European Affairs

I am grateful to my hon. Friend for bringing a sober approach to the debate without references to "Guys and Dolls", "Wacky Races", or any other such films—wonderful though they are, of course. Has his Committee considered the possibility of a formal twinning arrangement between existing member states and applicant countries or those that are new entrants to the EU? One of the problems is that once they join, we leave them very much on their own, but they need that kind of support. We welcomed Romania and Bulgaria entering, although I take his point about the timetable, but when such countries join they need additional help.