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:
| Lord Bowness | Lord Kerr of Kinlochard
|
| Lord Carter of Coles | Lord Paul
|
| Baroness Cohen of Pimlico |
Lord Plumb |
| Lord Dear | Lord Powell of Bayswater
|
| Lord Dykes | Lord Richard
|
| Lord Freeman | Lord Roper (Chairman)
|
| Lord Hannay of Chiswick |
Lord Sewel |
| Baroness Howarth of Breckland
| Baroness Sharp of Guildford
|
| Lord Jopling | Lord Teverson
|
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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