Extract from Lords debate on the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting 2018 - Mar 22
Friday, 23 March 2018 08:39
Lord Anderson of Swansea (Lab):..Again, the Commonwealth cannot
aspire to be an economic bloc, although Commonwealth members do
belong to a number of regional trade blocs. There is scope for
increasing intra-Commonwealth trade, which should be exploited. But
there are major links between the European Union and Commonwealth
countries, now particularly with Canada after negotiations for CETA
lasting seven years. Preparations have recently been concluded for
the EU to begin negotiations with...Request free trial
(Lab):..Again, the Commonwealth cannot aspire to be an
economic bloc, although Commonwealth members do belong to a number
of regional trade blocs. There is scope for increasing
intra-Commonwealth trade, which should be exploited. But there are
major links between the European Union and Commonwealth countries,
now particularly with Canada after negotiations for CETA lasting
seven years. Preparations have recently been concluded for the EU
to begin negotiations with Australia and New Zealand. Again, there
is an economic partnership between the European Union and South
Africa and the SADC countries. India has been negotiating an FTA
with the European Union since 2007, but is basically protectionist
and would demand major migration concessions from the United
Kingdom post Brexit. India has blown hot and cold over the
Commonwealth for some time. As in politics, the EU has more
negotiating clout than bilateral Commonwealth deals, so we must
avoid the illusion that the Commonwealth could be an alternative to
the European Union. That is why all the Commonwealth leaders I have
been able to trace are remainers. It is particularly true that some
of the smaller countries, such as Gibraltar and the Falkland Islands, saw the UK as a bridge to the
EU market and as an advocate for them in Brussels...
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