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Debate on treaty on Wednesday, 30 January 2008, in the House of Commons, led by Lord Hutton of Furness.

Treaty of Lisbon (No. 2)

Debate on a motion to approve the Lisbon treaty (Cm 7294). Provisions concerning energy. Second day debate. Amendment negatived on division (170 to 369). Main question agreed (367 to 169).

Secondary information

Type
Parliamentary proceeding
Reference
471 c323-408 
Session
2007-08
Department
Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform
Chamber / Committee
House of Commons chamber
Related items
Proceeding contributions
Lord Deben | 471 c357 (Link to this contribution) Does the hon. Gentleman agree with me that by pooling our powers, we in fact get greater powers than...
Stuart Bell | 471 c357-8 (Link to this contribution) I am grateful to the hon. Gentleman and I agree entirely with what he says. The hon. Member for Rut...
Show all contributions (239)
Stuart Bell | 471 c357 (Link to this contribution) I am grateful to the hon. Gentleman and I noted his earlier intervention about Russia. I will deal w...
Stuart Bell | 471 c359 (Link to this contribution) I am grateful to the right hon. Gentleman for that point. He will also know that since the EU has be...
Stuart Bell | 471 c358-9 (Link to this contribution) I thank my right hon. Friend for that, but the Conservative belief seems to be never to let the fact...
Patricia Hewitt | 471 c358 (Link to this contribution) My hon. Friend is making an extremely important point. On the issue of competition policy, is he awa...
William Cash | 471 c363 (Link to this contribution) It used to be the red flag, but now it is the European Union flag that the hon. Gentleman is waving....
Stuart Bell | 471 c359-63 (Link to this contribution) I think I answered that point a few moments ago when the hon. Gentleman was briefly absent from the ...
Alan Duncan | 471 c354 (Link to this contribution) I will give way once more to the Secretary of State, then I will race to the finish.
Lord Hutton of Furness | 471 c354 (Link to this contribution) We all look forward to that. Can the hon. Gentleman give the House an example of how the current pro...
Speaker | 471 c355 (Link to this contribution) Order. Before I call the next hon. Member, may I observe, while not decrying spontaneity, that the c...
Alan Duncan | 471 c354-5 (Link to this contribution) The whole point about the current provisions is that we are actually rather happy with them. That is...
Stuart Bell | 471 c355-6 (Link to this contribution) I am grateful for the opportunity to appear for the first time in these debates on the European Unio...
Alan Duncan | 471 c357 (Link to this contribution) In a way, the hon. Gentleman's attempt to point out the absurdity of diverting an LNG ship headed to...
Stuart Bell | 471 c356 (Link to this contribution) I do not think that Sir Winston Churchill was talking about the European Union in 1942, but he did s...
Peter Luff | 471 c357 (Link to this contribution) I hold the hon. Gentleman in high regard, but as Chairman of a Select Committee I am obliged to rise...
Stuart Bell | 471 c357 (Link to this contribution) Under no circumstances would the European Union, which believes in a liberal economy and free compet...
Alan Duncan | 471 c352-3 (Link to this contribution) But not necessarily a member state's control over those supplies, which is exactly what we are debat...
Alan Duncan | 471 c353-4 (Link to this contribution) I would never want the blood of my right hon. and learned Friend to run cold. We enjoy his good chee...
Lord Clarke of Nottingham | 471 c353 (Link to this contribution) I thought that my hon. Friend was going to deal with the point raised by my hon. Friend the Member f...
Alan Duncan | 471 c353 (Link to this contribution) I am grateful to my hon. Friend, and, in the spirit of party solidarity, I shall now give way to my ...
William Cash | 471 c353 (Link to this contribution) I just thought it might be helpful to point out that the explanation just given by the Secretary of ...
Alan Duncan | 471 c353 (Link to this contribution) I shall give way to my hon. Friend the Member for Stone (Mr. Cash) first, which may give my right ho...
James Clappison | 471 c350 (Link to this contribution) Does my hon. Friend believe that the removal of the phrase ““free competition””, which he mentioned ...
Alan Duncan | 471 c349-50 (Link to this contribution) My hon. Friend is being ingenious and allows me to move on to the next part of my remarks. The Gove...
