Written Summary
European Scrutiny Committee Meeting summary: 12
June 2013
Regulation of tobacco and related products
The Committee has been holding the Draft Directive
on the Regulation of tobacco and related products under scrutiny
since January, awaiting further information from the Government.
It appears that the Irish Presidency may seek agreement to a
general approach later in the month, and the Committee has received
two letters from Anna Soubry, the Minister for Public Health.
The Government broadly supports the draft Directive but has been
conducting a more detailed analysis of aspects of the proposals,
including those related to non-tobacco Nicotine-Containing Products
(NCPs) — for example e-cigarettes. This is now available;
the Committee reports it in detail, and raises some further questions.
We are keeping the draft Directive under scrutiny.
Free movement of workers within the European Union
This draft Directive seeks to ensure the better application
and enforcement of the rights associated with the free movement
of workers within the EU. The Government does not consider that
the obstacles to free movement described by the Commission are
a particular issue for the UK, given that the Equality Act 2010
includes nationality in its definition of discrimination on grounds
of race; and does not expect the draft Directive to impose any
significant additional burdens on the UK. Nonetheless, the Minister
questions whether the measure is consistent with the principle
of subsidiarity. Opening up labour markets and encouraging labour
mobility at a time of high levels of unemployment in some Member
States is an evidently politically important issue; we therefore
recommend this Draft Directive for debate in European Committee.
However, as for subsidiarity, the Government's arguments in its
Explanatory Memorandum are incomplete, and there is not enough
evidence for us to recommend a Reasoned Opinion. This is a problem
which we have encountered with several other documents this week;
and we will be taking this up with the Government.
Trade and child labour
This Commission staff working document reports on
the worst forms of child labour and trade, taking account of international
experience and the views of international organisations. The
principal focus is on children employed in hazardous work conditions
— work that, by its nature or the circumstances in which
it is carried out, is likely to harm the health, safety or morals
of children. Much remains to be done, despite some improvements
since a similar report was published in 2010. The Minister welcomes
the report as a valid contribution to the debate; we recommend
that it should be debated in European Committee.
Clinical trials
This Draft Regulation has been held under scrutiny
since September 2012. Negotiations are ongoing. One area of concern
for the Government is the requirement for each Member State to
set up a national indemnification mechanism, which would operate
on a not-for-profit basis, in order to help non-commercial sponsors
— such as academics involved in medical research —
to obtain the necessary insurance for medical trials. The Commission
suggests that premiums in the commercial insurance market have
become unaffordable and operate as a deterrent. The Government,
having been originally cautious about the idea, now tells us that
it is not opposed, in principle, to such a scheme and will consider
it if there is evidence of a genuine problem in obtaining insurance
for national trials. It will be consulting further on this point
and will provide us with an update in due course. The Draft Regulation
remains under scrutiny.
Free movement and public documents
This Draft Regulation follows on from a 2010 Green
Paper which sought views on possible ways to facilitate the free
movement of official documents — like birth certificates
— between Member States. It would mean that certain categories
of these documents must be automatically accepted as authentic
in another Member State, without any "legalisation"
requirement. It would also simplify the formalities relating
to the use of public documents in other Member States by requiring
the acceptance of certified copies and (unless there are reasonable
doubts as to their accuracy) non-certified translations. The
Minister welcomes the removal of unnecessary bureaucratic procedures
and recognises the potential benefits for EU citizens and businesses
of introducing multilingual standard forms for the most frequently
used documents. However, he expresses some concerns about the
legal base and the need for legislative action. We are retaining
the draft Regulation under scrutiny, and ask for further information.
Reports to be debated on the floor of the House
next week
On Tuesday 18 June there will be three debates held
on the floor of the House on EU documents: on Economic and Monetary
Union and the Financial Transaction Tax, reform of the Common
Agricultural Policy and European elections. For further information
on these debates, see the 'European business' section of the House's
order paper.
Other documents reported
We are also reporting on documents relating to:
- Department for Business, Innovation and Skills:
Business failure and insolvency
- Culture, Media and Sport: Electronic Communications
Services
- Energy and Climate Change: Energy Technologies
and innovation
- Foreign and Commonwealth Office: EU relations
with Fiji; EU support for the rule of law in Iraq
- HM Treasury: Taxation: fraud and evasion;
2013 European Semester; Financial services: recovery and resolution;
Financial services: bank accounts
- Office for National Statistics: Statistics
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