Lords to debate report on security and police cooperation post Brexit
The House of Lords will tomorrow, Tuesday 7 February, debate the EU Home Affairs Sub- Committee report from December, “Brexit: UK-EU Security and Police Cooperation”.
Among those listed to speak are Baroness Prashar, Chair of the EU Home Affairs Sub-Committee, Lord Condon, Lord Stevens of Kirkwhelpington, Lord Paddick and Lord Wasserman.
The debate is being moved by Baroness Prashar, and Baroness Williams of Trafford will respond on behalf of the Government.
The debate is expected to start from around 7.00pm.
The report, "Brexit: UK-EU Security and Police Cooperation", was published in December 2016 and examined the main tools and agencies that underpin security and police cooperation between the UK and EU, and explored the options available to the Government for retaining or replacing them when the UK leaves the EU. The key recommendations included:
Europol
An operational agreement with Europol like those that other third countries have negotiated would not be sufficient to meet the UK's needs. The Government will therefore need to devise and secure agreement for an arrangement that protects the capabilities upon which UK law enforcement has come to rely and which goes further than the operational agreements that other third countries have.
Data-sharing for law enforcement
The data-sharing tools that witnesses identified as top priorities for the UK – SIS II (the Second Generation Schengen Information System) and ECRIS (the European Criminal Records Information System) – are also those it may be hardest to negotiate access to, because they are currently used by Schengen or EU members only.
European Arrest Warrant
The European Arrest Warrant is a critical component of the UK's law enforcement capabilities. The most promising avenue for the Government to pursue may be to follow the precedent set by Norway and Iceland and seek a bilateral extradition agreement with the EU that mirrors the EAW's provisions as far as possible. An operational gap between the EAW ceasing to apply and a suitable replacement coming into force would pose an unacceptable risk.
UK's role in shaping EU police and security cooperation
The starting point for the UK in seeking to negotiate access to these tools is different from that of any other third country, both because of the UK's pre-existing relationship with the EU and because of the value it can add through the data it has to offer. With that in mind, the Committee believe there is a strong case for the Government to pursue a bespoke solution as part of the Brexit negotiations.
