European Union: Reform

Lord Kinnock Excerpts

Tuesday 10th June 2014 Lords Chamber

[Lord Wallace of Saltaire]

My Lords, if one looks back to the Prime Minister’s Bloomberg speech, now over a year ago, it is clear that we have already been making progress on reform. We have seen the quite remarkable reform of the common fisheries policy, for which we have been working for years, and a budgetary agreement that for the first time reduces the EU budget in real terms. Reform, I repeat, is a process in which we work with other like-minded Governments, and on which we are already making progress.

[Lord Kinnock (Lab)]

The Minister is absolutely right to try, as he said, to avoid locking in Britain’s position in the EU because of the way in which that would compromise the possibilities of negotiation and influence. That being the case, and I entirely agree with him, why was the Prime Minister foolish enough to declare his position regarding Mr Juncker way before there was any possibility of a context, thus surrendering the kind of influence that is essential on the top Commission job?

[Lord Wallace of Saltaire]

My Lords, this question was addressed yesterday in the House, and I am very happy to say that the Labour Party has expressed its agreement with the British Government’s position on it.