Role of the Committee
The House of Lords, as part of the national parliament performs
a much valued service for the United Kingdom in scrutinising and
reporting on proposed European legislation.
It has done this through its European Communities Committee since
1974, the year after the United Kingdom joined the Community.
Remit and Organisation of the Committee
The Committee is appointed at the beginning of every parliamentary
session. Its terms of reference are:
To consider Community proposals whether in draft or otherwise, to obtain all necessary information about them, and to make reports on those which, in the opinion of the Committee, raise important questions to which the Committee considers that the special attention of the House should be drawn.
The Committee is chaired by a salaried Officer of the House (Principal
Deputy Chairman of Committees). It has about 20 members, each
of whom serves on one or more of the subject-area sub-committees
through which the Committee conducts its investigations. Other
lords are also co-opted to the sub-committees, so that a total
of around 60 lords are actively involved in the work of the Committee
or sub-committees.
Sub-Committees
Economic & Financial Affairs, Trade and External Relations
(A)
Energy, Industry and Transport (B)
Environment, Public Health and Consumer Protection (C)
Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (D)
Law and Institutions (E)
Social Affairs, Education and Home Affairs (F)
Additional sub-committees are set up ad hoc to examine specific
proposals.
The Law and Institutions Sub-Committee
This has a special role in considering the legal implications
of proposals for legislation. Its terms of reference are:
To consider and report to the Committee on -
(a) any Community proposal which would lead to significant changes
in UK law, or have far reaching implications for areas of UK law
other than those to which it is immediately directed;
(b) the merits of such proposals as are referred to it by the
Select Committee;
(c) whether any important developments have taken place in Community
law; and
(d) any matters which it considers should be drawn to the attention
of the Committee concerning the vires of any proposal.
How the Sub-Committees Work
The sub-committees meet regularly when the House of Lords is in
session. They are assisted by clerks, and by consultant specialist
advisers appointed for their expert knowledge of the subject under
enquiry. The sub-committees invite written and oral evidence
from government departments, Community institutions and other
interested bodies and individuals, in order to consider all points
of view before reaching conclusions. Draft reports setting out
conclusions and recommendations are then prepared and agreed by
the sub-committees, and approved by the Committee before they
are published.
Over half the reports published are subsequently debated in the
House. The Government has undertaken to reply to all reports,
whether debated or not, within two months of publication.
How the Scrutiny System Works
Most of the work of the Committee is devoted to considering legislation
proposed by the Commission under the Treaties establishing the
European Community. Such proposals are submitted by the Commission
to the Council. Decisions are made by the Council, with varying
degrees of involvement by the European Parliament, according to
the subject matter.
Such proposals are also deposited in the United Kingdom Parliament
by the Government. Some 1200 documents annually are deposited, along
with an explanatory memorandum, signed by a Government Minister. This
sets out the legal, financial and policy implications of the proposal,
and the procedure and timetable for its consideration and adoption.
Many of the proposals are routine or of comparatively minor importance;
in any case the number is too great for the European Communities
Committee to give detailed consideration to them all.
The Chairman of the Committee therefore conducts a "sift". He considers all the explanatory memoranda, sifts the more significant proposals from the less important ones, and decides
which should be referred to a sub-committee for further examination.
About one-third of the proposals deposited are referred to a
sub-committee.
Each sub-committee then examines the proposals which have been
referred to it. A sub-committee will usually take note of many
proposals, choosing e.g. a few each year on which to conduct a
substantial enquiry and make a report.
The Committee may sometimes set out its views in a letter to
the appropriate Government Minister if its views can be expressed
succinctly without the need for extensive evidence (for example,
by reference to an earlier report) or where Council decision on
a proposal is likely to be reached quickly.
The scrutiny system rests on the undertaking given by the Government
that they will not, except in special circumstances, agree to
any proposal in the Council until it has been cleared by the Committee.
This undertaking, known as the scrutiny reserve, means that the
House has an opportunity to influence the position which the Government
adopts on the proposal in negotiation with other Member States
of the Community.
Scrutiny of the Inter-Governmental Pillars of the European Union
The Treaty of Maastricht, which came into effect in 1993, set
up the European Union comprising three "pillars":
1. The European Community and its legislation, subject to scrutiny
as above.
2. A Common Foreign and Security Policy.
3. Justice and Home Affairs.
The second and third "pillars" do not involve legislation,
but inter-governmental co-operation. Instruments adopted under
the two inter-governmental pillars, where they are legally binding,
are binding under international law and not Community law.
The Committee took the view in its report on this subject (28th
Report 1992-3) that work under both inter-governmental pillars
should be scrutinised by national parliaments and that draft documents should be provided
to Parliament if they qualify under any one of three tests -
* Significance,
* Eventual need for United Kingdom legislation, or
* Imposition of legal commitments on the United Kingdom.
The Government has agreed (Cm 2471, February 1994) with the Committee
that accountability for work under the inter-governmental pillars
should be to national parliaments, and has undertaken to co-operate
fully in arrangements for effective scrutiny. However the Government
has not agreed that the scrutiny reserve should apply to proposals
under the inter-governmental pillars.
Since 1994 the Committee has received from the Government explanatory
notes or letters on several second and third pillar initiatives.
Despite the absence of a scrutiny reserve, the Committee has
adopted the same procedure for scrutiny of inter-governmental
pillar documents as that set out above for Community legislation.
Wide-Ranging Scrutiny
Since it was set up the Committee has scrutinised and reported
on a wide range of issues which affect people's everyday
lives and the longer term future of both the United Kingdom and
Europe. Examples include:
- The protection of personal data
- Pension Rights
- Fraud and mismanagement of the Community's finances
- Water quality standards
- The film and television industry
- Noise levels from manufactured equipment
- Environmental implications of agricultural set-aside policies
- The future of rural society
- The protection of national cultural, historic and archaeological
treasures
Further Information
For general enquiries on membership, reports, programme of work
contact:
The House of Lords European Communities Committee
Telephone: 0171-219 5791/3150 Fax: 0171-219 6715
Click here to link to the European Communities Committee
Click here to link to the current session of the European Communities - Reports
Or visit the House of Lords Web Site at: www.parliament.uk
OCTOBER 1997
