2 The UK's 2014 block opt-out decision
| Committee's assessment
| Legally and politically important |
| Committee's decision | Not cleared from scrutiny; further information requested; relevant to the debate yet to be announced on the UK's block opt-out decision; drawn to the attention of the Home Affairs and Justice Committees
|
| Document details | (a) Draft Council Decision determining certain direct financial consequences incurred as a result of the cessation of the participation of the UK in certain acts of the Union in the field of police cooperation and judicial cooperation in criminal matters adopted before the entry into force of the Treaty of Lisbon
(b) Draft Council Decision determining certain consequential and transitional arrangements concerning the cessation of the participation of the UK in certain acts of the Union in the field of police cooperation and judicial cooperation in criminal matters adopted before the entry into force of the Treaty of Lisbon
|
| Legal base | (a) Protocol No. 36 on Transitional Provisions, Article 10(4), third sub-paragraph; QMV
(b) Protocol No. 36 on Transitional Provisions, Article 10(4), second sub-paragraph; QMV (excluding the UK)
|
| Department
Document numbers
| (Both) Home Office
(a) (36368), 13680/14, COM(14) 595
(b) (36369), 13683/14 + ADD 1, COM(14) 596
|
Summary and Committee's conclusions
2.1 On 1 December 2014, the UK will cease to be bound
by around 110 EU police and criminal justice measures which are
subject to the UK's 2014 "block opt-out". The UK's right
to opt out of these measures en masse is set out in Protocol
No. 36 on Transitional Provisions annexed to the EU Treaties ("Protocol
36"). Protocol 36 allows the UK to opt out of EU police and
criminal justice measures adopted before the Lisbon Treaty took
effect, on 1 December 2009, with the exception of those that have
been amended, or repealed and replaced, by a post-Lisbon measure
in which the UK has chosen to participate. The procedures for
opting out are set out in Article 10(4) of Protocol 36. On 24
July 2013, the Prime Minister formally notified the EU institutions
that the UK had decided to exercise its block opt-out, following
a debate and vote in both Houses of Parliament.[4]
2.2 Protocol 36 also includes provision for the UK
to seek to rejoin individual measures which cease to apply to
it on 1 December 2014. The relevant procedures are set out in
Article 10(5) of the Protocol.
2.3 Command Paper 8897, published on 3 July 2014,
lists 35 EU police and criminal justice measures which the Government
wishes to rejoin. The list reflects the outcome of "detailed
technical level discussions with the Commission and Council".[5]
The Government has undertaken to hold a further debate and vote
in both Houses of Parliament on these measures before making a
formal application to rejoin them. It has said that the debate
and vote should be held after the UK has reached an "in principle
agreement" with the Commission and the Council on the relevant
measures.[6]
2.4 In reaching such an agreement, the Government
told us in July that it had been able to "resist many of
the changes demanded by the Commission and other Member States".[7]
During a general debate on the UK's block opt-out on 10 July 2014,
the Home Secretary indicated that there had been pressure for
the UK to rejoin three additional measures: two so-called "Prüm"
Decisions concerning cross-border cooperation on serious crime
and terrorism, and a Framework Decision on probation.[8]
She explained that the UK would not rejoin the Prüm measures
on 1 December 2014, but added:
"In order for the House to consider the
matter carefully, the Government will produce a business and implementation
case and run a small-scale pilot with all the necessary safeguards
in place. We will publish that by way of a Command Paper and bring
the issue back to Parliament so that it can be debated in an informed
way. We are working towards doing so by the end of next year.
However, the decision on whether to rejoin Prüm would be
one for Parliament."[9]
2.5 As regards the Framework Decision on probation,
the Justice Secretary informed the House:
"We have indicated to the Commission […]
that we will take another look at the measure when there is enough
evidence of it working and of its impacts to see whether there
would be benefits to the UK in taking part. To support that decision,
we will publish for Parliament an assessment of the potential
impacts. Clearly, we will not agree to join this or any further
JHA measure unless it is in our national interest to do so."[10]
2.6 The two draft Council Decisions deposited for
scrutiny concern provisions contained in Article 10(4) of Protocol
36. These provisions are intended to address the consequences
— legal, practical and financial — of the UK's decision
to opt out of pre-Lisbon EU police and criminal justice measures.
