There are words that need to be defined –"confederation" as opposed to "federation". Whenever anyone mentions "federation" in Europe, it makes national headlines in the UK in particular, and it is picked up here by people who oppose the European project. What Deputy Bruton has described is much closer to a confederation than a federation, but probably somewhere in between. Yet if it were to be given a name, where would one put it? People discussing Europe should start making the distinction, even if only to contradict people who are applying certain qualities to a federation which do not exist, and using "federation" as a synonym for "super state". I agree absolutely with Deputy Bruton's rejection of that Thatcherite description of Europe.