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Ministerial statement on Tuesday, 31 January 2012, in the House of Commons, led by Lord Cameron of Chipping Norton.

Informal European Council

Statement on the outcome of the informal European Council held on 30 January 2012.

Secondary information

Type
Parliamentary proceeding
Reference
539 c677-703 
Session
2010-12
Department
Prime Minister
Chamber / Committee
House of Commons chamber
Proceeding contributions
Lord Cameron of Chipping Norton | 539 c703 (Link to this contribution) We did not discuss the cost of oil. As I have said, Saudi Arabian production is an important issue. ...
Robert Halfon | 539 c703 (Link to this contribution) Will my right hon. Friend say whether there were any discussions about the cost of oil and the geopo...
Show all contributions (165)
Lord Cameron of Chipping Norton | 539 c703 (Link to this contribution) It is important to remember that the financial services industry is not just the City of London; it ...
Alun Cairns | 539 c703 (Link to this contribution) More than 1 million people are employed in the financial services sector across the United Kingdom. ...
Lord Cameron of Chipping Norton | 539 c702 (Link to this contribution) The formal European Council on the single market, competitiveness and the economy is in March. This ...
Daniel Byles | 539 c702 (Link to this contribution) I strongly welcome the agreement to reduce regulatory burdens on SMEs and micro-enterprises. Althoug...
Lord Cameron of Chipping Norton | 539 c702-3 (Link to this contribution) This is an important point. In our trade with India and China over the past couple of years, we have...
Bob Blackman | 539 c702 (Link to this contribution) I welcome the commitments to bring down trade barriers and encourage trade outside the European Unio...
Speaker | 539 c703 (Link to this contribution) I thank the Prime Minister and the House for their succinctness, which enabled 72 Back Benchers to q...
Stephen Mosley | 539 c701 (Link to this contribution) I trust my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister to do what is right for Britain, but I do not necess...
Lord Cameron of Chipping Norton | 539 c701 (Link to this contribution) As I said, in pre-existing treaties there are ways in which the European institutions can be used by...
Chris Kelly | 539 c701 (Link to this contribution) I thank my right hon. Friend for his statement and for bringing greater clarity to Britain's positio...
Lord Cameron of Chipping Norton | 539 c701 (Link to this contribution) The guarantee that they will not damage UK interests is this. First, the treaty itself is clear that...
David Rutley | 539 c702 (Link to this contribution) Given that EU regulations account for 70% of the regulatory burden on businesses, will my right hon....
Lord Cameron of Chipping Norton | 539 c701-2 (Link to this contribution) My hon. Friend makes a very important point. If we look at which continents are going to grow over t...
Christopher Pincher | 539 c701 (Link to this contribution) The Prime Minister has made clear his determination to secure free trade agreements with, among othe...
Lord Cameron of Chipping Norton | 539 c701 (Link to this contribution) One of the best guarantees is the referendum lock, which we have in place in this country, which thi...
Lord Cameron of Chipping Norton | 539 c699 (Link to this contribution) My hon. Friend is right to raise this matter. Clearly the Russians have taken a different view up to...
Lord Cameron of Chipping Norton | 539 c700 (Link to this contribution) I am grateful to my hon. Friend. I think that Britain is better off outside the eurozone, but clearl...
Geoffrey Clifton-Brown | 539 c699-700 (Link to this contribution) Is not my right hon. Friend's strategy of rejecting the fiscal union treaty, which would not be in B...
Lord Cameron of Chipping Norton | 539 c700 (Link to this contribution) We cannot be sucked into this treaty because we are out of it, and we can only go into it if all 27—...
Andrew Percy | 539 c700 (Link to this contribution) The good folk of Brigg and Goole are under no illusions about how hopelessly out of touch this House...
Lord Cameron of Chipping Norton | 539 c700 (Link to this contribution) I am just relieved that my hon. Friend did not ask me what happens if I am run over by a bus, which ...
Peter Bone | 539 c700 (Link to this contribution) I am happy to report that Mrs Bone was singing in the bath yesterday, congratulating the Prime Minis...
Lord Cameron of Chipping Norton | 539 c700 (Link to this contribution) My hon. Friend is right to raise that issue. The key part of the sanctions is the oil embargo, which...
