European Affairs

My hon. Friend is right to imply that it is inappropriate to set an arbitrary timetable that then has to be met, come what may. It is important to have a process that is adhered to, so that each of the chapters is gone through on the path towards accession. That is far more sensible. I think that there is a song in "Guys and Dolls", which says something along the lines of, "Marry the man today, and change him later". We cannot do that in the EU. We have to ensure that the changes are made first, so that people come forward before the moment of accession with an economy, a legal system and all the chapters of the acquis completed properly. Countries need to do that before they accede.