The first — document (a) — seeks to implement the
third sub-paragraph of Article 10(4) which allows the Council
to adopt a decision "determining that the United Kingdom
shall bear the direct financial consequences, if any, necessarily
and unavoidably incurred" as a result of exercising the block
opt-out. The second — document (b) — seeks to implement
the second sub-paragraph of Article 10(4) which requires the Council
to "determine the necessary consequential and transitional
arrangements". Both draft Council Decisions have to be agreed
by a qualified majority, but the UK is excluded from taking part
in the vote on document (b) on transitional arrangements.
2.7 On 3 November 2014, the Government laid before
Parliament The Criminal Justice and Data Protection (Protocol
No. 36) Regulations 2014. According to the Government's accompanying
Explanatory Memorandum, these Regulations will "give effect
to a Commission Decision and a Council Decision (to be published
in the Official Journal in due course) (together "the Protocol
36 Decisions"), to be made under Article 10 of Protocol (No.
36) on Transitional Provisions ("Protocol 36") to the
EU Treaties".[11]
The Regulations, which take the form of a single statutory instrument
under section 2(2) of the European Communities Act 1972, will
"complete transposition in relation to 11 of the 35 measures
which the Government has said it is in the national interest for
the UK to seek to rejoin".[12]
The Government envisages that the Regulations will be made "on
or shortly after 1 December 2014" as the power to make them
"only crystallises once the Protocol 36 Decisions have been
made by the Commission and the Council. This is expected to be
no later than shortly after midnight (00:00) on 1st December 2014".[13]
Draft Council and Commission Decisions confirming UK participation
in the 35 measures listed in Command Paper 8897 have not yet been
deposited for scrutiny.
2.8 In this Report, we set out the Government's position
on the two draft Council Decisions concerning the financial consequences
of the UK's block opt-out decision and the consequential and transitional
arrangements. We seek further information from the Minister for
Modern Slavery and Organised Crime (Karen Bradley) on a number
of concerns arising from these documents and the broader process
of Parliamentary scrutiny of the UK's block opt-out decision.
2.9 We repeat the view expressed in our Sixteenth
Report, agreed on 29 October 2014, that a delay of more than two
weeks in providing Explanatory Memoranda on these draft Decisions,
given the imminence of the 1 December 2014 deadline, is wholly
unacceptable.[14]
Our concern is compounded by the absence of any explanation or
apology by the Minister in her Explanatory Memoranda, an omission
which serves to underline the Government's failure to engage with
Parliament on this important matter in a timely and transparent
manner.
2.10 Both draft Decisions are based on Article
10(4) of Protocol 36. Article 10(4) establishes the procedures
for the UK to opt en masse of pre-Lisbon EU police and
criminal justice measures and confers powers on the Council to
determine any direct financial consequences, as well as the "necessary
consequential and transitional arrangements", ensuing from
the UK's opt-out. The Minister suggests that the second sub-paragraph
of Article 10(4) confers a "wide power" to adopt consequential
and transitional arrangements which include extending the application
to the UK of 35 measures which would otherwise cease to apply
on 1 December 2014. The extension is for a further 6 days, until
7 December 2014, thereby enabling a potential legal gap to be
avoided.
2.11 The Minister tells us that the content of
the draft Decision on consequential and transitional arrangements
— document (b) — "largely reflects the position
agreed in principle by the UK and the Commission" and communicated
to the House in the general debate held on 10 July 2014. We remind
the Minister that the Home Secretary referred on that occasion
to a commitment to produce a business and implementation case
on the Prüm system. Command Paper 8671, published in July
2013, clearly indicates that the Prüm system comprises two,
not three, EU measures.[15]
It does not include Framework Decision 2009/905/JHA on the accreditation
of forensic service providers as part of the Prüm system.
