Did you mean set male 1995-01-01..2005-01-08?
Sir Sydney Chapman: Precisely—that is what the Secretary of State said in the debate last week. As it is now almost five years since the St. Malo declaration, which spawned the European security and defence policy, will the Secretary of State say which European country has increased its defence expenditure; or is it more likely that none has?
John Maples: I beg to move, That leave be given to bring in a Bill to make provision for holding a binding referendum on any Treaty establishing a Constitution for Europe before any Bill relating to the Treaty is presented to Parliament. I do not know how many Members of this House are aware of just how enthusiastic the Government are about referendums. If we were all taking part in a session of "Who...
Lord Bach: My Lords, in opening this important debate, I would like to thank all the noble Lords who are to speak. It is a most distinguished if reasonably long cast list: it would be invidious and certainly stupid to pick out stars, but I am particularly looking forward to the maiden speech of the noble and gallant Lord, Lord Boyce, who retired as Chief of the Defence Staff earlier this year. I had the...
Gerald Howarth: It was indeed. I speak French and German, which slightly undermines those who have accused me of being a little Englander. My hon. Friend the Member for West Suffolk drew attention to the Government's woeful failure to protect Britain's essential national interests in the European Union, and he touched on defence—a subject on which, the House will not be surprised to learn, I intend to...
Nicholas Soames: Commanders were unaware of where equipment was stored; plates for enhanced ceramic body armour "disappeared" and never got to the right units; and vital biological and chemical equipment was "deemed unserviceable". Not enough desert clothing and equipment was available on time, and many people did not even receive their desert combats until the war was over. There was not enough ammunition,...
John Maples: My hon. neighbour and friend can do much better than that. The constitution advances the competences of the Union and qualified majority voting. There is currently a veto over foreign affairs and defence positions. Taxation is not even a competence. Some aspects of taxation could become the subject of qualified majority voting. The passerelle clause, or whatever one wants to call it, allows...
Robert Key: I mean to ensure that the Minister does not have 13 minutes to reply. I am glad that the hon. Member for Lewes tabled the amendment, because it allows us to probe important aspects of the marine environment that will be affected by energy extraction and development in coming years. For some years now, I have been a member of the Royal Society's pairing scheme with university science...
