argyrotsipi/train-dataset huggingface dataset:
UK-EU Renegotiation — House of Commons, 2016-02-03
Topic: International Affairs
David William Donald Cameron (Conservative, Centre-right): I have great respect for my right hon. Friend. He explained very clearly on the radio this morning that he would be for leaving the EU, even without the renegotiation. He was very honest and frank about that. In terms of dramas and tragedies, I am sure that he will join me in echoing the old insurance advert by saying that we should not turn a drama into a crisis On the emergency brake, the European Commission has been absolutely clear in the documents that it "considers that the kind of information provided to it by the United Kingdom shows the type of exceptional situation that the proposed safeguard mechanism is intended to cover exists in the United Kingdom today." Of course, I am all for maximising the sovereignty of this House and our Government, and our ability to do things, but we have said that we want there to be no more something for nothing, that we want a welfare brake and that we want to be able to deny benefits to people in full before they have been here for four years. This paper says that that can happen as soon as the legislation allows.
UK-EU Renegotiation — House of Commons, 2016-02-03
Topic: International Affairs
David William Donald Cameron (Conservative, Centre-right): Were there to be an agreement in February, I do not think that a four-month period before a referendum would be too short. I think four months is a good amount of time to get across the key arguments, facts and figures, and for both sides to make their points. That will be equally important in Northern Ireland, and I give the hon. Gentleman a guarantee that if there is an agreement, I will personally spend time in Northern Ireland, making the points that I think are most important. As for the role of the EU in helping to bring about the successful transformation of Northern Ireland, there have been positive moves in terms of grants, and structural and other funds, to help build the strong economy in Northern Ireland that we need.
UK-EU Renegotiation — House of Commons, 2016-02-03
Topic: International Affairs
David William Donald Cameron (Conservative, Centre-right): The view is that this emergency brake can be brought in under the existing treaties, but only with legislation through the European Parliament. On an accelerated timetable, the leader of one of the major parties said that that could take one, two or three months. That is what makes it clear that we can act in this way not just legally, but—crucially in my view and, I think, in that of the British public— quickly.
UK-EU Renegotiation — House of Commons, 2016-02-03
Topic: International Affairs
David William Donald Cameron (Conservative, Centre-right): I absolutely agree that this decision is for the British people, and the British people alone, and they certainly do not want to hear lectures from other people about that. It is because this affects Britain’s relations with the rest of the world, and other issues, that there may well be people who want to make a positive contribution, and that is a matter for them. I think that the peace process is secure and we must keep going with it, and I believe that the Taoiseach is a friend of the United Kingdom. He spoke up very strongly for Britain at the European Council, and I think he was quite influential in trying to build good will, and saying that we in the European Union should recognise that if a country has a national interest at stake and needs things fixed, we must be a flexible enough organisation, because otherwise we will not be able to sort those things out.
UK-EU Renegotiation — House of Commons, 2016-02-03
Topic: Foreign Trade
Philip Andrew Davies (Conservative, Centre-right): The Prime Minister has said that if we vote to leave the EU, he would want to continue as Prime Minister—a combination that I would fully support. He certainly fancies himself as a negotiator. Given that we have a net contribution each year to the European Union of £19 billion and a trade deficit with the EU of £62 billion, and that if we were to leave we would be the single biggest export market of the European Union, does he think he has the ability to negotiate a free trade agreement from outside the EU, without handing over £19 billion a year?
UK-EU Renegotiation — House of Commons, 2016-02-03
Topic: International Affairs
David William Donald Cameron (Conservative, Centre-right): I have great respect for my hon. Friend, who I think wanted to leave the EU whatever came out of these negotiations, and I am sure he will make his arguments powerfully. Obviously, we must consider all the issues, and once the debate starts, people will want to look at all the alternatives. Would Britain be better off in a customs union arrangement such as that with Turkey? Would we be better off in a free trade agreement, such as that with Canada? Would we be better off in a situation such as the one the EU has with Norway and Iceland? I have started talking about some of those alternatives. I think the Norway example is not a strong one, because Norway contributes more per head to the EU than we do, and it has to take all the legislation passed in Brussels. I am sure that that will be an important part of the debate to come.
UK-EU Renegotiation — House of Commons, 2016-02-03
Topic: International Affairs
David William Donald Cameron (Conservative, Centre-right): Maybe the hon. Gentleman can help me out—I don’t know. This is a very important issue for our country, but in the end it will not be decided in this Chamber. We will all have to reach our own conclusions, and if hon. Members passionately believe in their hearts that Britain is better off outside the EU, they should vote that way. If they think, even on balance, that Britain is better off in the EU, they should go with what they think. Members should not take a view because of what their constituency association might say or because they are worried about a boundary review, or because they think it might be advantageous this way or that way. People should do what is in their heart—if you think it is right for Britain, then do that.
