Meeting Summary
In the second week of the September sitting the Committee
considered the following documents:
Eurojust, the European Public Prosecutor's Office
(EPPO) and the European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF)
This interlinked set of proposals are the subject
of a separate Committee Report. Taken together they amount to
far-reaching reform of key aspects of EU criminal law measures.
The Government's non-participation in the EPPO was indicated
as part of the Coalition Agreement; it is yet to announce its
decision on Eurojust (although it has announced that it will seek
to rejoin the current Eurojust measures as part of the '2014 decision').
The Committee notes the fact that the Government has offered
an opt-in debate on the floor of the House on Eurojust and the
EPPO, and makes specific recommendations relating to the relevance
of the OLAF proposals to that debate. We also recommend that
the House agrees to submit a Reasoned Opinion to the European
Institutions on the EPPO proposal, on the grounds that it does
not comply with the principle of subsidiarity.
EU Accession to the ECHR
This draft Council Decision has already been the
subject of a lengthy scrutiny process and over the last six months
there has been an exchange of correspondence between the Committee
and the Ministry of Justice about the negotiations. The latest
development is that the Commission has referred the "provisionally
agreed Accession Agreement" to the ECJ for an opinion on
the Agreement's compatibility with the EU Treaties. Member states
are able to intervene in the process; the Minister confirms that
the UK intends to do so and has asked the Committee for its comments.
We set out our concerns both about the Agreement and regarding
what we see as a premature approach by the Commission to the ECJ,
given that a set of Internal Rules have not yet been produced.
The document remains under scrutiny.
Fund for European Aid to the Most Deprived
The aim of this proposal is to replace the EU's Food
Distribution Programme with the new Fund. The draft Regulation
has been held by the Committee under scrutiny since December 2012
and was the subject of a Reasoned Opinion, the Committee sharing
the Government's concern that there was an insufficient justification
for EU action. We report a letter from the Minister for Employment
updating us on negotiations and responding to two issues we raised
about consultation with stakeholders and the administrative and
cost burdens associated with implementing the Fund. We are keeping
the draft Regulation under scrutiny pending further information
on the compromise text which the Presidency is expected to produce
later in September.
A decent life for all: ending poverty and giving
the world a sustainable future
This Commission Communication sets out the Commission's
view on the international post-2015 development agenda. It brings
together the debate about what international framework should
succeed the Millennium Development Goals and the process to establish
new Sustainable Development Goals arising from the Rio+20. We
recommend that it should be debated in European Committee after
the forthcoming UN High Level Event to enable interested Members
to hear from, and question, the Ministers about the Event's outcome.
We note that another document we report on (but retain under scrutiny)
— on Financing post-2015 development — will also be
relevant to that debate.
Relations between the EU and Overseas Countries
and Territories
This draft Council Decision succeeds a previous measure
and aims to provide a framework for the promotion of the OCTs'
economic and social development and to establish close economic
relations between them and the EU as a whole. The Government's
position is to work with the Commission, Territory Governments
and other Member States to ensure that the final text is in the
best interest of the UK's overseas territories. We recommend
that the document is debated in European Committee as soon as
possible after the conference recess, to enable the Minister to
outline the outcome of the negotiations properly to the many Members
interested in the Overseas Territories, and for them to question
him about the final shape of this important Council Decision,
prior to its formal adoption.
Flight time limitations
We received this week a response from the Transport
Select Committee to our request for a formal Opinion on significant
Commission proposals relating to flight time limitations, which
regulate the number of hours that pilots and crew work in order
to prevent fatigue. We welcome the Committee's quick response
to our request and, given the outstanding concerns which have
been raised by and with that Committee, we refer the document
for debate in a European Committee.
Other documents reported
We are also reporting on documents relating to:
- Business, Innovation and Skills: Damages in
competition law; EU research and development programmes; Horizon
2020: public-private partnerships; European Social Fund;
- Culture, Media and Sport: Creative Europe Programme;
- Environment, Food and Rural Affairs: Shipments
of waste;
- Foreign and Commonwealth Office: Restrictive
measures against the regime in Burma/Myanmar; EU-Korea Framework
Agreement;
- HMRC: Customs: illicit trade in tobacco products;
- HM Treasury: Financial services : long
term investment funds; EU Solidarity Fund; Financial services:
central securities depositaries;
- International Development: Financing EU external
action; European Year of Development;
- Office for National Statistics: Statistics;
- Transport: Fuel quality; Intra-EU shipping.
The Committee's report will be published later this
month.
The Committee's Thirteenth Report will also be published
later this month, covering the Tobacco Products Directive; Syria;
Banking Union; Defence policy; EU Passenger Name Record Agreement
with Canada; Data Protection; EU Programme for Education, Training,
Youth and Sport — "Erasmus for All"; Collective
redress; EU research and development programmes; Horizon 2020;
the global dimension of European higher education; Euratom Fusion
Research Programme; Regulatory needs of SMEs; Competition Policy
2012; the European Regional Development Fund; Global navigation
satellite systems; EU Structural and Cohesion Fund Programmes;
Strengthening the EU's Civil Protection Mechanism; National Roma
integration strategies; Return of objects unlawfully removed from
a Member State; EU Satellite Centre; EU Monitoring Mission in
Georgia; EU Border Assistance Mission for the Rafah Crossing Point
and EU Police Mission for the Palestinian Territories; European
neighbourhood Policy Action Plan between the EU and Morocco; Resources
for EU decentralised agencies; Instrument for Stability; Comitology;
EU relations with Fiji; European Neighbourhood Policy Action Plan
between the EU and Lebanon; EU Missions in the Democratic Republic
of Congo; the EU and Hezbollah; Commons Foreign and Security Policy;
European External Action Service; Reforming Europol; Establishing
a new Schengen evaluation mechanism; Trafficking in Firearms;
Development and Migration; EU General Budget 2013; Multiannual
Financial Frame work 2014-20; Financial management; Financing
the EU economy; European Globalisation Adjustment Fund; Protecting
the EU's Financial Interests; Draft Budget 2014; EU support for
democratic governance; Resilience: learning from food security
crises; EU Charter of Fundamental Rights; Protection of the euro
and other currencies against counterfeiting by criminal law; Accession
by Malta and Austria to the Hague Service Convention; Statistics;
Civil aviation: passenger protection; Single European Sky; Moveable
assets; Safety of fishing vessels; Carbon dioxide emissions from
maritime transport; European Globalisation Adjustment Fund; EU
Programme for Social Change and Innovation; Youth unemployment.
It will be made available via the Committee's website:
http://www.parliament.uk/business/committees/committees-a-z/commons-select/european-scrutiny-committee/publications/
| 
