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Tag: Speeches

  • Robin Walker – 2019 Statement on the General Affairs Council

    Below is the text of the statement made by Robin Walker, the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, in the House of Commons on 25 April 2019.

    The UK and the EU have agreed an extension to Article 50, until 31 October 2019, which is legally binding in EU and international law. Until we leave the European Union, we remain committed to fulfilling our rights and obligations as a full Member State, and continue to act in good faith.​

    I represented the UK at the General Affairs Council (GAC) in Luxembourg on 9 April 2019. A provisional report of the meeting and the conclusions adopted can be found on the Council of the European Union’s website at: https://www.consilium.europa.eu/en/meetings/gac/2019/04/09/

    Multiannual Financial Framework 2021 – 2027

    The presidency presented a progress report outlining the latest developments on negotiations on the Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) – related sectorial proposals. The presidency also highlighted that common understandings have been reached with the European Parliament (EP) on ten sectorial files. Cohesion and Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) continued to be the central pillars of the next MFF. However, the Commission noted that the proposed cuts to Cohesion and CAP were unavoidable due to the loss of the UK’s contribution.

    The Cohesion fund aims to reduce economic and social disparities and to promote sustainable development. Ministers discussed how the Cohesion policy and CAP can best support EU priorities. Some member states criticised the proposed cuts and supported maintaining funding for transition regions (where GDP per capita falls between 75% and 90% of the EU average). Other member states advocated for a stronger link of funds to the EU’s core business, such as tackling climate change, rule of law and migration. There was general agreement that cohesion funding should be predictable, whilst allowing for a level of flexibility to manage unexpected events.

    Ministers agreed that the funding priorities should be modernisation of the agricultural industry and securing support for young farmers. Some member states proposed a set target for expenditure contributing to climate change goals, while incentivising farmers to meet the goals.

    Conclusions on the Reflection Paper “Towards a sustainable Europe by 2030”

    Ministers adopted conclusions on the EU’s implementation of the UN’s 2030 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The SDGs are targets in 17 priority areas agreed between the members of the UN in 2015, with the aim of making the world a more sustainable place to live. The Council agreed that the SDGs are a key aspect of the EU’s Strategic Agenda 2019-2024, making clear reference to “leave no one behind”.

    The Council’s conclusions recognised the importance of the SDGs for the EU, stated that the UN 2030 Agenda was an overarching priority for the EU and stressed that it was in the EU’s interest to play a leading role in its implementation, recognising that delivery of this agenda is necessarily a shared responsibility between all stakeholders.

    Values of the Union – Hungary /Article 7(1) TEU Reasoned Proposal

    The Commission provided an update on the most recent developments regarding EU values in Hungary. Ministers discussed values of the Union in relation to Hungary.

    Rule of Law in Poland / Article 7(1) TEU Reasoned Proposal

    The Commission provided an update on the rule of law cases in Poland before the European Court of Justice, and its most recent infraction notification against Poland’s disciplinary procedures for ordinary judges. The presidency stated that the Council would return to the issue.

  • Philip Hammond – 2019 Belt and Road Forum Speech

    Below is the text of the speech made by Philip Hammond, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, in China on 26 April 2019.

    Excellencies; Ladies and Gentlemen. It’s a pleasure to be back in China for this second Belt and Road Forum. To take stock of how the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) has evolved over the past two years…

    …to discuss the next phase of the Initiative.

    To hear, as we have of China’s commitment to the BRI not only to deliver much-needed economic infrastructure, but to demonstrate leadership in addressing social and environmental ‎challenges too;

    We have all seen how China’s own development has lifted hundreds of millions of its citizens out of poverty in just four decades…

    …and none of us doubts that the Belt and Road Initiative has tremendous potential to spread prosperity and sustainable development – touching, as it does, potentially 70% of the world’s population.

    A project of truly epic ambition…

    …and I congratulate President Xi and the Chinese people on the scale of this vision…

    ..and the determination with which it has been pursued.

    The UK is committed to helping to realise the potential of the BRI – and to doing so in a way that works for all whose lives are touched by the project.

    The potential benefits are clear to all of us in this room;

    But to deliver them, it is essential that BRI operates to the highest international standards;…

    …with all parties working together‎ in partnership within the rules-based international system…

    …to create genuine win-win outcomes, in which host countries, investors and promoters alike benefit…

    …with fair terms…

    … sensitivity to local concerns and traditions…

    …and the highest environmental standards…

    …all delivered to international norms of good governance…

    …with full transparency around projects, and around the sustainability of the debt that partner countries are incurring to secure them;

    …Ensuring that Belt and Road is an example of how globalised, open economic cooperation can deliver benefits for all.

