The European Union Committee
The Committee considers EU documents in advance of
decisions being taken on them in Brussels, in order to influence
the Government's position and to hold them to account.
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 six Sub-Committees, which are:
Economic and Financial Affairs (Sub-Committee A)
Internal Market, Infrastructure and Employment (Sub-Committee
B)
External Affairs (Sub-Committee C)
Agriculture, Fisheries, Environment and Energy (Sub-Committee
D)
Justice, Institutions and Consumer Protection (Sub-Committee
E)
Home Affairs, Health and Education (Sub-Committee
F)
Our Membership
The Members of the European Union Committee are:
Lord Boswell of Aynho (Chairman) Lord
Marlesford DL
Lord Bowness Baroness
O'Cathain
Lord Cameron of Dillington Lord
Richard
Lord Carter of Coles The
Earl of Sandwich
Lord Dear Baroness Scott
of Needham Market
Baroness Eccles of Moulton DL Lord
Teverson
Lord Foulkes of Cumnock Lord Tomlinson
Lord Hannay of Chiswick Lord Trimble
Lord Harrison Baroness
Young of Hornsey
Lord Maclennan of Rogart
The Members of the Sub-Committee which conducted
this inquiry are listed in Appendix 1.
Information about the Committee
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 Sub-Committees, including guidance to witnesses, details of
current inquiries and forthcoming meetings is on the internet
at
http://www.parliament.uk/business/lords/
Sub-Committee Staff
The current staff of the Sub-Committee are Kathryn
Colvin (Clerk), Graham Ziegner (Policy Analyst) and Edward Bolton
(Committee Assistant).
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
General enquiries 020 7219 5791. The Committee's
email address is euclords@parliament.uk
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