European and External Relations Committee, 02 Dec 2008

Meeting date: Tuesday, December 2, 2008

Official Report 227KB pdf

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European Commission's Legislative and Work Programme

Item 3 is consideration of our approach to the European Commission's legislative and work programme. The European officer has produced an analysis of initiatives of interest to Scotland and it is proposed that, in the first instance, the committee invite the views of the Parliament's subject committees to establish a list of priorities that the officer can use in providing us with updates. Do members have any comments?

I point out that, in the last paragraph on page 1, the word "principle" should be spelled "principal".

It is recommended that we forward the paper to the subject committees and that our clerks arrange meetings with the clerks of those committees. We discussed this issue when we were in Brussels last week. There are a number of topical items that the Commission is moving on, particularly the economic crisis and the European recovery plan. It might be quite interesting to take some evidence on that issue, but it depends on what the Economy, Energy and Tourism Committee is doing. We should in the first place interact with subject committees on this matter but, if they find that they do not have the scope to do any work on it, I for one would be interested in hearing about proposals in the European recovery plan. They will certainly be important to Scotland and the UK.

I think that it is a bit rich for the Commission to talk about trying to bring Europe closer to its citizens, given the contempt with which it has treated the democratic process in Ireland.

Hear, hear.

I was wondering how you were going to get a comment in about that, Alex.

We could debate that issue for another hour, although I am sure that other members will not want to do so now. If we can get a Commission member to come before the committee, you will be able to put those points to him.

I am happy for the clerks to circulate to any members who are interested a draft resolution from the Committee of the Regions on the Commission's legislative and work programme, identifying not only areas of cohesion but areas where further action should be taken. It feels, for example, that cohesion policy has not been adequately reflected as a priority.

How does the process work? I agree with everything set out in the paper, and I agree that we should write to the various subject committees. However, if the subject committee did not have time to consider the European recovery plan, we might want to do so fairly quickly. How would we expedite that? What is the process?

If the committee agrees, I am happy to task the clerks with looking into that and reporting back at the next committee meeting. If members are content and the Economy, Energy and Tourism Committee does not intend to consider the matter, I will be happy for us to conduct a short evidence-taking session.

We could include the issue as an integral part of the discussion that we have agreed to have on the committee's role and our work programme—and the quicker we have that discussion, the better.

Do members want to hold that discussion at the next meeting?

Apologies—I will not be at the next meeting.

I might have a problem with the next meeting, too. I might be in Easter Ross.

We could make it the meeting after that. It is important for Patricia Ferguson and Ted Brocklebank to be present for that discussion.

The decision partly depends on our approach to the European Union budget paper. The clerks already have a schedule of proposed evidence-taking sessions, including others on the China plan and the options that are set out in the EU budget paper. I will liaise with the clerks, and we will look to hold the discussion at the first meeting in the new year. I hope that, by then, we will have had a reply from the subject committees.

I am also particularly interested in Alzheimer's. When I was in Brussels last week, officials told me that there are two big issues on the Commission's health agenda for next year: cancer and Alzheimer's. That is in the legislative and work programme. With the dementia services development centre at the University of Stirling, we are well in tune with the work, and we would be well placed to make an important contribution to Commission discussions on a Europe-wide plan on Alzheimer's.

There are certainly areas of interest but, in fairness to the subject committees, we must seek their views first. Is that agreed?

Members indicated agreement.