Part of the debate – in the House of Commons at 4:01 pm on 14 December 2005.
Of course I want to see as much money coming into my constituency and nation as the hon. Gentleman does into his constituency and nation, but it is important to recognise what the Chancellor has said on many occasions: whatever the final agreement reached under the British presidency or later, the regions and nations of the UK that are presently in receipt of structural funds will not lose out. We have a cast-iron commitment, whatever the hypothetical scenarios of the future, that that support will continue.
If agreement is reached in Brussels over the next few days—I certainly hope that it will be reached—it will not be the end of the story as far as the financial perspective and the budget are concerned. If agreement is reached, negotiations on the fine detail of the budget will continue next year under the Austrian presidency and discussions will carry on under the inter-institutional agreement. The European Parliament will be intimately involved and it would be wrong for us to think that those discussions do not matter. They matter a great deal to the fine detail of the final budget arrangement.
We must also recognise that the European Parliament has real powers these days. The co-decision procedure gives it real influence on EU legislation, so it is all the more remarkable for the Leader of the Opposition to suggest that his 27 MEPs should neuter themselves, in effect, by leaving the European People's party, and so consign themselves to political oblivion in the European Parliament.
I am sure that the House is fully aware that Mr. Clarke has, in his usual way, made some very trenchant remarks. However, hon. Members may not be so well aware of what some Conservative MEPs have said recently. I refer in particular to an article in this morning's edition of The Times by Caroline Jackson, who has been Conservative MEP for South West England for many years. She is a very distinguished European parliamentarian, and has chaired that Parliament's Environment, Consumer Protection and Public Health Committee with some distinction. In the article, she considers where Conservative MEPs might go on leaving the EPP, and with whom they might associate. She states that
"so far the only possibilities may be Polish and Czech peasant nationalists, three eccentric Swedes, a French protectionist Eurosceptic and two MEPs from the Netherlands' extreme Christian party which wants to stop Sunday . . . riding."
That says a great deal about the options facing Conservatives in the European Parliament.
If I may, I shall give the House one other quote. It is from Mr. Edward MacMillan-Scott, a Conservative MEP who is treasurer of the Conservative group in the European Parliament. At one time, he was its leader, and he was quoted in the Daily Mail as saying:
"I can't believe that a leader of the Conservative Party would seriously contemplate breaking the last remaining international link that the party enjoys. I negotiated an agreement with William Hague when he was leader in 1999 that we would remain associate members of the EPP. The alternatives are frankly barking."