EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement

Lord Bowness Excerpts

Friday 8th January 2021 Lords Chamber

[Lord Bowness (Non-Afl) [V]]

My Lords, it would be quite possible to use the two minutes to highlight the failure of Parliament to adequately scrutinise the Bill —now an Act—which implemented the agreement we are attempting to scrutinise today. In the period of negotiations, Ministers oft replied that the answer to questions depended on the outcome of negotiations with the European Union. Well, they are over, and we have an agreement of sorts. I have two specific questions and hope I may now get some specific answers.

First, when the Government had the opportunity to opt out of pre-Lisbon treaty police and criminal justice decisions, the UK took that option, but had the option of rejoining measures that the Government believed to be in the interests of the United Kingdom. The then Home Secretary, Theresa May, opted back in to some 35 or 36 measures. Specifically, how many of those are retained by this agreement?

My second question relates to the failure of the agreement to secure visa-free entry to the EU for more than 90 days in any period of 180 days. In winding up the debate on the Bill, and again today, the noble Lord, Lord True, said that a more ambitious agreement on movement of business travellers—which would include musicians—was rejected by the European Union. There has been some confusion in Answers I have had to Written Questions. On 24 March, the Home Office Minister replied that UK nationals wanting to stay in the Schengen area for longer than 90 days may need a visa from the relevant member state. The arrangements are not dependent on whether the Government conclude a free trade agreement with the EU. But on 5 May, the Foreign Office told me that it depends on the approach taken by the EU or the relevant member states. Does this have to be negotiated with the European Union or with individual member states? If the latter, how many of the 27 have we approached, and what is the state of the negotiations?