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European Affairs

I draw the attention of the House to my entry in the Register of Members’ Interests. This debate has certain traditions, one of which for me is to follow the right hon. Member for Leicester, East (Keith Vaz). It is a pleasure to do so, as he has spoken a lot of good sense about the issues facing Europe. The debate also always has a slightly surreal quality, which has been honoured by the references to plumbing and the idea that the Eurovision song contest is setting the agenda for enlargement. Thankfully, a lot of serious points have also been made, which the subject of Europe surely merits. Two weeks ago, two important speeches were made on the same day about the future of Europe. Each, however, said different things. One was made by the Foreign Secretary, who was addressing European Union ambassadors to the United Kingdom at the Finnish embassy in London. The other was made by the Minister for Europe, who was addressing the Institute of European Affairs in Dublin. Of course, the differences in the speeches might be viewed as the latest twist in the soap opera of King Charles street, which has been entertaining some and depressing the rest of us in recent months. On that occasion, however, the differences were not about splits—at least not on the surface. The Foreign Secretary’s speech dwelt on the challenges of climate change and energy security, the increasing complexity of Europe’s external relations and the importance of common responses to the threats posed by international terrorism, and touched on the desperate need to make progress on the Doha trade round and to tackle the desperate situation in Darfur. The Minister for Europe’s speech focused on the historic recent enlargement of the Union, the opportunities offered by the growth of the single market, and the need to reform Europe’s institutions if we are to make the most of Europe’s potential. Whatever the differences on the Treasury Bench, one does not need to be too charitable to acknowledge that the two different speeches underline the sheer breadth of issues confronting the United Kingdom and our European partners, and the importance of ensuring that, as a country, we are committed players in a growing European Union. The recent mood has been downbeat, and it is proving hard to shrug it off. We have had a somewhat muted and low-key 12 months since the rejection of the constitution by France and the Netherlands. Finland acceded to the presidency with high hopes of re-energising the Union, bringing the passive period of reflection on the constitutional treaty to a close, and starting active discussions on the future of the treaty; but, with recent inconclusive elections in the Netherlands and French presidential elections in 2007, it is not surprising that the issue has barely been discussed by European leaders, openly at least. We believe that recent and planned enlargement will place further pressure on Europe, which will force further reform of the institutions. Only yesterday, as mentioned by the hon. Member for Altrincham and Sale, West (Mr. Brady), Finland became the 16th country to ratify the draft constitution. Perhaps that was a belated attempt to restart negotiations on the treaty; but whatever the reasons for the ratification and whatever Finland hopes to achieve by it, it is clear that the review of the constitutional process as it stands is virtually moribund and in need of a fresh start.