James Morris | 539 c700 (Link to this contribution) I welcome the Council's statement on Iran, but does the Prime Minister agree that the sanctions that...
David Nuttall | 539 c701 (Link to this contribution) My constituents warmly welcome the Prime Minister's determination to protect our interests in Europe...
Lord Cameron of Chipping Norton | 539 c699 (Link to this contribution) It is important to try to look at some of the existing stock of regulations, but I think that one of...
Rehman Chishti | 539 c699 (Link to this contribution) I very much welcome the Prime Minister's statement. My question relates to the discussions held on S...
Lord Cameron of Chipping Norton | 539 c699 (Link to this contribution) My hon. Friend is entirely right, and I know that he has a lot of experience in this sphere. We are ...
Lord Barwell | 539 c699 (Link to this contribution) I welcome what the Prime Minister said about applying a growth test to everything that the EU does i...
Lord Cameron of Chipping Norton | 539 c699 (Link to this contribution) My hon. Friend makes an important point. Of course the eurozone countries want to see rules on fisca...
Lord Johnson of Marylebone | 539 c699 (Link to this contribution) I welcome the Prime Minister's commitment to trade deals with fast-growing parts of the world. An am...
Lord Cameron of Chipping Norton | 539 c698 (Link to this contribution) My hon. Friend is entirely right. As I have said, last night's meeting proved that it is perfectly p...
Margot James | 539 c698 (Link to this contribution) I welcome the fact that the agreement places no new obligations on the UK, but is it not the case th...
Lord Cameron of Chipping Norton | 539 c698 (Link to this contribution) The point is that the countries that have signed the agreement want to fold it into the EU. That can...
Neil Carmichael | 539 c698 (Link to this contribution) I welcome the statement because of its focus on competition, the single market, and energy. It is gr...
Philip Hollobone | 539 c698 (Link to this contribution) The German Chancellor was on the radio this morning saying that she firmly expected the fiscal union...
Lord Cameron of Chipping Norton | 539 c698 (Link to this contribution) I think it is briefing note N, and there is plenty in it; it is full. I think the best one in briefi...
Lord Cameron of Chipping Norton | 539 c696 (Link to this contribution) We did not discuss that specific matter. It is entirely right and worth while to try to bring region...
Mark Durkan | 539 c696 (Link to this contribution) The Prime Minister has highlighted a growth test to ensure that all actions at European Union level ...
Lord Cameron of Chipping Norton | 539 c696 (Link to this contribution) The hon. Gentleman is in for a big surprise. When no treaty arrives in the House of Commons, he will...
Martin Horwood | 539 c696 (Link to this contribution) On Iran, did the European summit discuss the planned regional conference on non-proliferation of wea...
Lord Cameron of Chipping Norton | 539 c696 (Link to this contribution) The specific foreign policy stances taken by the EU are all agreed by unanimity, which proves that a...
Lord Brennan of Canton | 539 c696 (Link to this contribution) Does the Prime Minister realise that the more he denies that this is effectively a European treaty, ...
Ben Gummer | 539 c696 (Link to this contribution) On the radio today, the shadow Foreign Secretary claimed that Britain had lost influence in Europe. ...
Tony Baldry | 539 c695 (Link to this contribution) The UK is fortunate in having many excellent professional bodies—engineers, architects, surveyors, l...
Lord Cameron of Chipping Norton | 539 c695 (Link to this contribution) Let me explain: there are uses of the EU institutions set out in previous treaties—mostly put throug...
Jonathan Ashworth | 539 c695 (Link to this contribution) Will the Prime Minister explain how he will take action, as he says, if this non-EU treaty under whi...
Lord Cameron of Chipping Norton | 539 c697-8 (Link to this contribution) The point that I would make gently to my friend Nicolas Sarkozy is that, if one looks at the figures...
Andrew Bridgen | 539 c698 (Link to this contribution) The overwhelming majority of my constituents, and indeed the country, already believe that the Europ...
Lord Cameron of Chipping Norton | 539 c697 (Link to this contribution) We have to plan for all eventualities, but I would make two points. As I have said, I think we have ...