    And I welcome the “triple pledge” we heard from President Xi Xinping this morning to ensure the highest international standards in delivery of Belt and Road, to maintain China’s commitment to free trade and multilateralism; and to continue the reform and opening up of China’s economy.

    Two years ago, at the First ‎Belt and Road Forum, I spoke of the UK as a ‘natural partner’ in Belt and Road…

    …citing the complementarity of the UK and Chinese economies…

    …the potential of London’s deep capital markets to support the future financing needs of the BRI…

    …and of the strength of the UK’s legal, professional and technical ‎services sectors to support the design, development, contracting and delivery of BRI projects.

    And since then, I have worked to turn that vision of cooperation into a reality.

    In May 2018, I was pleased to appoint Sir Douglas Flint, former Chairman of HSBC, as HM Treasury’s Financial and Professional Services Envoy to the Belt and Road Initiative;

    Under his chairmanship, we’re bringing together UK business leaders from financial and professional services and China Development Bank, Bank of China, and China Construction Bank to establish a Belt and Road expert board in London.

    We have launched, in April 2019, a three year China Infrastructure Programme to work with China to improve infrastructure development outcomes in Africa and Asia.

    And we have worked with the AIIB to deepen our relationship and to support the development of a pipeline of high-quality infrastructure projects.

    It is clear that, to support the sheer scale of the BRI vision, private finance will need to play an ever greater role in these infrastructure projects.

    And to unlock that private finance, and reassure investors, we must create a recognised infrastructure asset class for Belt and Road projects…

    …with standardised contract terms and uniform reporting that global investors will recognise and trust.

    In doing so, we should, of course, draw on the work that G20 and other international organisations are doing to create frameworks for sustainable infrastructure investments; and I want to offer London’s world class expertise in project financing and the associated legal, professional and technical skills as a partner of choice in delivering these international-standard infrastructure projects.

    The BRI is an extraordinarily, ambitious vision. To turn that vision into a sustainable reality it must work for everyone involved.

    That means achieving the highest economic, social, governance and environmental standards;

    It means attracting the necessary private capital;

    It means ensuring that all partner countries and all their citizens can benefit.

    Our offer is to bring the best of Chinese manufacturing, engineering and construction with the best of British project design and legal, technical and financial services expertise…as we harness the “Golden Era” of UK-China relations…

    …to deliver world-class sustainable infrastructure for all for the twenty-first century.

    I look forward to working with all of you to make that happen…

    To deliver jobs, growth and higher living standards for all of our citizens.

  • Theresa May – 2019 Statement on Northern Ireland

    Below is the text of the statement made by Theresa May, the Prime Minister, with Taoiseach Leo Varadkar of the Republic of Ireland on 26 April 2019.

    In coming together with other political leaders in St Anne’s Cathedral to pay tribute to Lyra McKee, we gave expression to the clear will and determination of all of the people of these islands to reject violence and to support peace and a better future for everyone in Northern Ireland.

    We also heard the unmistakable message to all political leaders that people across Northern Ireland want to see a new momentum for political progress. We agree that what is now needed is actions and not just words from all of us who are in positions of leadership.

    We have agreed to establish a new process of political talks, involving all the main political parties in Northern Ireland, together with the UK and Irish Governments, in accordance with the three stranded process. The aim of these talks is quickly to re-establish to full operation the democratic institutions of the Belfast/Good Friday Agreement – the NI Executive, Assembly and North-South Ministerial Council – so that they can effectively serve all of the people for the future.

    We have asked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland and the Tánaiste to meet later today in Belfast to set out our proposed approach and to commence the talks process as soon as possible after the local elections in Northern Ireland.

    In addition, we have agreed that there should be a meeting of the British-Irish Intergovernmental Conference during the same period. The Conference will consider East/West relations, security cooperation, and political stability in Northern Ireland.

    We understand the complexity of the underlying concerns of all parties, and the need for renewed trust, mutual respect, generosity and new thinking to resolve the issues.

    As Prime Minister and Taoiseach, we are determined to work together to ensure this process comes to a successful conclusion.

    We will review progress at the end of May.

  • Caroline Nokes – 2019 Statement on the EU’s European Travel Information Authorisation System

    Below is the text of the statement made by Caroline Nokes, the Minister for Immigration, in the House of Commons on 24 April 2019.

    The Government have decided to opt in to the aspect of the draft regulation that establishes the conditions for the access of the European travel information authorisation system (ETIAS) to the European criminal records information system (ECRIS-TCN), and has decided not to opt out of the aspect of the draft regulation that establishes the conditions for the access of ETIAS to the second Schengen information system (SIS II).

    ETIAS is the EU’s travel authorisation system that visa-exempt visitors (third country nationals and stateless persons) will have to apply to prior to their entry in the Schengen area. The UK does not participate in ETIAS as it forms part of Schengen border legislation that the UK cannot participate in, but the UK fully supports the EU’s efforts to strengthen its external borders of which this forms part.

