European Affairs

As the Foreign Secretary knows, President Barroso has made the EU's position crystal clear, as he strongly believes that all these matters should be enveloped within the EU legislative structure. On 27 February, I wrote a letter to the Financial Times, saying that we have to insist on the supremacy of Westminster legislation in accordance with the formula I put forward, of which the right hon. Gentleman is well aware—namely, that we would override any such European legislation if it were in our vital national interest to do so. Does he agree that, otherwise, through majority voting and co-decision, we will end up with the supremacy of this House being overridden? Does he accept that the formula I have suggested is the only way around the problem; otherwise we will be subjected to the European Court of Justice rather than to the democratic decision of the people of this country?