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Written Question
Fisheries
Thursday 13th December 2018

Asked by: Lord Wigley (Plaid Cymru - Life peer)

Question to the Department for Exiting the European Union :

To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Draft Political Declaration setting out the framework for the future relationship between the United Kingdom and the European Union, published on 22 November, what are the implications of the agreement of the "rational management and regulation of fisheries in a non-discriminatory manner" in relation to "Fishing Opportunities" when applied to fishing within UK territorial waters.

Answered by Lord Callanan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)

The full Political Declaration reaffirms that, when we leave the EU, the UK will become an independent coastal state in control of its waters. As outlined in the Withdrawal Agreement, the UK and the EU shall use their best endeavours to conclude and ratify a new fisheries agreement before 1 July 2020. Specific arrangements will be a matter for discussions, as part of the next stage of negotiations, including access by non-UK vessels to fish in UK waters. Any non-UK registered vessels granted access to UK waters will need to meet the same requirements as our fleet across all UK fishing zones, including adherence to sustainable practices.

The Fisheries Bill creates the powers necessary to build a sustainable and profitable fishing industry, one which is in the best interests of the whole UK and future generations. We have also recently announced an amendment to the Fisheries Bill that would place a legal obligation on the government, when negotiating a fisheries agreement with the EU, to pursue a fairer share of fishing opportunities than the UK currently receives under the Common Fisheries Policy


Written Question
Government Assistance: Northern Ireland
Thursday 13th December 2018

Asked by: Lord Wigley (Plaid Cymru - Life peer)

Question to the Department for Exiting the European Union :

To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Draft Agreement on the withdrawal of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland from the European Union and the European Atomic Energy Community, published on 14 November, whether the regulation of state aid will be on the same basis in Northern Ireland as in Wales, Scotland and England during the transition period.

Answered by Lord Callanan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)

Yes. During the transition or implementation period the EU State aid rules will remain in place throughout the UK, and the EU Commission will be the Regulator as at present.


Written Question
Brexit
Thursday 13th December 2018

Asked by: Lord Wigley (Plaid Cymru - Life peer)

Question to the Department for Exiting the European Union :

To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Draft Agreement on the withdrawal of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland from the European Union and the European Atomic Energy Community, published on 14 November, what is the precise date or dates implied in Article 184 for a "political declaration of [DD/MM/2018]"; and in the event of that declaration not being achieved before 31 December, what provision has been agreed for the amendment of the document.

Answered by Lord Callanan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)

The Political Declaration setting out the framework for the future relationship between the EU and the UK was published on the 25th November 2018. Article 184 of the Withdrawal Agreement published on the 25th November 2018 refers to “the political declaration of 25/11/2018”.


Written Question
Brexit
Thursday 13th December 2018

Asked by: Lord Wigley (Plaid Cymru - Life peer)

Question to the Department for Exiting the European Union :

To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Draft Agreement on the withdrawal of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland from the European Union and the European Atomic Energy Community, published on 14 November, why provision is made in Article 183 for the text of the agreement to be equally authentic in the Irish language, but not in the Welsh language.

Answered by Lord Callanan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)

Article 183 of the Withdrawal Agreement provides for the text to be equally authentic in the official languages of the European Union, which includes the Irish language. Welsh is not an official language of the European Union.


Written Question
Immigration Controls
Thursday 13th December 2018

Asked by: Lord Wigley (Plaid Cymru - Life peer)

Question to the Department for Exiting the European Union :

To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Draft Political Declaration setting out the framework for the future relationship between the United Kingdom and the European Union, published on 22 November, how will "legitimate travel" in paragraph 55 be defined.

Answered by Lord Callanan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)

The Political Declaration setting out the framework for the future relationship between the EU and the UK is clear that both side will explore the possibility to facilitate the crossing of their respective borders for legitimate travel. This would ensure smooth passage for UK nationals when they travel to the EU, for example on business or on holiday, and vice versa for EU citizens. The detail of how these mobility provisions will apply under the future relationship will be for further negotiation with the EU.


Written Question
Brexit
Thursday 13th December 2018

Asked by: Lord Wigley (Plaid Cymru - Life peer)

Question to the Department for Exiting the European Union :

To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Draft Political Declaration setting out the framework for the future relationship between the United Kingdom and the European Union, published on 22 November, what is the intention of paragraph 40 regarding  "unjustified data localisation requirements"; and what range of subjects may be included under the provisions for "appropriate protection for... geographical indications" in paragraph 45.

Answered by Lord Callanan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)

The Political Declaration on the future relationship between the EU and the UK says “the Parties should establish provisions to facilitate electronic commerce, address unjustified barriers to trade by electronic means, and ensure an open, secure and trustworthy online environment for businesses and consumers”. This means that the UK and EU agree to work together to address unjustified barriers to the free flow of non-personal data, where they could disrupt businesses, such as rules restricting where data must be stored and processed. As for the ‘appropriate protection for...geographical indications’, the Political Declaration reaffirms that GI’s should be dealt with in the context of our future economic partnership; but it is also true that UK GIs such as Scotch whisky, Welsh lamb and Cornish Pasties will continue to be protected by the EU.

