European Affairs

I shall not give way to the hon. Gentleman again, if he does not mind. I have given way a considerable number of times, and I still have to reply to the hon. Member for Westbury (Dr. Murrison), let alone to the hon. Member for Wellingborough's ditto. The Conservative party cannot hide from the fact that its leader went out on a limb to make a categorical statement that will bear no fruit. I shall move on to some of the other issues that the hon. Member for Forest of Dean has raised in a moment. The hon. Member for Westbury raised a few issues that will not be under discussion next week, which is why I have not referred to them in my contribution this afternoon. On the External Action Service, a draft paper has gone around that has been available to the European Scrutiny Committee and others, but it is not until the High Representative takes up her post that she will be able to put flesh on the bones of what the treaty provides for. I believe that the EAS will be an important tool for the effective advancement of the European Union, and therefore the British interest, around the world. The EU needs to be far more effective on many issues, such as relations with China, India and the growing economies of Mexico and Brazil. It also needs to be more effective at talking about human rights in countries that are normally of specific interest to France or to us, as well as at talking in the round on behalf of all member states. So I think that once the EAS is fully developed, it will be fully in the interests of the UK.