European Committee, 23 Jun 1999
Meeting date: Wednesday, June 23, 1999
Official Report
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Convener
We move on to the second item. On a motion of the Parliamentary Bureau, Parliament has decided that the party whose members are eligible to convene this committee is the Labour party. I invite the person whom the Labour party has nominated as convener to identify himself or herself.
I have been nominated by the Labour party to put myself forward for the position of convener.
Is the committee content for Mr Henry to be elected as convener?
Hugh Henry was elected convener by acclamation.
Thank you. I hope that this committee will be hard-working and of interest not only to its members, but to Parliament and to wider Scottish society. The European agenda is facing difficulties at the moment; the recent European election had the worst turnout on record. We need to address the gap between the voting record in Scotland—and, indeed, in the United Kingdom as a whole—and that in other parts of Europe.
It would be wrong to underestimate the increasing influence that Europe has on our lives. It impinges on everything that we do. That was evident even from members' declarations of interests. Among us are journalists, who write about Europe frequently; members of local authorities, which are affected by Europe financially and by European legislation; and representatives of private companies, which seek to enter the European market and bid for European contracts. Various sections of our community, including the farming community, are recipients of European funding. Europe is increasingly important, and I hope that this committee will reflect that in its work.
This committee is intended to be non-partisan in its operation. I hope that we can work together on issues that affect the Parliament and Scotland, addressing matters that we regard as significant. I hope that our work will have an effect. This committee should not become bogged down in the details of obscure European legislation. It should reflect European policy and seek to influence it, both directly and through the United Kingdom channels in which we operate. We have a big agenda that we should not underestimate. How we operate as a committee will be determined largely by the collective efforts of members. If we choose to concentrate on the minutiae, I fear that we will achieve little. If we are prepared to set our sights on the bigger picture and to seek to influence debate, there is much that we can achieve. I am delighted to have been chosen by the committee as convener.
In a moment I will open up the debate on our remit and topics for further briefing. Before I do so, I want to repeat that we have a unique opportunity to be a voice for Scotland in Europe. In the rest of Europe there is genuine interest in what we are doing. As I indicated earlier, I am a member of the Committee of the Regions, and there is genuine excitement among representatives of all European countries about the creation of this Scottish Parliament; I know that members of other European institutions will say the same.
Representatives from Scotland are warmly welcomed in the corridors of power in Europe. That will reflect on us and we will be considered and listened to with interest by other European bodies and by those elected to the various European institutions. A lot is expected of us, but there is also a warmness and a willingness to listen to us. I throw it open to the committee now to discuss the committee's remit, taking into account some of the comments that I have made.