European Scrutiny Committee Meeting Summary: 26 November 2014
26 November 2014
The European Scrutiny Committee met on Wednesday 26 November 2014
The Committee considered the following documents:
Decision to rejoin 35 measures subject to UK’s block opt-out
At this week’s meeting we consider a letter from the Home Secretary and the Justice Secretary received hours before the Committee met concerning two draft Council Decisions on consequential and transitional arrangements and on the financial consequences of the UK’s block opt-out. The latter draft Decision is subject to the scrutiny reserve (the UK has no vote on the other draft Decision), and the Home and Justice Secretaries have requested that we consider clearing it from scrutiny, so that the Government would be in a position to support it at the Transport and Telecommunications Council on 27 November (the last Council meeting before 1 December, the date on which the UK’s block opt-out takes effect). The Committee declines this request, and is responding by letter to the Home and Justice Secretaries saying that we are not willing to be bounced into clearing this draft Decision from scrutiny. Instead we will consider the information provided and will report our observations next week.
The Home and Justice Secretaries also expressed their regret that we would be unable to consider the Draft Council Decision on Schengen measures at our meeting, and made it clear that the UK would vote for this Decision, making a scrutiny override inevitable. We respond by emphasising that this situation could have been avoided had the Government produced Explanatory Memoranda on this Decision (and on the as yet unseen Commission Decision on the non-Schengen measures). We state that we expect the Government to deposit the draft Council Decision on Schengen measures and to provide an Explanatory Memorandum as a matter of urgency so that we can report it to the House. Until this happens, there can be no question of scrutiny clearance or a waiver. We also expect deposit of the Commission Decision on non-Schengen measures, and the provision of an Explanatory Memorandum.
The Secretaries of State offer to appear before the Committee in relation to this matter; it is highly likely that we will invite them to do so, especially in the event of a scrutiny override.
EU Budget 2014
Earlier this month we considered Draft Amending Budget (DAB) No. 6 to the General Budget for 2014, which would return to Member States their share of the additional contributions to the EU budget which result from the adjustments to the VAT and GNI balances of individual Member States. In light of the importance of this issue, we recommended that this DAB be debated on the floor of the House. We also took oral evidence from Mr David Gauke MP, Financial Secretary to the Treasury, on the proposed increase to the UK contribution to the EU Budget, who informed us that the UK would not be paying the proposed contribution by 1 December. This week we consider a draft Council Regulation which would allow a Member State with an exceptionally high VAT and GNI balance adjustment to postpone, in certain circumstances, payment of its corrective contribution from the first working day of December 2014 up until the first working day of September 2015. It is clear that the Government has therefore succeeded in postponing, without incurring a penalty, payment of the UK VAT and GNI balance adjustment. However, it is not clear to us how any doubt about the applicability of the UK’s rebate to payment of the adjustment arose nor how the doubt is resolved. We therefore recommend that this draft Regulation be debated on the floor of the House, alongside DAB No. 6.
Regulation of medical devices
This week we revisit two draft Regulations which would repeal and replace three existing Directives which establish the EU regulatory framework for medical devices. Both draft Regulations seek to introduce a more rigorous system for Member State supervision of “notified bodies” – bodies responsible for certifying that medical devices are safe for use – and to ensure greater transparency and accountability in relation to devices and their manufacturers. We have held these two draft Regulations under scrutiny since November 2012. The European Parliament’s first reading position was agreed on both in April 2014, and the Minister now informs us that the Italian Presidency hopes to agree a general approach at the Health Council on 1 December, and requests a scrutiny waiver to allow the Government to support a text which meets its key objectives. When we last considered these proposals, the Minister told us that the main unresolved issue concerned the level of pre-market scrutiny for higher risk medical devices. In acceding to the Minister’s request and granting the waiver, we emphasise that the Government should ensure that any pre-market scrutiny is clinically focused and does not undermine the objective of improving the quality of all notified bodies. We ask the Minister to report back to us on the outcome of the Health Council, and retain both documents under scrutiny.
Package and assisted travel arrangements
Tourism plays a central role in Europe’s economy, and in 1990, a Directive was agreed offering a certain level of protection for those purchasing package holidays. In 2013 a new draft Directive was published, which seeks to clarify and modernise the scope of the protection currently available to travellers; to cover different forms of on-line and assisted travel arrangements; to ensure that purchasers are better informed about the services provided, and the remedies available; and to remove some outdated elements from the 1990 Directive. We considered this draft Directive in October 2013, and noted that although the Government broadly welcomes the Commission’s objectives in bringing forward this Directive, it had concerns regarding a number of the specific provisions contained in it. We consider this draft Directive this week, as we have received an update from the Minister, who informs us that significant progress has been made in the negotiations regarding the areas of the Directive where the Government considered improvement was necessary, except for two – the approach to the application of insolvency protection to sales in the implementing Member State rather than according to where the trader is established, and the impact of the proposal on purely domestic packages. The Minister asks us to grant a scrutiny waiver in advance of the Competitiveness Council on 3-4 December, where it is understood that the Italian Presidency will seek agreement on a general approach. As we do not wish to constrain the Government’s negotiating ability, we grant this waiver, but retain the document under scrutiny and ask to be kept informed of the outcome of Council.
Other documents
We are also reporting on documents relating to:
- Business, Innovation and Skills: Access to published works for the visually impaired; Insolvency proceedings;
- Energy and Climate Change: Kyoto Protocol: emissions reduction targets
- Environment, Food and Rural Affairs: Atmospheric emissions from medium combustion plants;
- Foreign and Commonwealth Office: Free movement and public documents; The EU Operations Centre and the Horn of Africa; Iran Sanctions; An EU maritime security strategy; European security and defence: following up the December 2013 European Defence Council;
- Home Office: Europol;
- Justice: Data Protection in the EU;
- Food Standards Authority: EU regulation of novel foods;
- Transport: Intelligent transport systems; Safety standards for fishermen; Cableway installations;
- Treasury: Financial services: benchmarks; Financial services: bank recovery and resolution; Taxation;
- Work and Pensions: Integrating labour markets.
The Committee’s 21st Report of Session 2014-15, covering the European Police College, was published on Thursday 20 November. The Committee’s 20th Report of Session 2014-15 will be published soon, covering: Trafficking in human beings; Fisheries: catch quotas and effort limitation for 2015; Global Navigation Satellite System; The Telecommunications Single Market; Progress towards the Internal Energy Market; Discard plans for small pelagic and industrial fisheries; Member States’ application of EU Law in 2013; Common Security and Defence Policy: EULEX Kosovo: allegations of corruption; The EU and the Horn of Africa; ESDP: Piracy off the coast of Somalia: Operation ATALANTA; Forced Labour; European Development Fund: forecast expenditure; EU support for rehabilitation following the earthquake in Haiti; Economic Partnership Agreement with the West African region; EU development Assistance; Access to documents; European Small Claims Procedure; Single European Sky; Financial services: insurance mediation; Financial services: securities financing transactions; Trans-boundary effects of industrial pollution.