European Union (Amendment) Bill

My Lords, it is always refreshing to listen to the noble Lord, Lord Stoddart. He speaks clearly and he is not pessimistic like so many Eurosceptics in the corners of this House. He speaks with great confidence and originality. But they have nothing to fear. This is not an ambush from Brussels; it is a realistic response to the more complicated needs of a growing community. It is certainly not a matter for a referendum. That would be absurd. That is a political football, mainly in the Conservative Party. I look forward to hearing how the noble Lord, Lord Garel-Jones, receives the ball in a moment. However, we should be proud that our country owes thanks to those on both sides of this House, to both Administrations, because it has been able to retain its influence in Europe without subscribing to all the rules, which is surely the overriding consideration. The noble Lords, Lord Watson and Lord Tugendhat, and my noble friend Lord Jay of Ewelme all demonstrated what this country has done for Europe. Mr Sarkozy has come and done that again. This Government also take credit for placing international development firmly on Europe's agenda. That is why I am standing here now and is partly why poverty eradication is so well enshrined in the new treaty, as the noble Baroness, Lady Northover, mentioned. As the noble Baroness said, more than half of all aid to the developing world—some £32 billion—comes from Europe. Our Prime Minister has a particular interest after years of advocacy, and with his recommitment in Davos and his determination to raise aid nearer to the UN target, I expect him to outshine Tony Blair in taking Africa and the millennium development goals even more seriously. I therefore welcome in principle new Article 208, which sets out the EU’s new legal framework for development policy, and the admittedly ambitious concept of the coherence of all EU policies with development objectives. We should, however, face the fact that much of the treaty is rhetoric. We must be realistic and recognise that the poorest are not the first to be invited to the European feast. They are well down the table, and sometimes they are not even invited. When it comes to foreign policy, security, trade or the continuing demands of eastern Europe, the EU’s priorities will not necessarily coincide with those of Ghana or even India. It is therefore unsurprising that the development agencies are expressing concern at the downgrading of development in some areas of the treaty which the Leader of the House may not be able to sweep away at a stroke. Some of the concern centres around the new post of high representative. He or she has what the EU Select Committee describes as, "““a very wide policy remit””." In the words of BOND, the group in Brussels that represents the NGOs, the new post, "““may be an opportunity to strengthen EU external action and strategic vision, but it must not lead to sidelining commitments on development””." There is genuine concern that the high representative will be an advocate for foreign affairs and security and not for international development, which will be in second or third place. Mr Tony Baldry knows a bit about foreign affairs and development. He says that it will be ““subsumed”” into other priorities. In the Commission, there will not be the same division of responsibility or the creative tension that exist in our Cabinet and which allow for healthy debate and even disagreement where something like Iraq is concerned. Incorporating a whole range of external actions, including development, and therefore the entire budget and staff into one External Action Service will surely blur the lines further and put aid programmes at risk of politicisation. The Select Committee report noted this rather dryly in paragraph 7.57: "““The implementation of the Lisbon Treaty might have implications for the internal organisation of the Commission services dealing with these policy areas and their corresponding budget lines, as well as for the overall coherence of the EU’s aid policy””." That is putting it mildly. I should be grateful if the Leader of the House could at least acknowledge the NGOs’ concerns, or better still, convey them to the Prime Minister, who may well share them. The Foreign Affairs Committee must be right that it is unclear how the new arrangements will work in practice, and the Government’s response appears to accept that. Will the Leader of the House therefore say what will happen to EuropeAid and ECHO, which have been among the most successful EU aid programmes? I think it was the noble Lord, Lord Plumb, who spoke very warmly from his experience of the EU’s humanitarian work, and my noble friend Lord Renwick was quite right to mention much firmer auditing. This applies especially to larger aid programmes such as the European Development Fund, although the Commission has its regular independent evaluations. Aid agencies broadly welcome the fact that the treaty will identify humanitarian assistance as a specific competence of the Commission for the first time, ensuring that humanitarian aid is independent and not used for political purposes. They are not, however, keen on the introduction of a European Voluntary Humanitarian Aid Corps as set out in Chapter III of Title III. Only experienced professionals should take part in a humanitarian response in situations of conflict. This is not a theatre for volunteers, although they are active in many other areas of development. Finally, on trade, Article 208 speaks of coherence. Yet, other articles dealing with trade policy and the customs union emphasise liberalisation over other objectives. The principle of reciprocity in European partnership agreements, for example, inevitably exposes the weaker partner, especially among the least developed countries, to the free market. The treaty glosses over such nuances. Yet I am sure that these articles neither reflect coherence nor conform to the long-established principles of the Cotonou agreement. Despite that, I support the treaty and I congratulate the EU Select Committee on its excellent scrutiny.