8ú Téarma Parlaiminteach Timothy Charles Ayrton TANNOCK

With a potential customer base of over 500 million, surely one of the most indisputable benefits of EU membership is the ability to trade with and set up shop in any one of the EU’s 28 Member States. Many have taken advantage of this opportunity, which increases competition, drives innovation and promotes prosperity. However, it is clear that e-government services vary hugely between Member States and information on business registries and requirements can be patchy. I am therefore voting in support of this proposal to reduce burdens on entrepreneurs seeking to establish a business or branch in another Member State via digital means. There are measures in the report which make it the norm to only have to submit documents once and not have to be physically present in the country in which the business is being established. Given the digitalisation in all areas of life, this seems to be a practical and timely approach. I am pleased to support this tightening up of regulations and hope that many across Europe see their businesses flourish as a result of it.

I am aware of the deep concern amongst many of my constituents about the undeniable threats to the environment, biodiversity and climate as a result of the impact on our planet of the choices we make. Recent protests in my constituency of London such as the Climate Strike in March attended by school children have pressed this point home. I am pleased therefore to see that the EU’s funding instrument for the environment and climate action, LIFE, could see an increased budget of EUR 5.45 billion for the next programme from 2021. LIFE has already funded 244 projects in the UK since its inception in 1992 and EUR 262 million of EU funds have been channelled back into environmental projects. In London we have seen a range of initiatives win this funding from local clean up projects, and social housing improvements, to efforts to reduce food waste in the capital. I am pleased to see that the programme remains open to association with non-EU countries and so I hope that the UK government will consider adding this to the long list of other instruments to which we should request an opt-in when the UK leave the EU.

. ‒ Increasing concern about the scale of migration from the EU has placed border control at the forefront of the public’s consciousness, particularly in recent years amidst the Brexit saga. An enhanced information-sharing system is urgently required if public trust in the European Union’s border security is to be maintained. In the UK this is particularly important given all we stand to lose in terms of cooperation and information sharing should a security-cliff-edge, no-deal Brexit take place.
This proposal would collate all EU information systems and provide a fast, simple and efficient tool enabling border officials to make quick judgements at the border gate. Biometric and biographical data could be cross-referenced and searched across multiple databases simultaneously, which would provide a powerful new system for the EU as a whole. I am pleased therefore to vote in favour of this proposal and I sincerely hope that the UK will be permitted to participate for the foreseeable future.