Lord Hutton of Furness | 471 c352 (Link to this contribution) As I understand it, the hon. Gentleman's argument is based on a lot of ifs, buts and maybes. Perhaps...
Alan Duncan | 471 c350-2 (Link to this contribution) My hon. Friend makes a point that I shall tackle shortly. Clearly, in our opinion, it would not assi...
Ian Taylor | 471 c348 (Link to this contribution) The complexity of our debate shows the difficulty of putting the matter to a referendum. However, le...
Alan Duncan | 471 c348 (Link to this contribution) My right hon. Friend makes a serious point. The UK could refuse to abide by the article and break wh...
Lord Harper | 471 c348 (Link to this contribution) My hon. Friend the Member for Esher and Walton (Mr. Taylor) appeared to say that, if we did not adop...
Alan Duncan | 471 c348 (Link to this contribution) That is what the EU is trying to do at the moment, but, ultimately, the treaty gives more power to i...
Lord Hutton of Furness | 471 c352 (Link to this contribution) Let me again quote to the hon. Gentleman the article that the right hon. and learned Member for Rush...
Alan Duncan | 471 c352 (Link to this contribution) The reference to ““resources”” refers to such things as oil and gas within the sovereign boundaries ...
Lord Hutton of Furness | 471 c339 (Link to this contribution) I agree. This debate is about energy; the wider benefits to the UK of ratifying the Lisbon treaty ar...
Claire Curtis-Thomas | 471 c340;471 c339-40 (Link to this contribution) My right hon. Friend referred to projects being made available to China and India, as they are signi...
Lord Hutton of Furness | 471 c339 (Link to this contribution) I do not dismiss the importance of considering a variety of different carbon capture and storage tec...
Rob Marris | 471 c339 (Link to this contribution) To draw those two threads together, is not the Opposition suggestion that we could do this anyway, w...
Lord Hutton of Furness | 471 c340 (Link to this contribution) I did deal with that point—[Interruption.] The hon. Member for Rutland and Melton (Alan Duncan) may ...
Alan Duncan | 471 c340-1 (Link to this contribution) Unlike the Secretary of State, I can start by saying, ““Here's one I prepared earlier.”” However, on...
Lord Hutton of Furness | 471 c340 (Link to this contribution) Yes, there is. My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for International Development is taking t...
Steve Webb | 471 c340 (Link to this contribution) In response to an earlier intervention, the Secretary of State promised to come back to an earlier p...
Alan Duncan | 471 c341 (Link to this contribution) I am grateful to my right hon. Friend for his astute clarification—double Dutch it indeed is. Blind...
Steve Webb | 471 c341 (Link to this contribution) The hon. Member for Wolverhampton, South-West (Rob Marris) put his finger on it when he said that ev...
Alan Duncan | 471 c341-3 (Link to this contribution) That is a completely bogus somersault of an argument, which I do not accept. I shall come on to why ...
David Heathcoat-Amory | 471 c343 (Link to this contribution) Is my hon. Friend aware that he has the former Government on his side? They tabled an amendment in t...
Alan Duncan | 471 c343-4 (Link to this contribution) I am grateful to my right hon. Friend. As a former Minister, he knows the argument inside out. What ...
Rob Marris | 471 c344 (Link to this contribution) I suggest that the hon. Gentleman has only partly read out article 100, which becomes article 122 in...
Alan Duncan | 471 c344 (Link to this contribution) The hon. Gentleman completely misunderstands the treaty, because that is a supplementary, additional...
Patricia Hewitt | 471 c344 (Link to this contribution) Will the hon. Gentleman give way?
Alan Duncan | 471 c344 (Link to this contribution) Oh yes. I will happily give way to the right hon. Lady.
Patricia Hewitt | 471 c344 (Link to this contribution) I am grateful to the hon. Gentleman. I have been following his argument with great care and looking ...
Alan Duncan | 471 c346 (Link to this contribution) I give way to my hon. Friend the Chairman of the Select Committee on Business, Enterprise and Regula...
Peter Luff | 471 c346 (Link to this contribution) This is one of the central issues. With respect to my right hon. and learned Friend the Member for R...
