§ Lord Pearson of Rannochasked Her Majesty's Government:
Further to the Written Answer by Baroness Scotland of Asthal on 23 April (WA 181), whether the United Kingdom sought or received anything from other European Union member states at the Nice Council or in the Intergovernmental Conference in return for agreeing to abolish the United Kingdom's veto on enhanced co-operation. [HL1878]
§ Baroness Scotland of AsthalThe Nice Treaty introduces a number of additional safeguards on the use of enhanced co-operation to ensure it is undertaken only as a last resort; that it cannot be used simply for the benefit of a few; that it is consistent with176WA the EU's other policies; that it does not undermine the Single Market; and that it does not exceed the EU's competence.
Given all the safeguards now in place, it is right that one country should not be able to block an enhanced co-operation, particularly in a European Union of 27 or more member states. The appeal clause mechanism in Pillars One and Three, by which a member state can demand that the European Council look at the issue, provides the right balance between the interests of the member states and the benefits of greater flexibility in an enlarged EU. The veto remains for enhanced cooperation introduced in the Second Pillar (Common Foreign and Security Policy).