European Union: Freedom of Movement

Viscount Waverley Excerpts

Thursday 12th January 2017 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Williams of Trafford]

I am not entirely sure, but all those distinctions and discussions that will be taking place will be solidified in the fullness of time as we go through this process.

[Viscount Waverley (CB)]

Will the 180-day tax residency rule be applied, with all those working in nation states paying their taxes in the countries in which they are resident?

EU Citizens in the UK

Viscount Waverley Excerpts

Thursday 14th July 2016 Lords Chamber

[Viscount Waverley (CB)]

My Lords, I live in Portugal, so declare a vested interest in this Question.

While concurring with the view of the majority in Parliament who advocate that the Government remove uncertainty by announcing that EU citizens here present can and will be able to remain, I question the timing, given the need for reciprocity and mutual benefit. Any lifting of the drawbridge can and should only be on a future date to be agreed to.

I propose that this be at the earliest opportunity having invoked Article 50, unless the strategy is that we become pawns at the whim of the Government and the European Union. Anything short of early resolution to the Question of the noble Lord, Lord Lucas, would become an horrendous exercise, costly for all, including the Government, and bogged down in a quagmire of bitter legal and human rights cases to the ECJ which would doubtless reach the Supreme Court in London. The Government might also wish to consider that any decisions are unlikely to be implemented retrospectively.

I have been provided with a list by the Association of International Property Professionals containing 20 key points, together with detailed explanation of property and property-related issues regarding British citizens owning property in the European Union. It covers all aspects and can be mirrored as relevant to EU citizens owning property in the UK. The CEO, Mr Robinson, and Mr Reeve of AFPOP in Portugal, are keen to assist this process by feeding into the appropriate quarter after the UK’s new governance structure has settled in.

That is not the end of the far-reaching ramifications. I am certainly no lawyer, but how, for example, is a position arrived at when there are differing legal jurisdictions? Napoleonic law is applicable to Spain, Portugal and France; Roman-Germanic to others. A further potential complication to be encountered is that, under Napoleonic law, having given the right of usufructus, which is entrenched once given, it cannot then be undone by extraterritorial legislation. While we will all be complying with host jurisdictions post-negotiation, what muddies the water is that, if a lifetime usufructus is granted on a property on the continent by a UK citizen but that person becomes required to sell through any personal necessity resulting from Brexit negotiations, they simply cannot unless jointly agreed by the parties concerned.

So what should persons living in countries other than that in which they are a citizen do post-haste to protect their interests? I counsel them immediately to register with the appropriate authorities to regularise their residency and tax affairs and then to comply with any relevant bilateral treaties. I have picked up that as many as 50% of the 40,000 Britons living in the Algarve have not yet registered. This would bring an immediate benefit to all host Governments with whereabouts and security implications.

The only realistic solution to this situation, in my mind, is for a line to be drawn in the sand. I shivered when I read a response to an unrelated Written Question —HL801—that I received yesterday that:

“In the meantime, and during the negotiations that will follow, there will be no change to people’s rights to travel and work”.

That is sending a message about hedging one’s bets and having to be on standby to pack one’s bags. So in addition to everything else, we are running the risk of further resentment towards the UK from future partners.

EU Nationals: Legal Status

Viscount Waverley Excerpts

Monday 4th July 2016 Lords Chamber

[Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon]

My understanding, and I think I am clear on this, is that the negotiations we will have across the range of different areas regarding the single market, trading arrangements and so on will be with the EU. We continue to be part of the EU and will continue to have those discussions once we have established our negotiating criteria with the EU.

[Viscount Waverley (CB)]

My Lords, I suspect we are going around in circles, but is not a perfectly reasonable solution to this whole problem, for those who are properly registered in individual countries of the EU and may well be taxpayers, to have the uncertainty removed and, possibly prior to a certain date, have permission just to remain where they are and get on with it?

[Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon]

I respect the noble Viscount’s sentiments—

[Viscount Waverley]

I apologise; I should have said that I live in Portugal.

[Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon]

The noble Viscount talked about those who are properly registered and who pay tax. Those phrases underline some of the important discussions that we need to have, without putting down some markers just for the sake of clarifying one point or the other. The central point that must be at the heart of all the negotiations, which I clarify again will be between the UK and the EU, will be ensuring and protecting the rights of all EU nationals here and UK nationals in the EU.

Controlling Migration

Viscount Waverley Excerpts

Tuesday 23rd November 2010 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Neville-Jones]

The noble Lord is right that there is a problem here. We are looking at a possible extension of the period during which a marriage would have to subsist for it to be demonstrated not to be sham. That means that we will have to monitor that to be the case. The announcements being made in context form part of a wider view of how we monitor those who are let into the country and their compliance with the conditions under which they were permitted to enter. In a different context, I recall announcing how we were going to monitor English language schools. That undoubtedly imposes on the immigration system an extra duty when ensuring that terms are being met. However, it will be made very clear to those involved that the penalties for failure to comply are very high.

[Viscount Waverley]

Could systems be put in place to record those departing UK shores? If not, when might that happen?

[Baroness Neville-Jones]

That is something that we are working on, but I cannot give the noble Viscount a date because I am not informed of the timetable, but it is certainly a UKBA objective that we record the outward journey.

Cyberattacks: EU Committee Report

Viscount Waverley Excerpts

Thursday 14th October 2010 Lords Chamber

[Viscount Waverley]

My Lords, I apologise for rising in the gap. One aspect of today’s debate that could be usefully underlined is the need to ramp up co-operation with countries and regions where we have strategic interests and which are themselves at risk, whether because of direct interests in energy supplies, for example, or indirectly through narcoterrorists funding a low-cost cyberattack capability, which would be cheap in relation to the mayhem that can be caused. The central Asia and Caucasus region contains ever growing strategic infrastructure that one way or another does or will serve Europe. The Baku-Ceyhan pipeline is one example. It is doubly more pressing as it is in exactly this region where, some say, the majority of cyberattacks originate.

Two immediate difficulties exist: resources within those regions to counter the problem and the lack of sufficient exchange of information among intelligence communities as a result of insufficient in-depth bilateral co-operation. I hope that an immediate effect of the Foreign Secretary’s visit to Moscow will be closer co-operation among our respective intelligence communities. That, in turn, would lead to Russia ceasing to apply pressure on opposite numbers within central Asia and the south Caucasus to be unco-operative with western interests. It should be remembered that central Asia and the south Caucasus are, after all, Russia’s backyard. The noble Lord, Lord Browne, mentioned Lisbon. Can the Minister inform us whether Russia has now agreed to attend? That country must be included in debate on international affairs. To improve the situation immediately, I urge the Minister to encourage the sending of representatives at Secretary of State level to Kazakhstan’s December heads of state OSCE summit in Astana, with a possibility of a one-day or two-day extension for bilaterals. This would be viewed as the United Kingdom working for mutual benefit.

I listened carefully to the remarks made by the noble Lord, Lord Jopling. The committee and the Home Office appear to agree that cybersecurity is a global phenomenon and requires globally co-ordinated action. The EU appears to be on track in combating the threat of cyberterrorism with its ENISA proposals of 30 September. However, more should be done on basic concepts and on a mid-term to long-term strategy, particularly in regard to an integrated approach including all major players. The Minister could be encouraged to ramp up the debate and implement initiatives at at least G20 level.

In conclusion, a simple analogy to reinforce the case for global endeavours is to compare the threat of cyberterrorism to the threat of the banking sector. We now know that one bank failing can have a catastrophic global impact. The same can apply to the world of cyberterrorism. I do not wish to appear alarmist, but I fear that, whereas suicide bombings have been the weapon of choice in certain quarters, carefully targeted cyberattacks will be the weapon in tomorrow’s world.