madam president may i thank the minister for his reply
i think we are far too defensive in this house and in institutions generally when it comes to lisbon and the european union in general
it is time that we put some of the people who are attacking europe on the defensive
where would we be without the european central bank
where would we be those of us who are in the euro zone without the euro zone
the one thing we do not have is an identifiable head of the european council who can speak on matters of economic recovery and i think it is clear that the provision in the lisbon treaty to provide for such a person is really essential
if we had that person in place now we would not have the zigzagging that goes on between the six-monthly presidencies
perhaps the minister might say in his reply what he sees as the prospects for the ratification of the treaty in the czech republic
