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European Affairs

The Minister shakes his head. However, given that the Foreign Secretary has confirmed to me in a written answer that the right hon. Gentleman reports both to her and directly to the Prime Minister, we have to take such signals seriously. I hope that he will clarify the point when he winds up. We have had to wait with bated breath for any official indication of the Government’s position on the future powers and shape of the European Union. Yesterday, the Minister finally issued a written statement setting out in very vague terms what he called"““the principles that will underpin””" the British contribution to the German presidency’s consultations on the future of Europe. The statement tells us:"““We will…favour proposals that modernise the workings of the EU so that it is better equipped to meet both today’s and future challenges””." However, it does not tell us whether that means that the Government are preparing to support the ““constitution lite””, or slimmed-down mini treaty, proposed by Mr. Sarkozy or Angela Merkel, with further extensions to qualified majority voting and an EU foreign minister. Perhaps the Foreign Secretary could tell us now, or the Minister could tell us when he winds up, exactly where the Government stand.