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of Kentish Town
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment it has made
of the potential impact of the adoption by the European
Parliament of a resolution on the UK’s withdrawal from the
EU on its ability to achieve the negotiating objectives set
out in its White Paper.
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of Kentish Town
(Lab)
My Lords, I beg leave to ask a Question of which I have
given private notice.
-
(Con)
My Lords, we note the European Parliament’s views on our
upcoming negotiations and we shall carefully consider the
content of the resolution. We recognise and respect the
vital role that the European Parliament will play in our
exit process and we shall stay engaged with it throughout
that process.
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of Kentish Town
I thank the Minister for that. The significance of the
resolution is that the European Parliament will base its
decision on whether to grant—or, indeed, withhold—its
consent to our withdrawal deal on whether its objectives
have been met. In the light of that, I ask the Minister,
first, whether she will give some thought to a
Parliament-to-Parliament dialogue so that both bodies with
a potential veto can discuss and debate the issues
together? Secondly, what is the Government’s response to
the resolution’s suggestion that an association might be
appropriate for our future relationship with the European
Union?
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I thank the noble Baroness for raising two important
points. On the question of inter-Parliament
relationships—between the Parliament of the United Kingdom
and the European Parliament—the negotiating conduit is
clearly from the UK Government to the European Commission.
But it seems a perfectly healthy suggestion that the
Parliaments should engage; and indeed that is for the
Parliaments themselves to determine, as government does not
control Parliament and nor should it do so. On the second
important issue, it was helpful that the European
Parliament recognised the importance of the citizenship
issue. The Prime Minister has made it clear that in so far
as citizenships are concerned, from the UK perspective we
want to have that at the forefront of our negotiations. In
relation to the European Parliament resolution, we
certainly look forward to an early resolution of the issue
of citizenships and citizenship rights.
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(PC)
My Lords, speaking as one who sat through the entire three
hours of the debate in Strasbourg yesterday, will the noble
Baroness accept it from me that the pervading feeling there
was one of sadness? Is she aware that suggested that
the three conditions for successful negotiations were:
first, unity, by which he meant success for both sides;
secondly, to dispel uncertainty; and thirdly, the
establishing of appropriate sequencing of the negotiations?
Will the Government endorse that approach?
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I thank the noble Lord for his question. What was reflected
in the European Parliament yesterday echoes much of what
the United Kingdom Government have been saying. Quite
simply, there is a mutual interest for the UK and the EU in
conducting these negotiations in a harmonious, constructive
and, yes, robust fashion. That means that there will be
issues where firm positions have to be taken, but I very
much hope that a mood of constructive concord will prevail.
In so far as the particular points made by Mr Barnier are
concerned, I am sure that all these matters are already in
the mind of the UK Government and that they will pay close
attention to those issues.
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(CB)
My Lords, will the Minister agree that one part of the
position endorsed by the European Parliament—which is to
talk about sequential rather than concurrent negotiations
on the new partnership—is thoroughly unhelpful? Will she
recognise that there is broad support, I believe, in this
House and in the other place for the Government’s view that
the negotiation on all these matters should go ahead
without further delay? If does she agree, will she tell us
what the Government are doing to persuade the members of
the European Council and the European Parliament to soften
their unfortunate attachment to a sequential approach?
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I thank the noble Lord for his question. We are all aware
that the backdrop to this is now a timeframe of two years.
I think that that will focus minds, and I have noted with
interest what he has said. There is a recognition that
there is a complex and challenging negotiation ahead. There
is a great deal of material to be debated, discussed,
digested and, we hope, then agreed upon. That will require
minds to focus within the timescale available. I am very
grateful for the noble Lord’s observation and am sure that
when he asks me what the Government will do, they will pay
close attention to his wise words.
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(LD)
My Lords, rather than the Government talking up their
dangerous no-deal option, will they now accept that a
timeframe of two years is completely unrealistic and that a
transitional deal will obviously and inevitably be
required? If they accept that, as they should, will they
also acknowledge that the European Court of Justice will
have authority over that transitional deal, as confirmed in
the draft Council guidelines as well as in the Parliament’s
resolution, so that the Government will be unable to fulfil
their pledge to remove the UK from ECJ jurisdiction by
March 2019 if they are to fulfil their aim of agreeing a
trade deal? Will they now openly acknowledge that point so
that there is no more disingenuous avoiding of it?
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I thank the noble Baroness for her question. The
fundamental difference between the position of her party
and the position of my party is that my party respects
democracy and will abide by that referendum result.
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Noble Lords
Oh!
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That is something which I believe is an alien concept to
the Liberal Democrats.
Everyone is realistic about the timeframe pressure of two
years. I do not agree that it is impossible to negotiate a
sensible deal within that timeframe any more than I think
the EU thinks it is impossible to do it. I think the EU is
being constructive. The European Parliament debate and
resolution show that the EU is being constructive. That is
a great encouragement for the United Kingdom, and we will
now proceed with these negotiations in a constructive and
optimistic spirit.
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(Con)
My Lords, does my noble friend accept that it is not just
with the European Parliament that we need a constructive
concord? We need constructive and intensified relations
with the Parliaments of the other 27 members and, indeed,
some of the local Parliaments as well. This is a major
task, but in this digital age, it is very much easier than
it would have been in the past. Will she encourage all
kinds of contact between our Parliament and the Parliaments
of the other member states of the European Union?
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I thank my noble friend for his observation. It is a
positive contribution. It should be made crystal clear that
the conduit for the negotiations has to be between the
United Kingdom Government and the EU Commission. That is
the silo, if you like, for the negotiations. That does not
prejudice the normal diplomatic discourse and the desirable
conversations that will take place between the United
Kingdom and other member states. That is an ongoing and
healthy process, but we should be clear that the formal
channel for the negotiations is between the UK Government
and the EU Commission.
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(Lab)
My Lords, the Minister—
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(Lab)
My Lords, has the Minister had time to consider paragraph
29 of the European Parliament resolution, which calls for
the relocation of the European Banking Authority and the
European Medicines Agency from the United Kingdom to
another country in Europe as quickly as practicable? Have
the Government made any assessment of the impact of that?
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If I can recover from the stereophonic effect of the
contributions from the Labour Benches, I thank the noble
Lord for raising that issue. It is specific to the
negotiations. I am certain that it will be discussed within
the negotiations. It would be quite wrong for me to
pre-empt an answer to that, and I am not going to do so.
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(Con)
My Lords, in order to calm the rhetoric in the European
Parliament, will my noble friend think of sending a certain
United Kingdom Member of that Parliament a definition of
the word “mafia” and a copy of How to Win Friends and
Influence People?
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As ever, my noble friend seeks to pour oil on troubled
waters. I am sure his comments will be noted.
