19 Organisation for Economic Cooperation
and Development reviews
| (26511)
8354/05
COM(05) 150
| Commission Communication: Establishment of an OECD EDRC examination of EC economic policies alongside to the Euro Area Survey
|
| Legal base | — |
| Department | HM Treasury |
| Basis of consideration | Minister's letter of 6 October 2005
|
| Previous Committee Report | HC 34-i (2005-06), para 24 (4 July 2005)
|
| To be discussed in Council | None planned
|
| Committee's assessment | Politically important
|
| Committee's decision | Cleared
|
Background
19.1 The Economic and Development Review Committee (EDRC) of the
Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) is
central to the OECD's system of peer review and economic surveillance
of members. Although the Community is not a member of OECD the
EDRC undertake an annual Euro Area Survey. Following suggestions
by the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) ambassadors to
OECD the Commission proposed, in this document, that the EDRC
should conduct a biennial review of Community structural and sectoral
policies impacting on the Community economy. The existing Euro
Area Survey would continue. But it would be limited to European
Monetary Union matters and macroeconomic policy issues and would
also become biennial, alternating with the new review. The Commission
also proposed a number of supplementary changes:
- the six Member States not members of OECD should have observer
status in the organisation;
- OECD reviews of individual countries should not
include any review of Community-wide policies; and
- the Commission should have a status in the EDRC
equal to that of members.
19.2 When we considered the document in July 2004
we noted the Government's agreement with the Commission's basic
proposal for two different reviews and its detailed reservations:
- disagreement with the suggestion
that individual OECD country surveys should no longer discuss
Community-wide policies;
- agreement that the Member States which are not
members of OECD should have observer status, but only for the
Community-wide review; and
- disagreement with the proposal that the Commission
should have a similar status to national members.
We commented that we too recognised the utility of
the Commission's basic proposal, but that we shared the Government
misgivings on detail, particularly the Commission's bid to aggrandise
its status and role in OECD. We asked to hear further about efforts
to forestall the Commission on these matters.[51]
The Minister's letter
19.3 The Economic Secretary to the Treasury (Mr Ivan
Lewis) tells us now that there has been an agreed response to
the APEC ambassadors agreeing to their suggestion of EDRC Community-wide
reviews. This response is without prejudice to representation
of the EU at the OECD, the modalities of which will be resolved
in due course at the OECD itself. The Government, together with
like-minded Member States, will press strongly in those discussions
that the Presidency should speak for the EU at the EDRC, in close
co-operation with the Commission. It is also agreed that the UK
Presidency will host a meeting of Member States to discuss in
Paris the status of the A6 (non-OECD Member States) at the OECD.
Conclusion
19.4 We are grateful to the Minister for this
further information and now clear the document.
51 See headnote. Back
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