UK-EU Renegotiation — House of Commons, 2016-02-03
Topic: International Affairs
Edward Julian Egerton Leigh (Conservative, Centre-right): Since no one else has done this so far after nearly an hour, and since my mum always said that I should say thank you, may I thank the Prime Minister for giving us a choice in the first place? One question to ask about the referendum is what is the point in having an emergency brake on our car if the backseat driver—namely the European Commission—has the power to tell us when and for how long we should put our foot on the brake pedal?
UK-EU Renegotiation — House of Commons, 2016-02-03
Topic: Environment
David William Donald Cameron (Conservative, Centre-right): Where there are genuine cross-border problems we must work across borders to try to ensure a strong solution. I think that the key issues are prosperity and security, but within security comes environmental security, and at the Paris accord Britain was able to play a strong role. Through our example of getting carbon emissions down, and by having a strong plan for the future, we encouraged other countries in Europe to do the same. That leveraged in—sorry, terrible jargon: that brought about a better deal from the rest of the world.
UK-EU Renegotiation — House of Commons, 2016-02-03
Topic: International Affairs
Eric Pickles (Conservative, Centre-right): Much has been said about the Conservative party manifesto that the Prime Minister and Conservative Members fought the election on, and I have an electronic copy of it in front of me now. Should the Prime Minister succeed in his negotiations, he will achieve not only the letter of what we promised, but also the spirit. Perhaps most importantly, he will give the British people a chance to vote for a reformed Europe, or to vote for the uncertainty of leaving.
UK-EU Renegotiation — House of Commons, 2016-02-03
Topic: International Affairs
David William Donald Cameron (Conservative, Centre-right): I am very grateful to my right hon. Friend. We are delivering the manifesto in fact and in spirit, not least by doing something that many people thought we would never deliver on, which is to hold that referendum. I remember sitting on the Opposition Benches when Tony Blair stood here and said, "Let battle commence; let the referendum on the constitutional treaty begin". The fact that that referendum was never held in many ways poisoned a lot of the debate in Britain. That is why the manifesto is so clear about the referendum and about the renegotiation aims Some people will say that a better approach is to go in, kick over the table, walk out the door and say, "I’m not gonna come back in unless you give me a list of impossible demands", but that was never the plan we set out. The plan we set out was to address specifically the biggest concerns of the British people about competitiveness, an ever closer union, fairness, and migration, and if we can complete this negotiation, that is what I believe it will do.
UK-EU Renegotiation — House of Commons, 2016-02-03
Topic: International Affairs
David William Donald Cameron (Conservative, Centre-right): I am very grateful to the right hon. Lady for what she says. She raises an important point about Calais. There is no doubt in my mind that the agreement we have is incredibly beneficial. I think it works well for both countries. For Britain, being able to have our border controls in France and deal with people there is something we should be very proud of. We should do everything we can to sustain it. It is part of the European co-operation we have.
UK-EU Renegotiation — House of Commons, 2016-02-03
Topic: International Affairs
Michael Louis David Fabricant (Conservative, Centre-right): Given the difficulty of getting any change to our EU membership approved by the other 27 countries, what we have got is as good as anyone, I think, might have expected and more. I congratulate the Prime Minister on his achievement. Will my right hon. Friend confirm that once the European Council have made its decision, he will respect the views of those Ministers who might publicly express the opinion that the United Kingdom should now leave the EU, and that the careers of those Ministers in this Government will not be jeopardised or threatened as a consequence?
UK-EU Renegotiation — House of Commons, 2016-02-03
Topic: International Affairs
David William Donald Cameron (Conservative, Centre-right): I can certainly give my hon. Friend that assurance. We are still in the process of negotiation. The manifesto we all stood on said that we wanted to get the best possible deal for Britain and that we would all work on that together. That is exactly what we are doing. If the deal is agreed—whether in February or perhaps later, if it takes more time—there will then be a meeting of the Cabinet to decide whether we can take a recommended position to the British people. If that position is to recommend we stay in a reformed European Union then, yes, at that point Ministers, who, as I have said, have long-standing views and want to campaign in another direction, will be able to do that. The Government will still have a position. This is not a free-for-all. It will be a clear Government position from which Ministers can depart. Yes, as I have said, they should not suffer disadvantage because they want to take that view.
UK-EU Renegotiation — House of Commons, 2016-02-03
Topic: International Affairs
David William Donald Cameron (Conservative, Centre-right): In terms of the respect agenda, my right hon. Friend the Europe Minister has had a number of conversations with the heads of the devolved Administrations and I think that is absolutely right. On the referendum date, I do not think we should get ahead of ourselves. We need an agreement first, but I really do not believe that a four-month period, and a good six weeks or more between one set of elections and another, is in any way disrespectful. I have great respect for the electorates of our countries. They are able to separate these issues and make a decision.
