Lords report warns that the introduction of dynamic alignment
with areas of EU law will make for a fundamental change in the
UK-EU relationship that will increase the demands on Parliament
for scrutiny and on the Government for engagement with the EU
institutions in Brussels.
The House of Lords European Affairs Committee has today, Friday
13 November, published its report Dynamic Alignment: A
fundamental change, ahead of next week's UK-EU Summit on 20
November.
The Committee says that the introduction of dynamic alignment
under the Sanitary and
Phytosanitary (SPS) and Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) Agreements
that are expected to be reached at the summit will fundamentally
alter the UK's post-Brexit relationship with the EU that has
existed until now under the Trade and Cooperation Agreement. It
will be a major undertaking for both the Government and
Parliament, which will both need to engage with potentially large
volumes of EU law that fall within the scope of the agreements.
The Committee states that the volume of EU law that falls within
the European scrutiny system is likely to rise substantially,
that current arrangements in Parliament for the scrutiny of EU
documents will need to be reviewed, and that Parliament must have
the procedures, institutional arrangements and resources that it
needs in order to carry out the appropriate scrutiny.
The Committee calls for the Government to establish a robust,
consistent and adequately resourced cross-departmental system for
identifying, assessing and engaging on planned EU law that will
fall within the scope of the UK's dynamic alignment commitments,
and that this system will need to encompass the UK Mission to the
EU in Brussels and timely engagement with the devolved
governments.
, Chair of the European Affairs
Committee, said:
"Although important details remain to be determined of the
legal and institutional form that dynamic alignment will take,
its introduction will mark a major change to the nature of the
UK-EU relationship as it exists under the Trade and Cooperation
Agreement.
"As the UK aligns with more EU law, Parliament will face
growing pressure to scrutinise significant volumes of EU
legislation. Including technical and implementing matters, our
Committee heard that the SPS Agreement alone might generate at
least 780 pieces of in-scope EU law a year.
"This may sound like a technical issue, but the rules in
question can affect everyday matters, from food standards and
consumer prices to business costs and household budgets. That is
why effective parliamentary scrutiny is essential to ensure such
changes do not pass without proper oversight. The procedures,
institutional arrangements and resources that are needed for this
must be provided, so that Parliament can undertake its scrutiny
thoroughly and transparently."
