European Council

Baroness Stuart of Edgbaston Excerpts

Monday 11th February 2013 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

That’s for me to know and you to find out.

I absolutely agree with my right hon. Friend that we need to make more progress. It is disappointing how far we have come but I think there is a sense in Brussels that, somehow, its officials are higher beings, and they even referred to civil servants elsewhere as burger flippers, compared with their lofty role. That really needs to be beaten down and we need to recognise that its civil servants have to live within proper budgets, just as ours have to.

[Ms Gisela Stuart (Birmingham, Edgbaston) (Lab)]

I hate to tell the Prime Minister that my predecessor apparently left that piece of paper behind in Munich, so whatever piece of paper he had I hope he brought with him.

Were there any discussions on the proposed bail-out for Cyprus, in particular the suggestion that uninsured deposits in Cypriot banks be written down as losses, which would have considerable effect for people here?

[The Prime Minister]

There was a brief discussion about Cyprus, not least because President Christofias was attending his last European Council. Herman Van Rompuy gave a moving eulogy and described him as everyone’s favourite communist, which received widespread assent. ECOFIN is meeting and will properly discuss those things. There was not an in-depth discussion about the Cypriot financial situation.