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European Union (Amendment) Bill

My Lords, I agree very much with the noble Lord, Lord Maclennan, that this is a good and positive treaty change in removing the rather outdated system of rolling presidencies and introducing a degree of continuity. It will ensure greater coherence in the overall management of the European Union in the years ahead, yet that role will, of course, evolve over time. It is difficult to say now exactly how it will be in two, three, four or five years’ time. It seems to me that that evolution is, indeed, a matter of importance to the functioning of the European Union and, therefore, of concern and interest to this House and to the other place. However, it seems to me that the right way to track that evolution is through the regular reports that the Government and the Prime Minister will make after each meeting of the European Council, in which, as well as recording what has happened, I would hope that there would also be an analysis—six months by six months, or four months by four months—of how the institutional changes are evolving and how the role of the President of the European Council is evolving, too.