Examination of Witnesses (Questions 160-172)
14 JULY 2004
DR RICHARD
CORBETT MEP, MR
TIMOTHY KIRKHOPE
MEP, MR CHRIS
HUHNE MEP AND
DR JOHN
WHITTAKER MEP
Q160 Sir Nicholas Winterton: You can
obtain them any time because they are available.
Mr Huhne: I would be delighted—I
think it would be very useful to establish a list of British MEPs
dealing with particular dossiers—to be sent material from
the House and from the Lords relevant to that dossier in a timely
manner. Nothing would make my life easier. That would be absolutely
splendid. It has not happened yet.
Q161 Mr Kidney: It has come out very
clearly that we should study, if we want to improve our procedures,
Denmark, Sweden, Finland—everybody says especially Finland—but
no others.
Mr Kirkhope: It would be interesting
to see what the new member states are putting in place.
Dr Corbett: I must confess I do
not know the answer to that.
Q162 Mr Kidney: I have only the slightest
acquaintance with the procedures by which you conciliate and reach
agreements.
Dr Corbett: I can recommend a
very good book on the European Parliament!
Mr Huhne: You might even get an
author's discount!
Q163 Mr Kidney: In terms of your procedures,
is that because you are secretive in the way that you reach those
agreements so that we cannot scrutinise what you are up to or
is simply that we are not taking an interest in something that
is perfectly open?
Dr Corbett: All our sessions and
committee meetings of all committees are in public. The only parts
of the legislative procedure that the European Parliament is involved
in which is not in public is when we meet the Council in the Conciliation
Committee. As you know, if we have not agreed the same text after
two readings it goes to a Conciliation Committee to negotiate
a compromise. That compromise then has to be approved by both—in
public in our case, in a public vote in Parliament. The Conciliation
Committee, the negotiation of a compromise, is not in public.
Q164 Mr Kidney: So we have plenty of
opportunity to take an interest before you get to that stage anyway.
Dr Corbett: Yes, and most legislation
is agreed within one or two readings and does not need conciliation
or a third reading.
Q165 Sir Nicholas Winterton: What do
you perceive to be the current effective links between the European
Parliament and the Houses of Parliament here, ie the Commons and
the Lords, the UK Parliament?
Dr Corbett: My most frequent contact
with MPs is through party channels, frankly. We also have a good
link system with ministers because ministers are dealing in the
Council with the same matters that we are dealing with in the
Parliament and we have obviously reached the conclusion that we
need to talk and communicate and co-ordinate positions.
Mr Kirkhope: I think mine is probably
through the party as well in many ways.
Mr Huhne: Mine is definitely through
the party and I think it depends very much on the MEPs. I make
this point particularly about travelling via London because being
a south-east MEP it is relatively easy to be here but that is
not the case necessarily for someone from Scotland or whatever.
I make an effort to participate in my party's treasury team meetings
every so often to update them on what is going on in EU legislation
and vice versa on the financial services area. I find that
very useful; I hope they find it useful. I think it does depend
on personal relationships.
Q166 Sir Nicholas Winterton: Dr John
Whittaker obviously does not have any of his party members in
this House although he may well have a lot of sympathisers. How
do you perceive the contacts between MEPs and the European Parliament?
How will you seek to work with this Parliament in seeking to implement
or to progress your agenda?
Dr Whittaker: Our agenda—if
I may state it—is to take Britain out of the European Union
altogether in which case we would not be having this debate at
all.
Q167 Sir Nicholas Winterton: Bearing
in mind we have the current situation, how would you seek to advance
your agenda on behalf of your party which is the United Kingdom
Independence Party?
Dr Whittaker: United Kingdom Independence
Party. I have told you what our ultimate objective is. Of course,
we would be seeking to get members elected to this House as well
and when we were able to exert sufficient influence we would be
pressing the cause I have already mentioned to you. I do not quite
get the thrust of your question.
Q168 Sir Nicholas Winterton: How do you
perceive, as a member of the European Parliament at this time,
to improve the contact between the European Parliament so that
members here are aware of what you and your party are seeking
to do. We know your long term objective but there is quite a lot
of time between what is going on now and what you might seek to
do in the future. How would you seek to work now within the European
Parliament to represent the interests of the people of this country
and co-operate with the United Kingdom Parliament?
Dr Whittaker: Our position in
the European Parliament, in my opinion, gives us the position
to fulfil the mandate for which we have all been elected, the
12 of us in the European Parliament now. I do not quite understand
why you should see any relevance in our agenda of this Parliament
here except to the extent that we would wish to have members in
it in good time.
Q169 Chairman: There is one other issue
which I would be interested in your views on because there has
been an issue about MEPs wanting greater access to facilities
in Westminster. If so, which facilities and given the time constraints
which you yourselves have raised—Chris has particularly
identified—would anyone make any use of them?
Mr Kirkhope: Obviously I am a
former member as well so it is slightly different here, but in
itself it is not a major issue but I think socialising. I know
you have problems yourselves actually with your present MPs not
socialising any longer due to your change in hours et cetera.
I am just making a provocative statement there! I think there
is nothing that you can do to help us and I think quite a lot
of us actually do come through London and keep in touch with this
place but we would be very pleased to see anything that could
be done to improve the opportunities for socialising with MPs
and colleagues here and therefore, for instance—it is a
minor matter perhaps—but your dining and catering facilities
and things like that are certainly an area where perhaps one might
explore a little bit further and even possibly some other facilities,
not necessarily your library but something which goes on here
which might be useful from the point of MEPs clarifying the position
of the British Parliament and what they are doing. I think that
is a small matter but it all has a sort of atmosphere about it,
assuming that MPs would be willing to agree to it.
Q170 Chairman: I think you are allowed
to use the members' dining room at lunchtimes but not at any other
time. Do any of your colleagues have any views on this facility?
Mr Huhne: I had not thought particularly
about eating, MEPs do pretty well on that front in both Brussels
and Strasbourg. But I do think if one is looking at the effectiveness
of UK parliamentarians in dealing with legislation which affects
us, then as I say—you will excuse me for being rather repetitive—the
research facilities in the European Parliament are dire and if
MEPs were actually able to use the Commons library on some matters
I think that would be very helpful.
Sir Nicholas Winterton: It occasionally
takes members of Parliament many days to get papers from the library
because they are so overstretched here.
Q171 Chairman: That is another matter
to discuss, I think.
Mr Huhne: I think in practical
terms if you want British MEPs to be well briefed on legislation
that they are going to have to consider then I think improving
their access to research into British interests is actually very
useful.
Q172 Chairman: Specifically the British
interest?
Mr Huhne: Yes. The Commons library
does a very good job.
Chairman: If there are any other issues
that you, on reflection, think you would like to drop us a line
about please feel free to do so. I just wanted to add that I think
from all our points of view this has been a very educative and
constructive session. I am very grateful indeed that you found
the time to be here, each one of you. You have certainly given
us a lot of food for thought in unscrambling this relationship.
Thank you very much indeed for coming.
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