Asked by: Baroness Stuart of Edgbaston (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they have a strategy to enhance bilateral relationships with governments of European countries; and if so, whether that strategy includes the development of shared cultural events.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Leaving the EU is a once-in-a-generation opportunity to reinvigorate the UK's position on the world stage. The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office is working to ensure that our European bilateral relationships have the proportionate levels of investment to deliver our international priorities, harnessing appropriate opportunities to enhance bilateral cooperation. The UK already engages in a number of bilateral civil society events with other European governments. For example, the annual UK-Italy Ministerial Pontignano Conference took place in October 2020, providing an opportunity for dialogue, debate and relationship building with participants from a variety of sectors including cultural leaders. We will continue to ensure that such events continue to deliver for the UK and seek further opportunities for cultural exchange.
Asked by: Baroness Stuart of Edgbaston (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment he has made of whether it is legally possible for each other EU member state to commit to a future change to the Lisbon Treaty before formal processes to agree those changes have been gone through in each of those countries.
Answered by David Lidington
The process for amending the EU Treaties is set out in Article 48 of the Treaty on European Union. The representatives of the Member State governments agree the amendments which then need to be ratified by all the Member States in accordance with their respective constitutional requirements. The Prime Minister, my right hon. Friend the Member for Witney (Mr Cameron), has been clear that the EU reforms that we seek must be legally binding and irreversible and that there must be an agreement to change the treaties before the referendum in the UK.