UK-EU Renegotiation — House of Commons, 2016-02-03
Topic: International Affairs
James Gerald Douglas Howarth (Conservative, Centre-right): I commend my right hon. Friend for sticking to his commitment to offer the British people a choice on this matter. I also support very much what he has just said about maximising the sovereignty of this Parliament. Does he not agree that the proposals to require the United Kingdom to secure the support of many continental Parliaments to block any EU directive that this Parliament opposes do not constitute the fundamental reform he seeks?
UK-EU Renegotiation — House of Commons, 2016-02-03
Topic: Government Operations
David William Donald Cameron (Conservative, Centre-right): I argue that the red card proposal for national Parliaments is something new—it did not previously exist. Of course, it will take a lot of co-ordination between Parliaments, but where I think it is so much more powerful than the previous proposals, of yellow cards and what have you, is that it would be an absolute block. If we could get the right number of Parliaments together over an issue, the Council and the Commission would not go ahead with it. I think it goes alongside the subsidiarity test that takes place every year, getting Britain out of ever closer union, and reaffirming the sovereignty of Parliament as we have done and will do again. It is one more measure that demonstrates we believe in national Parliaments.
UK-EU Renegotiation — House of Commons, 2016-02-03
Topic: International Affairs
David William Donald Cameron (Conservative, Centre-right): As ever, the right hon. Gentleman speaks very clearly and powerfully. Of course he is right. Much bigger arguments are going to take place over the coming months and I am not over-claiming about the four areas where we have made progress. I merely say that they relate to four of the things that most concern the British people about Europe and that we are some way down the road of fixing them. The point he makes about being a rule maker not a rule taker is absolutely vital. Britain is a major industrial economy with a huge car industry, a huge aerospace industry and a very important financial services industry. We need to make sure we are around the table making the rules, otherwise there is a danger that we are not just a rule taker but that the rules are made against us. That is what we need to avoid.
UK-EU Renegotiation — House of Commons, 2016-02-03
Topic: International Affairs
David William Donald Cameron (Conservative, Centre-right): My judgment in all of this is that I want things that increase the power and the ability of Britain to fix problems and to deal with our own security, stability and prosperity. What matters is this: are we more able to deal with these things? One thing Europe needs to get right is to get rid of the pettifogging bureaucracy on the small things that infuriate people but do not actually make a difference, and to focus instead on security, prosperity and jobs—that is the focus.
UK-EU Renegotiation — House of Commons, 2016-02-03
Topic: International Affairs
Bernard Christison Jenkin (Conservative, Centre-right): May I point out to my right hon. Friend that the former director general of the legal service of the Council of Ministers, Jean-Claude Piris, has said: "There is no possibility to make a promise that would be legally binding to change the treaty later" In fact, he then used a word which one might describe as male bovine excrement. Can the Prime Minister give a single example of where the European Court of Justice has ruled against the treaties in favour of an international agreement, such as the one he is proposing?
UK-EU Renegotiation — House of Commons, 2016-02-03
Topic: Law and Crime
David William Donald Cameron (Conservative, Centre-right): I certainly can give the hon. Lady that reassurance. The House debated this issue. We opted out of much of justice and home affairs but we specifically chose to opt back into the European arrest warrant because it has proved very valuable, not least in the case that the hon. Lady mentions and other cases, in ensuring that terrorist suspects and serious criminals can be returned straight away to Britain. If we stay in a reformed European Union, those arrangements will continue. It is more a question for those who want to leave to say how they will put back in place something as powerful as what we have.
UK-EU Renegotiation — House of Commons, 2016-02-03
Topic: International Affairs
Oliver Heald (Conservative, Centre-right): I welcome the Prime Minister’s substantial progress towards an agreement that would allow us to stay in the EU, but does he agree that one of the most important aspects of such an agreement is that it is legally binding and provides a lot more clarity about Britain’s role within the EU—in terms of the new dispensation, and of existing treaties? That makes it extremely powerful from a legal point of view as it can be revoked only if we agree. It therefore has embedded force to it.
UK-EU Renegotiation — House of Commons, 2016-02-03
Topic: International Affairs
David William Donald Cameron (Conservative, Centre-right): We have heard from the former Attorney General and the former Solicitor General, who have great legal expertise. The point that they make is right: this agreement will be legally binding on member states as a matter of international law. First, of course, it has to be agreed, but once it has been agreed, my hon. and learned Friend is absolutely right that it would be irreversible because it could be amended or revoked only if all member states, Britain included, decided to reverse it. Therein lies its irreversibility.
