§ Mr. CashTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if the Government will make it a red line issue to ensure that(a) qualified majority voting is not extended to the area of own resources under Article 53(4) of the Draft European Constitution, (b) the UK budget rebate is retained and (c)the Stability and Growth Pact in its application to the UK is repealed. [140698]
§ Mr. MacShaneAs the White Paper makes clear, the Government believes that unanimity must be retained for the system of own resources (Article 1–53), including the terms and conditions for the UK abatement. On economic governance, the Government will work to ensure outcomes that will bolster stability, promote flexibility and enhance the ability of European countries to raise productivity and employment levels.
§ Mr. CashTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if the Government will make it a red line issue to ensure that Protocol 17 concerning Article 141 of the EC Treaty is retained in the draft European Constitution. [140699]
§ Mr. MacShaneThe Government supports the retention of this Protocol. There has not been any suggestion that this Protocol should be deleted, and it is included, with the appropriate technical amendments, in the revised set of Protocols issued by the Secretariat of the Intergovernmental Conference (which can be found on page 157 of document CIG 50/03 ADD 1 of 25 November). This can be accessed in the IGC Documents section of the Italian Presidency website: www.ueitalia.2003.it.