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European Union (Amendment) Bill

I have no doubt that the measures that my noble friend has just explained are some of the most far-reaching and chilling proposals in the whole treaty. As they are understood by the population at large, they will cause outrage. What my noble friend described was, as he said, the abolition of the intergovernmental nature of these justice and home affairs measures and their incorporation into the main treaty in a way which will bring in QMV, the jurisdiction of the European Court of Justice and co-decision by the European Parliament. Matters of criminal justice and policing are matters for a nation where the electorate can elect or de-elect the Government who are responsible for those matters. The electorate can hold that Government to account. They can elect or de-elect the parliament that makes those laws on their behalf. I do not believe that a European council voting by majority is democratic representation of a nation. Nor do I believe that a European Parliament, however much language is used about it directly representing European citizens, represents a national voice on these matters or is an appropriate forum to decide the national laws that apply in this country. The European Union is not a nation. The United Kingdom is a nation. Its Parliament is the place where criminal laws, policing laws and the role of justice in this nation are decided until such time as the Government tell us that we are no longer a nation and the European Union has become that nation—a proposition which, thankfully, they continue to deny. The fact that this treaty moves us away from a nation having control over its own laws in this area is a hugely significant matter. In support I quote a much-quoted report from the European Committee of this House, which has made some salient points on the matter. It said: "““The move to QMV in almost all areas of FSJ is a significant change … It is likely that one effect of the change will be an increase in Union activity and the volume of legislation agreed in this area””." The European Union has not brought in these measures in this treaty to sit on the sidelines; it has brought them in to legislate in these areas. That is what it intends to do. The report continues: "““The change will remove Member States’ vetoes in respect of criminal law and policing and legal migration. This means that it will be possible for the UK, in some cases, to be bound by a measure in the area of criminal law or policing against its will, although the likelihood of this happening will be greatly reduced by the existence of a general right not to opt in for the UK””." I will return to that point in a minute. In respect of the power of the ECJ, the report continues: "““For the first time, Member States will be able to be taken to the Court for failure to implement properly EU legislation in the area of criminal law and policing””." In other words, even if this Parliament were to vote for a measure that reflected the will of the people of this country, this Government could be taken to court in Europe for not implementing a different measure that had been voted in by QMV in Europe. That is what we are considering. I am sure that the Government will say, ““That is all very well, but we negotiated opt-ins””. There are two problems with the opt-in, which my noble friend on the Front Bench has mentioned. The first is the matter of existing measures which we have already agreed under the previous arrangements where we will not have the choice of retaining the status quo. We will have either to agree to those measures being brought in to the new area, where the Court of Justice and QMV applies, or to opt out of those measures and bear whatever costs are imposed. Again, the report makes it clear that, "““the Treaty does not leave open the option of retaining the status quo in respect of Title VI measures after the transitional period. At the end of the period at the latest, the UK must either accept the Commission’s enforcement powers and the ECJ’s jurisdiction in respect of such measures or exercise its block opt-out, again accepting that if it chooses to opt back in to any particular existing measure, the Commission’s enforcement powers and the ECJ’s jurisdiction will apply””." There is a whole set of measures where we would be forced either to comply or to opt out and bear the cost. There would be many other areas where, at first blush—the Government are trying to be friendly and co-operate within Europe—we will agree to areas that are then amended. The problem is that once we have agreed to an area, any amendment that follows will be by QMV and will bring us under the jurisdiction of the ECJ. Again, I quote from the report: "““The suggestion that the UK, having opted in to a proposal, could argue that its opt-in did not extend to fundamental amendments to the proposal during negotiations raises an interesting legal question. But the question is unlikely to arise … In some areas of criminal law and policing, a dramatic change during negotiations may permit the UK to use the emergency brake to halt a measure’s progress. In other cases, the UK may end up bound by a measure with which it does not fully agree; this is the nature of QMV””." We are entering territory where a fundamental shift is happening in the criminal justice and legal system, which is moving from an area that is under national control of a national parliament and national Government, elected by the citizens of the country, to a territory where it can be imposed on us by qualified majority voting or parliamentary decisions in Europe, even where this nation has a different view. We should not do so without having that fully explained to the people of this country.