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European Council, 16–17 June

My Lords, I welcome my noble friend’s reiteration of the Prime Minister’s observation that it is essential to have a social dimension in Europe. The idea—which one can only infer is now the policy of the Conservative Party—that they want to abolish four   weeks’ holiday to make us more competitive is a ludicrous way of looking at a modern economy when we are all conscious of the need for better work-life balance. Moreover, is it not the case that when we compare our economy with that of France the GDP per head is virtually identical? Before we start a new battle of Agincourt—which they lost but which ultimately in 1453 with the Hundred Years’ War they won—we should recognise that Britain and France have a lot to learn from each other on questions such as nuclear power. In the next six months we ought to find a way to see how that trade-off between our interests and those of France can be brought to a mutually beneficial result.