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European Affairs

Absolutely. That is why I am delighted to have the hon. Gentleman’s support for our proposition that we should maintain control over our borders. As winter sets in across the continent, the Council will examine ways in which we can work together to guarantee security of energy supply. That is naturally a matter of the highest concern for countries that are wholly dependent on gas from a single source, but, last winter, the UK also suffered unprecedented problems. In our case, they were a clear demonstration of how far short we continue to be of a proper and efficiently working single market in energy. The Commission has a massive programme of work to ensure that all EU customers, including British customers, are treated equally, that all EU companies, including British ones, can compete equally and that EU member states do not use fears of energy insecurity as an excuse to distort markets by creating so-called national champions. That is a big agenda for the European Commission. Attempts to add new competences instead of making proper use of existing ones are an absurd diversion. For example, the proposal for a single European energy market regulator should be rejected. We must also retain flexibility on third-party agreements. It is desirable for EU countries to work out a common position on specific energy suppliers, but there are other energy suppliers—for example, Norway—outside the EU, on which a common position is unnecessary. Overall, we need a pragmatic, market-oriented approach, the main goal of which is the results that customers and businesses want, not the aggrandisement of EU institutions.