European Union (Future Relationship) Bill — House of Lords, 2020-12-30
Topic: Foreign Trade
Mark Lancaster (Conservative, Centre-right): My Lords, we have a trade deal with the EU and, as someone who voted to remain, I celebrate it and will be supporting the Bill. Listening to this debate, it is clear that some noble Lords are still struggling to accept that we have left the EU and, rather than support this Bill that will deliver the platform for the UK economy to prosper, would rather vote against it, in what will appear to many as being nothing more than a vain attempt to prove that they were right and the British people were wrong The Prime Minister, however, has proved his doubters wrong and delivered a deal that takes back control of our laws, borders, money and trade, and changes the basis of our relationship with our European neighbours from EU law to free trade and friendly co-operation. I have heard noble Lords complain that there will now be greater friction for trade with the EU, and they are undoubtedly correct, but this rather misses the point. The price of increased friction with the EU in some areas delivers the flexibility to strike deals with other parts of the world where it is in our national interest to do so. With the signing of our trade deal yesterday with Turkey bringing the total to 62, and worth a cumulative total of £885 billion, we are clearly seizing this opportunity. The point is that the restrictive one-size-fits-all straitjacket of the EU is off, while at the same time preserving the immense benefits of free trade for millions of people in the United Kingdom and across Europe I am not claiming the deal is perfect. By definition, any successful negotiation relies on compromise. The numerous political declarations published on 26 December demonstrate that this is far from the end and questions remain. To take just one example, while there are broad overarching commitments on state aid, we still await the detail on what exactly the new UK subsidy control regime will look like The safety and security of our citizens is the Government’s top priority. I agree with the growing consensus that the deal with regard to law enforcement and judicial co-operation in criminal matters is better than expected. The agreement provides a comprehensive package of operational capabilities that will help protect the public and bring criminals to justice. If I have one criticism it is that while many of the relationships remain —for example, data sharing, the exchange of DNA and fingerprinting through Prüm, or access to the ECRIS criminal records database—these will no longer be in real time. The point here is that speed of access to information is paramount, and I would be grateful if the Minister can outline how the impact of a move from real-time access to data sharing will be mitigated Finally, if there is one threat that respects no national boundary it is that to cybersecurity, and I am pleased that the agreement provides a framework for UK-EU co-operation in this field. Having experienced first hand the very real benefits of the exchange of co-operation in international bodies promoting global cyber resilience, I seek the Minister’s assurance that the UK’s voluntary participation in the activities of the various expert bodies will continue to be a priority.