Lords inquiry into UK-EU reset hears from legal experts

The cross-party Lords European Affairs Committee will hear from a panel of legal experts at its evidence session on Tuesday 28 January 2025, as part of its new inquiry into the reset of UK-EU relations.
 
Those giving evidence are: 

• Retired judge Sir Richard Aikens;  
• Professor Catherine Barnard, Professor of European  Law, Cambridge University;
• Professor Graham Butler, Full Professor of Law, University of Southern Denmark and Linnaeus University, Sweden 

 Topics likely to be discussed include: 

• The legal mechanisms for making changes to the current UK-EU relationship, in trade and other areas  
• The legal scope for increased UK-EU security and defence cooperation, given the EU’s current arrangements for non-Member States 
• The significance of recent disputes that the EU has launched against the UK

The session, in Committee Room 3 at 4pm, in the Houses of Parliament, is the second one held as part of the inquiry, and can be watched live or later on Parliament TV.  
 
The House of Lords European Affairs Committee has issued a call for evidence for the inquiry which comes after the Government announced it was seeking a reset of the UK’s relations with the European Union, including in the areas of security and defence co-operation, in order to “address common threats and challenges”; and trade, in order to “break down barriers”. 
 
Interested individuals and organisations are invited to submit written evidence to the inquiry by 7 March 2025, and the Committee, chaired by Lord Ricketts, aims to report to the House later in the year.