Brexit: Preparations

Lord Howell of Guildford Excerpts
Tuesday 8th October 2019

(5 years, 1 month ago)

Lords Chamber
Read Full debate Read Hansard Text Read Debate Ministerial Extracts
Lord Callanan Portrait Lord Callanan
- Hansard - - - Excerpts

We will abide by the law and of course we accept all court judgments.

Lord Howell of Guildford Portrait Lord Howell of Guildford (Con)
- Hansard - -

My Lords, since we have this extra time, I ask my noble friend, in the midst of all this animosity, whether the United Kingdom is or is not, under international law and the 1993 treaty, as many legal authorities argue, still a member of the European Economic Area. If we were, that would obviously vastly ease the problem of deal or no deal and enable us to have an orderly transition and comply with all necessary aspects of the law.

Lord Callanan Portrait Lord Callanan
- Hansard - - - Excerpts

My understanding is that when we leave the EU, we also leave the European Economic Area: we are members of that by virtue of our membership of the EU.