European Union (Amendment) Bill

As the noble Baroness the Leader of the House was enunciating those propositions about the terms and conditions of employment, in a way, of the high representative and the Commission president, I was reflecting on them in the overall context of all the member states and the process of ratification. I believe that eight countries have now ratified the treaty and a bunch of nine countries is to come soon. Then there is, presumably, the Irish referendum and the referendums in the summer and the autumn, finishing with Sweden in November. It is a long process, and it would be quite improper for any specific terms or conditions to be laid down by anybody, whoever it might be, even the Commission or the Council Ministers, in terms of draft conditions on any of those matters until full ratification has occurred.