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Mr. James Plaskitt (Warwick and Leamington) (Lab): The constitution is undoubtedly seen by some of its opponents as part of a plot to create a European superstate or as part of some conspiracy. I know that not all of its opponents see it that way—there are some reasoned, perfectly respectable arguments to use against the constitution, or parts of it—but we have heard quite a bit this afternoon from the former category. I am surprised that the right hon. and learned Member for Devizes (Mr. Ancram) comes in that category. We certainly heard some more of the conspiracy arguments from the right hon. Member for Wells (Mr. Heathcoat-Amory), who seemed to think that the constitution was something driven by a sinister force in Brussels seeking to foist something terrible on the unsuspecting people of Europe. One certainly gains that impression from certain sections of the British media, who seem unable to say anything objective or truthful about the draft constitution.

The truth of the matter is that there is no plot here. There is nothing sinister going on at all. There is no stealthy move to impose some European superstate. This is a process. It is a process that is being driven by a simple and clear logic. It is being driven by what is happening inside the European Union, which is undergoing enormous change, partly or largely as a result of the expansion that has just taken place and the further expansion to come. Expansion fundamentally changes the nature of the Union. The process is also being driven by what is happening in the rest of the world, with the acceleration of the move towards a global economy. In the most fundamental sense, Europe is simply responding to those pressures.

It is important before going into the detail of the constitution to step back for a moment and look at the context and the EU's fundamental achievements since it was created almost 50 years ago. It has brought about a powerful grouping of nations that constitutes the world's largest trading bloc. It has brought about political stability not previously seen in Europe. It is worth reminding ourselves that three of its established members are pretty new democracies and eight of the members that have just joined are extremely new. Some of the countries on the applicant list will also be very new democracies. We should not disregard the EU's contribution to spreading and reinforcing the democratic guarantee in Europe.

The EU has also brought about a structure that delivers co-operation and joint working on a range of transnational issues which now dominate our age. How do we sort out global communications? How do we tackle environmental protection? How do we deal with mass migration? How do we organise trade flows? How do we tackle cross-border crime? How do we reinforce human rights? We have to address those issues not as separate nation states that never co-operate with each other. They are forceful issues to which countries and Governments must respond.
 
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The European Union has also brought about an unprecedented period of economic stability and steadily growing prosperity in Europe. Let us consider for a moment rolling back the whole enterprise. Imagine that it was not there. Go back to before the treaty of Rome; to a Europe of 25, 30 or 35 totally autonomous separate nation states. It is inconceivable that that arrangement would be able to endure into today's world. There would be no instrument of authority on the scale required to deal with many of today's economic and political issues. We would have Balkanisation right across Europe, with impoverishment as the only result. I do not accept for one minute that some sort of loose basic trade association could possibly be a viable alternative.

As I said, the process is driven by simple logic, the real nature of economic activity and the transnational nature of the dominant issues of our time. If that is the case, why is there so much Euroscepticism, which we have heard in the debate and which we hear in our media? There is a fairly simple answer to that. The more the European Union acquires powers and influence, and the more its competence expands, which it unquestionably has, the greater demands are placed on it in relation to accountability, and the more questions are asked about its structures. Who is in control? Who is setting the course? Who takes the blame when things go wrong?

When we ask those questions of the European Union, its present structure is found seriously wanting. The EU's house is not in order.

The dominant fear is of a steady, continuous, unstoppable process of integration, with no defined finishing point. Because there is no defined finishing point, critics conclude that the only conceivable finishing point is a big, federated political union—a European superstate. Indeed, the EU's structure provides some support for such fears. Its rulebook is a maze of four treaties with three pillars. It has a bizarre executive structure, which gives a considerable degree of permanence to the motor—the Commission—but ensures constantly changing occupants of the driver's seat. It also has a peripatetic Parliament. If someone were designing a grouping of nations from scratch, they would not come up with the present design.

The constitution is proposed as a means of addressing the weaknesses in the EU's structure. Other hon. Members have mentioned the Laeken declaration, and I shall quote a short section of it. It says that people

"want the European institutions to be less unwieldy and rigid and, above all, more efficient and open. Many also feel that the Union should involve itself more with their particular concerns, instead of intervening, in every detail, in matters by their nature better left to member states' and regions' elected representatives. This is even perceived by some as a threat to their identity. More importantly, however, they feel that deals are all too often cut out of their sight and they want better democratic scrutiny."

Those observations do not come from a Eurosceptic document from a political party: they were made by the elected Heads of Government of the EU in December 2001.

The constitution fulfils the aspirations set out in the Laeken declaration. It will do away with the encyclopaedia of treaties and their supporting pillars and replace them with one simple rulebook, 80 per cent. of which is distilled from the existing treaties. The
 
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constitution also sets out clear rules about who does what, and puts a stop to the competence creep that has characterised recent EU history. It establishes for the first time in the EU's history who has which competence. Article 235 of the Rome treaty will be replaced by new article I-9, which inverts the assumption in the original treaty. New article I-9 states that

"the Union shall act within the limits of the competences conferred upon it by the Member States . . . Competences not conferred upon the Union . . . remain with the Member States."

In other words, that is a complete reversal of the principle enshrined in the Rome treaty. But I have not seen a single Eurosceptic newspaper in the UK report that fact. The constitution also corrects the imbalance in the Executive by creating a comparable permanence between the Council and the Commission. It strengthens the role of the member state Parliaments and gives them for the first time the right to send back proposals for rewriting.

