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European Union (Amendment) Bill

I am just quoting what President Sarkozy said in the last speech I heard where he referred to this. He said that this was an important symbolic gesture but it was not a legal change in any way. I am merely quoting him. I am not suggesting or trying to get into the mind of the President of France, nor indeed what he ““promised to his people””. That is simply my understanding of what he believes. It is a consequence of what happened. The point that I was moving on to is, having got that, it is important to see what the effect of what is being put forward would have. In any negotiation one looks at what is being put forward and determines whether it has an impact that would be detrimental either to the functioning of the European Union or to the Government’s national interests. I have already explained that the other articles remain the same and read them out. I have also indicated that we promoted and pushed for a protocol to be clear on the matter. We then had to consider the question of whether a protocol has the right kind of status. I am going to quote John Major in 1992, who said: "““The protocols agreed at Maastricht will become an integral part of the treaty of Rome under article 239 and will have equal legal force””.—[Official Report, Commons, 21/5/92; col. 218.]" Seventeen protocols were annexed to the treaty of Maastricht. The opinion in many different places but not least the Commission is that the protocol is as legally binding as anything else. That is the nature of protocols within European Union treaties. The question for the Government is simple. President Sarkozy has put forward a proposition for his own reasons. I do not pretend to suggest that I want to interpret them. Having put forward that proposal, which is important to the President of France, the responsibility of the UK Government is to consider whether it has an impact on the functioning of the European Union and national interest. Looking at the treaty, taking the right kind of legal opinion, it is clear that it does not. Noble Lords might have preferred to have the original text within the treaty but the bigger question for the Government is whether it makes any difference. The answer is no. Therefore, in the spirit of negotiation, it is reasonable for the UK Government to say that, provided we have all the other articles and the legally binding protocol, we believe that the position remains as it did. That is the position that the Government took and stand by. I turn to Amendment No. 63, which seeks to introduce co-decision for the proposals to address distortions in competition. We support that shift and we believe that it is important to involve the European Parliament in the process. It adds to democratic accountability and transparency. Amendment No. 62 relates to EU state aid rules intended to ensure fair competition and a single common market. Noble Lords know that the rules prevent state aid that would seriously distort competition. It is not in the UK’s interest. We should have to notify all UK aid to and seek approval from the Commission before the aid could be given, not least because that could result in a delay of up to a year and hold up aid being given to small-scale projects that are unlikely to distort competition. Amendment No. 64 refers to the promotion of structural reform, the core of the Lisbon agenda which the UK has championed since 2000, referred to by the noble Lord, Lord Hunt of Wirral. Those treaty provisions introduced by Maastricht set a framework by which member states can co-ordinate their economic policies in order to boost competitiveness and productivity, which is a UK interest. The Lisbon treaty makes only limited changes to that framework. It retains the existing provisions for the co-ordination of economic policies by Ministers within the Council. That ensures that it is the member states themselves that remain responsible for their economic policy. It allows the Commission to address a warning to a member state on the same grounds on which the Council can address recommendations. It is an extra procedural step but a warning carries no legal force. It is another route by which our common approach to achieving economic reform could be held up to the light and examined. Amendment No. 32A refers to the confirmation in the Lisbon treaty of the fact that the single market is a shared competence. In order for the single market to operate effectively it is essential that some activities are managed at EU level to make sure that we have coherence, fairness and transparency. Amendment No. 39, to which the noble Lord, Lord Blackwell, referred, is about customs co-operation. There is nothing new in customs co-operation. We participated in it before we joined the European Union. We carry out important co-operation work with member states and the Commission. As the noble Lord will know, that is to do with money laundering, counterfeit goods and illegal meat products. Those are important areas in which we would wish to continue to be involved. Amendment No. 71 is on the common commercial policy, which covers trade. It has been part of the treaty since 1957 and has brought huge benefits to the UK. The process does not change under the Lisbon treaty. The key changes are the inclusion of foreign direct investment and the enhancement of the role of the European Parliament. Amendment No. 72 proposes inclusion of the words, "““and services and the commercial aspects of intellectual property, foreign direct investment””." The treaty merely reflects reality. It is also made clear that unanimity is preserved for CCP agreements in those fields when unanimity would be required for the adoption of internal rules. Amendment No. 80 looks at the extension of co-decision to the establishment of staff regulations.