On 20 October 2016, the House of Lords will debate the implications of the EU referendum for foreign and security policy cooperation with European countries. Theresa May and members of her Cabinet have stated that they intend for the UK to continue to cooperate closely with EU partners on areas such as security, defence, law enforcement and counter-terrorism after leaving the EU, although it is not yet clear exactly what form such cooperation may take.
Leaving the European Union: Foreign and Security Policy Cooperation (348 KB , PDF)
The UK works inter-governmentally with its EU partners to adopt common positions and diplomatic approaches, undertake joint actions and deploy military and civilian missions under the Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP). The Iran nuclear deal framework agreed in 2015 is an example of an issue where coordinating negotiations and sanctions through the EU helped the UK in one of its top foreign policy priority areas. However, EU foreign policy has been less successful in responding to recent challenges such as terrorism and migration, and divergences have been noted between member states about priorities and resources for pursuing EU foreign and security policy. Non-EU member states can align themselves with EU common positions and participate in sanctions on a voluntary basis, but since they have no formal influence over the formulation of the policy, it is not clear to what extent the UK would seek to do this in the future.
The UK has participated in a number of military and civilian CSDP missions since 2003, and is currently supporting naval operations in the Mediterranean and Somalia. Sir Michael Fallon, the Secretary of State for Defence, has said that the UK’s withdrawal from the EU should not inhibit future cooperation with missions that are in the national interest, although he has not elaborated on what form such cooperation would take. Non-EU member states have contributed to almost all CSDP missions in varying formats. The UK could continue its defence cooperation with European partners through NATO, through continued participation in EU structures and operations as a third country nation, or through bilateral relations with EU partners.
The UK has opted in to a number of police and criminal justice measures which facilitate cooperation on intelligence sharing, security and counter-terrorism, such as the European Arrest Warrant, Europol and various EU-wide databases. There are precedents for arrangements which allow non-EU member states to participate in some of these measures, although not always with the same level of access or influence as member states. Commentators agree that it would be of mutual benefit for the UK and its European partners to cooperate on intelligence, security and counter-terrorism, but it has been argued that bilateral and informal cooperation play an important role in this area alongside formal EU mechanisms.
Leaving the European Union: Foreign and Security Policy Cooperation (348 KB , PDF)
While international attention has largely been focused on the Middle East and Ukraine, the civil war in Sudan continues. The UN has characterised the conflict as the “world’s largest hunger crisis”. As peace negotiations stall, concerns are rising not only for the people of Sudan but also about the conflict spreading to neighbouring states.
This briefing provides a summary of a recent report by the international children’s rights charity Save the Children entitled ‘Stop the war on children: Let them live in peace’, as well as UK government policy in this area. It has been prepared ahead of Baroness Anelay of St Johns’ (Conservative) upcoming debate on 12 September 2024 on the government’s assessment of the impact of international conflict on children and the recommendations proposed in Save the Children’s report.
The Commonwealth Parliamentary Association and International Committee of the Red Cross (Status) Bill seeks to allow the UK government to treat the CPA and the ICRC in a manner comparable to international organisations of which the UK is a member. This status change would allow the government to confer certain privileges and immunities on the two organisations. A previous version of the bill was introduced in the 2023-24 parliamentary session.
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