Christopher Chope | 539 c697 (Link to this contribution) Will my right hon. Friend expand on the basis on which we were able to find common cause with our go...
Lord Cameron of Chipping Norton | 539 c697 (Link to this contribution) The point came when different countries had to decide whether they wanted to sign up to the treaty o...
Nadhim Zahawi | 539 c697 (Link to this contribution) What message does my right hon. Friend have for the great manufacturers of this country, such as DCS...
Speaker | 539 c697 (Link to this contribution) Order. There is still a very significant number of colleagues seeking to get in. I would like to try...
Lord Cameron of Chipping Norton | 539 c696-7 (Link to this contribution) If the hon. Gentleman is so against the treaty, I am surprised that he is not praising me for making...
Julian Brazier | 539 c697 (Link to this contribution) My right hon. Friend the Prime Minister outlined in his speech at the Council several criteria neede...
William Bain | 539 c693 (Link to this contribution) Figures released by the EU today reveal that one in 10 people in the EU is out of work, including 16...
Julian Lewis | 539 c694 (Link to this contribution) Does the Prime Minister agree that the question of European bail-outs would be much less likely to a...
Lord Cameron of Chipping Norton | 539 c694 (Link to this contribution) Thank you very much—you are so charitable. On unemployment, the hon. Member for Glasgow North East ...
Lord Cameron of Chipping Norton | 539 c693 (Link to this contribution) I always think it is the first sign of madness for a politician to say, ““Please go and read one of ...
Graham Stringer | 539 c693 (Link to this contribution) The Prime Minister was right to veto the treaty because it was against this country's interests. The...
Lord Cameron of Chipping Norton | 539 c693 (Link to this contribution) I am grateful to the hon. Gentleman, as at least we have at last got a clear Labour view. Clearly he...
Anne Main | 539 c692 (Link to this contribution) In December, the Minister for Europe said in response to my right hon. Friend the Member for Wokingh...
Lord Cameron of Chipping Norton | 539 c693 (Link to this contribution) That is not my concern; instead, my concern is that although there are uses of the EU institutions t...
Jessica Lee | 539 c693 (Link to this contribution) I welcome the reduction in regulation on small and medium-sized enterprises set out in the statement...
Lord Cameron of Chipping Norton | 539 c693 (Link to this contribution) That is absolutely our priority. The more we can get the single market to work, the better it will b...
Lord Cameron of Chipping Norton | 539 c695 (Link to this contribution) Horse passports—that was a good one. I do not think we eat horses in this country, but the previous ...
Jim Sheridan | 539 c695 (Link to this contribution) Will the Prime Minister share with the House and the country what influence, if any, his Back-Bench ...
Lord Cameron of Chipping Norton | 539 c695 (Link to this contribution) The point is this: we should make sure that NATO is the cornerstone of our defence and we should be ...
Penny Mordaunt | 539 c695 (Link to this contribution) I congratulate the Prime Minister on defending Britain's interests, and I note what he says about Ir...
Lord Cameron of Chipping Norton | 539 c694 (Link to this contribution) We have a very strong view in this country that we should keep our own currency, but that does not l...
Bill Esterson | 539 c694 (Link to this contribution) I still do not know whether the Prime Minister thinks that he did not sign a treaty or just an agree...
Lord Cameron of Chipping Norton | 539 c694 (Link to this contribution) In Europe, we have a plan for jobs and growth, which is called completing the single market. The que...
George Eustice | 539 c694 (Link to this contribution) Like many others, I welcome the commitment to cut the burden of regulation, but does the Prime Minis...
Lord Cameron of Chipping Norton | 539 c694 (Link to this contribution) My hon. Friend makes a very good point. There have been occasions on which EU directives have been a...
Edward Leigh | 539 c690 (Link to this contribution) The Prime Minister said this afternoon that, if necessary, we would take legal action. What would tr...
Lord Cameron of Chipping Norton | 539 c690 (Link to this contribution) As the hon. Gentleman knows, there are arrangements for these things. Actually, the Government have ...
Lord Soames of Fletching | 539 c690 (Link to this contribution) It is clear that the Prime Minister has considerable support within Europe in seeking a more adaptab...
Lord Cameron of Chipping Norton | 539 c690 (Link to this contribution) What last night's meeting proved is that there is a very strong and growing consensus for action aro...
