EU: Integration Debate
Full Debate: Read Full DebateDepartment: Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office
Marquess of Lothian
Main Page: Marquess of Lothian (Conservative - Life peer)Department Debates - View all Marquess of Lothian's debates with the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office
(13 years ago)
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Lord Howell of Guildford
To avoid the debate getting too polarised, of course, there are degrees of integration. In this decentralised age, compared with the 20th century, where centralisation and central state dominance were the fashion, people are looking for more flexibility and decentralisation in all sensibly run organisations, including the EU. There may be some areas, as I indicated in my opening Answer, where a degree of integration is more sensible as an alternative to chaos. However, there may be many other areas where the time has come for decentralisation and a returning of powers closer to the people.
The Marquess of Lothian
My Lords, how would the Minister define a European Union that is more of a network than a bloc?