    Under this proposal, an ETIAS central unit will access EU information technology systems to support their considerations, specifically ECRIS-TCN and SIS II. Once implemented, the regulation will allow the EU to revoke a grant of admission to a third country national if a relevant alert is identified from data the UK has uploaded to the ECRIS-TCN or SIS II databases. The European Commission has been working towards 2021 as the date from which ETIAS would become operational, but the date might be extended to 2023.

    Whilst there are advantages to the EU from ETIAS having access to UK’s data, there are no obvious operational or public protection benefits for the UK given it involves the provision of data to a scheme that the UK does not participate in. However, a significant argument in favour of participating is to prevent the UK’s non-participation from giving rise to issues around UK access to SIS II or ECRIS-TCN in future.

    Until the UK leaves the EU we remain a full member, and the Government will continue to consider the application of the UK’s opt-in to EU legislation on a case by case basis, with a view to maximising the UK’s efforts to collaborate with the EU on a security partnership once the UK leaves the EU, including on SIS II and ECRIS-TCN.

  • Robin Walker – 2019 Statement on Temporary Transitional Migration Arrangements: UK and Switzerland

    Below is the text of the statement made by Robin Walker, the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, in the House of Commons on 24 April 2019.

    The UK and Switzerland have reached an agreement on temporary transitional migration arrangements for workers in the event that the UK leaves the EU without a deal. These would apply until December 2020.

    This agreement is further to the Swiss Government’s announcement in February 2019 that in a no-deal scenario they would create a specific quota of 3,500 work permits for 2019 for UK workers. As part of the transitional migration agreement, Switzerland has also agreed that UK nationals would not need to meet rules regarding skill level, national preference and economic interest which normally apply to third country nationals during the period covered by the agreement. The agreement also includes protections for frontier workers not covered by the UK-Swiss citizens’ rights agreement which would allow them to continue cross-border work until 31 December 2020.

    The UK has agreed to provide arrangements for Swiss nationals who wish to work in the UK which are at least as favourable as those offered to UK nationals in Switzerland. In the event of no deal, and following the ending of free movement, Swiss and EEA nationals arriving in the UK for the first time would be eligible for European temporary leave to remain. This would allow them to work in the UK for three years.

    This agreement will be subject to ratification processes in both states, and will be signed and published in due course. The UK and Switzerland will continue to work ​closely together on implementing the agreement and will discuss the arrangements which will apply from the end of 2020 in due course.

    Further information about the agreement can be found on gov.uk.

  • Robert Goodwill – 2019 Statement on the Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science

    Below is the text of the statement made by Robert Goodwill, the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, in the House of Commons on 24 April 2019.

    It is normal practice when a Government Department proposes to undertake a contingent liability in excess of £300,000 and outside the normal course of business, for the Minister concerned to lay a departmental Minute before Parliament giving particulars of the liability created and explaining the circumstances. The Department should refrain from incurring the liability until 14 parliamentary sitting days after the issue of the statement.

    This Minute relates to the Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science (CEFAS), an Executive agency of DEFRA, entering into a commercial arrangement with the Kuwait environment public authority (an authority of the Government of Kuwait) who have asked CEFAS to contract with them to provide a marine environment monitoring information system for Kuwait. This is proposed to be a four-year contract of marine science services for which the Kuwaitis will cover all CEFAS’s costs of around £40 million.

    The Kuwait Government wish to enhance their national environmental management capability to world leading standards and are pursuing a strategy of working with the best international government bodies from strategic partner countries. This Kuwaiti Government objective is being delivered under their Environment Monitoring Information System Kuwait (eMISK) programme which spans marine, waste, terrestrial, air and subsurface environments. The Kuwait environment public authority have asked CEFAS to tender for the marine programme and this is supported by both countries at ministerial level, as set out in the inter-government declarations of the joint steering group.

    The benefits of this work to both Governments are the significant contributions it will make to the long-term health of the Gulf marine environment. It will also engage the next generation of Kuwaiti scientists in bilateral co-operation with the UK, maintain and develop CEFAS’s international capability, and position both Kuwait and the UK in a leading position in this area of science.​
    The contractual arrangements between the two parties follow standard Kuwaiti national commercial terms and conditions and include two contingent liabilities relating to a performance bond and liquidated damages claims. These liabilities are limited to a maximum of 20% of the £40 million contract value. Professional indemnity insurance will be purchased, using contract funds, to protect the Department against these risks leaving a residual excess value of no more than £250,000. Only uninsurable risks remain which would be due to late delivery or third-party claims.

