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European Union (Amendment) Bill

I state instantly that I rise purely out of self-interest. I did not speak at Second Reading. I listened to two-thirds of the debate, and I have sat through the entire proceedings today without speaking. I realise that if I do not utter anything I shall not be allowed to be on the copy list of the billets-doux of the Lord President to the noble Lord, Lord Pearson. Consequently, I simply wish to establish my place in the queue. I want to do one other thing. It is now more than 20 years since I gave up being the British Minister on the Budget Council—I served for four years in that position, which I greatly enjoyed. I wish to pay a considerable tribute to the work of COREPER, which, however mysterious it is to the noble Lord, Lord Pearson, is reasonably well known to everybody else. The Budget Council was incapable of making a decision until dawn. Had COREPER not reduced the size of the agenda before we arrived, we would not have made a decision until dawn the next day—and the quality of the decisions you make recedes as time goes on. On that basis I will sit down.