty, which it cannot, the only political question is whether it is in the interest of the United Kingdom to accept the treaty before us. The truth is that the Eurosceptics prefer flak and flannel rather than a fundamental approach to the treaty. Incidentally, the current treaty is markedly different from the constitutional essay. My belief is that the ambition that we originally had to simplify the many treaties, about which the noble Lord, Lord Leach, spoke, has been lost. We could have presented a simplified version, which would have been readable, even to Giscard d’Estaing, but that is a loss attributable to the Eurosceptics. Today, I want to excite people—not fears—about the treaty, whose central ambition is to give to a union of 27 countries—not six—the means by which the big challenges of globalisation, climate change, stable financial markets, jobs and prosperity can be tackled. I want to explore, in the phrase of the noble Lord, Lord Hurd, some of the nooks and crannies of the European Union. Incidentally, my own malapropism is that the single market, which constitutes the European Union, gives free rein to the crooks and nannies of the European Union in the way in which we promote the free movement of workers such as nannies, nurses, doctors and so on, but we have to dissuade others who can take advantage of the single market, the crooks, the terrorists and the traffickers. That is why we need to work together as parties in the European Union, something which is foreign, I believe, to the Eurosceptics. Some of the new powers include the right of a nation to secede from the Union, which I would have thought the Eurosceptics would have enjoyed; an increase in the United Kingdom’s weighted voting, reflecting our size and population; a right of national parliaments, including your Lordships' House, to put in the sin bin unwanted proposals from EU legislation by waving the yellow and orange cards—is that not a good idea; rectifying the democratic deficit by making the European Parliament co-decision-makers with the council; and giving Britain the right to wrest from other member states the veto to block positive legislation within the single market, a point made by the noble Lord, Lord Jay. Just look at some of the extensions to the single market competences now under QMV: competition policy; energy policy; intellectual property rights; the tourism industry—Europe's biggest employer; and a handle on fisheries and CAP reform. Are those not all items that are of benefit to the United Kingdom? There is also formal recognition of EU anti-fraud offices, like OLAF. Perhaps I may remind noble Lords that the United Kingdom Government secured the red lines. If ever a country was given the benefit of having its cake and eating it, it is the United Kingdom within the European Union. Of course, the noble Lord, Lord Leach, cites Giscard d’Estaing and others. I ask him to consult my former German colleague, Elmar Brok, in the European Parliament, who is incandescent with the rage at how well the United Kingdom Government succeeded in negotiating the red lines and the treaty that has emerged. Why do the Eurosceptics resent these sensible changes which so clearly benefit Britain? There are other, smaller areas which are still significant and that I want to mention because I fear that they will not be mentioned in today's debate. On social affairs, the concept of children’s rights and the protection of children are now enshrined in the treaty, something that many of us have thought about for a long time. The protection of sports is also enshrined in the treaty, which is a hugely important and dynamic area of the European Union. So we avoid some of the unintended consequences of EU legislation. Those who are soccer fans will recall the Bosman legislation which many of us thought was not the proper way forward when employing the free movement of workers. We will now have the appropriate impact assessments and be able to say, ““Hold on, let’s just temper what we are planning to do””. On public health, we delimit the areas where public health can be extended, but there are common areas, and mental health is singled out in the treaty. Mental health is an affliction across the European Union and prevents people from having gainful employment throughout the Union. How much better it is to try to work together with colleagues to rectify that. On young people, we had a European Parliament meeting in Liverpool for young people to encourage them to meet with colleagues. Of course, Liverpool is currently enjoying its year as European Capital of Culture. The European Union is strongest when it highlights its pulsating diversity and yet underpins its firm, common base of shared and civilised values. I have one final, domestic question to my noble friend and I hope that the noble Lord, Lord Grenfell, will reflect on this. The treaty of Lisbon will come in. As the House of Lords, and a House of Parliament, we need to shape up and respond to the responsibilities which have been vested in this House. We need to be athletic in responding to the legislation that comes from the European Union by the use of the yellow and orange cards, and so on. Parliament can no longer have a three and a half months layoff when the activities of the European Union continue. We must change, as I hope the Leader of the House understands. We must now begin to think how to respond to our new duties under the treaty of Lisbon.