Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they intend to take as a result of the European Commission's rejection of the UK's application to join the Lugano Convention.

The Government is aware of the European Commission’s notification that it is not in a position to give its consent to UK accession to the Lugano Convention 2007. However, we understand that member states have not yet been given an opportunity to formally vote on that position.

We are committed to ensuring cross-border legal disputes can be resolved smoothly, in the interests of families, consumers and businesses both in the UK and across Europe. We maintain that we meet the criteria for accession – it is open to countries outside the EU; all non-EU parties to Lugano support UK membership.