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European Communities (Finance) Bill

That was an exercise in the rewriting of history that Stalin would have been proud of. The facts are these: the Government run by the hon. Gentleman's party supported the enlargement of the European Union, and in summer 2005 clearly told the House of Commons that enlargement was perfectly compatible with the position that the British rebate was fully justified and non-negotiable. His Government hung to that position until they decided that they would negotiate the rebate, but only in exchange for meaningful and significant reform of the common agricultural policy. That was a radical change of position, but none the less we accepted it as a sensible way to proceed, provided that meaningful reform of the EU budget was really on the table. On Second Reading, the Chief Secretary claimed that the Brussels decision in December 2005 paved the way for a critical look at how to reshape the EU budget. In reality, the Government came back with only a vague commitment to a review under the French presidency. Later, we shall argue the case for new clause 1, to remedy that hopeless negotiating position. Let us be clear. The Chief Secretary says that failure to pass the Bill—I take it that by extension, that means to pass it with this clause incorporated in it—will create a political crisis in the EU. This has nothing to do with being pro-EU or anti-EU. We do not call it ““anti-EU”” when the French Government fight their corner hard in the interests of their taxpayers and citizens. Our new clause addresses the expectation that the UK Government, like all other EU Governments, will fight for the best interests of their citizens and taxpayers within the system. As has so often been the case in their dealings with the EU, this Labour Government have failed to fight for the interests of the UK taxpayer. The Chief Secretary must recognise how the EU works. It is not anti-European to fight the corner of national interest. The other EU countries do it. That is what sovereign states do in a grown-up relationship, whether negotiating with our European partners or with the US; it is how an elected Government should conduct themselves.