European Union (Amendment) Bill

moved Amendment No. 128: 128: After Clause 2, insert the following new Clause— ““Deployment of European Gendarmerie Force: parliamentary approval Notwithstanding any provision of the European Communities Act 1972 (c. 68), nothing in this Act or the Treaty of Lisbon shall be taken as requiring the United Kingdom Government to permit the deployment of the European Gendarmerie Force in the United Kingdom without the consent of the United Kingdom Parliament.”” The noble Lord said: We come to three separate amendments, which look further into the future that may arise from the treaty and our membership of the European Union. Amendment No. 128 looks at the EU gendarmerie force. In Amendment No. 129 we look at xenophobia and in Amendment No. 130 we look at the question of the EU having powers over direct taxation. I fear that some of your Lordships may not be fully au fait with the EU gendarmerie force. What is it? By way of answering that question, I tabled a Written Question on 19 February 2007, in which I asked Her Majesty's Government: "““What is the proposed strength of the European Gendarmerie Force; what is its intended purpose; how is it being financed; and how much will it cost””?" The Minister replied: "““The European Gendarmerie Force … is an initiative of five … member states (France, Italy, the Netherlands, Portugal and Spain). The UK is not a member of the EGF and therefore does not have detailed information about the force. I understand that the purpose of the EGF is to make available rapidly deployable paramilitary police units able to perform a variety of policing roles, primarily in support of EU crisis management operations. It has a permanent headquarters … of 30 staff based at the Centre of Excellence for Stability Police Units, in Vicenza, Italy. The HQ consists of a multinational core that can be reinforced as needed by agreement of the contributing states””.—[Official Report, 19/2/07; col. WA 179.]" This is, then, a body set up to deal with EU crisis management operations, and I submit that we must think: what are those likely to be? Friends of mine—in the UK Independence Party and others, in Brussels—tried to find out. They went to Vicenza, where I have to tell your Lordships that they were not all that well received.