EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement

Lord Ricketts Excerpts

Friday 8th January 2021 Lords Chamber

[Lord Ricketts (CB) [V]]

My Lords, one of the most mystifying gaps in the agreement is the absence of any provision for co-operation on foreign policy and defence, which the noble Lord, Lord Hannay, also touched on. These are areas where Britain was highly influential as a member state. We were often able to increase the impact of our policies by lining up the EU behind them. The EU wanted a continuing partnership in this area, and it was in British interests to do that, yet the Government refused any discussion. Perhaps the Minister can explain why.

He might reassure us that Britain will rely on bilateral links, especially with France and Germany. Of course, these will remain important, but let us remember that the primary loyalty of both Berlin and Paris will be to policies decided in the EU. Those policies will have an impact on this country; we should be influencing them. British Ministers will not have the time to lobby each EU member state separately. The right answer, surely, is to have regular, structured consultations with the EU on foreign and security policy. If that is too much to contemplate at this time, will the Minister tell us whether the Government will take up President Macron’s proposal for a European security council outside the EU as a forum for European countries, including Britain, to consult on foreign policy?

In my remaining seconds, I will add my voice to those of others who have underlined the plight of people in an industry that is of huge importance to our soft power overseas—that is, musicians and performing artists. In his opening speech, the Minister accepted that the Government had failed to secure reciprocal visa-free access for musicians. That will have a major impact on the sector. For example, the capacity of our great orchestras to tour in Europe will be gravely damaged by a combination of the need for a work permit for each country they visit, complex and expensive customs arrangements, and limits on road haulage. Will the Minister confirm that the Government will work to reduce the burdens on this sector, which is worth four times more to the British economy than fisheries?

European Union (Future Relationship) Bill

Lord Ricketts Excerpts

3rd reading & 2nd reading & Committee negatived & 2nd reading (Hansard) & 2nd reading (Hansard): House of Lords & 3rd reading (Hansard) & 3rd reading (Hansard): House of Lords & Committee negatived (Hansard) & Committee negatived (Hansard): House of Lords
Wednesday 30th December 2020 Lords Chamber

[Lord Ricketts (CB) [V]]

My Lords, I do not believe that this thin agreement—as the noble Lord, Lord Maude, called it—with the EU is in the long-term interests of this country. But I will support the Bill this evening, because the only alternative would be the worse chaos of a no-deal departure.

The British people will discover in the months ahead that this agreement will produce an avalanche of restrictions, bureaucracy, extra costs and delays. As that reality sinks in, at least this deal provides a platform on which to start the long process of building back a closer partnership in the years ahead.

I have two brief comments on the substance. The agreement on security and justice provides for a closer association with the EU than I, for one, had feared. I welcome that. But the principle underlying all the complex detail is that the UK will no longer have direct, real-time access to the EU databases and systems which have become so important for British policing, as the noble Lord, Lord Paddick, just explained. We heard in the Lords EU Security and Justice Sub-Committee that British police had consulted the SIS II database over 600 million times in 2019. In future, they will have to request information from the SIS II database, with all the delays that will entail.

Access to some of the other databases for fingerprints, DNA and passenger name records looks at first sight to be easier, but the overall loss will be significant. I cannot understand how it can be claimed that Brexit will make us safer. The question is rather: how much loss of capability will there be? What will be the operational impact of slower and more cumbersome processes, and more police officers tied up in front of computer screens making requests to the EU? Your Lordships’ EU Security and Justice Sub-Committee will hold an inquiry into this in the new year and will report to the House.

Briefly, my view is that the decision not to continue participation in Erasmus is short-sighted and mean-spirited. Erasmus gave life-enhancing opportunities to many thousands of students from the UK and across the EU. Less well-known is the fact that it also enabled vocational and adult education colleges and schools, many in disadvantaged areas, to set up joint projects with counterparts across Europe. It lifted the admin burden of organisers, which allowed smaller organisations that did not have the resources to arrange projects. I am deeply sceptical that a UK scheme, starting from scratch with the funding envisaged, will come anywhere near replicating the transformational impact Erasmus has had on so many lives. I hope this decision to leave Erasmus will be reviewed at the first opportunity.

David Frost

Lord Ricketts Excerpts

Tuesday 30th June 2020 Lords Chamber

[Lord True]

My Lords, I do agree and I am very grateful, as I am sure Mr Frost will be, for what my noble friend said. It is striking that, right across the House, among those with different views, there has been a unanimous acceptance of Mr Frost’s abilities and calibre.

[Lord Ricketts (CB) [V]]

My Lords, as the Government’s first National Security Adviser, I welcome the moving words of the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster at Ditchley Park over the weekend about the need for reform in the Civil Service to ensure the “mastery of deep knowledge”. Since Mr Frost has not, as far as I know, worked on defence, security or intelligence matters in the way that each of his predecessors had done, how is Mr Gove’s dictum about reform of the Civil Service to be read in the light of Mr Frost’s appointment?

[Lord True]

My Lords, I pay tribute to the noble Lord, who was, as he told us, the first National Security Adviser. Each of those, although coming from a diplomatic background, has had different and diverse experience—the noble Lord had a particular role as chairman of the JIC. Where I do agree with him is that the Prime Minister has decided that the role of the National Security Adviser and that of the Cabinet Secretary should be divided. That will give the incumbent time to display his dedication and skills, as I have no doubt he will, in carrying out this important role.

Beyond Brexit (European Union Committee Report)

Lord Ricketts Excerpts

Tuesday 12th May 2020 Lords Chamber

[Lord Ricketts (CB)]

My Lords, it was great to again have the wisdom of the noble Lord, Lord Boswell, at the opening of this debate. I want to focus on the crucial area of justice and security co-operation with the EU. That has a direct impact on the safety and security of the British people, yet we have heard very little about what is happening in the negotiations on that.

No off-the-peg, oven-ready security arrangement with the EU is available. Different countries have different levels of access. Norway and Iceland come closest, but they are in the Schengen area. Even if Britain could get a deal as good as that of Norway and Iceland, it would provide only what a British government document in 2018 called

“a limited patchwork of cooperation”,

with

“a serious shortfall in capability”.

Therefore, logically we need an even closer security relationship than that of Norway and Iceland. It cannot be the government objective that we should leave the EU and become less safe, yet the February Command Paper devoted only four rather brief pages to this vital area.

What are the prospects of negotiating an unprecedented level of security co-operation with the EU in the coming weeks? The answer is that we simply do not know. Michael Gove told the EU Committee last week that he hoped for an agreement, largely, I think, on the basis that we have been a considerable provider of security information to the EU. However, that seems to depend on the EU being willing to abandon its own red lines.

This is not an area where EU leaders can simply cut us a political deal. These are legal instruments with specific obligations. Given the importance of this area for national security, can the Minister give us some indication of when the Government will break their radio silence about the negotiations on justice and security, and what contingency plans are they making in case there is no future relationship agreement and we fall off a security cliff edge seven months from now?