"This has been a good debate. We have heard a lot of views, some of which have been predictable, and others that have perhaps been less so. I should like to take up two or three points before I conclude.
"Will the noble Lord confirm that the countries outside the EU that are contributing to the EU budget are not able to influence decisions about the budget in the way that the bloc he has mentioned, and, of course, all the other members, can? That is a great disadvantage for …..." Lord Radice - View Speech
"I should like to raise a matter of pure curiosity. Did the previous Government’s Bill refer to a referendum, as does this clause?..." Lord Radice - View Speech
"Does my noble friend think it is because they do not really trust themselves to be parliamentarians? They want to bind themselves—it is the Odysseus complex, or whatever it is—because they do not really trust themselves. Does he think that that could be what it is all about?..." Lord Radice - View Speech
"The noble Lord may be right in what he has said—in fact, I think that he is—but there is a very simple answer. Cannot the Government just say no if they do not want any of these things to happen? That is surely the point...." Lord Radice - View Speech
"Before my noble friend gets up, I rise to oppose both the tone and the principle of Amendment 20A. I oppose the tone because, as several noble Lords have pointed out, enlargement has been exceptionally good not only for the European Union but for Britain’s interests. As my noble friend …..." Lord Radice - View Speech
"I am going to say something nice about the noble Lords if the noble Lord, Lord Pearson, will be quiet. I oppose the principle of the amendment because I do not believe that it should be written in the Bill that we ought to have referendums when countries join. That …..." Lord Radice - View Speech
"I thank the noble Lord for giving way, but what the noble Lord, Lord Hannay, made clear was that this position, even if it is in community law, is protected by veto. I do not think that the noble Lord, Lord Waddington, understood that...." Lord Radice - View Speech