Representation in the European Union
Colleagues, we move to agenda item 5, which is the proposed report from Ben Wallace and Helen Eadie on Scotland's representation in Brussels. We have the draft terms of reference. Ben and Helen can say a few words of introduction and we can then take comments from members.
We are still very much at the early stages. I have had a meeting with Stephen Imrie and my researcher has been involved, as has Helen Eadie's researcher, Dan Wynn.
The first step was to consider the scope of the report. My impression is that the topic is so big that the report will be a reference document for people who want to engage or lobby in Europe and get their point across. It might put the lobbying companies out of business if it is a good and simple reference guide. For example, if someone is concerned about trade union rights it could tell them who to go and see other than their MEP and how they can influence the decision-making process.
Therefore, the mention in the draft guidelines of
"other sub-national and national offices",
how they are structured and what their roles are, should perhaps be dropped. That would make the scope of the inquiry so big that it might not achieve what it should and it might just bog us down. I am just trying to keep a narrow focus.
I hope that the report will be able to be used by anyone, whether an individual or an organisation, who wishes to get involved in how legislation is produced and to get access to people and put forward their views. It could almost be called an idiot's guide to lobbying in Europe. I sometimes see lobbying companies charging for things that people could find on the internet, so I hope that the inquiry will go some way to helping people access such information.
Do you not agree that, given that there are smaller nations or subnational groups than Scotland, something could be learned from the officers of those smaller nations?
I agree that there are things to be learned, but the problem is whether we can deal with that in the inquiry. If we were holding a committee inquiry, and had a secretariat that could go out and compare the different actions of some of the smaller countries, I would agree with you. However, just from trying to draw up a list of who has representatives in Brussels, I know that it is difficult.
It is easy to find out that the Trades Union Congress or the Confederation of British Industry have affiliated organisations. However, to map similar affiliations in some of the other European countries might widen the scope of the inquiry to the extent that its point might not be achieved. The work could be done, but we would need a small secretariat to do it.
I concur with everything that Ben Wallace said. In many ways, I regard this topic as being as important as the question in the annexe to the paper for our previous agenda item—"what is Europe for?" If we can tell people where to go, where to find information, who to lobby and how to do it most effectively, that might be the most important thing that we could do for the people of Scotland. Many people feel helpless in the face of the broader perspective, and if they can find keys to unlocking a lot of the doors, that would help them tremendously. I hope that the committee will agree that the work is correctly focused.
I think that the report will be exciting and I look forward to reading the draft.
The Local Government International Bureau, along with COSLA Brussels, provides a service to members of the Committee of the Regions, and I wondered whether it might be added to the list of organisations from which you are seeking written evidence.
Helen Eadie and I would be grateful for such information. We sometimes learn about such organisations as we go on, and we often stumble across them because there are so many. If members know of any such organisations, they can just fire the names to us.
The broad range of organisations is one of the problems. For example, the environmental lobby in Brussels is very large. It is easy to think of Friends of the Earth or Greenpeace, for example, but there may also be relevant pan-European organisations. If members have the names of any such organisations—either political or subject-based bodies—I would be very grateful if they passed them on.
There are quite a few environmental organisations and business groups in Brussels that cover a wide area. The last page of the briefing paper lists many organisations from which we might wish to hear. It is important that we are open to inviting a range of people to give us their comments. The Scottish diaspora in Brussels could be defined in a number of ways. The group from which we want to hear is perhaps self-selecting, and we might not be able to narrow down the list at this stage.
We can cope with only a certain number of comments at this stage, but if various groups wish to raise an issue about something—whether their view is positive or negative—the important thing is that we give them the opportunity to come and give us their comments.