Meeting of the Parliament 09 June 2015
I want to pursue some points on the EU reform agenda.
The Scottish Government has never argued that the EU is perfect, and we set out our suggestions in “Scotland’s Agenda for EU Reform”. The institutions of the EU have grown distant from citizens, so there is a need for those institutions to reconnect. We have identified two main ways in which the Scottish Government can contribute to that—first, by influencing the renewed EU institutions to pursue further regulatory reform so that EU regulation is more proportionate, consistent, accountable, transparent and targeted—for example, by implementing the agreed common fisheries policy reforms to decentralise fisheries management—and secondly by influencing the renewed EU institutions to prioritise economic and social policies that reflect the fundamental aspirations and concerns of its citizens.
The EU must address international problems that member states acting alone could not address; it must promote energy security through the energy union package and complete the digital single market. It must tackle climate change collectively, promote growth and competitiveness that are sustainable and experienced by all citizens of the EU, promote collective action on youth employment, introduce EU law to enable procurement practices that require the living wage to be paid, and introduce EU law and policy to facilitate and encourage member states to take action to combat the causes of ill health.
Those reforms are about doing things better and in a smarter way. They are about pursuing a continuous improvement agenda and changing the way the EU works as it expands and circumstances change. I believe that the existing treaty structures can accommodate that.
However, the Prime Minister has said that he wants to renegotiate the UK’s relationship with Europe. It is far from clear what he actually wants and whether his proposals will require treaty change. David Cameron seems to be neither clear nor, from yesterday, in control. I issue a word of warning: we should not cast the forthcoming negotiations between the UK and other member states in terms of there being winners and losers. The whole point of a more effective European Union is that everyone should gain from it. In my view, compromise does not mean concession.
A second warning is that we remain concerned about the UK Government’s rhetoric in some quarters, which creates the impression that EU membership is not beneficial at present and that it will become beneficial only if we achieve big enough reforms. That approach makes it harder to articulate the benefits that we already gain from membership. There is a real danger that the UK will focus the EU debate on a narrow agenda of the success or otherwise of the Prime Minister’s negotiations, rather than focusing on the bigger picture of the value and importance of the EU. We must remember that it is the overall position that will be the decision on the ballot and we must conduct the debate on EU membership with the bigger picture in mind.
I believe that the best way to tell the positive story of EU membership is to tell the individual stories of the people, businesses and sectors that benefit right now. I call on members of this Parliament to help to make the positive case for EU membership to the Scottish people and to people throughout these islands.
I move,
That the Parliament notes the publication of the European Union Referendum Bill on 28 May 2015 and the Prime Minister’s intention to renegotiate the UK’s terms of membership with the EU before a referendum; advocates the bill’s amendment to extend the voting franchise in the referendum to 16 and 17-year-olds and all EU citizens resident in the UK; calls for the introduction of a double majority to ensure that none of the four constituent parts of the UK can be taken out of the EU against the will of its people; recognises the great value of Scotland’s place in the EU and will make a positive case for Scotland and the UK remaining in the EU by highlighting the economic, social, cultural and educational benefits of EU membership, and advocates the constructive reform of the EU from within the existing treaty framework.
14:35