The Select Committee on European Legislation is appointed
under
Standing Order No.127, viz:
Select Committee on European Legislation
127.--(1) There shall be a select committee, to be called
the Select Committee on European Legislation, to examine European
Community Documents and--
(a) to report its opinion on the legal and
political importance of each such document and, where it
considers appropriate, to report also on the reasons for its
opinion and on any matters of principle, policy or law which may
be affected;
(b) to make recommendations for the further
consideration of any such document pursuant to Standing Order
No.102 (European Standing Committees); and
(c) to consider any issue arising upon any such
document or group of documents.
The expression "European Community Documents"
means--
(i) any proposal under the Community
treaties for legislation by the Council of Ministers;
(ii) any document which is published for
submission to the European Council or the Council of Ministers;
(iii) any document (not falling within
(ii) above) which is published by one Community institution for
or with a view to submission to another Community institution and
which does not relate exclusively to consideration of any
proposal for legislation;
(iv) any other document relating to
European Community matters deposited in the House by a Minister
of the Crown.
(2) The committee shall consist of sixteen members.
(3) The committee and any sub-committee appointed by it
shall have the assistance of the Counsel to the Speaker.
(4) The committee shall have the power to appoint
specialist advisers for the purpose of particular enquiries,
either to supply information which is not readily available or
to elucidate matters of complexity within the committee's order
of reference.
(5) The committee shall have power to send for persons,
papers and records; to sit notwithstanding any adjournment of the
House; to adjourn from place to place; and to report from time
to time.
(6) The quorum of the committee shall be five.
(7) The committee shall have power to appoint
sub-committees and to refer to such sub-committees any of the
matters referred to the committee.
(8) Every such sub-committee shall have power to send for
persons, papers and records; to sit notwithstanding any
adjournment of the House; to adjourn from place to place; and to
report to the committee from time to time.
(9) The committee shall have power to report from time to
time the minutes of evidence taken before such sub-committees.
(10) The quorum of every such sub-committee shall be two.
(11) The committee or any sub-committee appointed by it
shall have leave to confer and to meet concurrently with any
committee of the Lords on the European Communities or any
sub-committee of that committee for the purpose of deliberating
and of examining witnesses.
(12) Unless the House otherwise orders, each member
nominated to the committee shall continue to be a member of it
for the remainder of the Parliament.
Friday 5 June 1992
The following were nominated as members of the Select
Committee on European Legislation:
Mr Harry Barnes
Mr William Cash
Mr Hugh Dykes
Mr Derek Enright
Mrs Margaret Ewing
Dr Norman A Godman
Mr David Harris
Mr Alan Haselhurst |
Mr Robert Hicks
Mr Jimmy Hood
Mr David Knox
Mrs Jacqui Lait
Mr David Madel
Mr Nigel Spearing
Mr Tony Marlow
Mr Jimmy Wray |
Subsequent changes in the membership have been:
Friday 12 June 1992:
Mrs Jacqui Lait discharged
Mr Hartley Booth appointed.
Friday 30 October 1992:
Mr Jimmy Wray discharged
Mr Jimmy Boyce appointed.
Friday 4 December 1992:
Mr Hartley Booth discharged
Mr Peter Atkinson appointed.
Tuesday 25 January 1994:
Mr Jimmy Boyce died.
Thursday 17 February 1994:
Mr Kevin Hughes appointed.
Friday 13 January 1995:
Dr Norman A Godman discharged
Ms Rachel Squire appointed.
Tuesday 31 October 1995: Mr Derek Enright died.
Tuesday 28 November 1995: Mr George Stevenson appointed.
Mr Jimmy Hood was elected Chairman, 17 June 1992.
Resolution of the House of 24 October 1990[1]
Resolved, That, in the opinion of this
House:--
(1) No Minister of the Crown should give agreement in the
Council of Ministers to any proposal for European Community
legislation--
(a) which is still subject to scrutiny (that is,
on which the Select Committee on European Legislation has not
completed its scrutiny) or
(b) which is awaiting consideration by the House
(that is, which has been recommended by the Select Committee for
consideration pursuant to Standing Order No.102 (European
Standing Committees) but in respect of which the House has not
come to a Resolution, either on a Resolution reported by a
European Standing Committee or otherwise).
(2) In this Resolution, any reference to agreement to a
proposal includes, in the case of a proposal on which the Council
acts in co-operation with the European Parliament, agreement to
a common position.
(3) The Minister concerned may, however, give agreement:-
(a) to a proposal which is still subject to
scrutiny if he considers that it is confidential, routine or
trivial or is substantially the same as a proposal on which
scrutiny has been completed;
(b) to a proposal which is awaiting consideration
by the House if the Select Committee has indicated that agreement
need not be withheld pending consideration.
(4) The Minister concerned may also give agreement to a
proposal which is still subject to scrutiny or awaiting
consideration by the House if he decides that for special reasons
agreement should be given; but he should explain his reasons--
(i) in every such case, to the Select
Committee at the first opportunity after reaching his decision;
and
(ii) in the case of a proposal awaiting
consideration by the House, to the House at the first opportunity
after giving agreement.
(5) In relation to any proposal which requires adoption by
unanimity, abstention shall, for the purposes of paragraph (4),
be treated as giving agreement.
Notes
1. Three separate numbering systems are used in
this Report to designate Community documents.
Numbers in brackets are the Committee's own
reference numbers.
Numbers in the form 5467/96 are Council of Ministers
reference numbers; this system is also employed by United Kingdom
Government Departments and the Vote Office and for the purpose
of proceedings in the House.
Numbers preceded by the letters COM or SEC are
Commission reference numbers; this style is also employed
by the European Parliament.
The absence of both a Council of Ministers and Commission
reference number usually indicates that at the time of the Report
only an unnumbered Explanatory Memorandum from the responsible
Government Department was deposited in the House.
2. Details of the progress of European Community
Documents recommended by the Committee for further consideration
may be found in the European Community Documents List which is
circulated every sitting Monday in the Vote Bundle.
3. The financial data in European Community
Documents are normally expressed in European Currency Units
(ECU). Following sterling's suspension from the Exchange Rate
Mechanism, conversions into sterling relating to present and
future years included in the Government's Explanatory Memoranda
are normally made at the market rate for the last working day of
the previous month. For Explanatory Memoranda submitted in
November 1996, the conversion rate is £1 = 1.2785 ECU (1 ECU
= £0.7822).
4. The following terms and abbreviations are
used regularly in Reports from the Committee:--
'A' point An item on the Council Agenda which is not
controversial, and needs no discussion. If any Member State
objects to an item being taken as an 'A' point, that business is
dropped from the agenda.'B' points are those expected to give
rise to debate.
CCACompliance Cost Assessment
COREPERCommittee of Permanent Representatives
ECJEuropean Court of Justice
ECSCEuropean Coal and Steel Community
ECUEuropean Currency Unit
EMExplanatory Memorandum
OJOfficial Journal
SEMSupplementary Explanatory Memorandum.
TagAn italic rubric attached to a Motion in the House or European
Standing Committee, listing documents relevant to debate on that
Motion.
1.C.J., 1989-90, p.646. Back
