Evidence from the Minister
for Europe on the June European Council and the 2007 Inter-Governmental
Conference
1. It has been the Committee's practice in recent
years to hear evidence from the Minister for Europe after each
European Council.
2. Accordingly, the Committee met with Jim Murphy MP,
Minister for Europe, on 12 July 2007 to discuss the outcomes of
the European Council held on 21-22 June 2007, and to discuss the
forthcoming Inter-Governmental Conference (IGC) and 'Reform Treaty'.
3. The Committee wrote to the Minister almost
immediately after that evidence session to give views on what
had been discussed and to pose further questions (Appendix 1).
In this Report we make available for the information of the House
the text of that correspondence, the evidence received from the
Minister, and a letter by the Minister supplementing his evidence
(Appendix 2). The Committee's letter represents the Committee's
thinking so far; we will continue to monitor the IGC.
4. The topics in the oral evidence printed below
are as follows:
- The British opt-outs (QQ 17-18,
43)
- The Charter of Fundamental Rights (QQ 15-16,
30-32)
- Competition and the Mandate (QQ 20-21)
- The dual presidencies (Q 33)
- Energy policy and consultation with the Scottish
Executive (QQ 35-36)
- Galileo (Q 39)
- The IGC Mandate and the possibility of re-opening
negotiations (QQ 13-14)
- 'Internal security' and 'national security' (Q 29)
- National parliaments and the Reform Treaty, including
the 'yellow card' and 'orange card' (QQ 22-28)
- Passerelle clauses (QQ 40-42)
- The primacy of EC/EU law (QQ 30-32)
- The publication and explanation of the Reform
Treaty (QQ 2-8)
- The publication of IGC documents (QQ 9-12)
- The Reform Treaty and the Constitutional Treaty
(QQ 3-8, 43)
- The size of the Commission (Q 34)
- Transparency and the Council (QQ 37-38).
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