UK’s Relationship with the EU Debate
Full Debate: Read Full DebateDepartment: Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office
Philip Hollobone
Main Page: Philip Hollobone (Conservative - Kettering)Department Debates - View all Philip Hollobone's debates with the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office
(8 years, 3 months ago)
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Mr Philip Hollobone (Kettering) (Con)
The Prime Minister and others who are campaigning for Britain to remain in the European Union have been trumpeting the myth that Britain’s security is dependent on our continued membership of the European Union. However, the handout circulated by the Government Whips Office to Conservative Members just before this urgent question states that the Tusk texts apparently clarify
“that national security is the responsibility of member states, and that the EU has no business in getting involved in this most basic of national issues.”
Who is correct, the Prime Minister or the Government Whips Office?
Mr Lidington
My hon. Friend is reading in contradictions where no such contradiction exists. The treaties are clear that, as a matter of policy and legal competence, national security remains the responsibility of national Governments in the member states. The Prime Minister, the Home Secretary and the Foreign Secretary have frequently spoken about how, through effective co-operation within Europe on selected justice and home affairs measures, and through effective co-operation in counter-terrorist work and foreign policy work to deal with organised crime, terrorism and people trafficking elsewhere in the world, we can amplify the efforts that we make on our own and do better at securing objectives that matter to the British people than we could if we acted on our own.