    CEFAS and DEFRA have considered the risks of this indemnity and they believe the likelihood of such indemnities being called upon is very low. Agency or departmental budgets are expected to fund any liability call. If such budgets are insufficient then any payment would be sought through the normal supply procedure.

    The Treasury has approved the proposal in principle.

    If, during the period of 14 parliamentary sitting days, beginning on the date on which this Minute was laid before Parliament, a Member signifies an objection by giving notice of a parliamentary question or by otherwise raising the matter in Parliament, final approval to proceed with incurring the liability will be withheld pending an examination of the objection.

  • Margot James – 2019 Statement on Online Pornography Age Verification

    Below is the text of the speech made by Margot James, the Minister for Digital and the Creative Industries, in the House of Commons on 24 April 2019.

    On 17 April 2019, my Department announced that age-verification for online pornography will begin on 15 July 2019. This means that commercial providers of online pornography will be required by law to carry out robust age-verification checks on users, to ensure that they are aged 18 or over.

    The British Board of Film Classification (BBFC) will be responsible for ensuring compliance with this new regulation. Websites that fail to implement age-verification technology face having payment services withdrawn or may be blocked for UK users.

    Adult content is currently far too easy for children to access online. The introduction of mandatory age verification is a world-first, and we have taken the time to balance privacy concerns with the need to protect children from inappropriate content. We want the UK to be the safest place in the world to be online, and these new laws will help us achieve this.

    We have also listened carefully to privacy concerns and take the issue of data privacy and security extremely seriously. We are clear that age-verification arrangements should only be concerned with verifying age, not identity. ​In addition to the requirement for all age-verification providers to comply with General Data Protection Regulation standards, the BBFC has created a voluntary certification scheme, the Age-verification Certificate (AVC), which will assess the data security standards of age-verification providers. We feel that consumers should be able to choose age-verification solutions that meet an even higher privacy standard than is offered by GDPR if they wish to.

    The AVC has been developed in co-operation with industry and Government. Certified age-verification solutions which offer these robust data protection conditions will be certified following an independent assessment and will carry the BBFC’s new green ‘AV’ symbol. Details will also be published on the BBFC’s age-verification website, ageverificationregulator.com, so consumers can make an informed choice between age-verification providers.

  • John Glen – 2019 Statement on Bilateral Loan for Ireland

    Below is the text of the statement made by John Glen, the Economic Secretary to the Treasury, in the House of Commons on 24 April 2019.

    I would like to update Parliament on the loan to Ireland.

    In December 2010, the UK agreed to provide a bilateral loan of £3.2 billion as part of a €67.5 billion international assistance package for Ireland. The loan was disbursed in eight tranches. The final tranche was drawn down on 26 September 2013. Ireland has made interest payments on the loan every six months since the first disbursement.

    On 15 April, in line with the agreed repayment schedule, HM Treasury received a total payment of £407,843,097.02 from Ireland. This comprises the repayment of £403,370,000 in principal and £4,473,097.02 in accrued interest.

    As required under the Loans to Ireland Act 2010, HM Treasury laid a statutory report to Parliament on 1 April covering the period from 1 October to 31 March 2019. The report set out details of future payments up to the final repayment on 26 March 2021. The Government continue to expect the loan to be repaid in full and on time.

    https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/791132/Ireland_loan_statutory_report_April_2019_web.pdf

    The next statutory report will cover the period from 1 April to 30 September 2019. HM Treasury will report fully on all repayments received during this period in the report.

  • John Bercow – 2019 Statement on Chris Davies

    Below is the text of the statement made by John Bercow, the Speaker of the House of Commons, in the House on 24 April 2019.

    I have received a communication this afternoon from Southwark Crown court informing me that Chris Davies, the Member for Brecon and Radnorshire, has been convicted of providing false or misleading information for a parliamentary allowances claim. Since Mr Davies pleaded guilty, there can be no appeal against conviction. This notification accordingly triggers the provisions of the Recall of MPs Act 2015, and I will accordingly be writing to the relevant petition officer to inform that person that Chris Davies is therefore subject to a recall petition process. It will be for that officer to make the arrangements for the petition.

  • Alan Duncan – 2019 Statement on Mass Executions in Saudi Arabia

    Below is the text of the statement made by Sir Alan Duncan, the Minister of State at the Foreign Office for Europe and the Americas, in the House of Commons on 24 April 2019.

    We are very concerned by the executions of 37 men in Saudi Arabia, and the Foreign Office is working to establish the full facts. The Foreign Secretary will be raising this matter with the Saudi authorities at the earliest opportunity. The UK Government oppose the death penalty in all circumstances and in every country, including in Saudi Arabia. We regularly raise human rights concerns, including the use of the death penalty, at the highest levels with the Saudi Arabian authorities.