Meeting Summary
The Committee looks at the significance of EU proposals and decides whether to clear the document from scrutiny or withhold clearance and ask questions of the Government. The Committee also has the power to recommend documents for debate.
Brexit-related issues
The Committee is now looking at documents in the light of the UK’s decision to withdraw from the EU. Issues are explored in greater detail in report chapters and, where appropriate, in the summaries below. The Committee notes that in the current week the following issues and questions have arisen in documents or in correspondence with Ministers:
- The Northern Ireland Backstop is relevant to future UK climate policy as the Backstop will only be superseded by a future relationship guaranteeing a level playing field in environmental policy
Summary
Establishing a European Travel Information and Authorisation System
The European Commission has put forward proposals to establish a European Travel Information and Authorisation System (ETIAS) for the nationals of around 60 countries who do not need a visa to visit the Schengen area. They would be required to complete an online application form and obtain authorisation before they travel. ETIAS is not expected to be operational before 2021. The UK is not entitled to participate in ETIAS as it builds on parts of the Schengen rule book which do not apply to the UK. Our scrutiny of the proposals has focused on the implications for UK nationals travelling to an EU or Schengen country once the UK has left the EU and any post-exit transition period has ended and the possibility for UK law enforcement to access information held in the ETIAS Central System and the related Europol watchlist of criminal suspects. In her latest update, the Immigration Minister (Rt Hon Caroline Nokes MP) confirms that the ETIAS proposals have been adopted, that UK nationals will need to apply for a travel authorisation (at a cost of €7 per applicant) post-exit/transition, and that there are “appropriate safeguards” for individuals whose personal data are held in the ETIAS Central System. The European Scrutiny Committee asks the Minister to address a number of outstanding issues raised in earlier Reports, in particular the conditions for third country access to ETIAS data and the prospects for securing better access under a post-exit EU/UK internal security agreement.
Not cleared from scrutiny; further information requested; drawn to the attention of the Home Affairs Committee
Visa exemption for UK nationals travelling to the EU after Brexit
The European Commission has put forward a series of proposals to prepare for the UK’s withdrawal from the EU. They include a proposed Regulation which would amend the EU Visa Regulation to include the UK in the list of third countries whose nationals do not require an entry visa for short stays within the Schengen area once the UK has left the EU and any post-exit transition/implementation period has ended. In her latest update, the Immigration Minister (Rt Hon Caroline Nokes MP) reiterates the Government’s intention to maintain reciprocal arrangements to enable citizens to travel freely between the EU and the UK, without a visa, for tourism and temporary business activity. The European Scrutiny Committee seeks an assurance that Parliament will be informed of, and consulted on, any proposal to change the visa status of EU citizens in the future, given the important implications this would have for the visa status of UK nationals travelling to the Schengen area under the EU’s reciprocity rules. They also ask the Minister for her view on changes recently proposed by the European Parliament, as well as on reports that Spain has secured a new footnote reference to Gibraltar as “a colony of the British Crown” and that this is likely to be replicated in other Brexit-related EU legislation.
Not cleared from scrutiny; further information requested; drawn to the attention of the Exiting the European Union Committee, the Foreign Affairs Committee, the Home Affairs Committee and the Justice Committee
Climate change strategy
When the Committee first considered the Commission’s new climate change strategy, it was most concerned to clarify the extent to which future EU climate policy would directly influence UK policy. The Minister accepts that there will need to be close cooperation and engagement between the UK and the EU, but she resists the idea that the inclusion of an environmental level playing field in the Northern Ireland Backstop effectively requires the future relationship to include such an objective. The Committee reminds the Minister that the future relationship will only supersede the Backstop if it achieves the same objectives. The Committee also urges the Government not to restrict future dialogue with the EU to formal engagement through international fora.
Cleared; drawn to the attention of the Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy Committee
Digital Single Market: Consumer Rights for online and offline sale of goods
The proposed Digital Content Directive (DCD) and the Sale of Goods Directives (SGD) are mainly aimed at breaking down barriers to cross-border online trade due to differing Member States’ contract law on matters such as quality of goods, remedies for defective goods and guarantees. The proposal being considered, the SGD, now covers both online and offline sales of goods whereas a previous 2015 initiative was limited to online or distance sales. The UK will not have to implement these proposals before EU exit on 29 March; there is a chance the UK may have to implement them in a “deal” situation and an extended transition/implementation period. We cleared the proposed DCD in our Report of 28 November 2018 as negotiations on that proposal were more advanced. We granted a scrutiny waiver for a General Approach on the proposed SGD at the same time. The Government’s main concern has been that the SGD is a “maximum harmonisation” proposal where more stringent national requirements cannot be maintained. This has meant the potential loss of some existing consumer rights available in UK law under the Consumer Rights Act 2015, particularly the short-term right to reject faulty goods.
The Government now updates the Committee on the General Approach text agreed in December. Improvements in the text were secured by the UK on short term right to reject and liability periods but some concerns remain. Mindful of the basis on which the Committee granted the scrutiny waiver, the Government still chose to abstain. Following trilogues we understand that agreement will be sought at the Committee of Permanent Representatives (COREPER) level on 6 February to a final text which would then need to be adopted in Council later. The Government requests a scrutiny waiver. As there are some concerns outstanding we do not clear this proposal. Instead, to give the Government some leeway to influence a more favourable outcome, we grant a scrutiny waiver in respect of the adoption of the text in Council. But only on the understanding that we would not expect the UK to support a proposal which materially undermines key UK consumer protections. The conclusions to the chapter also ask some questions about “no deal”.
