MP details the Governments strategic agreement with the EU
MP for Clwyd East
Following on from recent trade deals struck with the USA and India, the Government has announced a new strategic agreement with the EU which supports jobs, lowers bills and secures our borders.
The deal includes a new agreement to make it easier for food and drink to be imported and exported by reducing the red tape that placed burdens on businesses and led to lengthy lorry queues at the border.
The EU is the UK's largest trading partner, so after the 21% drop in exports and 7% drop in imports seen since Brexit, the UK will also be able to sell various products, back into the EU again, supporting these vital industries.
I'm pleased that this has been welcomed by the business community alongside both the National Farmers' Union and the Farmers' Union of Wales.
It also includes measures to enhance our ability to catch dangerous criminals and ensure they face justice more quickly.
The UK will enter talks about access to EU facial images data for the first time, on top of the existing arrangements for DNA, fingerprint and vehicle registration data.
The Agreement also focuses on further work on finding solutions to tackle illegal migration – including on returns and a joint commitment to tackle channel crossings.
The UK and EU have also reached a new twelve-year agreement that protects Britain's fishing access, fishing rights and fishing areas with no increase in the amount of fish EU vessels can catch in British waters, providing stability and certainty for the sector.
Another announcement this week, as the Prime Minister has made it clear that, as the economy improves, the Government wants to ensure that more pensioners are eligible for winter fuel payments.
Any changes will be announced as part of a fiscal event, with further details coming forward in due course.
This is extremely welcome news and I will be pressing for further details to be released as early as possible.
Finally, the assisted dying legislation has begun its Report Stage in the House of Commons.
At the end of the debate, which will return on 13 June, I voted for a new clause, which expands the protections to ensure that no person is under any duty to provide assistance to someone to end their life in accordance with the Bill.
Essentially meaning that if people, including medical professionals, don't want to be involved, they should not have to be involved.
I want to thank every constituent who has fed their views into me over the last few months, either by email or at one of the events I have held around Clwyd East.
Please do get in touch: becky.gittins.mp@parliament.uk
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Neil Mackay is the Herald's Writer-at-Large. He's a multi-award winning investigative journalist, author of both fiction and non-fiction, and a filmmaker and broadcaster. He specialises in intelligence, security, crime, social affairs, cultural commentary, and foreign and domestic politics
