European Council

Lord McNally Excerpts

Monday 12th December 2011 Lords Chamber

[The Minister of State, Ministry of Justice (Lord McNally)]

My Lords, this sounds very much like a speech for the coming debate.

[Lord Kerr of Kinlochard]

My Lords—

[Lord McNally]

The noble Lord has to sit down.

[Noble Lords]

Order!

[Lord McNally]

This is a Question Time. Even though we have 40 minutes, we have already used five and are only on the second question. In fairness to the whole House, I think that the noble Lord should now sit down.

[Lord Kerr of Kinlochard]

May I ask one question of tactics? I am grateful to the noble Lord. Will he confirm that, exactly 20 years ago, John Major secured the social opt-out and the euro opt-out by attaching his conditions to the conclusion of the negotiation, where unanimity is required, and not to the convening of a negotiation, for which only a simple majority is required?

--- Later in debate ---

[Lord Lawson of Blaby]

My Lords—

[Lord McNally]

I think that it is the turn of the Labour Party, and then we will come back to the Conservatives.

--- Later in debate ---

[Lord Pearson of Rannoch]

My Lords—

[Lord McNally]

Lord Pearson.

[Lord Pearson of Rannoch]

My Lords, my gratitude is exceeded only by my surprise. I trust that the Leader of the House will forgive me if I congratulate the Prime Minister on his courage in standing alone and on taking what I hope will be the first small step towards the lifeboats on the “Titanic” which is the EU. I have two short questions. First, where do the Government now stand on the 49 proposals for new Brussels legislation in the financial area, some of which will be very serious for our financial industries and taxpayers, and which are already in the pipeline under qualified majority voting? Secondly, the noble Lord has said that we do not know what is on the way, so do not yet know the precise answer, but can he confirm that the other EU countries cannot use the institutions of the whole EU to further their ill-fated plans to prop up the euro without our consent?

--- Later in debate ---

[Lord Strathclyde]

My Lords, only the noble Lord could come out with that particular quip. Of course we feared the dangers to our national interests or we would not have said what we did. It takes two to agree but it also takes two to disagree. The other 26 could have wholly accepted that we had a deep concern about our national interest and agreed with us. Then there would have been a treaty of the 27.

[Lord McNally]

I am trying to keep count here. We will have the Liberal Democrats and then the Cross-Benchers.