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European Council, 16–17 June

My Lords, I think that the noble Lord is confused about the ratification process. If he goes back and thinks about the timing, he will find that the treaty contains a political declaration that envisages discussion at the European Council if, for example, 20 countries have ratified it by October 2006 and one or more states are having problems. We cannot make assumptions about all the different areas of work in June 2005, when the most recent decision is that there needs to be a period of reflection. He will know that Luxembourg has gone away to think about whether it will continue with its referendum. Two other countries have indicated that they will not continue, pending further discussion in the Union as a whole. There is an ongoing process at the moment, and we have not come to its end.