European Affairs

I am happy to confirm that, although I think that all the Commissioners whom we have sent to the European Union, Conservative and Labour, have been excellent. We have done very well in the choice of people whom we have sent. I also want to pay tribute to the Minister for Europe for the work that he has done. Reference has been made to the large number of Ministers for Europe that we have had, me being one of them, but I cannot think of anyone better prepared for the job than him. He has a passion for Europe, he has an intelligence and an understanding, and I think that he will do an absolutely terrific job. I also hope that he stays in the job for as long as I did, which was about two years. I am also pleased that my next-door neighbour in Leicester, my hon. Friend the Member for Leicester, South (Sir Peter Soulsby), has been promoted to become the Minister for Europe's Parliamentary Private Secretary. He has had a very distinguished career in Leicester. In fact, he probably knows more about Europe—I have to say this—than the Minister or me. Before either of us entered the House, my hon. Friend the Member for Leicester, South was a member of the Committee of the Regions. The Minister has thus chosen an able person to assist him as part of his team. I am sure that they will do very well in Europe. I am with the hon. Member for Kingston and Surbiton on the issue of the referendum. I think it is important for us to be in a position in which the British people can once and for all deal with the myths put about by the Eurosceptics. I am quite certain that if a referendum comes—it is not, of course, Labour party policy—we will find that the leader of the Conservative party and the shadow Minister for Europe will be on the side of the angels and will support the hon. Member for Kingston and Surbiton and others in saying that Britain should remain in the European Union. That is why it is important to put it on the line and give people the opportunity to have those discussions. The European Council meeting next week will be an important one and it is obviously going to consider the extremely important issue of climate change. I am not going dwell in the few minutes I have available on that issue because I know other Members will cover it. I want to talk about one or two other issues that I hope will be raised, and I hope that the Minister will respond to explain current Government thinking when he concludes the debate. When the Minister gave his opening speech, I raised with him the issue of the Lisbon agenda. The Lisbon agenda is a very important agreement among European colleagues. It is not, of course, the same as the Lisbon treaty, which is also important, and this predates that treaty. There must be something about Lisbon to make it the place where all the important decisions about Europe are taken. The importance of the Lisbon agenda is that it set down for the first time a set of economic benchmarks that it was hoped European countries would try to achieve. As those involved in European affairs will know, there are often meetings, summits and other things of that kind and there is often general good will about all the initiatives that are going to be followed, but the importance of the Lisbon agenda is that it set those benchmarks down—on employment, on growth and on how the economies of various EU countries should work together. I hope that we will not lose the opportunity to ascertain whether all the 27 countries have met those benchmarks set 10 years ago. If not, we must ensure that there is a corrective mechanism to enable them to meet them. I know that the current global economic crisis will have had an effect on the benchmarks that were set 10 years ago, because the crisis was not envisaged, but I still think it important for British Ministers to hold themselves, the Government and colleagues to account as to whether those benchmarks have been met. I am glad that the Government remain committed to the accession of Turkey in the future—in the near future—and I am also pleased that the Opposition are fully supportive of it. I do not think that the hon. Member for Kingston and Surbiton mentioned Turkish accession—[Interruption.] Perhaps he did while I was out of the Chamber. I believe that—apart, obviously, from the hon. Member for Stone (Mr. Cash)—there is all-party unity among Members in the House at the moment in favour of Turkey joining the European Union. It is important that we do not merely say these things. We should use our weight to ensure that that happens, precisely as we did when we ensured that Poland and other east European countries entered when they did. Had it not been for the work of Tony Blair, the then Prime Minister and Robin Cook, the then Foreign Secretary, I do not believe that we would have seen the enlargement of the EU by that number of countries at that particular time. We should put our weight behind getting Turkey in as soon as possible. That also applies to Croatia. It is important not to leave countries to fend for themselves when they enter the EU. Romania and Bulgaria have been mentioned. I think that Romania's accession has been a success, as has that of the other eastern European countries. I do not think we should condemn Bulgaria; I think that we should work with it to ensure that it overcomes its difficulties. Part of the problem is that when new countries enter the European Union, they are delighted and there is national euphoria, and then Brussels moves to the next set of priorities. Support is extremely important if we are to ensure that the EU succeeds and member states feel that they are welcome. We want member states to be part of a first-class Europe with no second-class countries, moving together in what I hope will be a united way.