European Affairs

Much as I like the hon. Member for Forest of Dean, I do not think that he should sit there listening to Whips and articulating what they have just told him to say. As I was saying earlier, we now know that the leader of the Conservative party signs his cheques in invisible ink. His promises are like dew that disappears the moment the sun comes out, and his cast-iron guarantee has been cast aside on the scrap heap. Of course, the Tory Front-Bench team knew that this was coming. That is why Dastardly and Muttley have been busy devising fiendishly clever wacky wheezes for the past couple of years. First off was the ruse to withdraw from the European People's Party; now the Tories find themselves shackled to a bunch of right-wing extremists with dodgy pasts. British business suffers because there is no British representation in the largest group in the European Parliament, and the Tories are completely marginalised in every debate in Europe. That is most cleverly symbolised by the fact that their offices are now in an annexe off the European Parliament. The next ruse was to throw a scrap of red meat to the Euro-headbangers. The leader of the Conservative party says that he wants to repatriate powers to the UK, especially in the area of social policy—[Interruption.] I think that was a "Hear, hear!" over there. But he knows perfectly well that he would need 13 other countries to agree to holding an intergovernmental conference to consider amending the treaty again. If he managed that, he would need all 27 countries to agree a new deal, and if he managed that—which is almost impossible—he would need to persuade the European Parliament, because it has a new power under the Lisbon treaty to enforce a convention. Let us face it, Muttley has not got many friends in the European Parliament these days. No wonder David Frost, director general of the British Chambers of Commerce, has said:""We do not believe that the Conservatives' new policy to opt out of European social and employment legislation is realistic, as it would require substantial UK concessions in return"." Now, the latest ruse is to introduce a new Bill that would assert Parliament's sovereignty over EU legislation. I fear that this too will be drafted in invisible ink. Parliament already is sovereign, as anybody who has studied the history of this place knows. It can repeal the European Communities Act 1972, if it wants to. It can leave the Union, but it should not. I know that the hon. Member for Rayleigh knows all this, because he has admitted as much on television. All he could say in defence of the so-called sovereignty Bill was that it would""send a signal both to the ECJ and the UK Supreme Court"." I can just see him busily fanning his smoke signals to Strasbourg now, but I suspect this is more of a smokescreen than a smoke signal. No wonder Roger Helmer MEP said""what we have is essentially a cosmetic policy"." It is clear that December's European Council will see Europe's leaders getting on with business and tackling tough issues of importance to people across Europe. It will mark the end of the institutional introspection that has dominated the union in the past few years, and the beginning of a new era for the EU—an era focused on taking action where co-operation between European states can deliver results, an era of renewed belief in the ability of member states acting collectively to create new opportunities for the people of Europe, and an era in which Europe has a central role in global decision making. That is why Britain is right to position itself at the heart of European decision making. It is why we must retain and enhance our ability to influence in Europe, and why we should continue to push for Europe to strengthen its ability to influence globally. Active British engagement in Europe is good for Britain, good for Europe, and has a positive effect globally. That is why this Government are determined that the UK should be leading and shaping European policy, now and in the future.