Examination of Witness (Questions 54-59)
Lord Brittan of Spennithorne
30 APRIL 2008
Q54 Chairman: Good afternoon, Lord Brittan.
May I welcome you to this meeting of Sub-Committee E, Law and
Institutions, for this evidence session on our inquiry into the
initiation of European Union legislation. Lord Mance sends his
apologies, which is why I am sitting here. I am advised that this
session will be recorded and televised. Also, any interests declared
by Members of the Committee are available in the register of interests
published by the House. Lord Brittan, first of all may I ask you
whether there is anything that you would like to say in opening,
having seen the call for evidence?
Lord Brittan of Spennithorne: No, I am happy
to answer the questions as they come.
Q55 Chairman: Perhaps I may start.
You, with your experience, are very well placed to be able to
tell us where the ideas for future legislation are actually generated
within the Commission itself. Does the Commission develop these
ideas and do you feel that the Commission encourages people who
work for the Commission to bring forward ideas for legislation?
Lord Brittan of Spennithorne: The process is
diverse; it is not a single process. Of course, in a way like
a national government, the Commission has its particular directorates-general
whose job it is to be abreast of the subject, and they do that
by contact with national governments, with NGOs, with businesses,
and with anybody else. Take, for example, the environment. They
will be thoroughly appraised of what is going on in the area of
the environment generally and will come up with ideas for legislation,
which will be considered in the hierarchy, by the Commissioner,
and by the Commission itself if necessary. That is one method
by which legislation is put forward. However, already from the
description I have given of that, it will be apparent that lots
of ideas are put forward by Member States. Member States do not
hesitate to suggest legislation and, even though the right of
initiative is with the Commission, Member States are free to suggest
ideas for legislation. The European Parliament is another source
for legislation, which will put forward ideas, again which will
be considered; and the same goes of course for NGOs, business
bodies, or anybody else. As to the degree of openness, having
been in Whitehall before going to Brussels—let us put it
this way—I would say that the European Commission is at
least as open to suggestions for legislation as any Whitehall
department is and, in some cases, rather more so.
Q56 Lord Tomlinson: Arising
from that, My Lord Chairman, perhaps I could pursue one small
point. Do you think that there is any evidence as to whether or
not the Commission is more open to proposals from its own directorates-general
than it is to proposals for legislation that might come from Member
States, or do you think that they are relatively even-handed about
it?
Lord Brittan of Spennithorne: I think it is
very difficult, even with the best will in the world and even
if you had all the material you could possibly get, to answer
that question; because, as I have described the process within
the Commission, the ideas may be put forward from the Commission
but may have arisen from perhaps quite informal discussion with
Member States or NGOs or businesses, or members of the European
Parliament. They do not come from thin air. All of those sources
lead to proposals. I think that it would be a futile exercise,
and I certainly do not know the answers, to try and decide where
the most prominent source of ideas is from; but I would suspect
that it is from national governments. I would suspect that, but
it is purely a guess.
Q57 Lord Rosser: We did see
some information relating to 1998 on the exercise of the Commission's
right of initiative, which showed new initiatives from the Commission
being simply five per cent of the total number of proposals. Included
in the "Others" was "response to an express request
from other EU bodies, Member States or economic operators".
Could I for a moment be what I am sure you will regard as a bit
cynical in asking a question? Bearing in mind the Commission must
get all sorts of views being expressed to it from other EU bodies,
Member States or economic operators, is it not open to the Commission
then simply to wait until somebody expresses a view on action
that should be taken that happens to be in line with what the
Commission would like to do, and then they can announce that they
are pursuing it because they have had a request from another EU
body or a Member State?
Lord Brittan of Spennithorne: I do not regard
that as cynical at all. I think that, obviously, when the Commission
does put forward a proposal, people will say, "Why have you
come up with this idea? Where did it come from?" and they
are bound to invoke any institution or body that has supported
it. Your figures of 75 per cent, I would venture—
Q58 Lord Rosser: Five per
cent.
Lord Brittan of Spennithorne: I am sorry, five
per cent. Whatever the figures are, I would venture to suggest
that, for the reasons I gave in answer to the question by Lord
Tomlinson, it is a misleading figure.
Q59 Lord Rosser: They are
Commission figures.
Lord Brittan of Spennithorne: It is misleading
to give too much weight to it, because when something is proposed
by the Commission that means it is not in response to a formal
request, but the people who are working in the Commission department
are not operating in thin air; they have to get their ideas from
somewhere. They do not just sit with a blank piece of paper in
front of them and think "What shall we suggest?". I
would therefore think that those figures greatly underestimate
the impact of other sources than the Commission itself.
|