Lord Clarke of Nottingham | 471 c345 (Link to this contribution) I find this debate very difficult. The Government are finding it difficult to explain what additiona...
Alan Duncan | 471 c345 (Link to this contribution) I beg to differ with my right hon. and learned Friend in this sense: the danger of such treaties is ...
Lord Deben | 471 c345 (Link to this contribution) If we worked more closely with our European neighbours, we could cut the emissions from our present ...
Alan Duncan | 471 c345 (Link to this contribution) I am all for the co-operation advocated by my right hon. Friend, but not for the transfer of power t...
David Heathcoat-Amory | 471 c346 (Link to this contribution) The debate so far has very much been about liberalisation, and as my hon. Friend has already said, s...
Speaker | 471 c346 (Link to this contribution) Order. That is a very long intervention.
Alan Duncan | 471 c346 (Link to this contribution) No doubt my hon. Friend's Committee will look into the matter further, but what he has said confirms...
Doug Henderson | 471 c347 (Link to this contribution) Does not the hon. Gentleman accept that the positive contribution of the European Union means that, ...
Alan Duncan | 471 c347 (Link to this contribution) Perhaps I am one of the few hon. Members who can say that I worked for many years in the energy mark...
Alan Duncan | 471 c347 (Link to this contribution) The hon. Gentleman wishes to accuse me of casuistry and I am happy for him to attempt to do so.
Alan Duncan | 471 c346 (Link to this contribution) I am grateful to my right hon. Friend. In order to move on, I say once again that one has to ask why...
Doug Henderson | 471 c346 (Link to this contribution) Will the hon. Gentleman give way?
Alan Duncan | 471 c346-7 (Link to this contribution) No, I am going to move on now. The Government have consistently claimed that the substantial differ...
Rob Marris | 471 c347-8 (Link to this contribution) Of course, it is casuistry when the hon. Gentleman talks about, on the one hand, the normal function...
Alan Duncan | 471 c348 (Link to this contribution) I do not accept that it is misleading. Energy markets are capable of far more than the hon. Gentlema...
Lord Lilley | 471 c348 (Link to this contribution) My hon. Friend, as an expert in energy, will recall that there was an energy crisis in Europe in 197...
Lord Hutton of Furness | 471 c334 (Link to this contribution) I strongly agree. It is one of the surprising ironies of political life that one occasionally finds...
Albert Owen | 471 c334 (Link to this contribution) The Secretary of State made a strong case about the UK influencing the European Union. If we have a ...
Lord Hutton of Furness | 471 c334 (Link to this contribution) I am sure that that is true. The events to which my hon. Friend the Member for Crosby (Mrs. Curtis-T...
Lord Hutton of Furness | 471 c333 (Link to this contribution) I must say that I thought it was a very good statement.
Speaker | 471 c333 (Link to this contribution) Order. The hon. Lady is making a statement, not an intervention.
Claire Curtis-Thomas | 471 c333 (Link to this contribution) My right hon. Friend will be aware that just over a year ago the Russians frustrated the supply of g...
Lord Hutton of Furness | 471 c333 (Link to this contribution) Yes, but then I really will make some progress.
Lord Hutton of Furness | 471 c338 (Link to this contribution) No. I know that my speech has been a long one, and perhaps the thread of it may not be as clear to t...
James Clappison | 471 c337-8 (Link to this contribution) Is the Secretary of State making the case that the long list of renewables projects he has just told...
Ian Taylor | 471 c338-9;471 c338 (Link to this contribution) I know that that competition is for post-combustion carbon capture, but I remind the Secretary of St...
Lord Hutton of Furness | 471 c336 (Link to this contribution) The energy companies are subjected to the full rigour of existing legislation against unfair and ant...
Mike Weir | 471 c336 (Link to this contribution) I am interested in what the Secretary of State is saying, and in theory he is correct. How, then, ca...
Lord Hutton of Furness | 471 c336-7 (Link to this contribution) The treaty provides a clearer legal basis for taking forward such work in the future. That is import...
Philip Hollobone | 471 c336 (Link to this contribution) The whole House would agree that liberalising Europe's energy market is a good thing, but it can be ...
