EU Withdrawal Agreement: Legislation

Michael Tomlinson Excerpts
Tuesday 24th July 2018

(6 years, 4 months ago)

Commons Chamber
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Dominic Raab Portrait Dominic Raab
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We are broadly aligned in trying to strive to get the very best deal with the EU—that is where my overriding focus is—but I say gently to the hon. Lady and other Opposition Members that it would be deeply irresponsible to fail to prepare and plan for all eventualities when we are in a negotiation and when things depend on the good will and the ambition on the other side.

Michael Tomlinson Portrait Michael Tomlinson (Mid Dorset and North Poole) (Con)
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Further to paragraph 104 on page 28 of the White Paper, will my right hon. Friend confirm that payment of the £35 billion to £39 billion that he cited is conditional on the final deal? After all, as he has said, nothing is agreed until everything is agreed.

Dominic Raab Portrait Dominic Raab
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If my hon. Friend looks at the White Paper, he will see that the principle of conditionality is written into it and is mentioned in several different paragraphs. It is a common principle of international agreements and international diplomacy when a deal is struck that both sides commit to adhering to and fulfilling their side of the bargain. If they do not, there are consequences for the rest of the deal.