During the general debate, the Justice Secretary also indicated
that the Government would "take another look" at Framework
Decision 2008/947/JHA on the mutual recognition of probation decisions
and "publish for Parliament an assessment of the potential
impacts".[16]
2.12 The Minister's Explanatory Memorandum does
not explain why the Prüm package has expanded from two to
three measures or why the Framework Decision on probation no longer
appears to feature in the proposed consequential and transitional
arrangements. We ask her to state, in terms, whether she accepts
that Framework Decision 2009/905/JHA on the accreditation of forensic
service providers forms an integral and inseparable part of the
Prüm package and to explain why this should be the case.
We also ask her whether the Government still intends to review
UK participation in the Framework Decision on probation and publish
an impact assessment.
2.13 The Minister states that there are "inaccuracies
in relation to certain references to Framework Decision 2009/905/JHA
[on the accreditation of forensic service providers] in relation
to funding received".[17]
We ask her to explain these inaccuracies, their implications for
the sum that the UK may be required to repay, and whether they
will affect the Government's support for the draft Decision.
2.14 The Minister informs us that "the decision
to rejoin the package of 35 measures will require secondary legislation".[18]
We assume that the secondary legislation to which she refers is
The Criminal Justice and Data Protection (Protocol No. 36)
Regulations 2014 which were laid in Parliament on 3 November.
At first sight, the need for additional legislation would appear
to be counter-intuitive, given that the UK already participates
in, and is bound by, the 35 measures, including any deadlines
contained in them for transposition and implementation. We understand
that the purpose of the Regulations is to complete transposition
in relation to 11 of the 35 measures. The need to do so in the
manner proposed, and at such short notice, remains unclear. We
ask the Minister to explain whether the Regulations are intended
to avoid or mitigate the risk that the Commission will bring infringement
proceedings against the UK shortly after 1 December 2014, or whether
ensuring full and timely transposition of the measures by that
date is one of the conditions imposed by the Commission as a pre-requisite
for UK participation in the 35 measures.[19]
2.15 We ask the Minister to confirm that the affirmative
resolution procedure for approval of the Regulations is not intended
to substitute for a full debate and vote on the 35 measures and
reiterate our position that there should be a separate motion
for each measure the Government proposes to seek to rejoin.
2.16 We note that the Government's Explanatory
Memorandum accompanying the Regulations indicates that the power
to make them derives from a Commission Decision and a Council
Decision which have not yet been deposited for scrutiny. We ask
the Minister to tell us when we can expect the draft Decisions
to be deposited and to give an assurance that we will have sufficient
opportunity to consider and report on them before 1 December 2014.
2.17 Pending further information from the Minister,
the draft Decisions on financial consequences and consequential
and transitional arrangements remain under scrutiny. We draw these
instruments, and our observations, to the attention of the Home
Affairs and Justice Select Committees.
Full details of the documents:
(a) Draft Council Decision determining certain direct financial
consequences incurred as a result of the cessation of the participation
of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland in
certain acts of the Union in the field of police cooperation and
judicial cooperation in criminal matters adopted before the entry
into force of the Treaty of Lisbon: (36368), 13680/14, COM(14)
595; (b) Draft Council Decision determining certain consequential
and transitional arrangements concerning the cessation of the
participation of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern
Ireland in certain acts of the Union in the field of police cooperation
and judicial cooperation in criminal matters adopted before the
entry into force of the Treaty of Lisbon: (36369), 13683/14 +
ADD 1, COM(14) 596.
Background
2.18 Further detailed information and analysis on
the UK's block opt-out decision, and the measures the Government
wishes to rejoin, is contained in the Reports listed at the end
of this chapter which we, and our colleagues on the Home Affairs
and Justice Committees in the Commons and the European Union Committee
in the Lords, have published over the last eighteen months.
