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Bob Spink (Castle Point) (Con): What information has the Home Secretary got for us tonight on the third man who was directly involved in the incident? Will he
 
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tell the House how many royal security breaches are allowable before a ministerial resignation is appropriate?

Mr. Blunkett: Obviously not two, otherwise the current Leader of the Opposition would have resigned in 1995. The question is very silly and unworthy of what has been a perfectly reasonable process of questioning and accountability. It is not difficult for the police to identify the third individual involved—after all, television cameras were mysteriously present from the beginning of the incident. Even though the level of apprehending those who commit crimes in our country is less desirable than I would wish, I am sure that we will have him by tomorrow.

Gregory Barker (Bexhill and Battle) (Con): Does the Home Secretary think that it has been a satisfactory and efficient use of taxpayers' money for him to authorise the spending of hundreds of thousands of pounds on new cameras and alarm systems if the response to those systems is inadequate to prevent intruders from gaining access to the roof and then on to the front of the palace? What is the point of such equipment if the response is too slow?

Mr. Blunkett: The first armed officer's response was rapid. One of the individuals, who was dressed as Robin, gave an interview describing how he was ordered down and was told that he would be shot if he did not do so. That particular individual was apprehended almost immediately. [Interruption.]

Well, I described in my statement how the danger was sealed off inside the palace and externally. In my view, that is a rapid response. The issue that we have addressed tonight is whether we can put anything in place to distance people around the palace from being able to mount the colonnade in future. That must be discussed with the royal family because of its impact on the palace.

 
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Lisbon Agenda

Motion made, and Question proposed, That this House do now adjourn.—[Mr. Watson.]

10.40 pm

Keith Vaz (Leicester, East) (Lab): Thank you, Mr. Speaker, for giving me the opportunity to raise in this House the very important topic of economic reform of the European Union. The House has never before held an Adjournment debate on the Lisbon agenda. I am glad that my hon. Friend the Financial Secretary is here. I congratulate him on his recent return to the powerhouse of the Government's economic policy, which is so different from post office closures. I am also delighted to see my hon. Friend the Minister for Europe.

After the Lisbon summit on 24 March 2000, the Prime Minister said in his statement to the House:

"The Lisbon European Council represents a turning point in Europe's approach to economic and social policy. With a sound macro-economic framework in place and the euro safely introduced, the concrete actions agreed at the Council should help to deliver an increase in the European Union employment rate over the next 10 years."—[Official Report, 27 March 2000; Vol. 347, c. 22.]

That was a bold and impressive commitment by the Prime Minister to the economic reform agenda.

We are now rapidly approaching the mid-term of the Lisbon agreement, and I value the opportunity to debate Britain's position and what needs to be done to move the agenda forward.

At the Lisbon European Council, the member states agreed to put economic and social development at the very top of the political agenda in order to create a European Union that would position itself in the lead of the international financial markets. The Lisbon summit committed all national governments to a 10-year programme of reform that was going to make the EU

"the most dynamic knowledge based economy in the world by 2010".

I had the privilege of being at the Lisbon Council as the then Minister for Europe. Lisbon was different because it set out a series of benchmarks. Its language was not the usual Eurospeak whereby everybody congratulates everybody about the success of a summit, but a clear and precise list of achievable objectives.

The key targets and objectives of the Lisbon agenda were employment; research and innovation; the single market; social cohesion; and sustainable development and the environment. The main benchmark on employment was to reach, by 2010, an overall employment rate of 70 per cent. of the EU population. The female employment rate was to rise to 60 per cent., and the employment rate for older workers was to rise to 50 per cent. of the EU population. The Lisbon agenda also set out to increase the retirement age by five years and to reduce the number of 18 to 24- year-olds with only basic secondary education by 50 per cent.

The benchmarks for research and innovation would see spending on research and development approach 3 per cent. of gross domestic product by 2010 and 100 per cent. of schools connected to the internet by 2002.

In terms of the development and progress of the single market, the Lisbon agenda stated that we would see full implementation of the risk capital action plan by 2003,
 
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and of the financial services action plan in 2005. We were to have a transposition rate of 98.5 per cent. for internal market directives. No internal market directives were to be more than two years overdue in their transposition.

The energy markets were to open for business by 2004 and for domestic users subsequently. Finally, the single market goals set out the prospect of a single European sky by 2004.

As for social cohesion, Lisbon was meant to halve the number of school leavers not continuing in further education, and reduce the numbers living at risk of poverty by 2010.

On sustainable development and the environment, visible progress towards reducing greenhouse gas emissions was suggested. Lisbon set a clear target for electricity generated from renewable resources as well as ending the loss in biodiversity. Lisbon agreed to recycle 55 per cent. of all waste by 2008.

