European Affairs

I absolutely agree. However, on a recent Foreign Affairs Committee visit to Paris, Committee members met a junior from the French agricultural ministry and were left in no doubt that the French would give up the CAP most unwillingly. To them, it is not just about the money going into agriculture and directly to their farmers; it is about a whole policy of maintaining populations in the countryside. We will have great problems addressing this issue, given the intransigence of politicians in France. On the recent appointment of Baroness Ashton as the EU's High Representative on foreign affairs, although I, like many of my colleagues, did not agree with the creation of that post in the first instance, or with that of EU President, I should like to take this opportunity to congratulate the Baroness on her promotion. I also reiterate the shadow Europe Minister's assertion that a future Conservative Government will look forward to working with her. During the shenanigans surrounding the Lisbon treaty appointments, while the Prime Minister was busy lobbying for Tony Blair to become the new President and while the Foreign and Business Secretaries were busy positioning themselves for the plum job of EU Foreign Minister, who was busy protecting Britain's interests? After the Prime Minister was outsmarted in Europe and was led to accept Baroness Ashton for the Foreign Minister job, the most important post of all was snatched from right under his nose. The Prime Minister, who takes every opportunity to portray himself as the City's knight in shining armour and as an economic messiah ready to lead the country out of recession, has completely sold out Britain for the sake of parachuting his fourth-choice candidate into a non-job. France secured one of the top economic posts in the new Commission after a former French Minister, Michel Barnier, was named as the new Internal Market Commissioner with responsibility for financial services. The other key economic posts will go to Spain and Finland. It is reasonable to expect that Mr. Barnier, a protectionist who has been openly hostile to the Anglo-Saxon model of capitalism, will seek sweeping regulatory reforms of financial services, most of which are located in our square mile in London. Many have voiced their criticism of Mr. Barnier's appointment, including the major French—I say left-leaning—newspaper Le Monde. In July, it compared giving the internal market post to Barnier with entrusting the surveillance of a chicken coop to a fox. Nicolas Sarkozy, the French President, has gleefully declared that the English "are the big losers" after the carve-up of EU posts. In a speech a couple of days ago, he asked:""Do you know what it means for me to see for the first time in 50 years a French European Commissioner in charge of the internal market, including financial services, including the City?"" We do not need to have it spelt out any clearer than that. He went on boldly to declare:""I want the world to see the victory of the European model, which has nothing to do with the excesses of financial capitalism."" The Prime Minister has let himself be completely out-manoeuvred by President Sarkozy and Chancellor Merkel, who, it has become clear, had agreed in private, prior to the meetings in Brussels, to take control of financial services. Barnier's deputy will be the Briton, Jonathan Faull, as has been mentioned by the Liberal Democrat spokesman, the hon. Member for Kingston and Surbiton (Mr. Davey). However, it is doubtful whether Faull's appointment will secure Britain's interests, as he has worked for the Commission bureaucracy for more than 30 years and has no experience whatever of the City. It would be interesting to know whether the Government are still adamant that that carve-up was a "major achievement for Britain", as the Foreign Secretary tried to convince the House on 23 November. It would also be interesting to know what steps the Government will take to ensure that Britain's interests are not bypassed in the EU—apart, of course, from the Chancellor's letter to The Times pleading for mercy, and his failed visit to Brussels yesterday. After Brown's failure in Brussels last month, the Chancellor was fobbed off by Europe's Finance Ministers in Brussels yesterday, which forced the Government to accept more concessions. Not only will the City be at the mercy of a protectionist Frenchman, but Britain will be able to appeal decisions by the European supervisory authorities only after securing the support of a majority of members. It seems that every time the Government feebly try to fix things, the more damage they do. As Sarkozy accurately points out, the loser is Britain. As we all know, the Commission is extremely active in the area of financial regulation and supervision. Current plans include the new directive on alternative investment fund managers, which seeks to create a new pan-EU regulator for financial markets. This is set to be just the first of many blows to the City of London after Barnier's appointment as chief enforcer. After the European and local elections in June, it was crystal clear that our constituents wanted less intrusion and meddling from Europe. What we will get from having a protectionist Frenchman in the top economic job is yet more regulations that will seriously hamper Britain's road to economic recovery.