2.19 The transitional provisions contained in Article
10 of Protocol 36 apply to pre-Lisbon EU police and criminal justice
measures adopted under the intergovernmental "Third Pillar"
of the Treaty on European Union. Following the expiry of a five-year
transitional period, which started on 1 December 2009, these measures
will be subject to the full jurisdiction of the Court of Justice
and the Commission's enforcement powers for all Member States
participating in them from 1 December 2014. The UK has given notice
that it will not participate in these measures, which will cease
to apply to the UK on 1 December 2014.
2.20 Article 10(4) of Protocol 36 includes provisions
to address the consequences of a decision by the UK to opt out
of these measures. Sub-paragraph two authorises the Council, acting
on a Commission proposal, to adopt the necessary consequential
and transitional arrangements. Sub-paragraph three authorises
the Council, again acting on a Commission proposal, to determine
any direct financial consequences to be borne by the UK which
are a necessary and unavoidable consequence of the UK's decision
to opt out.
2.21 The Government has determined that, subject
to a vote in both Houses of Parliament, it is in the UK's national
interest to rejoin 35 of the measures which would otherwise cease
to apply on 1 December 2014. These 35 measures are listed in Command
Paper 8897. Article 10(5) of Protocol 36 sets out the procedures
for rejoining these measures and provides that, in applying them,
the UK and EU institutions must "seek to re-establish the
widest possible measure of participation of the UK in the acquis
of the Union in the area of freedom, security and justice without
seriously affecting the practical operability of the various parts
thereof, while respecting their coherence".
The first draft Council Decision — document
(a)
2.22 The draft Council Decision consists of two Articles.
Article 1 makes reference to provisions contained in the second
draft Council Decision — document (b) — which establish
a series of deadlines for the UK to undertake and complete a full
business and implementation case for rejoining three Prüm-related
EU measures by 31 December 2015 (see below for further details).
If the UK fails to meet any of these deadlines, or decides not
to rejoin the three Prüm-related EU measures, then it shall
"repay to the budget of the European Union the sums received
under the Programme 'Prevention of and Fight against Crime' up
to ?1,508,855". Article 2 stipulates that the Council Decision
shall enter into force on 1 December 2014.
2.23 The UK is entitled to take part in the vote
(by qualified majority) on this draft Council Decision.
2.24 The Commission's explanatory memorandum accompanying
the draft Council Decision notes that the UK has received a specific
allocation of funding from the Programme 'Prevention and Fight
against Crime' covering the period 2007-13 for two projects to
support the implementation of the Prüm Decisions in the UK,
the first concerning the exchange of DNA, the second fingerprint
evaluation. The sum of €1,508,855 corresponds to the maximum
amount of EU funding the UK is entitled to receive from the Programme.
The Commission makes clear that, in the event that the UK decides
not to participate in the three Prüm-related EU measures
or fails to comply with the timetable envisaged for completing
the business and implementation case, it will be required to repay
the amount of EU funding actually received, up to a maximum of
€1,508,855.
The second draft Council Decision — document
(b)
2.25 This draft Council Decision would take effect
a day earlier, on 30 November 2014. It provides, in Article 1,
that the 35 measures the UK wishes to rejoin (reproduced in an
Annex to the Decision) shall continue to apply to the UK until
7 December 2014.
2.26 Article 2 requires the UK to "undertake
a full business and implementation case to assess the merits and
practical benefits" of opting back into three Prüm-related
EU measures. These are Council Decisions 2008/615/JHA and 2008/616/JHA,
and Framework Decision 2009/905/JHA. The two Council Decisions
provide for enhanced cross-border cooperation between national
law enforcement authorities responsible for the prevention and
investigation of criminal offences, including the automated exchange
of DNA profiles, fingerprint and vehicle registration data. The
Framework Decision requires the accreditation of forensic service
providers who undertake DNA profiles and fingerprinting analysis
to a common international standard. It is intended to facilitate
the mutual recognition of test results and analyses across the
EU. Work on the business and implementation case must commence
within 10 days of the Decision entering into force (on
30 November 2014) and comply with the following timetable:
· publication of the results by 30 September
2015 at the latest;
· a decision by 31 December 2015
on whether or not to opt into the measures, if the business and
implementation case is positive; and
· notification of the UK's decision to the
Council within four weeks from 31 December 2015.