UK-EU Renegotiation — House of Commons, 2016-02-03
Topic: International Affairs
Anne Margaret Main (Conservative, Centre-right): The Commission might agree that we meet the requirements to have a break, but that is its decision. It might not agree in a few years’ time. Every step of these negotiations relies, unfortunately, on somebody else giving us permission to make decisions for this country, as with the thousands of harmonised directives that we struggle with—day in, day out—in respect of which businesses have to ask the permission of other countries. This is not what the British public want, Prime Minister.
UK-EU Renegotiation — House of Commons, 2016-02-03
Topic: Foreign Trade
David William Donald Cameron (Conservative, Centre-right): All these rules are no longer in a social chapter, but are part of single market legislation. We now have the opportunity to make sure that single market legislation is proportionate and that it is on something that needs to be done at the European level rather than the national level. That is an ongoing conversation, as it should be under the rules set out here.
UK-EU Renegotiation — House of Commons, 2016-02-03
Topic: International Affairs
Damian Howard Green (Conservative, Centre-right): Does my right hon. Friend agree that of all the documents issued yesterday, the most significant words are in Donald Tusk’s letter to members of the Council, particularly where he says that "in light of the United Kingdom’s special situation under the Treaties, it is not committed to further political integration." Is that not precisely what the majority of the British people have always wanted—to be in Europe, but not run by Europe, to revive an old phrase. Is that not precisely what my right hon. Friend has achieved?
UK-EU Renegotiation — House of Commons, 2016-02-03
Topic: International Affairs
David William Donald Cameron (Conservative, Centre-right): I thought the letter was interesting in that regard. The truth is that Britain’s membership of this organisation is different from that of other countries. As the document sets out, we are not in the euro, we are not participating in Schengen, we keep our own border controls, we choose whether to participate in measures of freedom, security and justice. We opted out of the justice and home affairs area, and now we are opted out, as it were, of ever closer union. Our membership is different, and we need to make that case strongly as we go forward.
UK-EU Renegotiation — House of Commons, 2016-02-03
Topic: International Affairs
David William Donald Cameron (Conservative, Centre-right): Those are important questions. I think I am right in saying that the amendments to the European Referendum Bill—now the 2015 Act—that were agreed in the House of Lords and were then, I think, accepted here require the Government to produce a series of documents concerning the reform proposals, the alternatives to membership, and the obligations and rights that attach to membership of the European Union. I think that, through a process involving those documents, we should address a very important question that clearly affects one part of the United Kingdom quite intensely.
UK-EU Renegotiation — House of Commons, 2016-02-03
Topic: International Affairs
Jacob William Rees-Mogg (Conservative, Centre-right): In 2014-15, 183,000 economic migrants came from the European Union, none of whom would have been deterred by anything we have heard so far. Ever closer union may be taken out of the preamble, but it remains in the essential text of all the treaties. On protecting the "euro-outs", all that will happen is that there will be a discussion—and there are plenty of discussions in the European Union—and, on competitiveness, that has been part of the European Union’s own ambition since the Lisbon agenda of 1999 The thin gruel has been further watered down. My right hon. Friend has a fortnight, I think, in which to salvage his reputation as a negotiator.
UK-EU Renegotiation — House of Commons, 2016-02-03
Topic: International Affairs
David William Donald Cameron (Conservative, Centre-right): My hon. Friend is extremely articulate and always speaks very powerfully, but let me take two of the points that he has made and explain why I think that, actually, he has got this wrong First, the principles that will be legally binding in terms of how currencies other than the euro are treated constitute a real advance. They mean, for instance, that never again can the European Union suggest that the clearance of euros is possible only in eurozone countries, which would have been disastrous for our financial services industry. I have secured that. The European Union cannot even promote that again, which is extremely important, because if we were not in the European Union, we would not have that protection at all. The EU could change the rule just like that. I do not think my hon. Friend understands the power of the principles of no discrimination, no disadvantage, and no cost, which mean that we cannot be forced to bail out eurozone countries as we nearly were last summer. Those are powerful principles On ever closer union, I encourage my hon. Friend to look at page 9 of section C of one of the documents, which states that "the references to an ever closer union…do not offer a basis for extending the scope of any provision of the Treaties" As I have said, as far as I can remember—I was advising a Minister at the time of the Maastricht debates, and I sat through Lisbon and Nice and Amsterdam and the rest—the principle has never been set out in that way. This means that ever closer union cannot be used to drive a process of integration. If we in the House have the protection that we must have a referendum if any Minister ever suggests that we sign up to another treaty that passes power—protection one—and we have this too, we are well on our way to saying that our different sort of membership of the EU is not only safeguarded but is being extended, because not only are we out of the euro and out of Schengen, but we are out of ever closer union too.