Lord Hutton of Furness | 471 c335 (Link to this contribution) I give way to the hon. Gentleman, because I suspect that he would be one of those who support what M...
Lord Hutton of Furness | 471 c335 (Link to this contribution) I wish we had achieved all those objectives. It is not true to say that we have achieved them all. I...
Peter Luff | 471 c335 (Link to this contribution) Lady Thatcher achieved the changes necessary to secure a competitive market in Europe using the exis...
Richard Ottaway | 471 c332 (Link to this contribution) I do not know whether it has been put on the Secretary of State's desk yet, but is he aware of the r...
Lord Hutton of Furness | 471 c331-2 (Link to this contribution) Governments in the United Kingdom and around the world have entered into binding international agree...
Colin Burgon | 471 c331 (Link to this contribution) My right hon. Friend mentioned the nuclear power industry. I have grave reservations about the Gover...
Lord Hutton of Furness | 471 c333 (Link to this contribution) I agree strongly with my right hon. Friend, and I pay tribute to her work on energy policy. We hear ...
Lord Hutton of Furness | 471 c332-3 (Link to this contribution) I am grateful for the hon. Gentleman's support. He has taken a consistent view on all those matters,...
Patricia Hewitt | 471 c333 (Link to this contribution) The hon. Member for Croydon, South (Richard Ottaway) mentioned the interesting report from Professor...
Lord Hutton of Furness | 471 c332 (Link to this contribution) Obviously we treat the comments of such a distinguished person with a great deal of respect and inte...
Ian Taylor | 471 c332 (Link to this contribution) I do not want us to get bogged down in a rehash of the energy statement. This country needs new nucl...
Peter Luff | 471 c327-8 (Link to this contribution) My concern, too, is about paragraph 87 of the treaty—this new paragraph 1 of article 100—with its re...
Rob Marris | 471 c328 (Link to this contribution) Article 122 of the consolidated texts, which is, I think, the article 100 that is being discussed, s...
Lord Hutton of Furness | 471 c328 (Link to this contribution) I would prefer to make a little progress with my speech, but I shall ensure that the hon. Gentleman ...
Lord Hutton of Furness | 471 c330-1 (Link to this contribution) I am grateful to my hon. Friend for those questions, but we are not going to cap any source of energ...
Kelvin Hopkins | 471 c331 (Link to this contribution) I have strongly supported the emphasis that my right hon. Friend has placed on energy sovereignty at...
Lord Hutton of Furness | 471 c331 (Link to this contribution) The German Government are playing an active and supporting role in relation to the new proposals fro...
Lord Hutton of Furness | 471 c328-9 (Link to this contribution) May I say how much I appreciate my hon. Friend's support? I am grateful to him for providing a clari...
Bob Spink | 471 c330 (Link to this contribution) The Secretary of State is right to say that the UK generates only 2 per cent. of global carbon emiss...
Lord Hutton of Furness | 471 c330 (Link to this contribution) The question of energy prices is complicated. I do not think that any Minister in any Government in ...
Michael Clapham | 471 c330 (Link to this contribution) My right hon. Friend said that by 2020 we are likely to import half of all the gas that we use. He w...
Lord Hutton of Furness | 471 c323-4 (Link to this contribution) I shall come on to that point. The important thing about the treaty of Lisbon—I hope that this reass...
Lord Harper | 471 c323 (Link to this contribution) Given that the Secretary of State says that there is a compelling case, will he explain why the Gove...
Lord Hutton of Furness | 471 c323 (Link to this contribution) I beg to move,"That this House approves the Government's policy towards the Treaty of Lisbon in resp...
Speaker | 471 c323 (Link to this contribution) I inform the House that I have selected the amendment in the name of the right hon. Member for Richm...
David Heathcoat-Amory | 471 c326 (Link to this contribution) The Secretary of State says that this is a consolidation exercise, but he knows that there are two n...
Lord Hutton of Furness | 471 c326-7 (Link to this contribution) I think I understand the point that the right hon. Gentleman is trying to make. In this context, we ...
Lord Hutton of Furness | 471 c327 (Link to this contribution) Let me make it clear that I shall not give way at this moment in time. I want to come back to the po...