2.27 In carrying out the business and implementation
case, the Government is required to consult closely with operational
partners in the UK, and with the Commission, Europol, Eurojust
and other Member States.
2.28 Article 3 of the draft Decision precludes the
UK from accessing, for law enforcement purposes, fingerprint data
held in the Eurodac database until such time as it rejoins the
three Prüm-related EU measures. The provision for law enforcement
access is contained in a 2013 Regulation establishing Eurodac
and takes effect on 20 July 2015.[20]
Article 20 of the Regulation only allows designated national law
enforcement authorities to request a fingerprint comparison with
data stored in the Eurodac database if they have already undertaken
an automated check under the Prüm system (specifically, under
Decision 2008/615/JHA). The Commission makes clear that this limitation
on UK access to Eurodac for law enforcement purposes does not
affect UK participation in all of the other elements of Eurodac,
notably to support the implementation of the Dublin system for
determining the Member State responsible for handling an asylum
application.[21]
2.29 Article 4 deals with the consequences of a failure
on the part of the UK Government to rejoin the three Prüm-related
EU measures within the envisaged timetable. It requires the Commission
to "submit a report to the European Parliament and to the
Council on the effects of the non-participation of the UK"
in these measures.
2.30 The UK is not entitled to take part in the vote
(by qualified majority) on this draft Council Decision.
2.31 In its explanatory memorandum accompanying the
draft Council Decision, the Commission observes:
"It is expected that the United Kingdom
will notify its wish to participate in 35 acts of the former third
pillar acquis which will cease to apply to it on 1 December
2014. Any disruption in the implementation and application of
these acts should be avoided. It should therefore be provided
that these acts will continue to apply to the United Kingdom for
a limited transitional period until the decisions of the Council
and the Commission authorising the participation of the United
Kingdom take effect."[22]
2.32 The Commission says that the requirement to
undertake a business and implementation case to assess the merits
and practical benefits of UK participation in the three Prüm-related
EU measures stems from their "practical and operational significance
[…] for public security, and more particularly for law enforcement
and the prevention, detection and investigation of criminal offences".
It also notes that, before making a decision to rejoin these measures,
"the United Kingdom has indicated that a positive vote in
its Parliament will be required".[23]
The Government's Explanatory Memoranda of 3 November
2014
2.33 The Minister (Karen Bradley) provides separate
Explanatory Memoranda for each of the draft Council Decisions.
She explains that the Government has reached an 'in principle'
deal with the Commission to rejoin 29 non-Schengen measures and
is "close to reaching agreement" with the Council to
rejoin six Schengen measures. Two Member States have now lifted
their technical reserves on the Schengen measures and discussions
are continuing on the one technical reserve that remains.[24]
In order to rejoin the package of 35 measures, the Minister indicates
that secondary legislation will be required.