Lord Cameron of Chipping Norton | 539 c690 (Link to this contribution) The only way I can answer that question is to say that the Greeks have to decide themselves whether ...
Lord Cameron of Chipping Norton | 539 c689 (Link to this contribution) Our answer is very clear. We were not involved in the Greek bail-out, and we will not be involved in...
Barry Gardiner | 539 c689 (Link to this contribution) The Prime Minister says that his veto has left the European Commission in the room to protect agains...
Lord Cameron of Chipping Norton | 539 c689 (Link to this contribution) The point the hon. Gentleman has clearly not understood is that the treaty itself sets out that the ...
Lord Cameron of Chipping Norton | 539 c692 (Link to this contribution) I am grateful to my hon. Friend for his comments, and I will certainly look at the report he mention...
Steve Baker | 539 c691-2 (Link to this contribution) May I draw my right hon. Friend's attention to the initiative for a free and prosperous Europe which...
Lord Cameron of Chipping Norton | 539 c692 (Link to this contribution) I am afraid I do not agree with the hon. Gentleman for this—reasonable, I hope—reason: Iran has been...
Jeremy Corbyn | 539 c692 (Link to this contribution) When the Ministers discussed the situation in Iran, was any concern expressed about the bombings and...
Lord Cameron of Chipping Norton | 539 c691 (Link to this contribution) I listened carefully to my hon. Friend's question, and indeed I listened to him carefully when he ma...
Wayne David | 539 c691 (Link to this contribution) Will the Prime Minister explain the difference between a veto and an opt-out?
Lord Cameron of Chipping Norton | 539 c691 (Link to this contribution) There is a very important difference. Let us consider what happened with Maastricht, for instance. T...
Lord Cameron of Chipping Norton | 539 c691 (Link to this contribution) I think that the conditions are very straightforward. As I have said, we want those institutions to ...
Nicholas Dakin | 539 c691 (Link to this contribution) What, in terms of content, is not in the EU treaty as a result of the Prime Minister's not signing i...
Lord Cameron of Chipping Norton | 539 c691 (Link to this contribution) I do not know whether the hon. Gentleman has spotted this yet, but there is not an EU treaty.
John Baron | 539 c691 (Link to this contribution) The Prime Minister will be aware that the latest report on Iran by the International Atomic Energy A...
Lord Cameron of Chipping Norton | 539 c684 (Link to this contribution) The point is that, as my hon. Friend knows, there are organisations within the EU, such as the euroz...
Lord Cameron of Chipping Norton | 539 c682 (Link to this contribution) It is not an EU treaty, because it does not amend EU law; it is not a treaty within all of the treat...
Richard Ottaway | 539 c683 (Link to this contribution) May I welcome the Prime Minister's confirmation that there is no provision in the treaty that allows...
Lord Cameron of Chipping Norton | 539 c683 (Link to this contribution) Let me explain again, because I know the hon. Gentleman takes great interest in European affairs. Th...
Chris Bryant | 539 c683 (Link to this contribution) So, basically, the Prime Minister was afraid that if he went to the European Court of Justice and as...
Lord Cameron of Chipping Norton | 539 c683 (Link to this contribution) To answer my hon. Friend's second question first, obviously this treaty cannot be folded back into t...
Bernard Jenkin | 539 c684 (Link to this contribution) Will the Prime Minister say something about the nature of the EU of which we are now a member, given...
Lord Cameron of Chipping Norton | 539 c684 (Link to this contribution) The Chancellor said that we are founder members of the IMF and strong supporters of it as an institu...
Denis MacShane | 539 c683 (Link to this contribution) Will the Prime Minister confirm what I think the Chancellor has said over the past couple of days, w...
Lord Cameron of Chipping Norton | 539 c683 (Link to this contribution) One does not need to look any further than the European Commission itself, which actually carried ou...
William Cash | 539 c682-3 (Link to this contribution) My right hon. Friend will know that the European Scrutiny Committee is making an inquiry into the na...
Ed Miliband | 539 c679-80 (Link to this contribution) I thank the Prime Minister for his statement and associate myself with his remarks about Iran, Syria...
