Lord Razzall
Main Page: Lord Razzall (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Lord Popat
My Lords, part of the reason for the devaluation of the euro is the crisis the euro is going through. This Government are committed to creating a competitive economy that is fit for purpose in the 21st century.
Lord Razzall
My Lords, I am sure the Minister will agree that the argument the noble Lord, Lord Vinson, has made is the one that people from his Benches make who advocate us coming out of the European Union. I am sure he would accept, and perhaps he can confirm, that one of the answers to the noble Lord, Lord Vinson, ought to be to think what would happen to our exports to the European Union were we to come out of it, let alone what would happen to our inward investment.
Lord Popat
My Lords, just under half our exporting is to the European Union. We are working to continue our trade relations with the European Union, and we really need to ensure that we reform it to make it more competitive and accountable. It is crucial that we continue to trade with it and that we increase our trade with it: hence, we have 27 UKTI offices in those countries.