European Union (Amendment) Bill

My Lords, if the noble Lord has sat down, it is my turn. There are those who are against the treaty and who want a referendum because they think that they can win. There are a few who want a referendum because they are pro the treaty and think that they can win. One side is for the treaty and one side is against the treaty. The only thing they have in common is that they rarely listen to each other’s arguments. Today may have been an exception to that rule. Then there are those who are pro the treaty, but clearly do not want a referendum, as they think they are going to lose. They do not seem to have the confidence in their own arguments; nor do the Government. Gordon Brown did not even want to be seen with his fellow premiers signing the agreement at Lisbon. Some noble Lords are against referendums in principle. I respect that stance, but the problem with their argument is that the Labour Party in its 2005 manifesto promised a referendum on the treaty—so did the Conservative Party and the Liberal Democrats. As the noble Baroness, Lady Williams of Crosby, said, it was an ““embarrassing”” commitment by her party. I believe that it is really important that political parties keep to their manifesto commitments. We, as a revising Chamber, should ensure that Governments do so. I believe that the vast majority of people in this country are pro-European in principle. They want to stay in the EU, but are concerned by what they see as the surreptitious transfer of powers to Europe. It not that people are necessarily against the transfers, but they do not understand the details. This Government have not been open and honest about the process and have muddled the issues. In many ways, that is the Government’s own fault. Most people do not want a European superstate or a European constitution. That does not make them anti-European. The Conservative Party has always been pro-Europe. We still are. In my time in this House the only party that has been in favour of withdrawal from the EU is the Labour Party. I wonder how many noble Lords opposite, here today, were Members of another place when that was their party’s policy. They seem to be rather quiet on looking back at their history. One must feel really sorry for the Liberal Democrats. They are impaled on a policy that makes no sense. The noble Lord, Lord McNally, in an uncharacteristic and intemperate speech, prayed in aid the Lord Jenkins of Hillhead. If the late noble Lord had listened to the speech of the noble Lord, Lord McNally, he might even have immediately rejoined the Labour Party. The question that we have to answer is whether this Bill brings into force a treaty that is the same or largely similar to that proposed in the EU constitution. The answer seems to be yes. Key European leaders think so; the Irish Government think so; and the all-party House of Commons Select Committee thought so. The Government claim that there are new red lines, special protocols and opt-outs. They may be welcome but it is clear that they are not new; they are the same red lines as before. This House will have to come to a view when we debate those issues. However, unlike another place, we will be able to come to a view after a full debate, without a guillotine. The Government promised line-by-line scrutiny of the treaty in another place but it never happened. Large areas of the treaty relating to transport, defence, social issues and border controls were ignored. They were never debated. I shall not go into all the issues now—they are for a later stage—but I believe that one policy area is crucial if the EU is to thrive. In the countries that have recently joined—many free from the shackles of the iron curtain—we have seen the importance of democratic government, and the Government must prove that this treaty promotes national democratic government. It is claimed that the treaty taken as a whole does not amount to a significant transfer of power to EU institutions. I think that we will have to examine what ““significant”” really means. We can improve the Bill by accepting the recommendations of the House of Lords Constitution Committee: first, to amend the Bill to ensure that Parliament is given sufficient time to scrutinise the proposal in respect of passerelles; and, secondly, to amend the Bill to require the Government to obtain approval from both Houses of Parliament before using opt-ins or opt-outs in any policy area. We will be able to debate what benefits the Lisbon treaty brings to this country. Does it improve our access to European markets? Does it involve more power going to Brussels, or does it give more power to the European Parliament or national Parliaments? It may do both. Finally, does it create greater transparency and better understanding of the functions of the EU? This treaty amends the treaty that established the European Union. It is important, and the Government should not shirk a referendum. It was promised in their election manifesto and we must ensure that they keep that manifesto promise. It is a matter of trust and, as my noble friend Lord Lawson said, a matter of political integrity. The Government should have the confidence to trust the people to listen to the arguments and make up their own minds. My noble friend Lord Brittan, who is not in his place, wrote in the Times that, "““it would be piquant, to put it very mildly, for an unelected House to seek to impose a referendum””." Only a former EU Commissioner could use a French word to describe what an English Parliament should do. I looked up the word ““piquant”” in the Concise Oxford English Dictionary. Its definition is ““pleasantly stimulating””. That is something we should all vote for.