Asked by: Lord Frost (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Twycross on 2 December (HL2820), whether the Government plans to set out its objectives for the reset negotiation in more detail as was done in February 2020 with the publication of The Future Relationship with the EU, and if so, when.
Answered by Baroness Twycross - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
This Government's priority is to reset the relationship with our European friends, including through a broad-based security pact and tackling barriers to trade.
On 2 October, the Prime Minister and the President of the European Commission met and released a joint statement on enhancing strategic cooperation.
The Minister for the Constitution and European Union Relations is taking forward this work with his counterpart, Commissioner Maroš Šefčovič, and we will hold a UK-EU Summit next year to review progress. We are committed to being as open and transparent as possible with Parliament.
Asked by: Lord Frost (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they are negotiating on a draft text for a security partnership agreement with the European Union.
Answered by Baroness Twycross - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
On 14 October the Foreign Secretary attended the EU Foreign Affairs Council and agreed with the then High Representative, Borrell, to advance work towards a security partnership. They also agreed that the UK and EU will establish a biannual Foreign Policy Dialogue between the UK Foreign Secretary and the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs to enable strategic cooperation on the highest priority issues, with the first meeting in early 2025. In addition, they also agreed to a number of regular UK-EU strategic consultations to sit underneath this on Russia/Ukraine, the Indo-Pacific, the Western Balkans and Hybrid threats. We are exploring with the EEAS how we progress this work.
This follows the Prime Minister’s meeting with Commission President von der Leyen on 2 October where the leaders agreed on the importance of the unique relationship between the European Union and the United Kingdom and resolved to strengthen ambitiously our structured strategic cooperation on shared global challenges.
Asked by: Lord Frost (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what are their objectives in their proposed "reset" of relations with the European Union; what issues they are discussing with the European Union as part of that proposed reset; and when they expect those discussions to conclude.
Answered by Baroness Twycross - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The Government has already begun working to reset the relationship with our European friends and to put the UK’s relationship with the EU on a more solid, stable footing. The Prime Minister met with Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in Brussels on 2 October and they agreed to strengthen the UK-EU relationship in areas including the economy, energy, resilience and security; and to hold the first UK-EU Summit in early 2025. The Minister for the Constitution and European Union Relations is taking forward this work with his counterpart in the European Commission Maroš Šefčovič, who was confirmed on 27 November.