In its latest report, the European Scrutiny Committee
considers recent draft EU legislation and policy documents
deposited in Parliament by the Government.
Each document is accompanied by an Explanatory Memorandum
from the relevant Minister. The Committee examines the legal and
political importance of the document and where appropriate asks
further questions of the Government about its implications. The
Committee also has the power to recommend documents for
debate.
In its latest report, published
today, the Committee highlights the importance of several
documents, and how it intends to follow up with Government. These
include:
DCMS – Continuity of trade agreements: South
Korea
Important because:
-
It concerns the ‘rollover’ of the EU’s Free Trade
Agreement (FTA) with South Korea so that its terms are
replicated in a UK-South Korea FTA that will apply after the
end of the transition period
-
It raises questions about the nature and degree of
regulatory alignment f that these rollover
agreements may entail for the UK
The Committee has written to the Minister, Caroline Dineage
MP, asking whether the way in which the UK has replicated the
EU-Korea FTA, and other EU FTAs, entails any regulatory alignment
with the EU after the end of the transition period.
HMT – EU budget for 2018: Court of Auditors
Report
Important because:
-
It highlights an overall error rate in the EU’s 2018
budgetary spending affecting 2.6%, or €4.3
billion, of expenditure; highlighting the European Development
Fund as being “materially affected by error”
-
It shows the need for continued parliamentary scrutiny of
EU spending for the foreseeable future, given
that the Withdrawal Agreement includes a requirement for
continued UK payments towards spending commitments made before
the end of the transition period
Given their implications for future UK budgets, the
Committee has reported the documents to the House of
Commons.
The Committee’s full report is
available online.
