Lords to question Europol director on government's proposed UK-EU security treaty
The House of Lords EU Home Affairs Sub-Committee will begin taking evidence for its new inquiry Brexit: the proposed UK-EU security treaty on Wednesday 7 March. The Committee will question Rob Wainwright, Executive Director of Europol.
In its future partnership paper on security, law enforcement and criminal justice cooperation, the Government stated that “it is in the clear interest of all citizens that the UK and the EU sustain the closest possible cooperation in tackling terrorism, organised crime and other threats to security now and into the future”.
This inquiry will therefore examine the Government's proposal to negotiate a treaty between the UK and the EU that would provide a legal basis for continued cooperation on security. The first session will explore current challenges for police and security collaboration and what the “closest possible cooperation” between the UK and EU could look like.
Other possible questions include:
- In the event that the UK leaves the EU without any deal in place on police cooperation, what does the UK stand to lose? How likely do you believe this outcome to be?
- To what extent do you think the Government's ‘red line' on CJEU jurisdiction limits the post-Brexit options available to the UK for police cooperation?
- Can you set out the various models or contingencies that Europol is planning for? For example, are you planning for a possible no-deal scenario in relation to internal security cooperation with the UK?
- Do you have any concerns about how the UK and EU will be able to cooperate on identifying, agreeing, and tackling commonly shared security risks when the UK is no longer part of the EU?
The evidence session will begin at 10:30 in Committee Room 3 of the House of Lords.