Lord Hutton of Furness | 471 c327 (Link to this contribution) I do not want to prolong the exchange unnecessarily. As the right hon. Gentleman can see, I have rat...
David Heathcoat-Amory | 471 c327 (Link to this contribution) The Secretary of State is missing the point. It is nothing to do with social solidarity; this is a s...
Lord Hutton of Furness | 471 c327 (Link to this contribution) I shall give way to the Chairman of the Select Committee on Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Refo...
Lord Harper | 471 c324 (Link to this contribution) May I come back to the Secretary of State on that?
Lord Hutton of Furness | 471 c326 (Link to this contribution) It is important to understand that this section of the treaty of Lisbon is essentially a consolidati...
Lord Harper | 471 c324 (Link to this contribution) Will the Secretary of State give way?
Lord Hutton of Furness | 471 c324 (Link to this contribution) I shall come on to energy liberalisation. It is right to point out that the Commission's current pro...
Baroness Stuart of Edgbaston | 471 c325 (Link to this contribution) Will the Secretary of State clear up some confusion? There seems to be an argument over the security...
Lord Hutton of Furness | 471 c324-5 (Link to this contribution) No. The hon. Gentleman has had his go. An enlarged but more effective European Union, because of th...
Lord Brady of Altrincham | 471 c326 (Link to this contribution) Obviously, we are here in an effort to understand the detail of article 176 and its implications for...
Lord Hutton of Furness | 471 c325-6 (Link to this contribution) I shall try to deal with that point, but I think that the criticism is coming from others, not from ...
Malcolm Wicks | 471 c400 (Link to this contribution) With respect, I cannot; time is of the essence. We face critical issues and we certainly need to lo...
Malcolm Wicks | 471 c400 (Link to this contribution) The hon. Gentleman says, ““So what?””, but he should understand the words that he says he has read—t...
Malcolm Wicks | 471 c399-400 (Link to this contribution) The hon. Gentleman says, ““Fine!”” Unanimity—more than even QMV—has broken out on this occasion. We...
Lord Lilley | 471 c398 (Link to this contribution) I am grateful to the Minister for giving way. I had not even heard his reference to my parentage and...
Malcolm Wicks | 471 c398-9 (Link to this contribution) I have apologised and I shall be careful about quoting former Prime Ministers in the future. We had...
Malcolm Wicks | 471 c398 (Link to this contribution) Of course I withdraw the remark. It was a reference to the history of humour in the House, but obvio...
Speaker | 471 c398 (Link to this contribution) Order. I shall not ask the Minister to withdraw that remark, but we should bear in mind that express...
Malcolm Wicks | 471 c397 (Link to this contribution) One of the ““illegitimates”” is trying to heckle me, I think. [Interruption.] The right hon. Member ...
Malcolm Wicks | 471 c397 (Link to this contribution) I, for one, have enjoyed the debate—
Malcolm Wicks | 471 c397 (Link to this contribution) I really enjoyed the debate, and it is a pity that it must end so soon. From time to time I felt tha...
Lord Lilley | 471 c397 (Link to this contribution) The arguments were the same as the Government used.
Lord Harper | 471 c394 (Link to this contribution) I shall of necessity be brief and raise just one or two points. The first is directly relevant to ar...
Charles Hendry | 471 c394-5 (Link to this contribution) This afternoon's debate has been frustrating in many ways, as has been made clear in various contrib...
Patricia Hewitt | 471 c395 (Link to this contribution) Will the hon. Gentleman give way?
Charles Hendry | 471 c395 (Link to this contribution) No. I hope that the right hon. Lady will understand, but she had half an hour and I have only 10 min...
Steve Webb | 471 c395 (Link to this contribution) There are too many to choose from.
Peter Luff | 471 c379-80 (Link to this contribution) I do not remember whether the hon. Gentleman was here before the speech of the right hon. Member for...
Jim Cunningham | 471 c378-9 (Link to this contribution) Does the hon. Gentleman agree that it is important that countries in Europe stand together as far as...
Peter Luff | 471 c380-1 (Link to this contribution) I would love to get into a lengthy debate about biofuels with my hon. Friend because he makes a powe...
