My Lords, it is customary in these debates to applaud their timeliness. I am afraid, unfortunately, that this debate is not timely. It is behind time by quite a long way. It should not have taken the Government three months, as opposed to the regulation two months, to reply to...

My Lords, it is customary in these debates to applaud their timeliness. I am afraid, unfortunately, that this debate is not timely. It is behind time by quite a long way. It should not have taken the Government three months, as opposed to the regulation two months, to reply to...

If I may say so, that is an addition to but not a substitute for the recommendation we made. It is important, when one of the sub-committees of your Lordships’ House is preparing a report on a particular issue, that it takes evidence from the commissioner responsible at that time,...

If I may say so, that is an addition to but not a substitute for the recommendation we made. It is important, when one of the sub-committees of your Lordships’ House is preparing a report on a particular issue, that it takes evidence from the commissioner responsible at that time,...

My Lords, annual reports such as the one we are debating today are all too easily dismissed as routine matters going over

familiar ground. In this case at least, that would be a considerable error because the report we are considering reveals that your Lordships’ EU Select Committee has been...

My Lords, annual reports such as the one we are debating today are all too easily dismissed as routine matters going over

familiar ground. In this case at least, that would be a considerable error because the report we are considering reveals that your Lordships’ EU Select Committee has been...

Before the Minister sits down, I understand why he is in some difficulty in addressing the point that I raised about the claim that national parliaments are “the basis” for real legitimacy in the European Council, not in the European Union, not “a basis” for it. Of course he cannot...

Before the Minister sits down, I understand why he is in some difficulty in addressing the point that I raised about the claim that national parliaments are “the basis” for real legitimacy in the European Council, not in the European Union, not “a basis” for it. Of course he cannot...

I would like to save the Minister from sending an unnecessary letter in the Recess. This is not about statistics. I have said it an awful lot of times. Others, including the noble Lord, Lord MacGregor, in the debate that he initiated, also said it. It is about government policy...

I would like to save the Minister from sending an unnecessary letter in the Recess. This is not about statistics. I have said it an awful lot of times. Others, including the noble Lord, Lord MacGregor, in the debate that he initiated, also said it. It is about government policy...

My Lords, I am sorry to interrupt again, but I have to tell the noble Lord that the Select Committee did, in fact, recommend that the Government opt in to the data protection directive currently under negotiation in Brussels. Mirabile dictum, the Government did opt in.

My Lords, I am sorry to interrupt again, but I have to tell the noble Lord that the Select Committee did, in fact, recommend that the Government opt in to the data protection directive currently under negotiation in Brussels. Mirabile dictum, the Government did opt in.

My Lords, this is a very good and very necessary time for the House to debate the work of its EU Select Committee during the previous Session. Whatever view one takes of the future role of the EU, and of the UK’s role within it, it is surely a debate...

My Lords, this is a very good and very necessary time for the House to debate the work of its EU Select Committee during the previous Session. Whatever view one takes of the future role of the EU, and of the UK’s role within it, it is surely a debate...

My Lords, it would be idle to pretend that Britain’s always turbulent relationship with the other member states of the EU is not currently going through a more than usually troubled phase, and for that reason, I thank the noble Lord, Lord Dykes, for his initiative. The misguided attempt to...

My Lords, it would be idle to pretend that Britain’s always turbulent relationship with the other member states of the EU is not currently going through a more than usually troubled phase, and for that reason, I thank the noble Lord, Lord Dykes, for his initiative. The misguided attempt to...

My Lords, 2012 has not been a good year for the European Union and it has not been a good year either for Britain in Europe. To deny either of those two pretty evident propositions is to delude oneself and to make the search for remedies even more difficult than...

My Lords, 2012 has not been a good year for the European Union and it has not been a good year either for Britain in Europe. To deny either of those two pretty evident propositions is to delude oneself and to make the search for remedies even more difficult than...

My Lords, I believe that this may be the first occasion on which the House has debated the work of its EU Select Committee over the previous three years. Whether it is or not, it is surely a debate worth having. I welcome the participation in it of our two...

