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Treaty of Lisbon (No. 2)

We could have great fun with that. I could almost share my hon. Friend's addiction to the nuances and niceties of the matter. He is right that the article states,"““without prejudice to Article 192(2)(c).””" However, article 192 provides that the Council will act unanimously, but"““without prejudice to Article 114.””" I shall not turn back to article 114 to discover to which article it is without prejudice. Heaven knows where that would lead us. [Interruption.] My hon. Friend is right that the paper trail would lead us back to the beginning and I understand his concern. Article 194 has four substantial provisions. One is to ensure the functioning of the energy market. We do not need such a provision because it is already implicit everywhere else. The right hon. Member for Leicester, West said that the article usefully consolidated matters, but I need to be persuaded. The article refers to ensuring the security of the energy supply in the EU. I believe that the British Government, not the EU, have a central role to play in that. To be fair to them, they have done many of the right things. For example, the Planning Bill is a flawed but well meaning attempt to ensure that we have generating capacity. The Government have been working closely with the Government of Qatar and other places to ensure that we can import LNG. They have done much on gas storage, albeit sometimes belatedly. Security of energy supply is for national Governments to tackle and I am nervous about action at EU level. The article covers promoting energy efficiency and energy saving, and developing new and renewable forms of energy. We are all in favour of that but, again, I am worried that the EU's power may be channelled in an unhelpful direction towards specific technologies. I would like to see member states experimenting with different technologies. For instance, I have a hobby horse about hybrid cars, which I think are bad for the environment. Because of the total carbon footprint of the cars and the recycling costs, I think that clean diesel is better for the environment than hybrid technology. Toyota has made a great play of promoting itself as an environmental company because it uses hybrid technology. There is also a reduced congestion charge for hybrid technology, which I resent because I am not sure that it is the right technology. The state, in the shape of the Mayor of London, is taking a view on a particular technology, which is not helpful. I worry that the energy provisions in the treaty could lead Europe to specify technologies in an unhelpful way. That is why I have some doubts, as the Minister knows—doubts, not objections—about the banding of renewable obligation certificates, because I worry that we will again be choosing technologies. However, that is a separate debate. The only thing that is genuinely helpful is sub-paragraph (d), which says that policy will aim to"““promote the interconnection of energy networks,””" which I can see is hugely important for the functioning of energy markets. I also suspect that that provision actually adds to the existing body of legislation, so I have some sympathy for that part of new article 194. The reason for my overall concern is that energy policy means different things to different people. When we talk about energy policy—we have seen that there is a consensus in all parts of the House—what we mean is often liberalisation of the European market, energy efficiency and renewables. However, when people talk about energy policy in eastern Europe, one word comes to mind: Russia. They have a different obsession, and understandably so—I am not making a criticism. The interests of eastern and western Europe diverge on energy policy, as do this country's interests vis-à-vis the continent. Again, I am nervous about pooling too much sovereignty, in case that is against our interests.