European Council

Debate between Lord Hill of Oareford and Lord Bishop of Worcester

Monday 11th February 2013 Lords Chamber

[Lord Hill of Oareford]

I shall do my best to calm the House down, my Lords. I noticed that in the space of the comments of the noble Lord, Lord Pearson, he went from expressing concern about causing my right honourable friend the Prime Minister an anxiety attack by praising him, to rescinding that praise by the end.

On the cost to the British taxpayer, clearly, so far as the negotiation was concerned, the fact that the Prime Minister managed to end up with a credit card limit that was so many billions of euros lower than had been initially proposed is a cause of some modest satisfaction to the British taxpayer. That cost would have been lower if a chunk of our rebate had not unfortunately been surrendered in those negotiations in 2005 in the hope, as I understand it, that there would then be a deal on the CAP: a deal that has not been forthcoming. That explains why, although the overall figures are considerably lower—and they do represent a real-terms cut, which is what everyone wanted—the cost to the taxpayer is nevertheless higher than one would like.

On the European Parliament, like the noble Lord I have read some of the speculation there has been about that. The European Parliament has a role to play in approving the budget, but our position is that that agreement was struck by the 27 member states that are responsible for finding the money. We believe that some of the situations that the noble Lord has invited me to speculate about will not come to pass, but we need to see what happens. I will not be drawn into his alluring hypothetical situations.

[The Lord Bishop of Worcester]

My Lords, we on these Benches wish to join in paying tribute to His Holiness the Pope following his announcement. We give thanks for the outstanding contribution that he has made to the common good as well as to the welfare of the church during a long and distinguished ministry. He is in our prayers, as are those responsible for electing his successor, and as are the many Roman Catholics who will have been distressed and disorientated by his announcement.

Mention of the common good brings me to the EU budget and the welcome announcement that has been made. Can the Leader of the House assure us that the Government will focus their attention on what the budget seeks to achieve as well as on its size? There is a broader question here of what constitutes good stewardship of the resources that Europe has at its disposal. Stewardship requires a way of living that recognises that everything belongs to God and that all resources must be used for his glory and the common good. It requires us to find ways of collaborating with others to make the resources in our possession work for the good of all, as intended by God.

The Leader of the House will know that in 2004 the Sapir report was commissioned by the European Commission to look at ways in which the EU might deliver on the promise made in 2000 of becoming the most competitive knowledge-based economy in the world by 2010. The report argued that:

“As it stands today … the EU budget is a historical relic. Expenditures, revenues and procedures are all inconsistent with the present and future state of EU integration”.

Can we have an assurance that the Government will press for a more radical restructuring of the European Union budget in the time to come?

[Lord Hill of Oareford]

My Lords, I recognise the important points made by the right reverend Prelate on behalf of the Bishops’ Bench in respect of His Holiness the Pope.

On the overall administration of the EU budget, I think my right honourable friend the Prime Minister has made it clear that he shares the sentiment that the way in which it appears to have been going up and up does not suggest very good stewardship—to use the right reverend Prelate’s word. In the years ahead we will carry on trying to bring pressure to bear, as we will in trying to make sure that all the funds that are allocated are spent responsibly and wisely on the ends for which they were intended.