Exiting the EU: New Partnership

Nick Smith Excerpts

Thursday 2nd February 2017 Commons Chamber

[Mr Davis]

My hon. Friend refers to the need to negotiate ongoing arrangements in parallel with the departure arrangements. As he says, article 50 refers to having regard to ongoing arrangements, and a negotiation on departure arrangements cannot be concluded before the ongoing arrangements have been concluded. I have already made that point to Michel Barnier, my opposite number, and I think the Prime Minister has made that point to a number of her opposite numbers around the European Union. This will be the first issue that we need to resolve at the beginning of the negotiations, so my hon. Friend is quite right.

[Nick Smith (Blaenau Gwent) (Lab)]

Will Parliament get a vote on the Government’s intended final deal before the deal is struck with the European Union?

[Mr Davis]

I suspect that the final vote here will be before the final ratification in the European Union. Its ratification process is much slower than ours will be.