However, within two years of the approval of the Lisbon treaty we have already had a proposal for a revision of that treaty, under the simplified revision procedure, to create a European stability mechanism, which is necessary to deal with the Crisis in the Euro Area.

The Crisis in the Euro Area has rarely been out of the news over the past year.

The Euro Area Crisis followed the worldwide banking crisis in 2008.

Finally, the proposals for a Euro Area Crisis resolution mechanism, or European financial stability mechanism-the ESM-as it is known, are being debated in parallel to these legislative discussions.

Among its conclusions is that: "The criticism that credit rating agencies precipitated the Euro Area Crisis is largely unjustified; their downgrades merely reflected the seriousness of the problems that some Member States are currently facing".

Yesterday, the Prime Minister made a statement to the House following the G20 meeting in Cannes regarding the ongoing Crisis in the Euro Area.

In April 2011, and in the light of these developments, our committee launched this inquiry, seeking to analyse the interaction between the credit rating agencies and sovereign debt, with a particular focus on the role of the CRAs in the Euro Area Crisis.

I completely agree with the report of the sub-committee chaired by the noble Lord, Lord Harrison, that the credit rating agencies did not precipitate or exacerbate the Euro Area Crisis.

We agree with the committee's assessment that CRAs cannot be held responsible for precipitating or exacerbating the Euro Area Crisis.

The Crisis in the Euro Area continues to undermine markets across the world, the UK included.

As my right honourable friend the Chancellor has said, resolving the Euro Area Crisis would be the biggest single boost to the UK economy this autumn.

The OBR names three: first, higher than expected inflation, which the OBR calls an “external shock”; secondly, ongoing instability from the Euro Area Crisis; and; thirdly, the full and permanent damage done by the 2008-09 financial crisis.

Events have moved on since the report was published, in particular as the Euro Area Crisis has deepened, and the new bodies have played a high-profile role.

The OBR attributed the worse economic outlook to three factors: the sharp increase in global commodity prices over 2010 and 2011; the impact of the Euro Area Crisis; and the ongoing structural impact of the financial crisis.

Earlier this week, the European Union Committee produced its latest report on the Euro Area Crisis.

I add my words of praise to what has been said about the Euro Area Crisis.

It is an excellent report, which said among other things: "The criticism that credit rating agencies precipitated the Euro Area Crisis is largely unjustified"- so it offered a very proportionate and measured response to the criticism.

First, the ongoing Crisis in the Euro Area is a major threat to the stability of the European and global economies, including Britain's.

The PM should explain why, if the Euro Area Crisis is crucial to the United Kingdom, we remain so semi-detached in our engagement with our colleagues.

Although the December diversion from the urgent need to particularise and embed the principles agreed at the October meeting caused further delay in coming to grips with the Euro Area Crisis, we are not alone in having been too tardy in responding.

The ongoing Crisis in the Euro Area continues to undermine confidence and growth right around the world.

My Lords, I welcome this opportunity to discuss the European Union Committee's report on the Euro Area Crisis.

On Monday, a number of noble Lords gave their very expert views on the broader issues during the debate on the report of the European Union Committee on the Euro Area Crisis.

However, as our debate on Monday on the Select Committee report reminded us, much more will be required to solve the Euro Area Crisis than this small Bill.

To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the effect on the European economy and financial institutions of the Crisis in the Euro Area.

8% in 2012, but more recent independent forecasts have been lower, reflecting the fact that the Euro Area Crisis remains the biggest risk to the UK recovery.

One of the characteristics of the Euro Area Crisis has been its oscillation between periods of relative calm and moments of febrile crisis.

As well as action in the UK to tackle the economic challenges that we face, progress needs to be made to tackle the Crisis in the Euro Areas.

Progress is being made to tackle the Crisis in the Euro Area, but the challenges facing growth in Europe continue to be serious.

Yet, as we warned in our February 2013 letter to the Financial Secretary to the Treasury on the Euro Area Crisis, "the biggest enemy in the current climate is complacency, whether it be that of European leaders that the euro area has definitively turned a corner, or whether it be that of observers in the UK that the implications of these developments can be safely ignored.

The Euro Area Crisis and questions about the role and governance of the Union have led to enlargement slipping down the political agenda.

First, it has conducted regular evidence sessions following up on the Euro Area Crisis report of 2012, which highlighted concerns about the future of the euro area, raised further questions about the desirability and efficacy of eurobonds and set out how the democratic legitimacy of solutions to the crisis could be ensured.

Finally, the Euro Area Crisis: amid these complex legislative proposals the committee has also sought to remain informed on the political and economic context in which the eurozone and the European Union as a whole operates.

As the noble Lord knows, there were substantial economic headwinds from the Euro Area Crisis, high commodity prices and the ongoing impact of the financial crisis.

My Lords, on behalf of my noble friend Lord Boswell of Aynho, and at his request, I beg leave to ask Her Majesty's Government what is their response to the report of the European Union Committee on the Euro Area Crisis: an update.

The initial brief reply from Nicky Morgan, who was briefly Financial Secretary to the Treasury, said that we had correctly identified, “that the changes in governance precipitated by the Euro Area Crisis has seriously altered the EU's decision making structure and that, in turn, impacts on the UK”.

This sub-committee produced an innovative report on the Euro Area Crisis, incorporating the outputs of a series of six-monthly mini- inquiries, by which they have followed the crisis blow by blow for two years.

As I have mentioned, our summary of the Euro Area Crisis has been developed over the years.

I regret being unable to take part in the debate we had yesterday on the Euro Area Crisis, which my chairman on Sub-Committee A, the noble Lord, Lord Harrison, referred to.