THE Scottish Government must be “closely involved” in David Cameron’s renegotiation with Brussels over his reform agenda ahead of the in/out referendum, a House of Lords report has said.
The Lords EU Committee said it had been assured by David Lidington, the Europe Minister, that the UK Government would engage fully with Holyrood and the other devolved administrations; he is due to visit Edinburgh for talks later in the year.
But the peers made clear that Nicola Sturgeon and her colleagues must not be cut out of the Prime Minister’s process of renegotiation but fully engaged in it.
In a report, the committee said: “Given the profound implications for the nations of the UK of a referendum on membership of the EU, it is vital that the Government engage fully with the devolved administrations during the negotiations.
“The Government must ensure that the devolved administrations are not presented with a fait accompli at the end of the process but, rather, are closely involved in the negotiations, so as to ensure that the specific interests of the nations of the UK are taken into account.”
It added: “We will seek to engage with our colleagues in the devolved legislatures over the coming months to ensure that such issues are brought to the Government’s attention.”
The committee also condemned the Whitehall process, branding it “so unclear as to be a recipe for confusion; we don’t know who is in charge within Government, who they will be talking to at EU level or what the timetable for agreement is”.
Lord Boswell, the committee chairman, also said: “We want the Government to spell out, given that there is no realistic prospect of treaty change before the referendum, it will guarantee that any negotiation deal is legally binding.
“We want the Government to reconsider its approach and put transparency and accountability at the heart of the process. Only then will UK citizens be in a position to make an informed decision in the referendum,” he added.
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