The United States is the main economic challenge to the European Union. The current EU, at 25, has a single market of approximately 450 million consumers compared with approximately 380 million in the US. At Lisbon, we were informed that the US managed to create 10 million jobs in the 10 previous years, whereas the EU created only 1 million.

That is why, in my view, it is vital that all member states adopt the euro. Only with the same currency and the minimising of trade barriers can the EU catch up with the US. We have to encourage the citizens of Europe to spend their money in the eurozone instead of elsewhere.

The Lisbon agenda set out ambitious goals and, although progress has been made, much more needs to be done. It is important is to see the Lisbon agenda as a clear strategy forward for Europe. Only by setting the targets at a high level will we progress in the way that is necessary for the stability and the future of the European Union.

The mid-term review of the Lisbon agenda, which is due in March 2005, is intended to give an indication of how Europe is doing, and also to consider how the Lisbon goals can be best met by 2010, especially in the light of enlargement and the new member states.

Although the European Council reaffirms that the process and goals remain valid, a change of pace of reform is needed to achieve the targets by 2010. I want to know from the Financial Secretary the Government's view of the way forward. Overall, a north-south divide has emerged between the relatively good achievers—Austria, Denmark, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Sweden and the United Kingdom—and the Mediterranean's less successful countries such as Greece, Italy, Portugal and Spain. The employment rate has grown, but not substantially.

Productivity growth remains low, and substantial weaknesses remain in competitiveness and the development of the internal market. Only last week, the Chancellor of the Exchequer demanded a new sense of urgency from Brussels, and rightly said that the so-called Eurocrats must drop their inward-looking mindset and tackle the growth problem immediately.
 
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My constituents in Leicester, East need the Lisbon agenda to succeed. So many businesses in Leicester trade with the rest of Europe, as the Chancellor of the Exchequer noted when he recently visited the city. The main problem that they experience is the over-regulated way in which some other EU countries operate. More jobs will be created in Leicester if the goals set out in the Lisbon agenda are met. That applies not only to the textile industry, which has been the bedrock of the city, but the new service industries and engineering.

As a city, we are ideally placed in the heart of England, with major road networks all around us. We can succeed if the economic climate is right in Europe and we can become a powerhouse of financial prosperity. We are already a Premiership city as far as trade is concerned. Although the Foxes have left the Premiership, they will be back next season, following their splendid victory over the Minister for Europe's football team on Saturday.

As hon. Members know, in addition to the mid-term review, the former Prime Minister of the Netherlands, Wim Kok, is heading a high-level group, which has been commissioned to carry out an independent review of the achievements on the Lisbon agenda so far. The decision to set up that group was made by the European Council in March 2003. The high-level group is composed of several highly qualified individuals who are able to reflect the views of all stakeholders. Among those represented are Mr. Will Hutton, chief executive of the Work Foundation, and Mr. Naill Fitzgerald, chairman of Unilever. The remit of that high level group is to make proposals to the Commission to give new stimulus to the Lisbon strategy and improve delivery.

The report is due to be presented to the Commission by November 2004, and will identify the measures that have been taken so far in the member states' economies to achieve the Lisbon objectives and targets.

One of the key factors in achieving the goals set out in the Lisbon agenda and creating the most competitive knowledge-based economy in the world is accessibility to broadband. The online newspaper, euobserver.com, recently reported that the new member states are set to overtake the old EU 15 in broadband internet penetration rates by 2010. They are set for a rapid catching-up process that could see them forging ahead in the next few years. This is the enthusiasm and willingness on which the whole of the EU must build. All member states must be equally excited about strengthening their own standing, and thereby that of the whole EU. Equal commitment from the individual member states is the only recipe for success in the long term.

The enlargement of the European Union, increasing the number of member states from 15 to 25, was an extraordinary success, and Europe is now set to go forward in building on unity, strength and co-operation. A union of 25 member states has the possibility and capability to be a strong—indeed, the strongest—player in the world arena, but it needs structure and leadership in order to build on its strengths. The unique combination of diverse skills and cultural richness that defines Europe gives it every opportunity to achieve the goals that have been set out.

In just 33 days, on 1 November, the new President of the European Commission will start his term of office, and he has given a clear indication that he wants his
 
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Commission to be strong and united. Mr Barosso has stated that he intends to boost the Lisbon agenda and has promised that economic reforms will be at the heart of his five-year tenure. He will chair a group of Commissioners who will seek to enhance the reform process and give new impetus to Europe's economy. He has said:

"The goal of becoming the most competitive economy in the world is one we can achieve, and we should not feel discouraged".

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