European Union (Amendment) Bill

My Lords, the issue that we are debating is not whether Parliament should have control but the nature of that control. I agree wholeheartedly with the noble Lord that it is important that Parliament should have control, which is why the provision is in the Bill. The issue is the kind of control that is most appropriate in this case. The difficulty that I have with the proposals of the noble Lord, Lord Howell, is that effectively Parliament’s control could be more unwieldy and less effective than what we have set out, which is the requirement for a vote in each House before a Minister is enabled to do anything. We are clear in the Bill that a Minister of the Crown may not vote in favour of or otherwise support. That closes off the issues that noble Lords would reasonably be concerned about; that by saying nothing or abstaining, somehow a provision could go through on the nod because we have not intervened. Under our provisions, no Minister would be able to do that; they would have to say, ““I am sorry, I would have to vote against that proposal because I do not have clarity from Parliament as to its views””. We have a large degree of agreement that Parliament must have a significant voice and a vote. The question is how best to achieve it. I appreciate the noble Lord, Lord Howell, bringing back the matter, because on the last occasion I said that it was a new power and the noble Lord rightly asked me to explain in greater detail how it would work. I am grateful to him for giving me that opportunity. The noble Lord, Lord McNally, in his remarks and in conversations that I have had with him, has said that he is keen to ensure that we have been clear about Government thinking in order to address the concerns that Liberal Democrats have in other places, as the noble Lord would have in your Lordships’ House. Let me try to set that out. Significantly, this is a new power is because until now Parliament had no control over the passarelles. This point is new; it is something that my right honourable friend the Prime Minister was keen to ensure that we had. It recognises the importance of the Lisbon treaty and of Parliament.