Nicholas Winterton | 471 c380 (Link to this contribution) How would my hon. Friend respond to the EU's scientific experts, who said of biofuels, which could c...
Peter Luff | 471 c381-2 (Link to this contribution) We could have great fun with that. I could almost share my hon. Friend's addiction to the nuances an...
William Cash | 471 c381 (Link to this contribution) My hon. Friend fulfils the important function of chairing the Select Committee on Business, Enterpri...
Peter Luff | 471 c382-3 (Link to this contribution) I understand my hon. Friend's point. We could discuss pipelines, which are a very political subject,...
Lord Horam | 471 c382 (Link to this contribution) My hon. Friend has mentioned Russia, which is pertinent. Is he aware that Italy and the Italian comp...
Peter Luff | 471 c383-4 (Link to this contribution) The hon. Gentleman is absolutely right. That is the way in which the mechanism would work, and I ima...
Mike Weir | 471 c383 (Link to this contribution) The hon. Gentleman talked about the carbon trading initiative in the European Union. My understandin...
Peter Luff | 471 c378 (Link to this contribution) I was aware of that because my hon. Friend had drawn it to my attention earlier on. That development...
Ian Taylor | 471 c375 (Link to this contribution) More than that, there is the energy charter treaty which the Russians signed up to in 1994. They acc...
Patricia Hewitt | 471 c376 (Link to this contribution) The hon. Gentleman is certainly misunderstanding me—whether deliberately or not, I do not know. I th...
Speaker | 471 c375 (Link to this contribution) Order. The hon. Gentleman is aware that interventions should be brief. Many hon. Members are waiting...
Nicholas Winterton | 471 c375 (Link to this contribution) Is the right hon. Lady saying that European Union countries should not, as individual national Gover...
Patricia Hewitt | 471 c375 (Link to this contribution) The hon. Gentleman is right. The Russian Government's action in relation to Sakhalin II is a good ex...
William Cash | 471 c378 (Link to this contribution) I was interested in the exchange my hon. Friend had about the French and German position. Is he awar...
Peter Luff | 471 c378 (Link to this contribution) The hon. Gentleman is absolutely right. The question that the House must seriously address is whethe...
Mike Weir | 471 c378 (Link to this contribution) Is it not the crux of the new powers in the treaty the interlinking of the issues of energy security...
Peter Luff | 471 c376-8 (Link to this contribution) I regard this as having been a rather unsatisfactory debate. I managed largely to avoid the debates ...
Claire Curtis-Thomas | 471 c387 (Link to this contribution) In conclusion, I want to emphasise that although young people have a major role to play in combating...
Adam Holloway | 471 c388 (Link to this contribution) Does my hon. Friend agree that the treaty could have an effect on concerns about energy security, pa...
Ian Taylor | 471 c387-8 (Link to this contribution) I shall be brief, as I know that other Opposition Members wish to contribute, and in the interests o...
Ian Taylor | 471 c389-90 (Link to this contribution) A lot of very worrying negotiations are going on, particularly as they affect Lithuania and Poland. ...
Ian Taylor | 471 c388 (Link to this contribution) I disagree with my hon. Friend. The treaty may make it more likely that we do not lose that control....
William Cash | 471 c389 (Link to this contribution) Does my hon. Friend have any thoughts on the interaction between Russia and Germany, and, of course,...
Ian Taylor | 471 c389 (Link to this contribution) I shall, of course, give way to my long-term friend.
Mike Weir | 471 c384 (Link to this contribution) No, I was just going to point out that Scottish Power is already owned by Iberdrola of Spain.
Peter Luff | 471 c384 (Link to this contribution) Ah! The hon. Member for Angus might have some news on this matter.
Claire Curtis-Thomas | 471 c386-7 (Link to this contribution) I am dealing now with the promotion of energy efficiency, which is covered in article 197C. Some of ...
Speaker | 471 c386 (Link to this contribution) The hon. Gentleman is absolutely right in his remarks. Perhaps the hon. Lady will address her remark...
Lord Harper | 471 c386 (Link to this contribution) Further to that point of order, Madam Deputy Speaker. Surely it is the case that the motion before u...
