Meeting Summary
As well as conducting its usual scrutiny of documents,
the Committee held an oral evidence session this week with the
Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Public Health, Anna
Soubry, on the scrutiny override of the Tobacco Products Directive.
This document remains under scrutiny, and the Committee has already
indicated that it is likely to recommend it for debate in due
course. The evidence session is available for viewing on Parliament
TV and the transcript will be available on the Committee's website.
The Committee is also beginning the scrutiny process
of what has become known as the 2014 block opt-out (of EU police
and criminal justice measures adopted before the Lisbon Treaty
came into force in December 2009) following the debate in the
House on 15 July. Further announcements will be made in September.
Draft budget 2014
This week we recommend the Commission's proposals
for the 2014 EU Budget for debate in European Committee. The
Draft Budget is the first stage in the annual process of establishing
the EU's budget for the following year and provides the basis
for negotiations between the two arms of the Budgetary Authority
(the Council and the European Parliament). This draft Budget
is particularly significant as it is the first covered by the
2014-20 Multiannual Financial Framework. Unfortunately, because
of the protracted MFF negotiations, the Draft Budget is being
presented later than normal, and it is expected that the ECOFIN
Council will complete its first reading by the end of July. We
ask that the debate takes place before the European Parliament's
first reading.
Action Plan for the Steel Industry
This Commission Communication sets out a targeted
Action Plan for a competitive and sustainable steel industry in
Europe, and forms part of the follow-up to its 2012 Communication
on Industrial Policy. The Government welcomes the Action Plan,
which covers the regulatory framework, potential measures to boost
demand, the international dimension, climate and energy-related
issues, innovation and the social dimension. The Commission sets
out a range of actions which it proposes to take and suggests
parallel actions which could be taken by Member States and other
stakeholders. The proposals addressed to Member States are not
binding; the Committee clears the Communication but reports it
because of the importance of the steel industry.
Financial services: bank accounts
The Commission has proposed this Draft Directive
with the intention of ensuring that bank fees are transparent
and comparable, that consumers can switch bank accounts, and that
all EU citizens have access to a basic payment account. We have
held it under scrutiny since 12 June, waiting for further analysis
from the Government to justify its assertion that the proposal
was not consistent with the principle of subsidiarity. This has
now been received; we conclude that the Commission has in fact
sufficiently demonstrated a justification for EU action that is
unlikely to be impeached by the Court of Justice. While we do
not therefore propose a Reasoned Opinion, the proposal remains
under scrutiny, and we will return to it as the negotiations progress.
Reform of the Common Agricultural Policy
The Committee has reported several times on these
ongoing negotiations, and sets out this week the details of the
outcome of the Agriculture Council on 24 and 25 June, where a
political deal on the reforms was agreed in principle. The main
negotiated outcomes are annexed to the report chapter; the Minister
describes them as being, overall, an acceptable outcome, even
though it was not the genuine reform which the UK had hoped for.
Application of the principles of subsidiarity
and proportionality
This Commission Report has been kept under scrutiny
since September 2012, and has proved a useful vehicle for an exchange
of correspondence between the Committee and the Minister for Europe
about the Government's approach to subsidiarity. We report this
week on the latest developments in that correspondence, and clear
the document.
Other documents reported
We are also reporting on documents relating to:
- Cabinet Office: Award of concession contracts;
public procurement
- Energy and Climate Change: Protection against
ionising radiation; safety of nuclear installations
- Environment, Food and Rural Affairs: Management
of expenditure on agri-food health measures; Food and Agriculture
Organisation
- Foreign and Commonwealth Office: EU enlargement:
Serbia and Kosovo; EU-Ukraine; CSDP Mission in Niger; EU-Indonesia
Partnership and Cooperation agreement
- Home Office: Entry and residence of third
country nationals
- HM Revenue and Customs: Customs: tobacco
smuggling and other illicit trade
- HM Treasury: General Budget
- Office for National Statistics: Statistics
- Transport: Moveable assets; intelligent
transport systems; road safety : eCall
- Work and Pensions: Cooperation between public
employment services
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