EU-Turkey Agreement
Debate between David Rutley and David Lidington(8 years, 1 month ago)
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Mr Lidington
We have a genuine humanitarian crisis in Syria that has displaced about 11 million people, either within Syria or to neighbouring countries. That is now being exploited by people traffickers—on that point, my hon. Friend is correct. They are trying to encourage people of other nationalities to come in and claim refugee status on the back of genuine refugee claims and genuine refugee need. That reinforces the importance of having a robust system of processing individual claims, so that we can distinguish between people who have a well-founded fear of persecution and those who are trying to move for economic reasons. The reason that the United Kingdom is giving help to Frontex and the European Asylum Support Office is precisely to strengthen the capacity of the Greek system in particular to carry out those processes and to distinguish between genuine refugees and those who are trying to move for other reasons.
David Rutley (Macclesfield) (Con)
During the negotiations on the EU-Turkey agreement, did any discussions take place on the concerns raised by NATO’s General Breedlove about Russia and Syria weaponising migration, a truly disgusting strategy?
Mr Lidington
It is on everyone’s mind that the bombing of civilians by the Assad regime with Russian support in areas such as Aleppo is leading to the movement of even greater numbers of people, initially into Turkey and Lebanon and then across the Aegean towards Europe. That reinforces the need for us to turn this fragile cessation of violence into a genuine peace process inside Syria and a political transition that might offer the hope of rebuilding the country.
Europe: Renegotiation
Debate between David Rutley and David Lidington(8 years, 5 months ago)
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Mr Lidington
It is one important and significant element in the negotiation, but it is not the whole story.
David Rutley (Macclesfield) (Con)
I welcome my right hon. Friend’s statement, which is an important step on the journey towards fundamental reform in the EU. Given the current unsustainable migration flows, does he agree that it is vital to ensure that visitors from the EU must first reside here and also contribute before they qualify for in-work benefits and social housing, and will he make this an urgent priority?
Mr Lidington
Indeed; that is exactly the objective that my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister set out in his speech today.
Falkland Islands Referendum
Debate between David Rutley and David Lidington(11 years, 10 months ago)
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Mr Lidington
I am very happy to join the hon. Gentleman in paying tribute to those members of the reserve forces who have served, and continue to serve, in defence of the Falkland Islanders, and I can assure him that there have been the conversations that he hopes for between the Foreign Office and the Ministry of Defence. He will know that the Under-Secretary of State for Defence, my hon. Friend the Member for Aldershot (Mr Howarth), is sitting beside me on the Government Front Bench, and the reserve forces will certainly continue to play an important role in the defence of the islands.
David Rutley (Macclesfield) (Con)
Does my right hon. Friend agree that the President of Argentina should respect the principle of self-determination as a fundamental right, honour the outcome of the referendum and turn her attention to domestic challenges, rather than continuing her aggressive posturing towards the Falkland Islands?
Mr Lidington
I hope that President Kirchner, even now, will reflect on the fact that Argentina is a signatory to the United Nations charter, article 1.2 of which talks of members developing
“friendly relations among nations based on respect for the principle of equal rights and self-determination of peoples”.
That right of self-determination applies to the people of the Falkland Islands as much as to people anywhere else.
Oral Answers to Questions
Debate between David Rutley and David Lidington(13 years ago)
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The Minister for Europe (Mr David Lidington)
We have excellent co-operation with Turkey on a wide range of issues, as was reaffirmed in the strategic partnership signed last July by my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister and Prime Minister Erdogan.
David Rutley
Given Turkey’s important role in helping the United Kingdom foster stronger relations with Arab nations at this time of instability, what steps is my right hon. Friend taking to engage Turkey further both in providing increased humanitarian aid in Libya to those who need it and in helping to enforce the arms embargo against the Gaddafi regime?
Mr Lidington
Turkey has already been active on both counts. My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary is in frequent contact with Foreign Minister Davutoglu about how to strengthen our co-operation both in supplying effective humanitarian aid to people in need inside Libya and in planning for the reconstruction of that country in the future.