My Lords, I am grateful for this further opportunity. I warmly thank the Minister and all distinguished colleagues for taking part. We are close to the 20th anniversary of our military intervention in the western Balkans, as I shall mention later. A secure and stable western Balkans means a secure...

My Lords, I am grateful for this further opportunity. I warmly thank the Minister and all distinguished colleagues for taking part. We are close to the 20th anniversary of our military intervention in the western Balkans, as I shall mention later. A secure and stable western Balkans means a secure...

My Lords, I have always, as has my party, supported the enlargement of the European Union to bring in the former socialist states of central and eastern Europe. It was right that in 1990, despite the Prime Minister’s mistakes in her approach to German unification, we were among the strongest...

My Lords, I have always, as has my party, supported the enlargement of the European Union to bring in the former socialist states of central and eastern Europe. It was right that in 1990, despite the Prime Minister’s mistakes in her approach to German unification, we were among the strongest...

My Lords, I congratulate the noble Earl on securing this debate. I realise that he has had to wait some time to reschedule it, but it turns out to be just the right moment. After all, this year we remember that it is 15 years since the big bang expansion...

My Lords, I congratulate the noble Earl on securing this debate. I realise that he has had to wait some time to reschedule it, but it turns out to be just the right moment. After all, this year we remember that it is 15 years since the big bang expansion...

My Lords, I congratulate the noble Earl on his initiative. I wish he had been with me some 15 years ago when I was ushered into the office of the then Greek Foreign Minister, Papandreou. On the wall was a large map of Europe. It was of course, as the...

My Lords, I congratulate the noble Earl on his initiative. I wish he had been with me some 15 years ago when I was ushered into the office of the then Greek Foreign Minister, Papandreou. On the wall was a large map of Europe. It was of course, as the...

My Lords, the answer to the question we are debating today—whether the recent EU-west Balkans summit in Sofia has

strengthened support for EU enlargement—can be provided quickly, clearly and shamefully. It is no. Support for EU enlargement since the Sofia summit has not been strengthened. If anything, it has been...

My Lords, the answer to the question we are debating today—whether the recent EU-west Balkans summit in Sofia has

strengthened support for EU enlargement—can be provided quickly, clearly and shamefully. It is no. Support for EU enlargement since the Sofia summit has not been strengthened. If anything, it has been...

My Lords, I am grateful to the noble Earl, Lord Sandwich, for bringing forward this timely debate. I am also relieved that I am only winding up for the Liberal Democrats and do not have to answer the debate, because it is one of the most depressing debates that we...

My Lords, I am grateful to the noble Earl, Lord Sandwich, for bringing forward this timely debate. I am also relieved that I am only winding up for the Liberal Democrats and do not have to answer the debate, because it is one of the most depressing debates that we...

My Lords, I thank the noble Earl for initiating this timely debate. He opened with the mantra: “A secure and stable western Balkans means a secure and stable Europe”. It is worth repeating because it is the crux of this debate. We have a shared interest in working together to...

My Lords, I thank the noble Earl for initiating this timely debate. He opened with the mantra: “A secure and stable western Balkans means a secure and stable Europe”. It is worth repeating because it is the crux of this debate. We have a shared interest in working together to...

My Lords, I am sorry for coughing, but the air conditioning is not doing my throat any good. I thank the noble Earl, Lord Sandwich, for tabling this debate and all noble Lords for their interesting contributions. I reassure the noble Baroness, Lady Smith, that it is actually a pleasure...

My Lords, I am sorry for coughing, but the air conditioning is not doing my throat any good. I thank the noble Earl, Lord Sandwich, for tabling this debate and all noble Lords for their interesting contributions. I reassure the noble Baroness, Lady Smith, that it is actually a pleasure...

Lords question for short debate on whether the recent European Union-Western Balkans summit in Sofia has strengthened their support for European Union enlargement now and after Brexit.

Lords question for short debate on whether the recent European Union-Western Balkans summit in Sofia has strengthened their support for European Union enlargement now and after Brexit.

My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary represented the UK at the General Affairs and External Relations Council in Brussels. The agenda items covered were as follows: General Affairs Preparation of the European Council on 11and 12 December 2008 The presidency said that the December European Council would concentrate on...

My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary represented the UK at the General Affairs and External Relations Council in Brussels. The agenda items covered were as follows: General Affairs Preparation of the European Council on 11and 12 December 2008 The presidency said that the December European Council would concentrate on...

My right honourable friend the Minister for Europe (Caroline Flint) has made the following Written Ministerial Statement. My right honourable friend the Foreign Secretary (David Miliband) represented the UK at the General Affairs and External Relations Council in Brussels. The agenda items covered were as follows: General Affairs Preparation of...

My right honourable friend the Minister for Europe (Caroline Flint) has made the following Written Ministerial Statement. My right honourable friend the Foreign Secretary (David Miliband) represented the UK at the General Affairs and External Relations Council in Brussels. The agenda items covered were as follows: General Affairs Preparation of...

Debate on a motion That this House has considered the matter of European affairs.

Debate on a motion That this House has considered the matter of European affairs.

Was the hon. Gentleman as disappointed as I was by the robust terms that the Foreign Secretary used about the long-term ambition to enter the eurozone, when the euro has so markedly failed on growth, on inflation, on unemployment and on its use as a reserve currency, compared with the...

Was the hon. Gentleman as disappointed as I was by the robust terms that the Foreign Secretary used about the long-term ambition to enter the eurozone, when the euro has so markedly failed on growth, on inflation, on unemployment and on its use as a reserve currency, compared with the...

I will do so briefly, as I have little time left.

I will do so briefly, as I have little time left.

Although I am tight for time, I am delighted that I took that very pertinent intervention. I shall not attempt to compete with my right hon. Friend the shadow Foreign Secretary in defending sterling, as there could be copyright issues there. All I will do is ask the Minister to...

Although I am tight for time, I am delighted that I took that very pertinent intervention. I shall not attempt to compete with my right hon. Friend the shadow Foreign Secretary in defending sterling, as there could be copyright issues there. All I will do is ask the Minister to...

I thank the House for a lively and interesting debate in which we heard 10 speeches from Back Benchers and three from Front Benchers. Apart from the hon. Member for Stone (Mr. Cash), every speaker seemed to be asking the European Union to do more rather than less. It has...

I thank the House for a lively and interesting debate in which we heard 10 speeches from Back Benchers and three from Front Benchers. Apart from the hon. Member for Stone (Mr. Cash), every speaker seemed to be asking the European Union to do more rather than less. It has...

Mr. Speaker, it would be utterly undemocratic of the Prime Minister to say that the Irish people should be allowed to vote twice while the British people have not been allowed to vote even once. Ultimately, democratic institutions can survive only with the consent of the people, and this is...

Mr. Speaker, it would be utterly undemocratic of the Prime Minister to say that the Irish people should be allowed to vote twice while the British people have not been allowed to vote even once. Ultimately, democratic institutions can survive only with the consent of the people, and this is...