European Council Debate

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Department: Leader of the House

European Council

Lord Elystan-Morgan Excerpts
Monday 12th December 2011

(12 years, 5 months ago)

Lords Chamber
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Lord Strathclyde Portrait Lord Strathclyde
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My Lords, I do not at all agree with the noble Lord. This is not about the newspapers. I think that the British people generally accept and support what the Prime Minister did because they understand that he was standing up for vital British interests.

Lord Elystan-Morgan Portrait Lord Elystan-Morgan
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My Lords, the Leader of the House has time and again stated the clear intention of Her Majesty’s Government to assist the eurozone. Does he accept the stark reality of the situation; namely, that 17 countries with different economies and utterly disparate economic circumstances formed a eurozone but, when bad weather came along, disintegration became a very real possibility? In practice, the only two real possibilities are either that there should be a draconian situation of considerable discipline imposed on the eurozone or that there should be a United States of Europe or a Republic of Europe.

Lord Strathclyde Portrait Lord Strathclyde
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My Lords, that is a huge question and one that requires a much longer debate on another occasion. However, I agree with the noble Lord that there is a mess. There needs to be discipline; whether that is in a United States of Europe is another question altogether.