My Lords, I believe that this may be the first occasion on which the House has debated the work of its EU Select Committee over the previous three years. Whether it is or not, it is surely a debate worth having. I welcome the participation in it of our two...

Just to enlighten the noble Lord, as he has effectively asked a question, the call for evidence does address the Irish dimension. It will, of course, be a matter for the Irish Government to decide whether or not to offer evidence. I do not think that we should go around...

Just to enlighten the noble Lord, as he has effectively asked a question, the call for evidence does address the Irish dimension. It will, of course, be a matter for the Irish Government to decide whether or not to offer evidence. I do not think that we should go around...

I am very grateful to the noble Lord for having, after two and a half months, actually managed to extract an answer to some questions that I have been asking. The answer is, alas, unconvincing, because it does not relate to the text of the treaty that is going to...

I am very grateful to the noble Lord for having, after two and a half months, actually managed to extract an answer to some questions that I have been asking. The answer is, alas, unconvincing, because it does not relate to the text of the treaty that is going to...

My Lords, it is a pleasure to follow the noble Lord, Lord Judd. We are both on the same committee and discuss many EU matters in great amity. However, I have to say that I do not follow him on the financial transaction tax. I make no apologies for focusing...

My Lords, it is a pleasure to follow the noble Lord, Lord Judd. We are both on the same committee and discuss many EU matters in great amity. However, I have to say that I do not follow him on the financial transaction tax. I make no apologies for focusing...

I am delighted that the noble Lord says that they are like others; the noble Lord who leads his party has often suggested that drawing a pension from the European Union makes you different from others. I will treasure that remark. I hope that they will have a successful influence...

I am delighted that the noble Lord says that they are like others; the noble Lord who leads his party has often suggested that drawing a pension from the European Union makes you different from others. I will treasure that remark. I hope that they will have a successful influence...

My Lords, I shall intervene briefly in this debate on what might at first seem a rather dry and process-driven report, because it covers matters of considerable underlying importance for this House’s scrutiny of draft EU legislation. The entry into force at the beginning of last month of the Lisbon...

My Lords, I shall intervene briefly in this debate on what might at first seem a rather dry and process-driven report, because it covers matters of considerable underlying importance for this House’s scrutiny of draft EU legislation. The entry into force at the beginning of last month of the Lisbon...

I suggest that this is fairly simple, and that the Minister might, with the Minister for Europe, come to the simple conclusion that if the overriding rule is that the EU Select Committee and its sub-committees are informed of any document or any development that has policy implications, presumably that...

I suggest that this is fairly simple, and that the Minister might, with the Minister for Europe, come to the simple conclusion that if the overriding rule is that the EU Select Committee and its sub-committees are informed of any document or any development that has policy implications, presumably that...

It is right that we should have the opportunity again to debate the important issue of the EU’s relations with Russia, even quite soon after our previous debate. Much is happening in that relationship and not all of it is for the good. The hard fact is that the European...

It is right that we should have the opportunity again to debate the important issue of the EU’s relations with Russia, even quite soon after our previous debate. Much is happening in that relationship and not all of it is for the good. The hard fact is that the European...

My Lords, I make no apology for devoting a substantial part of my contribution to this debate to the EU reform treaty, which this House will be called on to clear for ratification in the coming months. Not only is this legislation an important element of the legislative programme before...

My Lords, I make no apology for devoting a substantial part of my contribution to this debate to the EU reform treaty, which this House will be called on to clear for ratification in the coming months. Not only is this legislation an important element of the legislative programme before...

My Lords, will the noble Lord address the successful case of targeted sanctions against Libya, which he did not mention in all the cases to which he referred where things had not worked?

My Lords, will the noble Lord address the successful case of targeted sanctions against Libya, which he did not mention in all the cases to which he referred where things had not worked?

My Lords, this report and debate are very welcome. The impact of economic sanctions is an important and highly topical subject. As the report points out, since the end of the Cold War, the international community as a whole, acting under the charter of the United Nations, has had increasing...

My Lords, this report and debate are very welcome. The impact of economic sanctions is an important and highly topical subject. As the report points out, since the end of the Cold War, the international community as a whole, acting under the charter of the United Nations, has had increasing...