Speaker | 539 c680 (Link to this contribution) Order. I apologise for interrupting the Leader of the Opposition. I exhorted the Opposition Benches ...
Ed Miliband | 539 c680 (Link to this contribution) Instead of constructing phantom vetoes, the Prime Minister should have been getting a solution to th...
Speaker | 539 c681 (Link to this contribution) Order. Mr Ellis, you were apologising to me yesterday for losing your cool. You should not be a reci...
Lord Cameron of Chipping Norton | 539 c681 (Link to this contribution) I tell you what: I will deal with my Back Benchers, you deal with yours. [Interruption.]
Speaker | 539 c681 (Link to this contribution) Order. The House must now calm itself. With all that gesticulation and hand-waving from the shadow C...
Lord Cameron of Chipping Norton | 539 c681 (Link to this contribution) Thank you, Mr Speaker. Let me say to the Leader of the Opposition that there are two problems with ...
Speaker | 539 c682 (Link to this contribution) Order. There is enormous interest and I am keen to accommodate it. What is required is brevity, of w...
Lord Cameron of Chipping Norton | 539 c682 (Link to this contribution) My right hon. and learned Friend is entirely right. We must ask a simple question: what is in the in...
Lord Campbell of Pittenweem | 539 c682 (Link to this contribution) We will see whether your prediction is justified, Mr Speaker. I begin by praising the pragmatism of...
Lord Cameron of Chipping Norton | 539 c678-9 (Link to this contribution) The principle that the EU institutions should act only with the explicit authorisation of all member...
Speaker | 539 c678 (Link to this contribution) Order. There is a fine line between jollity and hysteria. I fear that the hon. Member for Rhondda (C...
Lord Cameron of Chipping Norton | 539 c677-8 (Link to this contribution) With permission, Mr Speaker, I should like to make a statement on yesterday's informal European Coun...
Ben Bradshaw | 539 c687 (Link to this contribution) Given that Germany grew 3% last year, and has its lowest unemployment for 20 years and more manufact...
Andrea Leadsom | 539 c687 (Link to this contribution) Can the Prime Minister reassure the House that in exercising his veto, exhorting the eurozone to sor...
Lord Cameron of Chipping Norton | 539 c687 (Link to this contribution) My hon. Friend is right. At the end of the day, we have to decide whether we are going to agree to t...
Baroness Hoey | 539 c686-7 (Link to this contribution) How does the Prime Minister feel about attending a European Council of a supposedly democratic EU wh...
Lord Cameron of Chipping Norton | 539 c687 (Link to this contribution) The difference between the situation in this country, where we face great economic challenges, and c...
David TC Davies | 539 c686 (Link to this contribution) We have learned today that in Britain's national interest the Prime Minister is prepared to use a ve...
Lord Cameron of Chipping Norton | 539 c686 (Link to this contribution) It is going to be interesting. We are now going to have a period of days when the Leader of the Oppo...
Keith Vaz | 539 c686 (Link to this contribution) The position taken on Iran at the summit was clearly the right one. However, as the Prime Minister k...
Lord Cameron of Chipping Norton | 539 c686 (Link to this contribution) The right hon. Gentleman asks an important question. Perhaps I can write to him about that. What I w...
Harriett Baldwin | 539 c686 (Link to this contribution) The Prime Minister has referred to the five European countries that are now less competitive than Ir...
Lord Cameron of Chipping Norton | 539 c686 (Link to this contribution) My hon. Friend is entirely right to raise the issue in this way. We have tended in the past in the E...
Lord Cameron of Chipping Norton | 539 c689 (Link to this contribution) I obviously remember very well the exchange rate mechanism experience. Indeed, it is that experience...
Richard Shepherd | 539 c689 (Link to this contribution) The Prime Minister will well remember that nearly 20 years ago, the United Kingdom, Italy, Spain and...
Lord Cameron of Chipping Norton | 539 c689 (Link to this contribution) The hon. Gentleman seems to be having his cake and eating it. On the one hand, he says that the trea...
Lord Cameron of Chipping Norton | 539 c688 (Link to this contribution) I tried to set out what I think is the sensible view in my speech to the Davos summit. Look, I do un...
Robert Buckland | 539 c688 (Link to this contribution) I was encouraged to see reference in the communiqué to this year being a decisive year for free trad...
