European Union (Approval of Treaty Amendment Decision) Bill [Lords]

Debate between John Baron and Emma Reynolds

Monday 10th September 2012 Commons Chamber

[Mr Baron]

The hon. Gentleman is absolutely right, as he has been so many times; he has a long track record of being fundamentally right on this subject.

Although it can be argued that the ESM does not really affect us, that this is just a treaty change and that we should not get involved, I ask the Minister to reflect on the fact that we are actually playing a small part in prolonging the agony of the euro. We need some fresh thinking on this issue, because, to return to a point made earlier, by not facing reality we risk a very disorderly break-up of the euro, which cannot be good for this country or, indeed, eurozone members generally.

[Emma Reynolds]

The hon. Gentleman has outlined the case for Greece leaving the euro. What is his response to the fact that opinion poll after opinion poll shows that the Greek people, by a very significant majority—about 85%, according to a recent poll—want to stay in the euro?

[Mr Baron]

That is up to the Greek people. Unlike many initiatives relating to the eurozone crisis, one is not trying to replace the democracy that exists in Greece, although if we look at what has happened in Italy and, it could be argued, to a certain extent in Greece, we see that it is very much the bureaucrats who are in charge. However, ultimately Greece will have to make a decision; it cannot have it both ways. We have seen the high social cost of Greece remaining a member of the euro, and it is very saddening, with the suicide rate going through the roof and the economy collapsing. Perhaps someone needs to explain to Greece that a course of devaluation would do its economy a power of good.

Treaty on Stability, Co-ordination and Governance

Debate between John Baron and Emma Reynolds

Wednesday 29th February 2012 Commons Chamber

[Emma Reynolds]

If only the position of the Liberal Democrats were clear on that matter—[Interruption.] I will come to that.

There was a guarantee from the top of the Government that EU institutions would not be used—I hesitate to describe it as a “cast-iron” guarantee, because it might upset some Conservative Members, but none the less, the position seemed to be clear. The evidence seemed compelling and the Government seemed to be clear what they were saying, but how quickly things unravelled—on the European Commission, on the use of the buildings and on the role of the European Court of Justice. One by one, the Government’s guarantees faded into yesterday’s headlines, and their empty rhetoric was painfully exposed.

[Mr Baron]

The shadow Minister will accept that the fiscal compact is designed to save the euro. Could we therefore have clarity on the official Opposition’s position on the euro? Given that all the economic evidence and the 85 currency devaluations since the second world war show that countries that have left a currency bloc benefit, and given that Greece desperately needs a devaluation, will she explain why she supports the cry to save the euro when that policy serves only to make the austerity packages worse?

[Emma Reynolds]

Unlike the hon. Gentleman, the Opposition believe that the stability and preservation of the eurozone is in our country’s interests. If those countries took on their former currencies, there could be a disastrous impact on our economy. I do not agree with him.

David Cameron walked out of the negotiation at the—

[Emma Reynolds]

I am sorry. I meant the Prime Minister. I do apologise.

[Mr Baron]

Will the shadow Minister give way?

--- Later in debate ---

[Emma Reynolds]

Not for a minute.

Will the Minister therefore state clearly, and once and for all, whether the Government believe the legal status of the agreement, as set out in the terms of the fiscal compact, and specifically in the articles I have cited, is wrong? If it is wrong, what will the Government do to correct it? If they will do nothing to correct it, are we right to assume that that is their way of quietly admitting that they have been forced into a humiliating U-turn?

[Mr Baron]

Will the shadow Minister give way?

[Emma Reynolds]

I will not give way. I have given way once to the hon. Gentleman already.

At least the leader of the Conservatives in the European Parliament, Martin Callanan, has been clear. He said:

“There is no doubt that the government’s position has altered since the December summit, when they were insisting the institutions could not be used…I blame a combination of appeasing Nick Clegg, who is desperate to sign anything the EU puts in front of him, and the practical reality that this pact is actually quite hard to prevent.”

Does the Europe Minister therefore agree with the analysis of his party’s leader in the European Parliament?

European Council

Debate between John Baron and Emma Reynolds

Thursday 8th December 2011 Westminster Hall

[Emma Reynolds]

The hon. Gentleman makes a valid point. When we were in government in 1999, 11 out of 15 Governments were on the centre-left and we attended such meetings, which proved very useful indeed.

I respectfully beg to differ with those hon. Members who have said that the Prime Minister has a strong hand in the negotiations. Last Friday, the Prime Minister was relegated to a quick sandwich lunch with President Sarkozy in Paris, without the inclusion of even a press conference in the programme. The French press hardly noticed that he was there. Given that we are one of the largest economies in the European Union and used to be at the heart of its decision-making, it is incredible just how isolated this Government have made the UK. Today’s New York Times leads with an article that says that the UK is merely a “bystander” at this European Union summit. That is not in the national interest.

The past few days have served to remind us how the Conservative party likes to debate the European Union and of—perhaps this is a point of nostalgia for some—the long, tortuous and, in some cases, destructive history of the division in the Conservative party on the EU. It is worth remembering the context of the Prime Minister’s current position and the labyrinthine trajectory he took to get there. In his bid to secure his party’s leadership while in opposition, he promised to withdraw his MEPs from the centre-right European People’s party, but they still sit in the European Parliament with the same group, which the Deputy Prime Minister has called

“nutters, anti-Semites, people who deny climate change exists and homophobes”.

After becoming the then leader of the Opposition, the Prime Minister told his party to stop “banging on about Europe”, because he hoped that the issue could be put to one side and ignored. How wrong he was.

I say to this Government that, for a year, they ignored the impending crisis in the eurozone. It was only recently that they stopped being asleep at the wheel and woke up to the seriousness of the situation. Six weeks ago, we saw the unedifying spectacle of nearly half of Conservative Back Benchers defying the Prime Minister’s three-line Whip and voting for a referendum on our membership of the European Union. During that same debate six weeks ago, the Prime Minister said that he wanted to repatriate powers from the European Union. He reiterated that demand last month at the lord mayor’s banquet and declared himself a sceptic who wanted a European Union that was a network, not a bloc, while in the same breath extolling the benefits of our membership and demanding a say at the top table.

[Mr Baron]

It is rich for the hon. Lady to criticise the Prime Minister, because when her party was in government, it not only sacrificed the rebate that had been negotiated, but oversaw the transfer of swathes of power to Brussels. The list of measures that she is highlighting runs very shallow with those who remember when her party was in government.

[Emma Reynolds]

I say to the hon. Gentleman that, when my party was in government, we were not isolated in the European Union. The previous two Prime Ministers had a good relationship with both the French President and the German Chancellor, and such a relationship is very important to our national interest.