National Parliaments (EUC Report)

Lord Jay of Ewelme Excerpts

Monday 15th December 2014 Lords Chamber

[Lord Jay of Ewelme (CB)]

My Lords, my first point, which others have made before me this evening, is that the role of national parliaments and the role of the European Parliament do not constitute a zero-sum game. An increase in the powers of one does not imply a decrease in the powers of the other. The EU is a highly complex set of institutions, with shifting relations between them. The European Parliament has a key role, as is evidenced by the amount of time and money that lobbyists—including lobbyists in this country—spend seeking to influence it. On some issues, such as the environment, NGOs see it as a powerful force for good. Perhaps I may say in parentheses that I was delighted to hear on the “Today” programme this morning a representative of the RSPB—of which I am delighted to be a member, along with more than 1 million of my countrymen—paying tribute to the wild birds directive for helping the great bittern to boom and flourish in the wetlands of our country.

Yet, despite the booming bittern, there is no doubt that for many—indeed, I suspect, for most—citizens of the EU, national parliaments are seen, and in my view will continue to be seen, as the fundamental guarantor of the democratic process, despite the shifting views of our national parliaments, as described by the noble Lord, Lord Inglewood. I think I am right in saying that in every single European Union country, national elections count for more than European elections. Given the recent quite dramatic growth through much of the EU in disenchantment with the EU and its institutions, as shown in the last European Parliament elections, it is of very great importance for the continued democratic legitimacy of the EU as a whole that the role of national parliaments should be clear, should be well understood and should be increased.

It follows that the British Government are surely absolutely right to emphasise the need to increase the role of national parliaments as part of the reforms they would like to see to the EU and its institutions. As others before me tonight have said, there is much that can be done in that regard without treaty change.

Equally, the Government’s hand will be greatly strengthened in their negotiations with other member states if they are seen by their EU colleagues to be taking their own EU scrutiny responsibilities seriously. Of course, very often they do—but, to take just one example and to follow the noble Lord, Lord Boswell, the Home Office’s rather cavalier approach to its scrutiny obligations in respect of police and judicial co-operation seems not only to be wrong in itself but to prejudice the Government’s broader objective of winning their partners’ support for a stronger role for national parliaments within the EU structures. I look forward to the Minister’s assurance that this was only an aberration.

That does not mean that there is no scope for streamlining the scrutiny process, for example over the depositing of documents. This should be reviewed jointly by both Houses and by the Government—but, in the mean time, it is hugely important that the Government take their own scrutiny obligation seriously.

I agree with one point that was stressed by the Government: the need for a more systematic approach to scrutiny during the recess. EU business, particularly the foreign affairs issues considered by Sub-Committee C, does not stop between August and October, and should still be subject to parliamentary scrutiny. Some way needs to be found to ensure that this happens, perhaps by means of an ad-hoc committee drawn from the Select Committee itself and the different EU sub-committees, which could meet from time to time during the recess.

I will make only two other points, one of which is procedural and the other substantive. The procedural point is to endorse the idea that the National Parliament Office in Brussels should be strengthened. I very much agree with the noble Lord, Lord Maclennan, on that, and I echo his point that it is in no way at all a reflection on the quality of the present incumbent. The point is simply that if the role of national parliaments among the Brussels institutions is to be strengthened, we do need to find some way to have a stronger link between national parliaments and the institutions in Brussels and Strasbourg. I very much hope that that can be pursued.

Finally, I strongly support the strengthening of the reasoned opinion procedure, in particular the extension of the scope of the procedure to include proportionality. There is a need to ensure that the Commission takes seriously its duty to review a proposal when a yellow card is issued—again, as was said by the noble Lord, Lord Boswell. This should not be seen as giving way in an institutional battle between the Commission and national parliaments, to the detriment in some way of the European Parliament. It should surely be seen as a way of assuring national parliaments—and, through them, those who vote for them—that the concerns of citizens really are being taken into account and listened to, thereby strengthening the democratic legitimacy of the EU as a whole. That is surely what we all agree is needed.