Brendan Ryan (Labour)

In The Irish Times today, the President of the European Commission, in an interview, states that any country that does not ratify the next treaty will have to leave the Union. He says that one cannot allow one country to hold up the progress of 25. I thought the bedrock of the European Union and the reason we all were comfortable with it was that nothing could be done dramatically against our interests or wishes, but by negotiation and agreement. It is a tedious process but it has worked. Some Members know more about it as they were involved in the tedium. If the President of the European Commission makes statements such as this, we need to have regular debates in this House to respond and hear the Government's position.