Our union depends on the rule of law. Where countries have accepted obligations, they must honour them. Nothing is more destructive of commitment to common European aims than the popular belief that while some countries diligently obey the rules, others are cheating and being allowed to get away with it. There are areas where conformity is right and necessary - in the rules which govern international trade and the Single Market and the environment, for example. But conformity can never be right as an automatic principle.
Flexibility is essential to get the best out of Europe - and to respect the wishes of our peoples.
The European Parliament is not the answer to the democratic deficit as the pitiably low turn-out in this year's European Elections so vividly illustrated. The upshot, sadly, has been an unrepresentative and rather incoherent range of parties in the new European Parliament, in which fringe, protest and opposition groups are over-represented. We must wait to see if, over time, our electorates begin to take European Elections more seriously. But, for now, it would be premature to consider a further increase in the Parliament's powers. It should also do all it can to oppose fraud.