---

European Council

I welcome the focus of this Council: global competitiveness, global poverty and global climate change. This is the right agenda. On climate change, the first thing that Governments should do is get their own house in order. The draft communiqué included specific targets to reduce energy use in Government buildings, offices and cars. Will the Prime Minister explain why those specific targets were removed from the final text agreed at the weekend? Looking at our own record here in the UK, does the Prime Minister accept that 14 Government Departments are less energy-efficient than they were eight years ago, and that 15 Government Departments have actually increased their carbon emissions during that time—[Interruption.] He asks what this has got to do with Europe. I think we should be leading by example. In a similar context, will he confirm that, despite the fine words in the Budget about plastic bags, the Government have bought 1.2 million Whitehall-branded single-use plastic bags in the past two years? The Prime Minister is right to say that the success of the emissions trading scheme is vital. Will he acknowledge, however, that the Lisbon treaty is completely irrelevant to making that happen? There are six words on climate change in the treaty and, as the House of Lords Committee pointed out last week, they have no legal significance. Is it not the case that we do not need a new constitution or a new treaty to deal with climate change at EU level? Everyone will welcome the Prime Minister's intention to use indirect taxes, including VAT, as incentives for green behaviour. That is something that we have put forward in our own quality of life policy group report. The Commission said that it had doubts about whether the proposal was workable. One EU diplomat said that the agreed wording was"““a polite way of saying no””," and"““a way of saving face””." In regard to the outcome that we all want, is the Prime Minister sure that he is right and that that EU diplomat was wrong? On the economy, Ministers discussed the recent turbulence in the financial markets. Clearly, proper co-ordination by central banks is going to be essential. Will the Prime Minister guarantee that his approach of putting the Financial Services Authority, rather than the Bank of England, in the lead to rescue British banks in distress will not make the process more difficult? The final communiqué from Brussels warns Governments across Europe about the dangers of high deficits. Will the Prime Minister confirm that Spain's budget is in balance, and that Germany, the Netherlands, Denmark and Sweden all have budget surpluses, while Britain has the largest budget deficit in western Europe? Does he now regret the fact that we are the one country that failed to prepare for the downturn by putting money aside in the good years? The other main issue for Europe to focus on is global poverty and the urgent need to make rapid progress on the Doha round. Will the Prime Minister tell us why the EU seems to be showing so little urgency in getting the deal moving again? The Commissioner in charge of those negotiations is Peter Mandelson. Whatever any of us may think of him, I have always had very helpful briefing from him on trade and, I have to say, on other issues, too—[Laughter.] The Leader of the House should not laugh; she might put herself in jeopardy. What matters is that there should be a clear decision on whether he is going to serve another term. It cannot be in anyone's interests for the Commissioner's future to be the subject of endless speculation. Will the Prime Minister tell us today whether Peter Mandelson is going to go on doing his job, or whether this decision is to be the subject of further dithering? While Ministers were in Brussels, there was violence—[Interruption.] Look, I thought the boot boy had been told to calm down. I read in a Sunday newspaper that he was actually the soon-to-get-the-boot boy. Soon, he might have to go and sit in another part of the House. I see that the Prime Minister is laughing. I think your career—you will be on the same conveyor belt as the Leader of the House. While Ministers were meeting in Brussels, there was violence on the streets of Tibet. An EU statement on Tibet has been issued today, which I am sure the whole House will welcome. Britain rightly works closely with China and we very much welcome the way it has opened up its economy, but is it not vital that the Chinese Government understand that with the greater role they play in the world comes greater responsibility? Does the Prime Minister agree that the strong relationship we all want with China requires us to be candid and frank, even on issues where we disagree?