Euro

Baroness Kramer Excerpts

Thursday 27th October 2011 Lords Chamber

[Lord Sassoon]

My Lords, it really is not helpful for the party opposite to try to paint this completely false picture of a two-speed Europe. As I have already explained, the euro-out countries are integral to the single market—the eurozone understands that—and we will be part of the centrality of what needs to be done to drive forward structural reform of the single market, and so on. The other thing that is completely wrong is to paint Europe now as two-speed. There is a variable geometry EU, as we have it. Remember that other important areas such as justice and home affairs, as the noble Lord, Lord Liddle, recognises, also run in different ways. Therefore the idea that there will be some fundamentally changed, two-speed Europe is again ridiculously simplistic.

[Baroness Kramer]

My Lords—

[Lord Hannay of Chiswick]

My Lords—

--- Later in debate ---

[Lord Sassoon]

No, my Lords, that is not the situation. Forty per cent of our trade goes to the eurozone, 50 per cent goes to the EU, and we have to work to preserve the structure.

[Baroness Kramer]

My Lords—

[Lord Davies of Stamford]

My Lords—