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European Council: June 2006

My Lords, with respect to the comment of the noble Lord, Lord Hannay, on the tone of the speeches of the noble Lord, Lord Strathclyde, and the Conservative foreign affairs spokesperson in another place, that of course splits in the Conservative Party on Europe are not new. On the conclusions on enlargement and absorptive capacity, I can confirm that this is not a further criterion. The noble Lord, Lord Hannay, will know that there are some in the European Union who are sceptical about future enlargement, and they want a greater focus on the EU’s ability to absorb new members. It is important to say to the House that the idea of absorption capacity is now more than a decade old, and it has not inhibited the progress of enlargement so far. It is certainly not the intention that it should be a new criterion. There is a commitment that northern Cyprus should come closer to the European Union on the issues of aid and trade. I do not have any further information on that, and the noble Lord, Lord Hannay, knows a lot more about this issue, given his background, than I do. If I can help the House further in any other way, I will of course write and put a copy of that letter in the Library of the House.