20 EU Special Representative for Human
Rights
| Committee's assessment
| Politically important |
| Committee's decision | Cleared from scrutiny (decision reported on 4 February)
|
| Document details | Draft Council Decision extending the mandate of the EU Special Representative for Human Rights
|
| Legal base | Article 31(2) and 33 TEU;QMV;—
|
| Department
Document number
| Foreign and Commonwealth Office
(36628), —
|
Summary and Committee's conclusions
20.1 The office of the European Union Special Representative for
Human Rights (the EUSR) was established by Council Decision 2012/440/CFSP
of 25 July 2012. Mr Stavros Lambrinidis, a former Foreign Minister
of Greece, assumed the role on 1 September 2012. He acts under
the authority of the High Representative of the Union for Foreign
Affairs and Security Policy, Mrs Federica Mogherini. He is mandated
to contribute to the implementation of the Union's external human
rights policy, enhance dialogue with governments in third countries
and contribute to better coherence and consistency of the Union's
policies and actions on human rights.
20.2 The EUSR's original mandate was due to expire
on 30 June 2014 but was subsequently extended to 28 February 2015.
Although the EUSR budget was reduced for those eight months of
the extended mandate, this compared with an overall budget increase
for the previous year.
20.3 We reported on 4 February that we were content
that the Government should support a further 24 month extension
to that mandate running from 1 March 2015 to 28 February 2017.
We therefore cleared the current document but asked the Government
to provide us with further information on the budget for the new
mandate. The Government now responds.
20.4 We thank the Minister for his letter. We
welcome the reduction, if only slight, in the budget for the first
year of the extended mandate of the EU's Special Representative
for Human Rights. We look forward to the deposit of the draft
Council Decision authorising the budget for the second year in
due course.
Full details of
the documents: Draft Council Decision
extending the mandate of the EU Special Representative for Human
Rights: (36628), —.
Background and previous scrutiny
20.5 The background to the current document together
with the Government's view and our previous scrutiny of it are
set out in our Thirty-second Report of 2014-15.[116]
The Minister's letter of 20 February 2015
20.6 The Minister for Europe (Mr David Lidington)
says:
"On 30 January I submitted to the Committees
an Explanatory Memorandum (EM) and draft Council Decision extending
the mandate of the EU Special Representative for Human Rights
('the EUSR'), Mr Stavros Lambrinidis.
"I undertook to update the Committees on the
draft budget for the EUSR, which we had not received when I submitted
the EM. We have now received the draft budget for the first 12
months of the extended mandate. I am pleased to inform you that
the proposed budget of 788,000 Euros for 2015/16 is slightly less
(-4.5% on a pro-rata basis), than that for the last eight-month
extension. I am content with the proposed budget, which I believe
is commensurate with the EUSR's role.
"The budget for the second 12 months of the
proposed extended mandate, from 28 February 2016 to 28 February
2017, will be subject to a further Council decision, which I will
submit to the Committee in due course."
Previous Committee Reports
Thirty-second Report HC 219-xxxi (2014-15), chapter
18 (4 February 2015); see also (36035),—: First Report
HC 219-i (2014-15), chapter 29 (4 June 2014); (35044), —:
Seventh Report HC 83-vii (2013-14), chapter 13 (26 June 2013);
and (33955), —: Fifth Report HC 86-v (2012-13), chapter
2 (20 June 2012).
116 Thirty-second Report, HC 219-xxxi (2014-15), chapter 18
(4 February 2015). Back
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