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European Union (Accessions) Bill

: I am glad that we have in this country hard-working Poles who have come recently, along with those who came in previous generations. The impression of people in my constituency and elsewhere is that the Poles are hard working and law abiding. We should never shrink from reminding doubters about that. The near neighbourhood policy has not yet been addressed, but it is of significance. The ripple effect of accession carries on into many countries. When I was based in Vienna in the mid 1990s I well remember the efforts of Alois Mock and Franz Vranitzky in moving Austria towards membership of the EU. That had a considerable impact throughout the wider Danube region. It was not confined to former communist countries thinking that they were on to a good thing. There was a general realisation that membership of the European Union was worth pursuing. I am disappointed by the Austrian Government’s recent opposition to Turkish membership. It is ironic that one of the most vocal supporters of Turkish membership of the EU was none other than Jörg Haider. That might be a surprise to some. We need to understand that the EU is already looking at countries that are bordering on the accession states that we are discussing. In 2004, the launch of the near neighbourhood policy would have an impact on Ukraine and Moldova. A little later, a second round of the policy was launched, which would include the south Caucasus—Armenia, Georgia and Azerbaijan. The policy does not mean that those different states will be able automatically to join the EU; it recognises the ripple effect that accession has as the EU moves further east, bringing benefits to trade, standards of governments, human rights, law, cross-border control, combating drugs and human trafficking and to fighting terrorism. We should never forget that all those things are part of the ripple effect of enlargement. I have one minor criticism of those on the Government Front Bench, which I made in an intervention at the start of the debate. I was reminded of it when the hon. Member for Linlithgow and East Falkirk (Michael Connarty) arrived in the Chamber late because, as a fellow member of the European Scrutiny Committee, he had to attend a meeting with members of the European Parliament. When European business comes before the House, every effort should be made to co-ordinate so that Members of this place, such as the hon. Gentleman, the hon. Member for Totnes and me, as members of the European Scrutiny Committee, are not put in an impossible position whereby we cannot attend important meetings. I hope that the Government will take that comment in the spirit in which it has been made. The Minister for Europe will be aware of the irony, from my perspective and that of my hon. Friends, that we have been discussing the accession of 10 states, and the prospect of Bulgaria and Romania—and, in time, Croatia and many others— joining the EU when our historic nation, Scotland, is not in its rightful place at the top tables of Europe. If the benefits of membership are obvious for both the richer and the emerging economies, and for both larger and smaller countries, it is ironic—this will not be lost in time in the public consciousness in Scotland—that Scotland is not part of an inward enlargement of the EU as well. The Minister for Europe said in error at the start of the debate that there was tripartite support in the House for enlargement of the EU. Of course, he knows that the Scottish national party, Plaid Cymru and our Northern Irish colleagues support enlargement. I am not sure why he should ignore the Liberal Democrats and the Conservative party. Our parties will be delighted to support the Bill. I hope that it will not be forced to a vote. We shall be looking closely at what happens in Romania and Bulgaria to ensure that they make progress on their obligations in the years ahead. We hope that they can soon be part of the EU, and we wish them well.