European Union (Amendment) Bill

moved Amendment No. 25: 25: After Clause 6, insert the following new Clause— ““Parliamentary control of opt-ins (1) A Minister of the Crown may not commit the United Kingdom to new obligations, or alter the obligations of the United Kingdom, under the following provisions unless Parliamentary approval has been given in accordance with this section— (a) Article 3 of the Protocol on the Position of the United Kingdom and Ireland in respect of the area of freedom, security and justice, as amended and renamed by the Treaty of Lisbon, permitting a notification of the wish to take part in the adoption and application of a proposed measure pursuant to Title V of Part 3 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, (b) Article 4 of that Protocol, permitting a notification of the wish to accept a measure adopted pursuant to Title V of Part 3 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, (c) Article 4 of the Protocol on the Schengen acquis integrated into the framework of the European Union, as amended by the Treaty of Lisbon, permitting a request to take part in some or all of that acquis, (d) Article 10(5) of the Protocol on Transitional Provisions annexed to the Treaty of Lisbon, permitting a notification of the wish to participate in acts which have ceased to apply to the United Kingdom pursuant to Article 10(4) of that Protocol. (2) Parliamentary approval is given if— (a) in each House of Parliament a Minister of the Crown moves a motion that the House approves Her Majesty’s Government’s intention to commit the United Kingdom to new obligations, or to alter the obligations of the United Kingdom, and (b) each House agrees to the motion without amendment. (3) In this section ““the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union”” means the Treaty establishing (what was then called) the European Economic Community, signed at Rome on 25th March 1957 (as amended and renamed by the Treaty of Lisbon).”” The noble Lord said: My Lords, Amendment No. 25 stands in my name and the names of the noble Lord, Lord Rowlands, the noble and learned Lord, Lord Morris, and the noble Viscount, Lord Bledisloe. The amendment was first debated prior to the publication of the Government’s response to your Lordships’ Select Committee on the Constitution report to the House; the report was published on March 28 and the response has since been issued. I shall not reiterate today all the arguments that were advanced in favour of the amendment during the previous debate. Suffice it to say that, in the area of freedom, security and justice issues, criminal law and policing are being brought into Title V of the treaty on the functioning of the European Union, an innovation that your Lordships’ committee was advised, in evidence, amounted to fundamental constitutional change. Your Lordships’ Select Committee recommended that the Government obtain approval from both Houses of Parliament before using so-called opt-ins or opt-outs. The committee said that that would be consistent with the Bill’s policy to require parliamentary approval of the simplified revisions procedure and passerelles. The amendment received expressions of support from all sides of the House in Committee. European matters have transcended traditional party lines since the debates of the early 1970s prior to British entry into the then European Community. Had they not, Britain would not be part of the European Union. They have transcended traditional party allegiances, as I personally have reason to remember from more recent parliamentary deliberations. Noble Lords, before and since the United Kingdom’s entry into the then European Community, have consistently argued at the hustings, in Parliament and elsewhere for a strong and effective participation in the proceedings of what is now the European Union; I number myself among them. They are acutely conscious of the need to maintain public confidence in what the Government do in Europe on our behalf. Senior officials who often labour long into the night negotiating for British interests in European fora, some distinguished alumni of which I see in their places today, are similarly aware of that necessity—hence the need for the most effective possible parliamentary scrutiny. Since the Bill was in Committee, the noble Baroness the Leader of the House has engaged in extensive consultations, although not in any sense trying to—perish the thought—nobble committee members. She gave evidence to your Lordships’ Select Committee on the constitution last week and, since then, has circulated a memorandum on justice and home affairs opt-ins. By the end of last week, she had succeeded in obtaining interdepartmental approval from the relevant government departments. Although, in an ideal world, it would have been convenient for the House to have had sight of the proposals at an earlier stage, as the Select Committee did, noble Lords who have been involved in seeking to achieve interdepartmental approval will recognise the phrase ““trying to herd cats””. If I am reincarnated as a cat, there is nobody by whom I should prefer to be herded than the noble Baroness. We look forward to hearing the proposals that the noble Baroness the Leader of the House has brought forward after listening to your Lordships. In the mean time, I beg to move.