Convention on the Future of Europe (Hansard, 7 May 2002)

§ Lord Howell of Guildford
asked Her Majesty's Government:
When they next expect a report to be made to Parliament on the activities and progress of the current Convention on the Future of Europe; and at what intervals future reports will be made.

§ The Minister for Trade (Baroness Symons of Vernham Dean)
My Lords, the Government will inform Parliament whenever there are significant developments to report regarding the Convention on the Future of Europe. In addition, the parliamentary representatives will keep their respective Houses fully informed of progress by reporting to the appropriate committee, as they did to the Select Committee of this House last week.
My right honourable friend the Minister for Europe also appeared before your Lordships' European Union Select Committee on 30th April and answered questions about the convention. He stands ready to do so again in the future.

§ Lord Howell of Guildford
My Lords, I am very grateful to the noble Baroness for that reply. I was aware of the European Union Committee's extremely successful and useful meeting the other day, to which I was invited. But, as she indicated, the missing character from that meeting was the Minister for Europe, who is a member of the delegation to the convention. It would be helpful to know how his and the Government's evolving views on the convention will be monitored by the other place and by this House.
Given that there are alternative models for the future of Europe which the convention is looking at, how will those be presented to the parliaments and people of Europe and of this country; or will there be one conclusion from the convention which we will have to take or leave?

§ Baroness Symons of Vernham Dean
My Lords, we are talking about a long period. We are still very much in the phase of listening to views about how this matter should go forward. As the noble Lord knows, the whole process will finish in about a year's time. There will then he a period for parliaments throughout Europe to consider the matter before we get to the intergovernmental conference. But it is important to remember that my right honourable friend the Minister for Europe gave his evidence separately. It is 986 not that our Select Committee has not heard from him. I am sure that he will do so again on future occasions when asked.
In addition, as I have already said, we will be issuing statements both in your Lordships' House and in another place as and when there are significant developments.
If the noble Lord has some further suggestions he would like to put forward about how we might monitor this, I should be very happy to listen to them.

Lord Bruce of Donington
My Lords, is my noble friend aware how reassured we all are in view of the Government's statement that before any conclusions are accepted as suitable for the United Kingdom they must be clear and unambiguous?

§ Baroness Symons of Vernham Dean
My Lords, I hope that my noble friend listened very carefully—I am sure that he did—to what I said. We are going through what is being called—much as I dislike "jargonistic" phrases—the "listening phase"—listening to what is being put forward for the convention's attention. The proposed end for the convention is between March and June next year. Then there will be an opportunity for national parliaments to debate what has come out of the convention. There will be time for that to be concluded before the IGC starts towards the end of next year—that is towards the end of 2003.

§ Lord Maclennan of Rogart
My Lords, since the task of the convention is to produce a constitutional document which assists the European Union more effectively to promote the interests of its citizens and to reflect their democratic aspirations—that process will gain momentum during the summer and in the autumn after the national elections in Europe—can the Minister indicate what are the Government's preferences? Do the Government intend to publish a White Paper at some stage in the process; or, better still, to initiate a sequence of parliamentary debates geared to the key topics under consideration in the convention to enable Parliament to give full and timely consideration to those issues before the recommendations of the convention are set in a single frame?

§ Baroness Symons of Vernham Dean
My Lords, as the noble Lord, Lord Maclennan, who is an alternate member of the convention—and we are delighted that we have two such alternates in your Lordships' House—may know, my right honourable friend the Leader in another place has indicated that thought is being given to how the report back to Parliament should take place from the Government's point of view. It is important that your Lordships remember that there is not only the government report back from my right honourable friend the Minister for Europe but—your Lordships will also be interested to know—the report back from the parliamentary representatives, of which the noble Lord and my noble friend Lord Tomlinson are examples. I would be very grateful if noble Lords with views about how they 987 would like to see the report back take place in your Lordships' House would come and see me; let us have a discussion about this. The Government's mind is reasonably open on this point. We would very much like to take advice from those of your Lordships intimately associated with this aspect to see the most appropriate way forward.

§ Lord Elton
My Lords, will the Minister go a little further and tell us what exactly will be the status of the document when we get it? What will be the effect of any debate which Parliament has upon it? Is it amendable? Is it guidelines? How do we influence the future and not merely express our opinions upon it?

§ Baroness Symons of Vernham Dean
My Lords, I think that I have gone quite far already in suggesting to your Lordships that there are a number of ways in which we might try to influence this debate. It is important to remember that we will be issuing statements and, as always, the Government will listen carefully to what your Lordships say as we reach various decision points in the convention. Also we shall have the opportunity, subject of course to what the usual channels say, of looking at what our own Select Committee is saying on this matter. Further to that, at the moment I really cannot give any cast-iron undertakings. But, as I have already indicated to the noble Lords, Lord Howell and Lord Elton, and to the noble Lord, Lord Maclennan, I would be very interested to discuss this matter with your Lordships to see what progress we can make which will be satisfactory to your Lordships.

§ Lord Tomlinson
My Lords, does my noble friend agree that perhaps it is a little premature to get too worried about the conclusions of the convention at this stage? Is it not perhaps very important that the widest range of opinions developed in your Lordships' House should be made available to the convention? Is it not therefore important that reports from the European Union Select Committee, such as the report on the second chamber, the report on common, foreign and security policy and the report on the future of the Court of Auditors should be submitted in the name of the House of Lords to the convention, so that before it reaches its conclusions it has the opportunity of taking into account some of the very valuable deliberation that has taken place in your Lordships House?

§ Baroness Symons of Vernham Dean
My Lords, I agree with my noble friend. Of course it is premature at the moment, at the very outset of this process, to be discussing conclusions. That said, I understand the natural concern of Members of your Lordships' House not only to have the opportunity to put forward their views to the Government but to have them listened to in Europe, where the decisions will be taken on the outcome of the convention.