Meeting Summary
Commission Work Programme 2016
On 27 October the Commission adopted its 2016 Work
Programme, setting out how it plans to give practical effect to
European Commission President Juncker's ten Political Guidelines,
announced in July 2014. The previous European Scrutiny Committee
(ESC) argued for improved scrutiny of the Commission Work Programme
by the House of Commons, and recommended that the ESC in future
work with other Select Committees to set out, in a single consolidated
document, which of the Work Programme's proposals merited particular
scrutiny. We are writing today to all Select Committees with an
interest, asking for their assessments of the most important proposals
in, and omissions from, the CWP 2016, and of any potential subsidiarity
issues, by 4 December. We will draw on their responses in our
scrutiny of the Work Programme in the coming weeks.
Restrictive measures against Iran: nuclear issues
(Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action)
On 14 July 2015, the E3+3 (China, France, Germany,
the Russian Federation, the United Kingdom and the United States),
supported by the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and
Security Policy (Federica Mogherini), reached an agreement with
Iran — the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA). On
20 July 2015, the United Nations Security Council unanimously
adopted Security Council Resolution (UNSCR) 2231 (2015), endorsing
the JCPOA. Council Decision (CFSP) 2015/1336 of 31 July 2015 and
Council Regulation (EU) 2015/1327 of 31 July 2015 transposed the
UNSCR into EU law. They were considered by the Committee on 9
September, and recommended for debate on the floor of the House,
with that debate to take place as soon as possible after the House's
return from the Conference recess.
These further documents make amendments to the long-standing
EU nuclear-related economic and financial sanctions, in accordance
with the JCPOA. But they will not be implemented until the International
Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has verified that Iran has taken the
agreed steps on its nuclear programme. We remind the Government
that it is now two months since that recommendation, and urge
it to arrange the debate as soon as possible. The documents remain
under scrutiny, pending the holding of the debate, of which they
should form part.
EU Special Representatives
EU Special Representatives (EUSRs) are appointed
where the Council agrees with the EU High Representative for Foreign
Affairs and Security Policy that an additional EU presence on
the ground is needed to deliver the political objectives of the
Union. The EU currently has eight EUSRs in different countries
and regions of the world. The EUSRs promote the EU's policies
and interests in troubled regions and countries, and play an active
role in efforts to consolidate peace, stability and the rule of
law.
The EUSRs in question on this occasion — Afghanistan,
Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Horn of Africa, Kosovo, the Sahel
— are plainly well suited to their brief, and performing
well. The proposed 16-month mandate extensions raise no questions
in and of themselves. But, as was noted in our Report last week
on the EUSR for the South Caucasus and the crisis in Georgia,
there is a long-standing and important, over-arching policy issue
in play concerning who controls the EUSR's appointment and activities
— the Council, as is the case now, in line with the purported
Member State control of Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP);
or the HR/European External Action Service (EEAS). Pending the
Minister's response to our request for an update, that draft Council
Decision remains under scrutiny. In the meantime, we clear these
others from scrutiny, save for the one on the EUSR Sahel because
of the legal and scrutiny issues that are raised in this case
only.
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