EU: Justice Opt-ins

Lord Tebbit Excerpts

Wednesday 10th December 2014 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Ludford (LD)]

My Lords—

[Lord Tebbit (Con)]

My Lords—

[Lord Pearson of Rannoch (UKIP)]

My Lords—

--- Later in debate ---

[Lord Bates]

It would help if the noble Lord had actually listened to the previous debates. On Monday we had the very same question: his noble friend Lady Smith asked me that question. I replied by referring her to Command Papers 8897 and 8671, which set out in exhaustive detail—enough even to satisfy the level of scrutiny on the opposition Benches—what our position is on every single one of those matters.

[Lord Tebbit]

My Lords, we read in the papers this weekend that our right honourable friend the Prime Minister had assured the Turks that he was in favour of their accession to the European Union. Does the Minister know whether he told the Turks that they would have to accept in whole, completely and absolutely, corpus juris?

[Lord Bates]

They would have to accept the acquis communautaire—that is for sure—before doing that. That is the position they are in.