2.34 Turning first to document (a) addressing the
financial consequences of the UK's block opt-out decision, the
Minister notes that the draft Decision concerns three measures
— Council Decisions 2008/615/JHA and 2008/616/JHA and Framework
Decision 2009/905/JHA — which are referred to collectively
as the 'Prüm Decisions'. She continues:
"The Government has been clear throughout
this process that it has neither the time, nor the money to implement
the Prüm Decisions by 1 December. As a result the Government
is not seeking to rejoin the Prüm Decisions. However, UK
law enforcement and other Member States have stated that the measure
could bring benefits in the fight against serious cross-border
crime. In order to assess this fully the Government has agreed
to produce a business and implementation case and run a small-scale
pilot, with all necessary safeguards in place. This will be published
by way of a Command Paper next year and a vote will be held in
Parliament to determine the UK's participation or otherwise."[25]
2.35 The Minister explains that the UK has been allocated
a maximum of ?1,508,855 in EU funding from the Specific Programme
'Prevention and Fight Against Crime' to "explore the implementation
of the Prüm DNA Exchange and facilitate the Prüm Fingerprint
Evaluation Project". She adds:
"Article 10(4) of Protocol 36, third subparagraph,
states that the Council may determine the direct financial consequences
necessarily and unavoidably incurred as a result of the UK decision
to exercise its opt-out. The Government considers that this test
sets an extremely high threshold. Nevertheless, the Government
accepts that funding received to explore the implementation of
any of the Prüm Decisions falls within the test set out in
the Protocol. The Government also accepts that should the UK decide
not to opt-into relevant Prüm Decisions or does not respect
the deadlines set out in COM (2014) 596 (13680/14) final [document
(b)] that it is required to repay the sums actually received under
the 'Prevention and Fight Against Crime' Programme."[26]
2.36 The Minister makes a number of technical comments
on the drafting of the draft Decision, as follows:
· Recital (5) should reflect the wording
of the third sub-paragraph of Article 10(4) of Protocol 36 by
referring to the "direct" financial consequences of
the UK's block opt-out decision;
· Recital (8) and Article 1 should include
a cross-reference to Article 2 (not Article 1) of the second draft
Decision — document (b); and
· The reference to the Specific Programme
'Prevention of and Fight Against Crime' in footnote 10 should
include the appropriate inverted commas.
2.37 She also considers that there are "inaccuracies
in relation to certain references to Framework Decision 2009/905/JHA
in relation to funding received".[27]
2.38 The Minister explains, in relation to the second
draft Decision — document (b) — on consequential and
transitional arrangements that it is based on "the wide power"
conferred by Article 10(4), second sub-paragraph. She adds:
"Its objective is to make the best provision
for protecting public security in the EU and to avoid any operational
issues as a result of the UK leaving all instruments on 1 December
2014 and seeking to rejoin the 35 measures set out in the associated
Annex [to the draft Decision]."[28]
2.39 She notes that recital (4) to the draft Decision
is incomplete, pending formal notification that the UK intends
to seek to rejoin the 35 measures listed in the Annex which replicate
those contained in Command Paper 8897:
"The intention is that those details are
completed once the UK's formal notification to seek to rejoin
measures it has opted out of has been sent. This makes clear that
the proposal cannot be adopted in this form until the UK has sent
its formal notification. This is an important reference as it
ensures that the decision on whether the UK rejoins any measures
is the UK's alone and that the proposal is simply an 'in principle
draft' until such a notification is received."[29]
2.40 Turning to the main provisions of the draft
Decision, the Minister first explains the purpose of Article 1:
"Article 1 […[ sets out that the listed
acts in the associated Annex shall continue to apply to the UK
until 7 December 2014. The list in the associated Annex is the
list that the UK has agreed 'in principle' with the Commission
and almost all other Member States. This list is the same list
that is set out in Command Paper 8897. Therefore in the event
that the UK formally notifies its wish to rejoin those 35 acts,
they will be kept in force, for a specified and limited time,
until 7 December 2014 to enable the appropriate procedures to
be undertaken for the UK to formally rejoin them without any gap
in legal or operational coverage. The Government accepts the rationale
for the Commission's proposal in order to put beyond doubt, under
the domestic legal systems of some Member States, that there is
no gap in legal or operational coverage, even of a split second."[30]
2.41 The remaining Articles deal with the consequences
of the UK's non-participation in three Prüm-related measures:
"The Home Secretary set out in July the
UK's commitments to a business and implementation case on Prüm
followed by a vote. These features are reflected in the proposal.
"As a consequence of not rejoining these
measures, the UK will not have access, for law enforcement purposes,
to the Eurodac database set up under Regulation (EU) No 603/2013,
once it applies from 20 July 2015. This is because of the drafting
of that Regulation and is added for clarification in Article 3.
Finally, Article 4 sets out, that if the UK does not notify the
Commission that it wishes to rejoin the Prüm Decisions within
4 weeks of 31 December 2015, the Commission will transmit a report
on the effects of non-participation to the European Parliament
and to the Council.
