EU Foreign and Security Co-operation

10. What steps he is taking to improve UK-EU foreign and security co-operation.

There is no British security without Europe and no European security without Britain. The EU is one of our closest partners on foreign and security policy. That is why I was in Austria yesterday meeting a number of our European counterparts, and it is why the Foreign Secretary will travel to Ireland later to meet EU Foreign Ministers. The ambitious security and defence partnership agreed with the EU is boosting co-operation and—as my excellent predecessor, my right hon. Friend the Member for Torfaen (Nick Thomas-Symonds), noted already—we recently struck a deal to join the EU’s $90 billion Ukraine loan initiative.

Four EU member states have written to the European Commission, asking that it explores new options for Ukraine to make use of immobilised Russian state assets for its self-defence. They propose that EU states spread the legal and financial risks of seizing those assets. When the Foreign Secretary goes to Ireland this evening, will he support that initiative?

The Foreign Secretary and I have discussed many of these questions, and he will of course be discussing Ukraine. We have made a signal contribution to European security through our efforts in Ukraine; we will continue to do so, and it will be a top priority in our discussions in the weeks ahead.

At the moment, the European Union is taking big decisions to address the challenges it faces. Those decisions affect us, too, but we are not at the table—I am thinking of tariffs on steel made in Europe and the Security Action for Europe defence procurement programme. Will the Minister reassure my constituents in Chelsea and Fulham that the Government will press ahead with a summit this year, that they will get good deals for young people and on the price of food and energy, and that they will seek to be more ambitious and bold in getting us back a seat at the table so that we can play a part in making the decisions that affect us?

I can reassure my hon. Friend’s constituents that, after many years of neglect, we are getting back to the table: I was at the table yesterday and the Foreign Secretary will be at the table this evening. We are pressing British interests in relation to steel made in Europe and on a whole range of really important questions. We have applied considerable pressure. Young people and research and development institutions will have access to a closer relationship with Europe, and we will push ahead in the coming weeks and months.

I call the Liberal Democrat spokesperson.

Labour’s decision to recruit a new Prime Minister directly led to the cancellation of the UK-EU summit in July, but a month and a half later, we still have no date, leaving businesses in the dark about the future relationship. Businesses also want to know whether the Prime Minister is truly committed to a bolder approach to our European relations, or if he will follow the pedestrian approach taken by his predecessor. Will the Minister today provide some certainty by telling the House when the UK-EU summit will take place? Will he also confirm whether the Government will heed Liberal Democrat calls to put the UK’s entry into the single market on the table at those talks?

The hon. Gentleman knows how diplomacy works: we do not announce a summit until it has been agreed with our partners. I turn to his substantive question. Are we ambitious to go further and faster? Yes, we are. I said that in Europe yesterday and we have said it repeatedly. We are making every effort that we can make to ensure that there is a partnership that works for both the UK and the EU, and that we are advancing quickly towards it.