13 October 2022

European affairs committee launch inquiry into eu-uk defence and security cooperation post-brexit

Politicians on an influential British-Irish Parliamentary Assembly (BIPA) commiitee have launched an inquiry into UK-EU defence and security coopearion post-Brext, following a meeting in London.

BIPA's European Affairs Committee's new inquiry will examine the two sides' response to Ukraine before going on to examine issues around cyber security and, finally, intelligence and policing.

To inform its work, the Committee is now inviting written evidence from interested individuals and organisations on any of the areas covered in the terms of reference below.

BIPA is represented by lawmakers from Westminster and the devolved UK legislatures, and the Irish Oireachtas. It meets for plenaries twice a year held alternately in the UK and in Ireland at which Committees report their findings and senior politicians make important speeches on the future of UK-Irish relations.

Chair of the Committee, Darren Millar MS, said:

"The conflict between Russia and Ukraine is reshaping the defence and security architecture across our continent. It is only right that we review the post-Brexit arrangements, and we invite those with an interest in this area to submit evidence."

Scope of the inquiry

Please email written evidence to the Committee Clerks, Simon Horswell and Claudia Zelli, at horswells@parliament.uk and Claudia.Zelli@oireachtas.ie, by Friday 2 December 2022.

Response to Ukraine

• To consider the approaches of the UK Government, Irish Government, devolved UK legislatures and EU in response to the crisis in Ukraine.
• To consider the cooperation between the UK, the EU and its individual member states and how effective this cooperation has been.
• To consider the impact of Brexit on the UK's cooperation with European partners in the context of Ukraine.
• To consider whether there are any lessons to be learned thus far from UK-EU cooperation on Ukraine or whether there are future opportunities to do things differently.
• To consider the outlook for longer term UK/EU cooperation on defence and security.
• To consider to what extent the recent change in German defence policy, the prospect of Finnish and Swedish accession to NATO and the AUKUS agreement has had on the UK-EU defence and security relationship.

Cyber security

• To consider the biggest challenges facing the UK, Ireland and EU in cybersecurity, including whether they have identified the same priorities and whether are they broadly aligned in what they need to do to address these challenges.
• To consider how the UK, Ireland and EU can cooperate effectively to tackle these challenges now the UK is no longer part of EU bodies including its Agency for Cyber Security (ENISA).
• To consider implementation of the UK-EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement in this area, including the current status and outcomes of the ‘regular dialogue'.
• To consider whether there are lessons to be learnt from how the UK and EU Member States pursue such cooperation in other settings, such as NATO.
• To consider the extent to which the UK and EU's separate legislative agendas are compatible or divergent.
• To consider how the UK and EU can cooperate effectively to influence cyber-security standards for existing and emerging technologies.
• To consider any risks for effective cooperation between the private sector in the UK and Ireland/ the EU if there is regulatory divergence and the impact on private and academic sectors ability to cooperate on cyber.
• To consider the importance of UK researchers being able to participate fully in EU-funded research into new cybersecurity measures under the ‘Horizon Europe' programme.

Intelligence and policing

• To consider the practical impact of the arrangements for law enforcement and criminal justice cooperation under the UK-EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA).
• To consider the impact of Brexit on practical law enforcement cooperation on the island of Ireland and between Irish and relevant UK authorities.
• To consider the legal structures and/or mechanisms that now apply to the exchange of operational information between law enforcement authorities in Ireland and in the UK.
• To consider whether the UK and Ireland have concluded any bilateral cooperation agreements since the UK left the EU to facilitate cross-border cooperation.
• To consider the effectiveness of TCA provisions on surrender/ extradition and whether the transition from the (pre-Brexit) European Arrest Warrant (EAW) procedures to the new TCA procedures has been straightforward.
• To consider whether post-Brexit developments in EU or UK law could jeopardise cooperation under Part Three of the TCA (e.g.: UK Bill of Rights, Data Protection and Digital Information Bill as well as proposed changes to the EU's Prüm rules governing the transfer of DNA and fingerprint data during criminal investigations).
• To consider whether there are specific areas of law enforcement and criminal justice cooperation in which differing EU and UK approaches to the use of technology, or the development of standards, could jeopardise cooperation under Part Three of the TCA.
• To consider whether the UK's exit from the EU affected the Irish Government's approach to its EU justice and home affairs opt-ins and whether divergence in substantive criminal laws and procedures in Ireland and the UK make cooperation more difficult over time.

All submissions should be sent as a Microsoft Word document and be no longer than 3,000 words long.

ENDS

For more on the membership of the British-Irish Parliamentary Assembly Committee B (European Affairs), click here here.

For more on BIPA, see here.
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