Not cleared from scrutiny; scrutiny waiver granted; further information requested; drawn to the attention of the Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy Committee.
Trade deals and data flow between the EU and third countries
Today we considered two documents relating to data exchange with the EU after Brexit. First, a Commission Communication which is highly relevant to EU-UK data sharing at either exit/end of transition. It is widely anticipated by commentators that future personal data-sharing arrangements will be by way of a data adequacy decision rather than an international data-sharing agreement (or Treaty) which initial Government position papers implied.
One of the issues discussed in the Communication is whether data flows could be addressed in EU-third country free trade agreements. Connected with this, the second document comprises cross-border data flow provisions drafted by the Commission for inclusion in EU-third country trade agreements. However, these appear to address potential data-related non-tariff barriers to trade, such as protectionist data localisation legislation or rules. They were tabled in the EU-Indonesia FTA negotiations but were deposited from scrutiny by the Government at the Committee’s request.
As these two documents raised Brexit issues relevant to both “deal” and “no-deal” scenarios and the Science and Technology Committee had also expressed interest in a debate, the Committee recommended a debate on the floor of the House in its Report of 12 September. This was held in European Committee B on 23 October and the documents were cleared from scrutiny. As the debate was of an exceptionally short duration, the Committee wrote to the two DIT and DCMS Ministers concerned on 14 November to ask them to provide fuller answers to outstanding questions. They do now in a long annex to a letter of 24 January.
The conclusions simply draw the annex to the attention of the House and marshal some of the key responses into “deal” and “no deal” categories. Much of the information is already available from other public documents.
Cleared from scrutiny; drawn to the attention of the Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Committee, the International Trade Committee, the Science and Technology Committee, the Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy Committee and the Exiting the EU Committee
Commission Brexit preparedness: Biocidal products
The Commission’s proposal would amend Regulation (EU) No 1062/2004 (the Biocidal Products Review Regulation) in light of the UK’s withdrawal from the EU. In terms of its content, the Commission’s proposal is not controversial and relates solely to the Union’s internal preparations for the UK’s withdrawal from the EU. The Commission is proposing to transfer each active substance/product-type for which the HSE is currently the evaluating authority to competent authorities in EU Member States and EEA/EFTA members. Additional changes are also suggested to set new deadlines by which evaluations must be completed. Provision would also be made to allow competent authorities to charge fees for these evaluations. As set out in the Annex II to the Review Regulation, the HSE is currently responsible for the evaluation of 57 substances/product types (this equates to roughly 1/8th of the EU total).
The Union’s internal preparations provide an opportunity to assess the Commission’s and the Government’s plans for how the authorisation and approval of biocidal active substances and products would function in the event of a no-deal Brexit (where the draft Withdrawal Agreement is not ratified by either the UK or the EU).
Not cleared from scrutiny; further information requested
Documents drawn to the attention of select committees:
(‘NC’ indicates document is ‘not cleared’ from scrutiny; ‘C’ indicates document is ‘cleared’)
Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy Committee: EU climate change strategy [Commission Communication (C)]; Digital Single Market: Consumer contract rights for the sale of goods [Proposed Directive (NC; scrutiny waiver granted)]; Trade deals and data flows between the EU and third countries [(a) Communication; (b) EU proposed provisions on cross-border data flows and protection of personal data and privacy (C)]; Commission Brexit preparedness: Biocidal products [Delegated Regulation (NC)]
Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Committee: Trade deals and data flows between the EU and third countries [(a) Communication; (b) EU proposed provisions on cross-border data flows and protection of personal data and privacy (C)]
Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee: European Maritime and Fisheries Fund [Proposed Regulation (C)]
Exiting the EU Committee: Establishing a European Travel Information and Authorisation System [Proposed Regulations (NC)]; Visa exemption for UK nationals travelling to the EU after Brexit [Proposed Regulation (NC)]; Trade deals and data flows between the EU and third countries [(a) Communication; (b) EU proposed provisions on cross-border data flows and protection of personal data and privacy (C)]
Foreign Affairs Committee: Visa exemption for UK nationals travelling to the EU after Brexit [Proposed Regulation (NC)]
Home Affairs Committee: Establishing a European Travel Information and Authorisation System [Proposed Regulations (NC)]; Visa exemption for UK nationals travelling to the EU after Brexit [Proposed Regulation (NC)]; Third country participation in the EU’s asylum database: Eurodac [Proposed Decisions (NC)]
International Trade Committee: Trade deals and data flows between the EU and third countries [(a) Communication; (b) EU proposed provisions on cross-border data flows and protection of personal data and privacy (C)]
Justice Committee: Visa exemption for UK nationals travelling to the EU after Brexit [Proposed Regulation (NC)]
Science and Technology Committee: Trade deals and data flows between the EU and third countries [(a) Communication; (b) EU proposed provisions on cross-border data flows and protection of personal data and privacy (C)]
Published: 12 February 2019