"The proposal largely reflects the position
agreed in principle by the UK and the Commission that was set
out to Parliament by the Government on 10 July 2014 and ensures
that it will be legally binding once adopted, in the event that
the UK notifies that it wishes to rejoin the measures set out
in the associated Annex. The Government considered it sensible
to agree these procedural matters in principle in order to facilitate
a smooth transition from 1 December 2014."[31]
2.42 The Minister indicates that "there is no
specific timetable envisaged" for the draft Decisions, but
that both must be agreed before 1 December 2014 and that document
(b) on consequential and transitional arrangements is intended
to enter into force on 30 November 2014.[32]
Previous Committee Reports
None, but the following Reports of the European Scrutiny,
Home Affairs and Justice Committees are relevant: Thirty-seventh
Report HC 798 (2012-13), 22 March 2013; Eighth Report HC 605 (2013-14),
31 October 2013; Ninth Report HC 615 (2013-14), 31 October 2013;
Twenty-first Report HC 683 (2013-14), 7 November 2013; First Joint
Report from the European Scrutiny, Home Affairs and Justice Committees
HC 1177 (2013-14), 26 March 2014; Seventeenth Report HC 762 (2014-15),
4 November 2014. See also the following Reports of the European
Union Committee in the House of Lords: Thirteenth Report HL Paper
159 (2012-13), 23 April 2013; Fifth Report HL Paper 69 (2013-14),
31 October 2013.
4 The debate and vote in the House of Commons took
place on 15 July 2013. Back
5
Cm 8897, p.2. Back
6
Letter of 6 April 2014 from the Home and Justice Secretaries (Mrs
Theresa May and Chris Grayling) to the Chairs of the European
Scrutiny, Home Affairs and Justice Committees. Back
7
Letter of 3 July 2014 from the Home and Justice Secretaries to
the Chair of the European Scrutiny Committee. Back
8
Council Decisions 2008/615/JHA and 2008/616JHA and Framework Decision
2008/947/JHA. Back
9
HC Deb, 10 July 2014, col. 492. Back
10
HC Deb, 10 July 2014, col. 549. Back
11
See p.1 of the Government's Explanatory Memorandum on the Regulations. Back
12
Ibid. Back
13
Ibid. Back
14
See Council document 9883/14, (36117), Sixteenth Report HC 219-xv1
(2014-15), chapter 12 (29 October 2014). Back
15
See Cm 8671, p.106. Back
16
HC Deb. 10 July 2014, col. 549. Back
17
See para 21 of the Minister's Explanatory Memorandum on document
(a). Back
18
See paras 12 and 14 of the Minister's Explanatory Memoranda. Back
19
Under Article 331(1) TFEU, the Commission may stipulate the conditions
that have to be fulfilled in order to participate in the 35 measures
the UK wishes to rejoin. Back
20
See Regulation (EU) No. 603/2013, in particular recital 32 and
Article 20. Back
21
See p.3 of the Commission's explanatory memorandum accompanying
the draft Decision. Back
22
See p.3 of the Commission's explanatory memorandum. Back
23
See recital 9 to the draft Decision and pp.3-4 of the Commission's
explanatory memorandum. Back
24
See para 3 of both of the Minister's Explanatory Memoranda. Back
25
See para 18 of the Minister's Explanatory Memorandum on the first
draft Council Decision - document (a). Back
26
See paras 19-20 of the Minister's Explanatory Memorandum on document
(a). Back
27
See para 21 of the Minister's Explanatory Memorandum on document
(a). Back
28
See para 10 of the Minister's Explanatory Memorandum on document
(b). Back
29
See para 11 of the Minister's Explanatory Memorandum on document
(b). Back
30
See para 19 of the Minister's Explanatory Memorandum on document
(b). Back
31
See paras 23-25 of the Minister's Explanatory Memorandum on document
(b). Back
32
See paras 25 and 29 of the Minister's Explanatory Memoranda. Back
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