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.
Monday 11 November 1996:
Mr Kevin Hughes discharged
Mr John McAllion appointed.
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 December 1996, the conversion
rate is £1 = 1.3322 ECU (1 ECU = £0.7506).
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.
CCA Compliance Cost Assessment
COREPER Committee of Permanent Representatives
ECJ European Court of Justice
ECSC European Coal and Steel Community
ECU European Currency Unit
EM Explanatory Memorandum
OJ Official Journal
SEM Supplementary Explanatory Memorandum.
Tag An 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
