European Union (Amendment) Bill

The noble Lord makes a very important point. First, those discussions would largely be held between the energy Ministers working together on the appropriate Council of Ministers with the appropriate opposite number in Russia. When it came to the big strategic discussions, if there was not unanimity of agreement between the 27 member states, the President would not be able to represent a single view, and that is as it should be. We are not arguing that this person should start to make policy. The noble Lord shakes his head. I understand that that feels rather odd but it is no different from the present situation, with a rotating presidency every six months. Flawed though it may feel to the noble Lord as a strategic approach, it is the way forward in representing 27 member states where you need clear agreement on a particular policy. Rather than investing in an individual for a very short time, one is investing in an individual for a longer time. If that individual is regarded as a success, they can continue for a little longer and one gets continuity in negotiations. From his time as a Minister, the noble Lord will understand that continuity is an issue that is constantly faced. The principle behind that should be recognised by your Lordships’ House and by this Committee in particular. That is, for me, the fundamental argument behind why this is such a sensible and straightforward proposition. It is not about glorifying individuals; it is about effectiveness and the ability to represent properly and see things through with a sense of continuity, which we cannot do at present. Members of the Committee referred to the Blue Book again and I have had a letter from the author. None the less, I believe that what is said at the beginning of the book is incorrect. I shall not go into that in greater detail now, because I want to discuss it with the author. I am in no way suggesting that there is something fundamentally wrong with the book. As I said in our previous discussion, it was because I could not understand why noble Lords, faced with what is in the treaty, could reach a different conclusion that I went back to as many references as I could to see whether they might have read something that is still, in my view, inaccurate. I have asked for advice. I will not go further because I want to meet the author—I have met him before—and I do not want to say anything more until then. It is very important to consider how valuable someone in that position might be. The noble Lord, Lord Willoughby de Broke, asked specific questions about the role of Her Majesty the Queen. I want to be absolutely clear. Her role is completely unchanged. The constitutional position is unchanged. Representation for the UK would be, as appropriate, Her Majesty or the Prime Minister. Nothing is changed by the treaty or anything within it. I hope that that puts the noble Lord’s fears and concerns at rest. In the end, this is a debate between noble Lords who are concerned to see in the treaty ways in which they fear the growth and development of the European Union and those who see the treaty as an opportunity to develop the European Union, retaining what is rightly ours as a nation state but collaborating effectively together and finding new structures to take that forward. I sit firmly at the latter end of the spectrum. I hope that the noble Lord will feel able to withdraw his amendment.