European Union (Croatian Accession and Irish Protocol) Bill

Charles Kennedy Excerpts

Tuesday 6th November 2012 Commons Chamber

[Mr Charles Kennedy (Ross, Skye and Lochaber) (LD)]

First, I apologise to Members on both Front Benches for arriving late to this debate; I was somewhat caught out by the change in timetabling that has taken place, and no disrespect was intended. Like my fellow Celt who spoke before me, I shall not be tempted into matters domestic in terms of Scotland, not least because of my role on behalf of the Liberal Democrats and the Better Together campaign. Indeed, I will be talking about little else for the next two years, so I consider this debate a burst of the oxygen of freedom that will not be with me for much longer.

I have listened to your constructive admonitions, Mr Deputy Speaker, about the dangers of straying off topic. However, I cannot help recalling anecdotally that when the right hon. and learned Member for Kensington (Sir Malcolm Rifkind) occupied the office of Europe Minister in Mrs Thatcher’s Government, a rather sudden reshuffle saw George Younger become Secretary of State for Defence, and the right hon. and learned Member for Kensington be appointed Secretary of State for Scotland. The following weekend the Scottish Constitutional Convention was launched. The late, great Donald Dewar spoke as shadow Scottish Secretary, and he reflected on the ever-disputatious state of British politics, and Scottish politics in particular, as evinced on that occasion by the absence of the SNP.

The new Secretary of State for Scotland looked around and thought of what he had been dealing with in eastern Europe and its emergent democracies, and all the turmoil, chaos and upheaval. He was now unexpectedly and suddenly appointed Secretary of State for Scotland, but he must have looked at his previous job and thought how much easier life was when he had only the rest of the world to worry about, and not Scotland. I think that will be the fate of several of us over the next couple of years.

I want to look at this issue not just from the perspective of the House of Commons, but, together with others in the Chamber, at a wider Europe as represented in the Council of Europe—I know the hon. Member for Linlithgow and East Falkirk (Michael Connarty) will have spoken about that earlier in the debate. In welcoming Croatia’s accession in due course, it is worth bearing in mind the role that Croatia has already played as a valuable ally in continuing tough times, for us and for our other international obligations. For example, it has contributed 320 troops to the international security assistance force in Afghanistan, which speaks strongly and well. It has contributed to peacekeeping and associated activities in Libya and elsewhere in the world. It has demonstrated its internationalist credentials, and we are right to pay tribute to that today.

The Government was recently defeated in a contentious vote in the House of Commons. It was pointed out to me that each and every Liberal Democrat MP was present and—unbelievably—all voted for the coalition, I think for the first time. We voted on the losing side; it was the reverse Midas touch that we always bring to great parliamentary occasions.

It is worth bearing in mind the bottom line as far as Croatia is concerned. Political agreement was reached by the Council that the cost of accession to the EU should, in the current financial perspective, be met within existing headings—in other words, it should be budget neutral. At a time of such contention about the budget, it is only correct and proper that we put that agreement on the record. Although the next multi-annual financial framework—the term rolls off the tongue—has yet to be agreed, the benchmark has been set by how this accession has been handled. The UK played a role within the Council of Europe in assuring it. If Conservative Members are as worked up as they were last week, they might want to give credit where it is due, and approve of the financial implications of this accession.

The hon. Member for Glasgow Springburn—[Interruption.] Is that correct?

[Mr Bain]

It is Glasgow North East.

[Mr Kennedy]

I was near enough. I have represented constituencies such as Ross, Skye and Inverness West, or Ross, Cromarty and Skye. Single title constituencies always have me scratching my head.

As the hon. Member for Glasgow North East (Mr Bain) has said, the negotiations were successful. The political and social distance travelled in just a couple of decades is immense—that is not a long time, and Croatia is not far distant from us in global terms. Nevertheless, the accession negotiations were tough. Croatia was the first country to negotiate under the new chapter 23—tough new rules on judicial reform and fundamental freedoms that were introduced at European level as a result of the lessons learned from the Romanian and Bulgarian accessions.

Therefore, the European institutions have acquitted themselves well in dealing with Croatian accession both politically and in terms of financial prudence, and according to the founding principles of Europe, which follow from the founding principles of the Council of Europe—human rights, the rule of law and democracy. We hear so much that is negative, so it is worth putting those things on the record.

On the Irish dimension of the Bill, it is worth stressing that the protocol does not change the content or application of the treaties. Indeed, the European Council conclusions adopted in 2009 confirm that the guarantees given to the Irish, which form the subject of the protocol,

“will clarify, but not change either the content or the application of the Treaty of Lisbon.”

The conclusions also state that the contents

“will in no way alter the relationship between the EU and its Member States”

and are

“fully compatible with the Treaty of Lisbon and will not necessitate any re-ratification of that Treaty”.

Those who might be tempted down another diversionary line—another fault line in parliamentary politics—might wonder whether the Bill could be used to prise open the argument over the repatriation of other powers, but the answer is most definitely non, non, non. That was made crystal clear some three years ago, but it is worth underscoring in the debate.

When the Conservatives were in power alone back in the ’80s, with very large majorities and Mrs Thatcher at the helm, the Foreign Office and Prime Minister argued in support of the enlargement of Europe. Many of us who came at the argument from an instinctively pro-European point of view believed that the Conservatives supported the widening of Europe to prevent the deepening of Europe. It was a colossal political misreading. It was not, perhaps, as colossal as Mrs Thatcher’s instinctive initial opposition to the reunification of Germany, but it was of that order—a classic Conservative misreading of the way in which Europe would develop.

As we have seen over the 20 to 25 years since then, the widening of Europe has necessitated, in so many respects, a further deepening, resulting in a European Union, or a European Community or Common Market, as it was initially known. It began with six members, now has more than two dozen, and is likely to have many more. Common sense alone suggests that one does not have to be a constitutional lawyer to see that a deepening and a greater democratic process at the core of that deepening are needed if those individual component parts, the member states, as well as the overarching body itself are to function effectively. Croatia and what will follow in its slipstream in coming years, in tandem with the ongoing arguments about the fate of the single currency, mean that there will have to be further European deepening in many respects if the institutions of Europe are to serve their purpose. If the House of Commons passes this Bill, it would show that it supports that purpose, and I would welcome that.