European Union (Amendment) Bill

I listened carefully to the speech made by the noble Lord, Lord Howell, in introducing his amendment and I shall make one or two comments on it. I agree with those noble Lords who have said that in many ways the provision in the Bill is useful because it provides some continuity, which is needed at European Council level. It also helps to reduce the pressure, not only on small countries but on those countries in particular, from the burden that is otherwise imposed by the current presidential system. The provision has another benefit. In terms of ministerial representation on the European Council, it will mean that the Council will be chaired by the new president rather than by a head of government of one of the participating countries, which has always been a rather strange factor in negotiation because the president of the presiding country has somehow had to be above the political discussions while often coming from a country with strong political views on the subject being considered. The political representation of that country has therefore had to be delegated to a more junior level. Having been a junior Minister, I am not sure that that is necessarily a bad thing, but the new arrangements provide parity between all the participating countries in the European Council in a way that will be helpful in the future. The noble Lord who has just sat down talked of his concerns about the role of the president, but it seems to me that it is clearly laid down that the president is appointed by, and accountable to, the European Council. Therefore, the president would be speaking on issues, or representing the Council, in those areas where there was an agreed position. I do not see that as a threat to the many areas in which Britain operates independently. It does not represent a threat in all those areas of foreign policy where sometimes, rather sadly, it has not been possible to have an agreed common position. For those reasons, too, we should welcome what is being proposed on practical grounds, rather than be alarmed about it on the grounds mentioned a few minutes ago. Finally, I notice that the noble Lord, Lord Howell, in speaking to his amendment, praised Switzerland greatly. Switzerland was, I think, the last democracy to introduce votes for women, as late as 1971, and for that reason I could not go along with all his comments. I have to say, too, that the European Union has been very much a champion of women’s equality and women’s rights in all the directives that it has put forward since it came into being. For that reason as well, even though I like Switzerland, I have doubts about the examples that he used. I hope that the amendment will not succeed and I welcome the provision in the Bill.