European Union (Amendment) Bill

Indeed. To the noble Lord, Lord Owen, who is not in his place at the moment, I should say that I am conscious of how difficult it is to speak with such a bad throat. However, I am delighted that he was able to do so because the point that many noble Lords have raised, on which he specifically focused—the difference between common and single—was extremely helpful. I do not intend to go over all the issues that have been well aired. I shall focus my attention on giving some comfort to those who have tabled amendments, although I am not sure that I shall entirely succeed. I have been very taken with the almost wistful way in which noble Lords have reminisced about their time—either from those who sat on green Benches, as my noble friend Lord Robertson reminds us, for a year in deliberating on previous treaties, from noble Lords who had the privilege to represent this country at various Councils of Ministers, from those who have been involved in the Commission as Commissioners, or from those involved with the Foreign and Commonwealth Office. I am conscious that I come as rather a novice to these well-trodden paths. I am not entirely convinced that I shall be successful in changing the minds of many noble Lords who have spoken today. The passion and determination with which they spoke suggests to me that minds have arrived made up, rather than necessarily to be altered by what I shall say. But I hope to bring some clarification to those noble Lords for whom this is not their natural subject and offer some thoughts that noble Lords can deliberate on before we reach the next stage of our discussions. I should be clear at the beginning that it was with great wisdom that the Government in 1992 agreed to establish the common foreign and security policy. Without it we would not have had EU crisis management missions in Bosnia and Afghanistan or EU sanctions against Iran, which went beyond the position of the UN Security Council. I want to be absolutely clear that when we and other member states agree on a course of action at European Union level, it increases our influence, which is incredibly important in an increasingly interconnected world. The noble Lord, Lord Ashdown, talked about the future and other noble Lords referred to it as well. This is a changing world; it is not the world of 20, 30 or 40 years ago. Through all the developments that we see and the way in which the world is on the move, whether because of starvation, climate change or conflict, we are increasingly interconnected and increasingly have to think of ways in which as nation states we operate together. When we do not agree on a course of action, however, we shall continue to act independently, as this country has always done—and as it has always done under previous treaties, so it will continue. The motivation behind the treaty of Lisbon in putting forward these reforms is that member states want to improve the delivery of shared foreign policy objectives. What they are considering is based on the experiences that we have gained in collaboration over the years. I believe that the move in this treaty is to build on that shared experience and take us forward—as I have already said, when we agree. Noble Lords referred to the beginnings of all this in the Maastricht treaty. However, long before the Maastricht treaty, when the intergovernmental pillar of foreign policy co-operation was established, policy and funding instruments under the European Community were important to the delivery of our foreign policy goals. Trade policy, development and enlargement are all examples of what one might describe as traditional Community activity, ultimately decided by the member states but largely delivered by the Commission, which can have a profound and important impact on how we deliver our foreign policy objectives. I question whether what one might describe as classic foreign policy tools could have helped the countries of central and eastern Europe towards a stable, democratic and increasingly wealthy and economically open status. The reform was driven by the prospect of eventual EU membership. A process delivered by the Commission was central to achieving that key objective of British foreign policy. When I spent time in Romania and Bulgaria before accession, discussing with the Justice and Home Affairs team in both countries ways in which we could support them to deal with issues with their courts, anti-corruption measures and collaboration on many issues, they were very focused on the opportunity that being part of the European Union would afford them for their future development, trade and economic and social well-being. We also see environmental policy in global terms, with market-based carbon trading, which is a Community competence and an important element in tackling climate change. The consequences of not tackling it have been discussed in your Lordships’ House during the passage of the Climate Change Bill and in many other debates. As we look at states emerging from conflict all over the world, we use both our own foreign and security policy instruments, delivered by member states and the Council, whether that is for policing or peace-keeping, combined with the longer-term tools—development agreements that could be delivered by the Commission. If we are going to help to bring long-term peace, stability and prosperity, whether in Afghanistan, the Middle East or Aceh, we have to ensure that these efforts reinforce themselves in the most effective and efficient way. Improving the delivery of our foreign policy objectives through the European Union is a long-standing UK aim, to which all member states agreed at the Hampton Court summit during our presidency in 2005. I submit that it makes sense to bring these two ways of delivering external policy objectives closer together while respecting the fundamentally distinct intergovernmental nature of the common foreign and security policy. That is what the treaty does. CFSP remains intergovernmental and non-legislative. The decision making is by unanimity. European Court of Justice jurisdiction is excluded with two narrow exceptions. That is a clear and fundamental objective of what the treaty seeks to do. Perhaps I may give a couple of examples of where that greater coherence could make a difference. If one thinks of what is happening in the Middle East peace process, Javier Solana, the high representative, is engaged in political dialogue with the parties in pursuit of the EU common, foreign and security policy objectives set by member states. Two European security and defence policy missions are decided by the member states. The first looks at the border crossings in Gaza which are currently suspended; the second looks at Palestinian security reform and police training. At the same time the Commission under the EC treaty is engaged in activity to promote Palestinian economic development and institution building and provide funding to the Palestinian authority; and, of course, Mr Solana and the External Relations Commissioner, Benita Ferrero-Waldner, both represent the EU in the quartet. The treaty will bring together these activities in a more coherent and effective manner. The high representative, in pursuit of the political priorities agreed by the member states in the European Council and the relevant Council of Ministers, is able to do that under the treaty. That is an important example—I could give others—of how the coherence within the treaty could make a difference. The noble Lord, Lord Howell, talked about the role of the European Court of Justice. I know that we will return to that issue. The noble Lord quoted from my letter. Three words—““as at present””—were missing from the quotation. My letter says that the court may police the CFSP/non-CFSP border. That is not new. That, as noble Lords who were involved will know, dates back to the Maastricht treaty. Interestingly, the treaty requires the European Court of Justice to make sure that there is no encroachment the other way; in other words, that non-CFSP policies cannot encroach into CFSP policies. I know that noble Lords have worried in the other direction, that maybe the European Court of Justice, for those who believe that it is a—I quote—““creative court””, would see it in that way. Actually the treaty says that it is very important that the European Court of Justice polices that border and ensures that there is no encroachment. So the treaty strengthens the ring-fencing of CFSP, and the European Court of Justice will, if necessary, be able to restrict any other activity that impinges on the CFSP.