[Sir Alan Haselhurst in the Chair] — Clause 1 — Incorporation of provisions of the Treaty of Nice

Part of Orders of the Day — European Communities (Amendment) Bill — 1st Allotted Day – in the House of Commons at 5:15 pm on 11 July 2001.

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Photo of Menzies Campbell Menzies Campbell Shadow Secretary of State (Foreign Affairs) 5:15, 11 July 2001

I am grateful to the hon. Gentleman for making that point, but he will forgive me if I ask why he did not make it to the hon. Member for West Suffolk, because it drives a horse and cart through the position adopted by the official Opposition.

Qualified majority voting is now extended to 31 articles, over half of which refer to technical portions of the treaty, dealing with appointments, rules of procedure and the management of the European Parliament and European committees and courts. A further four of the articles refer to areas that Britain has opted out of. Of the remaining 10, the extensions are in such areas as anti-discrimination practice, support for industry and environmental measures. Exercising my best judgment, I cannot believe that those are matters of such fundamental constitutional importance that the United Kingdom's interests can be properly regulated only if we maintain our veto over them. That is why I cannot support the amendment.