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EU: Single Market (EUC Report)

My Lords, in thanking the Minister most sincerely for that very comprehensive response, I shall briefly respond to the points directed at the Select Committee. This has been a very interesting and worth while debate. Your Lordships on all sides have spoken with a single voice. When the Hansard report is read by those in Brussels, they will be impressed by the coherence and unanimity of our views. The noble Lord, Lord Haskel, reminded us that it is important that we should retrace our steps in Select Committees. We will do so in looking at the implementation of the services directive. The noble Lords, Lord Dykes, Lord Bradshaw and Lord Berkeley, form a powerful lobby, arguing for an examination of where we have got to, both for road and railway transport, in the internal market. That certainly has my strong personal support. The noble Lord, Lord Mitchell, talked about text messaging. I have to say to the noble Lord—and I know he realises this—that he and other members of the committee really did have influence on Commissioner Reding. Lords reports in Brussels really do count, probably uniquely, if I might say so, among many of the other nations in the European Union. The noble Lord played his part, and we will continue to follow mobile phone charging, but text messaging in particular. The noble Lord, Lord Borrie, reminded us of the importance of looking at intellectual property. That is unfinished business in terms of the internal market. The noble Lord, Lord Harrison, asked us to look at SMEs. We will continue to do so. I stressed the importance of that in my opening remarks. I thank my noble friend Lord De Mauley from the Front Bench. I am sure that the committee will agree with the vast majority of the comments he made. He is one of the few Front Bench spokesmen who seems to have a new portfolio each day. He discharges them with great distinction. I thank the noble Lord, Lord Jones, for stopping off between Saudi Arabia and Thailand and for his good humour. Certainly from these Benches, but I think I speak for all noble Lords, we congratulate the noble Lord on the diligence and excellence of his contribution and on his experience. He is certainly not a wallflower, but I think that internationally he would make a marvellous dancing partner. On Question, Motion agreed to.