§ Mr. SpearingTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will list the number of articles that permit derogations from the obligation for ever closer union in all matters within the scope of each of the respective treaties of the European Union. [10900]
§ Mr. David DavisThe treaty on European Union, like the original treaty of Rome, calls for an ever-closer union
among the peoples of Europe",not among the states or their Governments. This aspiration for strengthened co-operation and friendship is fully shared by the Government. Since it does not impose any legal obligation on the member states of the European Union, the question of derogations does not arise.