The constitution marks a profound rebalancing of forces and powers within the EU in favour of the citizen, and in favour of the member states, as requested in the Laeken declaration. It is the decisive rejection of the alternative vision—a Europe that is centralised, uniform, bureaucratic and destined to become a superstate. The fact is that a European superstate cannot be built on this constitution. In fact, we would be much more likely to get a superstate, by stealth, if we persevered with the current mishmash of treaties and the current imbalances of power. The constitution is a far better defence against a superstate than the current bundle of treaties.

The EU's processes have become opaque. It is not clear to most of the people of Europe where the Union is headed. It is not clear who does what. In that context, it is not surprising that public confidence is low. The EU urgently needs to put its house in order. That is what this constitution does and that is why it should be welcomed and supported.

4.29 pm

Mr. Elfyn Llwyd (Meirionnydd Nant Conwy) (PC): We know that the constitution is meant to roll into one the treaty of Rome, the Single European Act, the treaty of Maastricht and so on, and many people think that it is purely and simply a tidying-up exercise. However, it is probably more than that; it certainly contains some important new provisions. Common sense dictates that a European Union of 25 is quite different from one of 15 or of six.

It is obvious from reading the document that, where EU member states choose to co-operate, EU law takes precedence over national law. That is nothing new; it has been the case since 1973. The document reaffirms that the Union is meant to be a union of nation states and not a European superstate. According to a recent House of Lords report,

"there is considerable reassurance in the draft Treaty for those who fear that the EU is becoming too like a State."

That is a clear statement; the document is not the precursor of a superstate. It clarifies—albeit not perfectly—what the EU can and cannot do, which is extremely important.
 
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A cursory reading suggests that the constitution enhances the role of national Parliaments. Whether that will be true, I know not, but that is what the constitution is meant to do. It states that if a third of national Parliaments oppose an EU law they can insist that the Commission review it. However, I listened carefully to what was said earlier on: the scrutiny processes in this place are abysmal and they need to be addressed.

I do not see the presidency of the European Council as a true presidency, but it makes more sense for the person to hold office for two years rather than six months if there is to be the policy cohesion and continuity that there should be. Reference to a Foreign Minister is not a precursor of a superstate either. There is a genuine role for the EU on the world stage and such a position is one way of assuring that role.

There is to be a simpler, more efficient voting system. That is a good idea. A simpler system would make it easier for Governments to make decisions. One proposal is that decisions would require the approval of a majority of member states, representing at least 60 per cent. of the EU's population. Such a system could be more democratic because power would be better spread throughout the Union.

There are various responsibilities. The EU already has competence in competition policy, the single market, common trade policy, customs union and marine biological resources under the common fisheries policy. It has sole responsibility for monetary policy in countries that have adopted the euro. That is known and none of it is new; it has simply been restated.

On asylum and immigration policy, it seems that member states would keep the right to decide how many work visas to issue and of what type they should be. The treaty simplifies the legal basis of Europol, which is important, especially given what was said earlier about cross-border crime and the smuggling of drugs, guns and so on. Such a measure is not a bad thing; it is entirely reasonable and there is nothing drastically new about it. We discussed the issue in a separate debate last year.

It is welcome that member states will retain their national veto over foreign policy. That is perfectly acceptable and will not lead us into any kind of superstate.

I want to mention some of the things that concern Plaid Cymru. We were the first party in the UK to call for a written European constitution and a binding charter of fundamental rights, so in principle we welcome the current move.

The charter of fundamental rights had already been agreed by the European Union, but only as a voluntary measure. Now it will probably have legal force. It includes the right to join a union, the right to strike and more specific rights such as rights to information and consultation. However, it is unclear what actual legal status the charter will have. The British Government need to make that more explicit, because the Foreign Secretary did not answer that question when he opened the debate. I believe that legal opinion is that the European Court will be able to use the charter in all its decisions, and the European Court has often produced decisions that were deemed friendly to workers. However, we should like to know whether the charter will be binding as a legal document, and to what degree.
 
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I would like to see the National Assembly for Wales being consulted at a better level and more often than it is at present. I understand that the state Parliaments will have rights of consultation and so on, but I would hope that the devolved assemblies and Parliaments also will have a real function in all of this. I say that because, if devolution is to work, the principle of subsidiarity must surely be embedded there as well, not only in European parlance.

I welcome article I-3.3 on sustainable development, one of the EU's overriding objectives, with the environmental protection measures at its core.

I want to mention three or four points that are very important to us as a party. First, we believe that the National Assembly should be consulted by the UK Government before the Commission publishes proposals relevant to its powers, as will the national state Parliament of member states. Secondly, I ask that the devolved territories or Administrations have real representation on all relevant UK delegations in the Council of Ministers and in the preparatory meetings of COREPER. When deciding whether a proposal infringes the jurisdiction of a national or regional institution under the protocol on subsidiarity, we believe that the House of Commons should exercise one of the UK's votes and the other should be decided by the legislative assembly of the devolved territory affected, on a rotational basis if necessary.

Finally, we read this week that the Irish Government have said that they believe that the Irish language should become an official language of the EU. I heard the Father of the House say that if everybody is going to fight for their language—[Interruption.] Yes, the Minister knows what is coming next, but let me just say this. If we are to engage in a meaningful discussion on the constitution, at the very least the Welsh language should be in there. If we are to have a meaningful dialogue during the referendum campaign, which we all sincerely hope will happen, at the very least the constitution should be translated into Welsh. I would hope, and our party would hope, that in due course Welsh does become an official language of the EU. We have always been pro-integration and frankly, with great respect to our Irish colleagues, more than three times as many people speak Welsh as speak Irish. That is not meant to be one-upmanship, but clearly—

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