Speaker | 471 c386 (Link to this contribution) We are not yet in Committee. I am occupying the Chair here rather than at the Committee Table, so I ...
Lord Lilley | 471 c385 (Link to this contribution) On a point of order, Madam Deputy Speaker. As I understand it, this is essentially a Committee stage...
Claire Curtis-Thomas | 471 c384-5 (Link to this contribution) It is a pleasure to follow the hon. Member for Mid-Worcestershire (Peter Luff). I might not agree wi...
Patricia Hewitt | 471 c369 (Link to this contribution) The hon. Gentleman has had several goes at making that point. I shall return to it later in my speec...
Lord Harper | 471 c369 (Link to this contribution) If, as we argue, the powers to liberalise energy markets are already available in the EU and what is...
Patricia Hewitt | 471 c369-70 (Link to this contribution) The hon. Gentleman is right, but I am afraid that there is a paradox—a real contradiction—at the hea...
Ian Taylor | 471 c369 (Link to this contribution) On the subject of competition, does the right hon. Lady agree that the key element is to reinforce t...
Lord Deben | 471 c367 (Link to this contribution) Do we now understand that the Liberal objection to nuclear power would be entirely removed if it wer...
Speaker | 471 c367 (Link to this contribution) Order. I do not want us to stray too far down that route.
Steve Webb | 471 c367-8 (Link to this contribution) For the record, Madam Deputy Speaker, I will say simply that we have a range of objections, of which...
Steve Webb | 471 c368 (Link to this contribution) I am just about to conclude. The policy objectives of tackling climate change and securing energy su...
Patricia Hewitt | 471 c368-9 (Link to this contribution) It is a pleasure to follow the hon. Member for Northavon (Steve Webb) and my hon. Friend the Member ...
Ed Davey | 471 c367 (Link to this contribution) Does my hon. Friend not agree with me that if the French taxpayer wants to subsidise electricity tha...
Steve Webb | 471 c367 (Link to this contribution) As the Minister knows, we operate in a Europe-wide energy market and we import nuclear electricity f...
Malcolm Wicks | 471 c366 (Link to this contribution) Given the Liberals' position of saying no to new nuclear in Britain, is the hon. Gentleman neverthel...
Steve Webb | 471 c367 (Link to this contribution) My hon. Friend has just given us the definition of the spirit of solidarity that we all want to see....
Steve Webb | 471 c365-6 (Link to this contribution) It is clear that the issue of energy, and the related issue of climate change, must be addressed at ...
Lord Lilley | 471 c366 (Link to this contribution) To paraphrase the hon. Gentleman's answer, there are no areas in which the Liberal Democrats would n...
Steve Webb | 471 c366 (Link to this contribution) The record will show that that is an absurd comment, given what I said. Article 176 also states tha...
James Clappison | 471 c366 (Link to this contribution) The hon. Gentleman makes the same case as was made yesterday by the hon. Member for Eastleigh (Chris...
Steve Webb | 471 c366 (Link to this contribution) There is a hierarchy of issues. Even the hon. Gentleman will accept that some policies are best dete...
Patricia Hewitt | 471 c375 (Link to this contribution) My hon. Friend makes an important point. There will always be a large number of bilateral and someti...
Mark Hendrick | 471 c374 (Link to this contribution) I agree with my right hon. Friend that the treaty will be effective in co-ordinating European energy...
Lord Brady of Altrincham | 471 c373 (Link to this contribution) Many of us have concerns about Gazprom's strength and reach in European markets. Would the right hon...
Patricia Hewitt | 471 c373-4 (Link to this contribution) No, I would not. Indeed, I am pretty certain that such a move would be unlawful under European Union...
Lord Brady of Altrincham | 471 c374 (Link to this contribution) We do have a degree of common ground on that point, if on nothing else relating to the treaty. Howev...
Patricia Hewitt | 471 c374 (Link to this contribution) My understanding is that any action by the Commission against Gazprom would have to be taken within ...
Claire Curtis-Thomas | 471 c372 (Link to this contribution) My right hon. Friend may have heard the sedentary intervention to the effect that renewables will be...
Patricia Hewitt | 471 c372 (Link to this contribution) I completely agree: that was the logic behind the introduction of the renewables obligation and its ...
