The European Union Committee
The European Union Committee of the House of Lords
considers EU documents and other matters relating to the EU in
advance of decisions being taken on them in Brussels. It does
this in order to influence the Government's position in negotiations,
and to hold them to account for their actions at EU level.
The Government are required to deposit EU documents
in Parliament, and to produce within two weeks an Explanatory
Memorandum setting out the implications for the UK. The Committee
examines these documents, and 'holds under scrutiny' any about
which it has concerns, entering into correspondence with the relevant
Minister until satisfied. Letters must be answered within two
weeks. Under the 'scrutiny reserve resolution', the Government
may not agree in the EU Council of Ministers to any proposal still
held under scrutiny; reasons must be given for any breach.
The Committee also conducts inquiries and makes reports.
The Government are required to respond in writing to a report's
recommendations within two months of publication. If the report
is for debate, then there is a debate in the House of Lords, which
a Minister attends and responds to.
The Committee has seven Sub-Committees which are:
Economic and Financial Affairs and International
Trade (Sub-Committee A)
Internal Market (Sub-Committee B)
Foreign Affairs, Defence and Development Policy (Sub-Committee
C)
Environment and Agriculture (Sub-Committee D)
Law and Institutions (Sub-Committee E)
Home Affairs (Sub-Committee F)
Social Policy and Consumer Affairs (Sub-Committee
G)
Our Membership
The Members of the European Union Committee are:
| Baroness Cohen of Pimlico
| Lord Plumb |
| Lord Dykes | Lord Powell of Bayswater
|
| Lord Freeman | Lord Richard
|
| Lord Hannay of Chiswick
| Lord Roper (Chairman) |
| Baroness Howarth of Breckland
| Lord Sewel |
| Lord Jopling | Baroness Symons of Vernham Dean
|
| Lord Kerr of Kinlochard
| Lord Teverson |
| Lord Maclennan of Rogart
| Lord Trimble |
| Lord Mance | Lord Wade of Chorlton
|
| Lord Paul |
|
The Members of the Sub-Committee which conducted
this inquiry are listed in Appendix 1.
Information about the Committee
The reports and evidence of the Committee are published
by and available from The Stationery Office. For information freely
available on the web, our homepage is
http://www.parliament.uk/hleu
There you will find many of our publications, along
with press notices, details of membership and forthcoming meetings,
and other information about the ongoing work of the Committee
and its Sub-Committees, each of which has its own homepage.
General Information
General information about the House of Lords and
its Committees, including guidance to witnesses, details of current
inquiries and forthcoming meetings is on the internet at
http://www.parliament.uk/about_lords/about_lords.cfm
Contacts for the European Union Committee
Contact details for individual Sub-Committees are
given on the website.
General correspondence should be addressed to the
Clerk of the European Union Committee, Committee Office, House
of Lords, London, SW1A 0PW
The telephone number for general enquiries is 020
7219 5791. The Committee's email address is euclords@parliament.uk
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