§ Lord Inglewoodasked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether further reforms will need to be made to the provisions of Titles VIII and XI of Part Three of the Treaty of Rome on the coming intergovernmental conference to ensure that the European economies respond sufficiently to the measures taken under the Lisbon agenda and that the European Union meets the objective of becoming the world's most competitive economy; and, if so, what those reforms should be. [HL4422]
Lord Mclntosh of HaringeyThe Government's White PaperA Constitutional Treaty for the EU published on 9 September sets out the Government's approach to the forthcoming intergovernmental conference. In the IGC, 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 in line with the Lisbon economic reform agenda. The White Paper also notes the Government's strong support for a full-time Chair of the European Council. This will bring coherence and consistency to the EU's actions, and thereby give the member states through the Council much greater capacity to give direction and momentum to the EU's agenda, for example on the Lisbon process.
The Government outlined proposals on economic reform in their Progress Report on Economic Reform in Europe, published in February.