Support Our Work Mailing list About / Contact

EU-UK: European Scrutiny Committee of the House of Commons report

01 February 2008

Support our work: become a Friend of Statewatch from as little as £1/€1 per month.

The Conclusions of the European Council and the Council of Ministers (pdf). It says:

"The Conclusions of the European Council have an important influence — sometimes, a decisive one — on the future of the EU and the 500 million people who live in it. Yet there is no written record of what is actually said by the Heads of State and Government.... So national parliaments, the public, the press and everyone else is denied any possibility of checking the accuracy of the Presidency’s Conclusions or understanding how the meeting reached its decisions... this is all the more unacceptable when, as the National Parliament Office’s report says, the drafts have a wide informal circulation in Brussels and are widely reported in the press."

Tony Bunyan, Statewatch editor, comments:

"This report highlights the way that the European Council - the Prime Ministers - meet in secret and set the agenda for the Council of Ministers, the European Commission and the European Parliament. Draft Conclusions, Actions Plans and Programmes are not published in advance for parliaments and civil society to discuss and make their views known.

For example, the Tampere and Hague Programmes which set the agenda for EU Justice and Home Affairs policies from 1999 onwards were discussed and agreed in secret and only made public after they were agreed. The whole process is a travesty of the democratic process."

Our work is only possible with your support.
Become a Friend of Statewatch from as little as £1/€1 per month.

 Previous article

EU: Note of the Standing Committee of experts on international immigration, refugees and criminal law on the proposal for a Council Directive amending Directive 2003/109/EC to extend the scope to beneficiaries of international protection

Next article 

Statewatch launches new SEMDOC website providing comprehensive information about EU Justice and Home Affairs policy (1)

 

Spotted an error? If you've spotted a problem with this page, just click once to let us know.

Report error

Statewatch does not have a corporate view, nor does it seek to create one, the views expressed are those of the author. Statewatch is not responsible for the content of external websites and inclusion of a link does not constitute an endorsement. Registered UK charity number: 1154784. Registered UK company number: 08480724. Registered company name: The Libertarian Research & Education Trust. Registered office: MayDay Rooms, 88 Fleet Street, London EC4Y 1DH. © Statewatch ISSN 1756-851X. Personal usage as private individuals "fair dealing" is allowed. We also welcome links to material on our site. Usage by those working for organisations is allowed only if the organisation holds an appropriate licence from the relevant reprographic rights organisation (eg: Copyright Licensing Agency in the UK) with such usage being subject to the terms and conditions of that licence and to local copyright law.

About | Contact | Privacy Policy