| Timing
| Detail
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| 22 March 2013 | Publication of the European Scrutiny Committee's Report, The 2014 block opt-out: engaging with Parliament. The Report set out the information which the Committee considered should be made available by the Government to ensure genuine engagement with Parliament ahead of the Parliamentary vote on the UK's block opt-out (see Annex 3).
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| 23 April 2013 | Publication of the Report of the House of Lords EU Committee, EU police and criminal justice measures: The UK's 2014 opt-out decision (see Annex 3).
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| 9 July 2013 | Home Secretary's oral statement to Parliament and publication of Command Paper 8671 informing Parliament of the Government's intention to opt out en masse of around 130 pre-Lisbon EU police and criminal justice measures and setting out a list of 35 measures which the Government proposes to seek to rejoin.
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| 15 July 2013 | The House of Commons supports an amended motion endorsing the Government's decision to exercise the block opt-out. The motion states that the Government will not open formal discussions with the Commission, Council and other Member States before the end of October 2013 and invites the European Scrutiny, Home Affairs and Justice Committees to submit reports by then.
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| 24 July 2013 | The Prime Minister formally notifies the EU institutions of the UK's decision to opt out en masse of pre-Lisbon police and criminal justice measures — the 35 measures the Government intends to seek to rejoin were informally notified on 9 July.
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| 31 October 2013 | Publication of the Home Affairs and Justice Committee Reports on the UK's block opt-out (see Annex 3).
Publication of the follow-up Report of the House of Lords EU Committee on EU police and criminal justice measures: The UK's 2014 opt-out decision (see Annex 3)
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| 7 November 2013 | Publication of the European Scrutiny Committee's Report on the UK's block opt-out (see Annex 3).
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| January 2014 | Publication of the Government's Responses to the Reports of the European Scrutiny, Home Affairs and Justice Committees. They include a commitment by the Government to:
· "engage with Parliament as appropriate";
· provide a full Impact Assessment on the measures the Government proposes to seek to rejoin "in good time ahead of a second vote"; and
· hold a second vote on the final list of measures the Government intends formally to seek to rejoin.
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| March 2014 onwards |
A "Friends of Presidency" Group is created to discuss the application of Article 10 of Protocol 36 to the EU Treaties. Its task is two-fold: to identify pre-Lisbon police and criminal measures which will be subject to the full jurisdiction of the Court of Justice and the Commission's enforcement powers from 1 December 2014; and to establish the measures which will cease to apply to the UK from that date.
The Friends of Presidency Group is responsible for considering the Schengen measures which the UK will seek to rejoin.
The Commission is responsible for agreeing (through bilateral discussions with the UK) the non-Schengen measures which the UK will seek to rejoin.
The Friends of Presidency Group has broad political oversight of both sets of negotiations.
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| 26 March 2014 | Publication of the First Joint Report of the European Scrutiny, Home Affairs and Justice Committees underlining the importance of Parliament's role in scrutinising the Government's approach to the 2014 block opt-out decision and calling for an early debate and vote on the measures the UK should seek to rejoin before negotiations begin (see Annex 3).
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| 6 April 2014 | The Government's Response to the Joint Report states:
For the avoidance of doubt, we reaffirm our commitment to hold a second vote in both Houses of Parliament before making a formal application to rejoin any measures. We continue to believe that in order for this debate to be as informed as possible, it should be held after we have reached 'in principle' agreement on those measures we will seek to rejoin.
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| 7 April 2014 | General debate on a motion that "this House has considered the UK's 2014 justice and home affairs opt-out decision".
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| 5/6 June 2014 | Justice and Home Affairs Council "took note" of information on the state of play of preparation for the application of Article 10 of Protocol 36.
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| 24 June 2014 | General Affairs Council — the press release issued after the Council states:
The Council noted the conclusion reached between the Commission and the UK on the list of non-Schengen ex-third pillar measures which the UK will seek to rejoin, as well as the solution concerning the Prüm Decisions and the Probation Framework Decision, as explained by the Commission and the UK.
With regard to the Schengen ex-third pillar acquis, the Council had provisionally noted on 5 June 2014 a broad technical agreement on the text of the draft Council Decision on the notification of the UK of its wish to take part in some of the provisions of the ex-third pillar Schengen acquis, until such time as there is a clear picture and a political understanding on the list of ex-third pillar measures which the UK will rejoin, as set out in a report by the Presidency to the Council. However, at this stage, not all reservations could be lifted.
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| 30 June 2014 | The Minister for Europe's WMS on the General Affairs Council says that the Council discussed the UK's 2014 block opt-out decision:
The Council noted that the UK Government and the Commission had reached an understanding on the list of non-Schengen pre-Lisbon police and criminal justice measures that the UK Government would seek to rejoin. In respect of the Schengen pre-Lisbon police and criminal justice measures, the Council recalled that it had previously provisionally noted a broad technical agreement on the draft Council decision although at this stage not all reservations could be lifted.
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| 3 July 2014 | Publication of Command Paper 8897 setting out the outcome of "detailed technical level discussions with the Commission and Council" on the measures subject to the block opt-out which the UK will seek to rejoin. The Command Paper contains a revised list of 35 measures, as well as Impact Assessments covering all of the 35 measures.
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| 10 July 2014 | General debate in the House of Commons on a motion that "this House has considered the UK's justice and home affairs opt-outs".
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| Oct-end November 2014 |
Debate and vote in both Houses on the 35 measures the Government intends to seek to rejoin — timing will depend on how quickly a political agreement is reached in Brussels and all remaining reservations are lifted.
Following the debate and vote in Parliament, the Government will submit the UK's formal application to rejoin certain measures. There will then need to be:
· a Council Decision concerning the Schengen measures the UK will rejoin; and
· a Commission Decision on the non-Schengen measures the UK will rejoin.
To avoid a legal and operational gap, these Decisions will need to take effect on 1 December 2014.
If there is a delay in the adoption of these Decisions, Article 10(4) of Protocol 36 makes provision for the adoption of a Council Decision determining "the necessary consequential and transitional arrangements". A draft Decision providing for the continuing application of the 35 measures the Government proposes to rejoin until 7 December 2014 was deposited in Parliament on 2 October 2014.[35]
The Council may also adopt a Decision determining whether the UK will be required to bear any direct financial consequences "necessarily and unavoidably incurred" as a result of its decision to exercise the 2014 block opt-out. A draft Decision to this effect was deposited in Parliament on 2 October 2014.[36]
At the time of agreeing this Report, the Government's Explanatory Memoranda on these draft Decisions were two weeks overdue.
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