European Affairs

As I said, my hon. Friend's opinion was so couched in irony and sarcasm that it somehow ended up sounding like exactly the opposite. The hon. Member for Ribble Valley (Mr. Evans), who has changed his seat but is none the less here, referred to burden sharing in Afghanistan. We believe that that is important. We were pleased with the discussions at the October Council meeting and its conclusions, which made it clear that all member states must step up to the mark in terms of national caveats, number of troops and where they are prepared to engage. He is absolutely right that we need to make an effort, and not just within European Union. I am sure that there will be further discussion, whether in the margins or during the meeting next week. My hon. Friend the Member for Luton, North said that he believed in a pragmatic approach to Europe. I agree completely and utterly. His, however, is the theological approach, and I disagree with his analysis of what he always refers to as a neo-liberal model of economics. I remember him sitting next to me on many occasions and confidently predicting that the Germans would leave the euro within two years, but that does not seem to have happened. The hon. Member for Scarborough and Whitby (Mr. Goodwill) made one of the most thoughtful contributions. I am not damning him with faint praise; it was a good speech, to which he obviously brought a lot of his experience of the European Union. As somebody who has worked for the BBC in Brussels and with the European Parliament to try to ensure that it produces policies that are good for Britain, I know something about how the Parliament works. He is completely wrong about the Conservative grouping in the European Parliament. In my experience, many members of the European People's Party are actively vindictive towards the European Conservatives and Reformists because they are angry at how the hon. Gentleman's party political leader has advanced their cause over the past couple of years. When he says that it is great that the Canada and Iraq groups are chaired by a Tory, he is clutching at straws. The hon. Gentleman used a phrase that I think some countries in the east find offensive by saying that they were suddenly frightened of being dominated by Brussels as they were dominated by Moscow. They take great exception when some Conservatives use that line. However, I agree completely about the caravanserai to Strasbourg. I only wish that his party was prepared to accept qualified majority voting on the issue so that we could get rid of the present ludicrous situation. I hope that I can answer the questions raised by my hon. Friend the Member for Birmingham, Edgbaston (Ms Stuart). She is right about the passerelle clause. I do not think that it makes any difference whether Parliament votes after a one-and-a-half-hour debate or passes a piece of primary legislation. The point is that Parliament should take a view. She asked about the rules of procedure, and I want to correct her on one point: the Council of Ministers was an institution before the Lisbon treaty came into force; it is the European Council that now becomes an institution. [Interruption.] Well, as she knows, they are two different bodies. I think that all— Motion lapsed (Standing Order No. 9(3)).