The detail of how this will apply under the future relationship will be for further negotiation with the EU after our exit in March 2019.


Written Question
Public Transport
Thursday 13th December 2018

Asked by: Lord Wigley (Plaid Cymru - Life peer)

Question to the Department for Exiting the European Union :

To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Draft Political Declaration setting out the framework for the future relationship between the UK and the EU, why they decided to include an intention to make bilateral agreements for cross-border rail services; why no similar intention was included for cross-border bus services; whether they carried out a consultation on such arrangements; and if so, what were the results.

Answered by Lord Callanan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)

As outlined in the Future Relationship White Paper in July and the Political Declaration on the Framework for the Future Relationship between the EU and the UK Government, published on 22 November, the EU and the UK have agreed that the UK will pursue bilateral agreements. These will be undertaken with France, Belgium and the Netherlands to ensure the continued smooth functioning and operation of services through the Channel Tunnel, and with Ireland to do the same for the Belfast‑Dublin Enterprise line.

Outside of these cross-border services, the UK will have the flexibility to shape its own domestic railway legislation to meet the needs of its passengers and freight shippers, and reflect the unique characteristics of the rail network within the UK.

Continued market access for transport between the UK and the EU, including for bus and coach travel, is in our mutual interests. We will seek to agree cross-border bus services as part of the future relationship with the EU. In the event of no deal, as set out in the Department for Transport Technical Notice ‘Operating bus or coach services abroad if there’s no Brexit deal’, the UK would seek to put in place bilateral agreement with EU countries.

Consultations with industry have been ongoing, and we will continue to take on board the views of stakeholders.


Written Question
Brexit
Thursday 13th December 2018

Asked by: Lord Wigley (Plaid Cymru - Life peer)

Question to the Department for Exiting the European Union :

To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Explainer for the agreement on the withdrawal of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland from the European Union, published on 14 November, on what basis it was determined that (1) Crown Dependencies will be required to pass their own legislation to ensure that the withdrawal agreement is fully implemented, and (2) such legislation will not be required from the devolved legislatures of Wales and Scotland.

Answered by Lord Callanan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)

It is long-standing constitutional convention that Acts of Parliament do not extend to the Crown Dependencies automatically, as they are not part of the United Kingdom but are self-governing jurisdictions with their own democratically-elected legislative assemblies. They are not represented in this Parliament. Therefore, although the United Kingdom Government is responsible for the Crown Dependencies’ international relations, each of the Crown Dependencies is responsible for passing its own Exit legislation. This includes legislation which may be required to implement the Withdrawal Agreement in their jurisdictions. As the Prime Minister has made clear, the longstanding constitutional relationships between the UK and the Crown Dependencies will not change as a result of the UK’s decision to leave the EU.

For the UK, the EU (Withdrawal Agreement) Bill will implement our international commitments - set out in the Withdrawal Agreement - into UK law. We will seek the consent of the devolved legislatures where provisions of the Bill engage the conventions and practices under which the UK Government will normally seek legislative consent.


Written Question
Court of Justice of the European Union
Friday 7th December 2018

Asked by: Lord Wigley (Plaid Cymru - Life peer)

Question to the Department for Exiting the European Union :

To ask Her Majesty's Government, under the terms of the draft agreement on the withdrawal of the UK from the EU, in what circumstances they anticipate UK judicial authorities being required to have regard to the case law of the Court of Justice of the EU after the transition period has ended.

Answered by Lord Callanan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)

As provided for in Article 4 of the Agreement, where Union law is applied by the Withdrawal Agreement, UK courts will interpret it in conformity with relevant case law handed down by the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) before the end of the implementation period. They will also pay due regard to relevant CJEU case law handed down after the end of the implementation period when considering the interpretation and application of the Withdrawal Agreement in UK law.


Written Question
Brexit: Gibraltar
Thursday 6th December 2018

Asked by: Lord Wigley (Plaid Cymru - Life peer)

Question to the Department for Exiting the European Union :

To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Draft Agreement on the withdrawal of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland from the European Union and the European Atomic Energy Community, published on 14 November, what steps they have taken to discuss with the Gibraltar authorities their representation on the proposed specialised committee on issues related to the protocol on Gibraltar under Article 165(e).

Answered by Lord Callanan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)

As the Prime Minister has said, we will always negotiate on behalf of the whole UK family, including Gibraltar, at the Joint Committee including any consultation as set out in Article 169. Decisions on representation to the specialised committees will be taken in accordance with Article 165(3) of the Withdrawal Agreement. As the Chief Minister of Gibraltar told the House of Lords EU Committee on 23rd October, the UK has worked “hand in glove” with Gibraltar to ensure the Prime Minister’s commitment to fully involve Gibraltar “became a reality”.