Lord Cameron of Chipping Norton | 539 c688 (Link to this contribution) I will certainly do that. I have discussed this issue with the Japanese Prime Minister and with the ...
Stuart Bell | 539 c688 (Link to this contribution) The Prime Minister has talked about competitiveness, growth and jobs, but he skated over the fiscal ...
Lord Cameron of Chipping Norton | 539 c687 (Link to this contribution) One of the points about Germany is that it did not spend the last decade making its economy unbalanc...
Mark Reckless | 539 c687 (Link to this contribution) Will the Prime Minister explain what it is that he has vetoed?
Lord Cameron of Chipping Norton | 539 c688 (Link to this contribution) I have vetoed Britain's involvement in a treaty. As a result, it is not an EU treaty. We had in fron...
Lord Dodds of Duncairn | 539 c688 (Link to this contribution) What indications did the Prime Minister receive from the German Government that if they want their p...
Lord Cameron of Chipping Norton | 539 c685 (Link to this contribution) I think the right hon. Gentleman is entirely right, and the refreshing thing about this Council is h...
Dennis Skinner | 539 c685-6 (Link to this contribution) Is not the truth of the matter that throughout 2011 the Prime Minister marched his troops to the top...
Lord Cameron of Chipping Norton | 539 c686 (Link to this contribution) I always wonder whether practice is going to make perfect with the hon. Gentleman. At least he has b...
Baroness Stuart of Edgbaston | 539 c684 (Link to this contribution) The Greek writer Aristophanes gave us the concept of cloud cuckoo land. I wonder whether some Europe...
Lord Cameron of Chipping Norton | 539 c684 (Link to this contribution) The hon. Lady makes a serious point. I have read the agreement that these countries have come to, an...
Lord Tyrie | 539 c684 (Link to this contribution) The eurozone crisis has now become a major global risk, but the member countries seem wholly incapab...
Lord Cameron of Chipping Norton | 539 c685 (Link to this contribution) There was not a discussion about IMF resources at the informal EU Council. To be fair to eurozone me...
Mike Gapes | 539 c685 (Link to this contribution) The Prime Minister said that he will watch closely and, if necessary, take action, including legal a...
Lord Cameron of Chipping Norton | 539 c685 (Link to this contribution) I do not think that the hon. Gentleman understands how these institutions work. The point is simple:...
Simon Hughes | 539 c685 (Link to this contribution) After what was clearly a much more successful and satisfactory summit than the one in December—the P...
Andrew Selous | 539 c702 (Link to this contribution) The Prime Minister is to be congratulated on what he and others achieved with the sanctions on Iran....
Lord Cameron of Chipping Norton | 539 c702 (Link to this contribution) My hon. Friend is right to raise that issue. There are two things that we need to do. First, we must...
Lord Cameron of Chipping Norton | 539 c695 (Link to this contribution) I think the Conservative party is entirely united in thinking that Britain is not right to sign this...
Stewart Hosie | 539 c690 (Link to this contribution) The Joint Ministerial Committee memorandum of understanding on EU policy says that Ministers and off...
Kelvin Hopkins | 539 c690 (Link to this contribution) In the last few days, the Greek Government have said that they refuse to have their economic governa...
Sarah Newton | 539 c689 (Link to this contribution) My constituents really appreciate the Prime Minister's straight talking on this issue, so will he an...
Jack Straw | 539 c682 (Link to this contribution) Every single article bar one of the treaty, which I have read, refers to institutions of the Europea...
Lord Cameron of Chipping Norton | 539 c681-2 (Link to this contribution) Thank you, Mr Speaker. We know why the Opposition Benches are so depleted—Opposition Members have be...
Lord Cameron of Chipping Norton | 539 c702 (Link to this contribution) My hon. Friend makes an important point. This is a breakthrough in Europe. We have been arguing for ...
Lord Cameron of Chipping Norton | 539 c695-6 (Link to this contribution) My hon. Friend is entirely right to raise that big gap in the single market. We passed the Single Eu...
Subjects
Czechia Economic situation EU external trade Economic and monetary union EU institutions Greece Treaties Myanmar European Council Iran Syria EU external relations
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