Protocol on Ireland/Northern Ireland
Debate between Baroness Ludford and Baroness Scott of Bybrook
Baroness Scott of Bybrook (Con)
My Lords, that is exactly what we are doing. We remain committed to our obligations under the protocol, but with a pragmatic and proportionate way intended. That is why we have made the changes we have made, and that is why we will continue to talk not only with Europe and the European Union but all the communities of Northern Ireland.
Baroness Ludford (LD) [V]
My Lords, because of the Government’s unilateral actions regarding the protocol, the European Commission is set to launch legal proceedings for infringement. The European Parliament has postponed its ratification of the Trade and Cooperation Agreement, and decisions on data adequacy and financial services arrangements are put in jeopardy. Is it the Government’s strategy to wreck the Northern Ireland protocol and end up with no Trade and Cooperation Agreement, hence securing the no-deal they actually wanted but will try to blame on the EU?
Baroness Scott of Bybrook (Con)
No, my Lords, it is not. We understand the commission will write letters of legal action, which we are considering, but we will defend our position vigorously. Our measures are all lawful.
EU: Future Trade Agreement
Debate between Baroness Ludford and Baroness Scott of Bybrook
Baroness Scott of Bybrook
I thank the noble Baroness for her question. No, we are not going to forget the importance of the level playing field. The political declaration sets out our commitment to discuss open and fair competition as part of negotiations on an ambitious future relationship. We already start from a place of exceptionally high standards. We have said that we have absolutely no intention of lowering these standards, including on social and employment law, such as maternity leave and shared parental leave, and environmental regulation, such as greenhouse gas targets. We do not agree that an open trading relationship based on an FTA requires extensive level playing field commitments. We are looking for commitments in these areas, like those of a normal FTA.
Baroness Ludford (LD) [V]
My Lords, the Government’s damaging and reckless version of Brexit has already imposed a red-tape burden on those trading between Great Britain and Northern Ireland, through their insistence on quitting the EU single market and customs union. Now the Government admit, in their internal market White Paper, that
“the absence of EU rules could make it easier for new barriers to arise”—
that is, within the UK as a whole. They are struggling to substitute the glue of what they call
“the wider EU ecosystem of institutions and treaty rights”
in holding the UK internal market together. Therefore, why are the Government threatening to make this challenge even harder, and the prospect of an EU deal less secure, by refusing to agree with the EU a level playing field on standards, including an independent regulator on state aid and subsidies?
Baroness Scott of Bybrook
International trade partners will be seeking full access to the UK market. The UK internal market system will provide a stable and consistent regulatory framework that will support UK exporting and inward investment ambitions.