Infrastructure and Capital Investment Committee
Meeting date: Wednesday, January 23, 2013
Official Report
496KB pdf
European Commission Work Programme
We move on to agenda item 4, which is consideration of the European Commission work programme and European Union priorities for engagement and scrutiny. I invite Jim Eadie to speak to paper ICI/S4/13/2/3.
Thank you, convener. This agenda item is for the committee to review the European Commission work programme and agree priorities for the coming year. The Parliament’s strategy for EU engagement requires us to undertake this annual review and requires a chamber debate to be held on all the subject committees’ EU priorities. Following today’s consideration, the committee will write to the European and External Relations Committee to outline our priorities and that committee will compile our response together with all the other subject committees’ responses before the chamber debate, which is due to take place at the end of February.
Members will see that the paper that has been circulated includes a number of priorities that are continuing from last year. Members will also see, under each priority, some suggested committee activity. Following our consideration today, if members agree, we can arrange for requests for information to be issued accordingly. In addition, the paper includes an update on the Brussels visit that took place in December 2012, which involved the European rapporteurs from across the Parliament’s committees.
The paper highlights proposals in four policy areas that continue to be priorities for the committee—public procurement, water resources, broadband infrastructure and state aid. The proposals on a blue belt for a single market for maritime transport and a framework on future EU ports policy were flagged up to the committee as potentially being of interest. The proposals from the European Commission suggest that both initiatives will focus on developing the single market in those sectors. As the issues are largely reserved, the committee will wish to retain a watching brief on them but not include them as its priorities.
The committee is asked to consider and agree its priorities for scrutiny of proposals in the European Commission work programme and to note the update that has been provided on the Brussels visit.
Does anyone have any comments?
Members: No.
Do we agree to the EU priorities as set out in the paper?
Members indicated agreement.
We will write to the European and External Relations Committee to detail our priorities and proposed actions, which will be debated in the chamber in the coming months alongside the other subject committees’ EU priorities. In addition, we will make the information available on the committee’s web pages. Is that agreed?
Members indicated agreement.
As agreed under item 1, we now move into private session.
11:43
Meeting continued in private until 11:49.