Stuart Bell | 471 c372 (Link to this contribution) Before my right hon. Friend leaves the point, does she agree that the European Council of 8 and 9 Ma...
Patricia Hewitt | 471 c373 (Link to this contribution) My hon. Friend is absolutely right, and I am grateful to him for that clarification. He spoke earlie...
Patricia Hewitt | 471 c372 (Link to this contribution) The reality is that rising demand for energy, increased competition for supplies and climate change ...
Patricia Hewitt | 471 c372 (Link to this contribution) I have no doubt that we can achieve a substantial increase in that regard, especially through the us...
Patricia Hewitt | 471 c372 (Link to this contribution) That significant investment was not only in wind farms, but, as we have seen with the Severn barrage...
William Cash | 471 c372 (Link to this contribution) Is the right hon. lady implying that she is responsible for the ridiculous idea that we could get 15...
Patricia Hewitt | 471 c372 (Link to this contribution) I am afraid that the hon. Gentleman and I will never agree on that matter. I strongly support the Eu...
Patricia Hewitt | 471 c371 (Link to this contribution) The hon. Gentleman makes an important point. We will secure our goal of energy liberalisation as we ...
Nicholas Winterton | 471 c371 (Link to this contribution) The right hon. Lady seems to be placing great emphasis on the role of the EU in guaranteeing the sec...
Lord Harper | 471 c364 (Link to this contribution) Can the hon. Gentleman address the question that the Secretary of State did not deal with satisfacto...
Steve Webb | 471 c364 (Link to this contribution) It is a pleasure to follow the poetry and prose of the Second Church Estates Commissioner, the hon. ...
Stuart Bell | 471 c363-4 (Link to this contribution) I must tell the hon. Gentleman that the Union flag has more stars than the red flag had. Let us ret...
Steve Webb | 471 c365 (Link to this contribution) The treaty states explicitly that its role is to"““ensure the functioning of the energy market””." ...
Patricia Hewitt | 471 c365 (Link to this contribution) I strongly endorse the points that the hon. Gentleman makes. Beyond simply clarifying the existing p...
Mike Weir | 471 c365 (Link to this contribution) Does not that point illustrate the futility of much of this debate? Although the provisions that the...
Steve Webb | 471 c365 (Link to this contribution) I am grateful to the right hon. Lady for her intervention. My instincts, in all matters European, ar...
William Cash | 471 c356 (Link to this contribution) The hon. Gentleman cited Sir Winston Churchill on these matters. Churchill also said that we should ...
Mike Weir | 471 c371 (Link to this contribution) How is that market to be liberalised when some of the main players in the EU, particularly France an...
William Cash | 471 c359 (Link to this contribution) I am all in favour of co-operation in the EU, provided that it is proper co-operation. The problem i...
Lord Deben | 471 c359 (Link to this contribution) I negotiated for a long period in the EU, so will the hon. Gentleman accept from me that one is more...
Alan Duncan | 471 c345 (Link to this contribution) This is why people get so angry with politicians in this country: they do not come clean about what ...
Charles Hendry | 471 c396-7 (Link to this contribution) The hon. Gentleman says that there are too many to choose from, but he could not come up with one du...
Speaker | 471 c387 (Link to this contribution) Order. I must remind the hon. Lady that that is a subject for debate on day 8, rather than today.
Mike Weir | 471 c390-3 (Link to this contribution) It is fitting that energy forms part of our debate, given that the whole concept of the EU grew out ...
Peter Luff | 471 c384 (Link to this contribution) That is absolutely right. EDF is actually buying Iberdrola. It is a long and complicated chain of ev...
Steve Webb | 471 c364-5 (Link to this contribution) I am happy to address that point. When I intervened on the hon. Member for Rutland and Melton (Alan ...
William Cash | 471 c365 (Link to this contribution) The hon. Gentleman was right to concentrate, in his very first words, on the internal market. Howeve...
Mike Weir | 471 c324 (Link to this contribution) I am interested in what the Secretary of State says about the liberalisation of markets. Clearly, th...
Subjects
Competition EU law Energy Energy supply European Union Pollution control Treaties Treaty of Lisbon EU energy policy
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