European Union (Amendment) Bill

I support these amendments generally, of course. I would like to underline a point made by the noble Lord, Lord Hunt, in introducing the amendments, which is the absurdity of the European Union’s aim to make the single market one of the most dynamic economies in the world. I have to ask the Minister whether she still believes that that is the vaguest of possibilities when we consider the emerging economies of China, India, Brazil, Russia and so on. One has only to look at the European Union’s financial services action plan, a group of some 41 directives that appear to be aimed at making the City of London uncompetitive with the rest of the world. If that is not a deliberate aim, it will certainly be the effect. If the Minister and her advisers have not seen it, I suggest that they look at Open Europe’s analysis of the financial services action plan, Selling the City Short, which analyses all those directives: the market abuse directive, which we certainly do not need, as we can do it ourselves, the markets in financial instruments directive, the prospectus directive and so on. Open Europe, which we have prayed in aid before in these proceedings and on the whole found to be extremely accurate, estimates the cash cost of implementing these regulations at some £23 billion over the next three or four years. But it is the knock-on effect from this regulatory atmosphere that is already beginning to drive valuable businesses in the City overseas. Through its competition policy and its economic policy generally, the European Union imposes the Franco-German social and labour model on the rest of us. This does not suit the United Kingdom; it suits us less than anyone else. As I have mentioned before, only some 10 per cent of our economy trades with the single market, another 10 per cent, roughly, trades with the world outside the single market and 80 per cent stays here in the domestic economy. That gives the lie to our Europhile friends who constantly tell us that, if we were not in the European Union, we would have to obey its regulations but we would not be able to take part in making them. The 9 or 10 per cent of our economy that trades with the European Union would indeed have to obey the rules set by the single market just as, if one is selling a motor car to the United States of America, it helps to put the steering wheel on the left. It is precisely that analogy. The overregulation of the single market has been recognised by Competition Commissioner Verheugen, who, about a year ago, put the cost of EU regulation at some 6.5 per cent of GDP. That is a colossal figure and higher than figures that have been produced by various British analyses of our position in relation to the single market. It is not just the rabid Eurosceptics who are saying this. No less a body than the Conseil d’Analyse Economique, the top French economic think tank, which reports directly to the French Prime Minister, said some 18 months ago that the single market had done nothing for the French economy. It also said that the euro had done nothing positive for the French economy. It is true that this institute, having carried out this accurate analysis to say why the single market had done nothing for the French economy, went on to say that of course the answer is ““more Europe””. It is at that point that we Eurosceptics part company. In conclusion, it gives me great pleasure to agree with your Lordships’ Select Committee on the European Union when it says that the future of the single market appears at risk. I very much hope that it is and that we can get back to open free trade between consenting democracies as this unfortunate project of European Union crumbles over the years to come. While I have the opportunity, I would like to say that I did not earlier in our proceedings ““impugn the integrity”” of our Select Committee on the European Union. I merely pointed out that, if 23 people out of 24 are on the whole passionately in favour of the project of European integration and only one is fairly strongly against it, it would not be human unless that committee produced a report that was favourable to such integration and not favourable in the other way. I hope that that does not impugn the integrity of anyone and I certainly would not want to impugn the integrity of its chairman, the noble Lord, Lord Grenfell, of whom I am extremely fond.