Official Report 493KB pdf
Item 6 is consideration of the “Brussels Bulletin”. Do members wish to raise any points?
We should note what page 2 of the bulletin says about the Belgian presidency, which was dominated, unfortunately, by financial issues. However, something quite good has come out of that, as the Union is looking to develop a surveillance system to forewarn of economic crises. Hungary has now assumed the rotating presidency.
The platform against poverty is mentioned on pages 3 and 4 of the bulletin. No one knows what will happen after the election, but it might be interesting for the committee to follow up on the issue, as we are dealing with a long-term platform that is part of the Europe 2020 strategy.
Those are relevant points. The Commission has agreed that funding will not be concentrated only in the eastern European states—which is a step forward with regard to the arguments that we have been making—and will apply across the European Union. It depends, however, on the thresholds for the criteria that are set. We have to be aware of those important arguments, certainly when it comes to the development of cohesion policy. You are right to raise the matter, Bill.
I was going to raise that issue, but Bill Kidd did it eloquently. The cabinet secretary spoke about Europe 2020 earlier. To go back to the EU presidency, countries such as Poland want money for deprived regions of eastern European, and we have to keep an eye on that.
You are absolutely right. We have agreed to keep the Health and Sport Committee informed of developments. As well as sending the “Brussels Bulletin” to that committee, we should write a covering letter, pointing out that the matter has been discussed at this committee, and that we wish to draw particular attention to the current developments.
Page 6 of the bulletin covers the subject of food labelling. There seems to have been a ratification of two directives, from 2000 and 1990. That could affect large parts of Scotland, and it could be relevant to the work of several committees, for example the Rural Affairs and Environment Committee, the Health and Sport Committee and the Economy, Energy and Tourism Committee. As the bulletin says:
Yes, as part of our horizon scanning.
Just in case of any unintended consequences. The bulletin states:
That is a good point. There is plenty of time to influence matters, which is a good thing.
As I said, I think that the matter affects those three committees, apart from this one: the Rural Affairs and Environment Committee, the Economy, Energy and Tourism Committee and the Health and Sport Committee.
Perhaps, on a regular basis, we should do more than simply send the “Brussels Bulletin”. There is always a danger when it comes to dealing with the last item on the agenda at meetings, because people might not always read items at the back of their papers properly. That does not apply in our committee, of course, but it is perhaps worth attaching a letter to the bulletin, drawing the attention of the various committees concerned to particular items, as part of our horizon-scanning work. That would be a good way to proceed.
The bulletin is excellent. It gives us a lot of good information about what is going on in Brussels. I see that the European citizens initiative is covered on pages 4 and 5.
I am surprised that you have not raised it already.
I have indeed raised the matter on numerous occasions. The measures governing the initiative are to be adopted in February. I note that it will take seven member states to register an initiative, but at least we now have more concrete evidence to work with. In addition, Jim Hume was absolutely right to raise the labelling issue. However, I just wonder how much cost will be involved for industry in relabelling.
Maybe we should write to the Scottish Government asking what it is doing in that regard. Is that agreed?
I am boring you about the bulletin, but there is a lot in this particular one.
Ian Duncan will be very pleased that everybody is taking a close look at it.
I always find it to be excellent, and it gives good pointers. Obviously, a current issue is the annual budget for the EU, which has gone up by 2.9 per cent to €126.5 billion, which is good. I note in passing that Estonia has joined the euro zone. Finally, I think that it is important for us to keep an eye on the proposed consumer rights directive.
Do we agree to note the contents of the bulletin and to refer it to relevant committees?
That brings the public part of the meeting to a close. We now go into private session.