---

European Union Bill

My Lords, the noble Lord speaks with great authority and I listen closely to what he says. However, he has asserted several times that the Bill will not operate in this Parliament. It will. A treaty is in the pipeline, with which we will deal next summer—the European stability mechanism treaty. Admittedly, it is exempt under Clause 4(4), but the operation of the Bill applies as much to that treaty change as it may to others. It is not the desire of the coalition or of any member state of the European Union to promote new treaties or rid ourselves of more vetoes. The Bill binds from the moment it goes on the statute book. That is the reality.