Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Lord Hammond of Runnymede and Carolyn Harris

Tuesday 24th November 2015 Commons Chamber

[Carolyn Harris (Swansea East) (Lab)]

7. What recent discussions he has had with his counterparts in the EU Foreign Affairs Council on the refugee crisis.

[The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (Mr Philip Hammond)]

As the hon. Lady can well imagine, I discuss the current migration crisis with my EU counterparts on a regular basis—for example at the Foreign Affairs Council last Monday in Brussels and when I met the Visegrad Group of EU countries in Prague the previous Friday. All of them agree now on the importance of a comprehensive approach to tackling the underlying causes of irregular migration, and the UK is playing a leading role in delivering this approach.

[Carolyn Harris]

I thank the Secretary of State for his answer. Can he share with us what progress has been made with our European colleagues to create simple and safe routes for refugees to be reunited with their families who have already found sanctuary in Britain?

[Mr Hammond]

The refugees we are mainly discussing in relation to the hon. Lady’s question about discussions with my EU colleagues are those arriving within the Schengen area. As Britain is not in the Schengen area, clearly those people would not be able to access the UK in the normal course of events, so their future will be within the Schengen area unless and until at some point in the quite far-off future they obtain EU citizenship.