Marcus Jones
Main Page: Marcus Jones (Conservative - Nuneaton)Department Debates - View all Marcus Jones's debates with the Cabinet Office
(12 years ago)
Commons ChamberRead Full debate Read Hansard Text Read Debate Ministerial Extracts
The Prime Minister
My hon. Friend is entirely right. That is why we spent so much time putting together the so-called like-minded group, particularly over single market issues where we have not only the traditional allies of Denmark, Holland and Germany, but the Baltic states, the Nordic states and now the Italians and the Spanish, along with others including the Hungarians and the Czechs. They all support single-market and growth-oriented measures, which is very encouraging.
Mr Marcus Jones (Nuneaton) (Con)
Can my right hon. Friend reassure us that he will never agree to any new EU taxes, particularly to an EU-wide financial transaction tax?
The Prime Minister
I can certainly give my hon. Friend the assurance that we do not support new EU taxes. One of the ways in which particularly the left in Europe has endlessly tried to argue for higher budgets for more spending is by altering the so-called “own resources” and coming up with new taxes. We oppose a financial transactions tax. Some countries may well go ahead and introduce it in any case. If they do, as far as I am concerned, that is their own decision and we will not take part in it.