Letter from Lord Grenfell, Chairman of
the European Union Committee to the Rt Hon Geoff Hoon MP, Minister
for Europe
Thank you for appearing before Sub-Committee
E on 1 November 2006. The Committee welcomed both the opportunity
to discuss the proposed use of the passerelle with you,
and your undertaking to respond in writing on the other subjects
that we had proposed for discussion. Having regard to the points
you made during the evidence session, we will concentrate these
questions on issues which have arisen in recent scrutiny of matters
for which you are responsible.
On the issue of the scrutiny of comitology decisions:
We understand that the Commission is preparing
a comitology decision to implement a mechanism to verify progress
on post-accession judicial reform and measures against corruption
and organised crime in Bulgaria and Romania. Would this be a suitable
decision to deposit for scrutiny?
On the issue of the scrutiny of confidential
documents:
What assessment is made of Council documents
prior to the decision to publish them as restricted documents?
Is there a case for a more careful assessment of documents to
ensure that only those which are genuinely sensitive are withheld
from this Committee and from the public?
Has thought been given to anonymising (ie removing
specific Member State references from) revised proposal drafts
to allow them to be submitted for scrutiny, and thereby ensure
that Committees are considering the latest position in the Council?
What would the objections be to leaving in any references to the
UK's position?
The Committee looks forward to receiving your
response.
3 November 2006
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