European Union: Trade

Lord Howell of Guildford Excerpts

Thursday 30th January 2025 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Twycross (Lab)]

I genuinely think noble Lords would be very keen for me not to respond in song; they can all speculate on what type of song I would respond with. The question the noble Baroness raises around touring artists is a good one, and I look forward to talking about this in greater depth this afternoon.

[Lord Howell of Guildford (Con)]

My Lords, now that we have talked about the Second World War, it should remind us that the whole development of the EU, and the Common Market before it, was based on very close Franco-German co-operation and reconciliation. Now that that co-operation is not what it was, by any means, and that new forces are emerging in Europe, should we not work for new ideas and relations with our European neighbours? We certainly want good relations through the European Political Community organisation, where we have good status and standing, and where a number of completely new ideas, free of some of the old prejudices, are available and should be developed.

[Baroness Twycross (Lab)]

These two Questions I have been responding to today do have an element of similarity. I agree with the noble Lord that our relationships with Europe are related to trade but they also have to be related to security. We want to deepen co-operation within areas where the EU has unique capabilities, such as sanctions, countering disinformation, military mobilisation, and civilian crisis management and support—particularly to Ukraine. It is quite sobering to remember and recognise that, while we are talking about commemorating the Second World War, we do have war in Europe currently.