European Council (Brussels)

Part of Oral Answers to Questions — Children, Schools and Families – in the House of Commons at 3:31 pm on 17 December 2007.

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Photo of Gordon Brown Gordon Brown The Prime Minister, Leader of the Labour Party 3:31, 17 December 2007

As I said in my statement, the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs will make a statement to the House tomorrow about the success at Bali, in which, to his credit, he was directly involved in persuading the rest of the world to sign an agreement that moves the environmental negotiations forward and makes us believe that a post-2012 agreement similar to Kyoto will involve all countries, not just some. I agree with my hon. Friend that the environmental issues that are being addressed make the case for co-operation across the European Union. It is precisely because the EU was prepared to agree a common position that it had such influence in Bali. By working together, we can achieve more than if we work in isolation, and the Conservatives—if they seriously believe in the importance of environmental co-operation—should accept the lesson that we should co-operate across Europe in bringing forward proposals for a better environment.