| CHAPTER 5 |
| RELATIONS WITH THE EUROPEAN UNION |
5.1 Relations with Europe are the responsibility of the United Kingdom Parliament and Government. But the Scottish Parliament and Executive will have an important role in those aspects of European Union business which affect devolved areas. This Chapter sets out arrangements to give effect to that role.
5.2 The Government are already demonstrating that the UK can pursue a more active and constructive approach to the European Union. We are also taking steps to ensure that the role of The Scottish Office, as part of the UK Government, is fully realised. UK Departments necessarily have the lead role in EU matters. Within this context, the Government are promoting full involvement of Scottish Office Ministers in EU Councils. This builds on their membership of relevant Cabinet and Cabinet Committees and the full involvement of Scottish Office officials in discussions with their Whitehall colleagues, and with the UK Permanent Representation (UKREP), the European Commission and others when EU matters relevant to Scotland are being considered. The setting up of a Scottish Parliament provides new opportunities for Scotland to make its important contribution to the UK’s enhanced role.
5.3 The people of Scotland will continue to benefit from the influence which the UK has as a major member state within the European Union. By drawing on the contribution of the Scottish Executive, the UK will share an advantage already enjoyed by other member states with a tier of regional government. The existence of clear and distinctive domestic voices from regional government is already a source of strength for other member states. The Government will learn from best practice in those member states with strong regional government and adapt it to the needs of Scotland and the UK.
Policy formation and negotiation
5.4 EU policies and legislation will have a considerable effect on many of the matters for which the Scottish Parliament will be responsible. The UK Government wishes to involve the Scottish Executive as directly and as fully as possible in the Government’s decision making on EU matters. It is part of the Government’s intention that Scottish Executive Ministers and officials should be fully involved in discussions within the UK Government about the formulation of the UK’s policy position on all issues which touch on devolved matters. This will require, of course, mutual respect for the confidentiality of those discussions and adherence to the resultant UK line, without which it would be impossible to maintain such close working relationships.
5.5 Our proposals are designed to give the Scottish Parliament and Scottish Executive the opportunity to work constructively for the common interests of Scotland and the UK. The success of such a close working relationship, and the ability to sustain it, will depend upon the way in which the Scottish Parliament and Executive respond to that opportunity.
5.6 The Government also propose that Ministers and officials of the Scottish Executive should have a role to play in relevant Council meetings and other negotiations with our EU partners. Policy does not remain static in negotiations; and continuing involvement is a necessary extension of involvement in formulating the UK’s initial policy positions. The role of Scottish Ministers and officials will be to support and advance the single UK negotiating line which they have played a part in developing. The emphasis in negotiations has to be on working as a UK team; and the UK lead Minister will retain overall responsibility for the negotiations and determine how best each member of the team can contribute to securing the agreed policy position, so that, in appropriate cases, Scottish Executive Ministers could speak for the UK in Councils. They would do so with the full weight of the UK’s status as a large member state behind them, because the policy positions advanced will have been agreed among the UK interests.
Scrutiny and implementation of EU legislation
5.7 The Scottish Parliament will be able to scrutinise EU legislative proposals to ensure that Scotland’s interests are properly reflected. The UK Government will take into account the views of the Scottish Parliament and the UK Parliament may also wish to do so in its scrutiny processes. This requires, of course, that the Scottish Parliament’s views are available early enough to enable this to happen. The Scottish Parliament and Executive will be able to determine how best to organise the scrutiny process to make it as effective as possible.
5.8 The Scottish Executive will have an obligation to ensure the implementation in Scotland of EU obligations which concern devolved matters. This will include the option of agreeing to GB or UK legislation, if it judges it appropriate. It is implicit in the sovereignty of the UK Parliament that it will continue to have the ability to legislate to give effect to EU obligations in Scotland. The Scottish Executive will be directly accountable through the Scottish courts to anyone affected by shortcomings in its implementation or enforcement of EU obligations. Where EU obligations are to be implemented separately for Scotland, there will be arrangements with the UK Government to ensure that differences of approach are compatible with the need for consistency of effect; and to avoid the risk of financial penalties falling on the UK for any failure of implementation or enforcement. If any such financial penalties were imposed on the UK, or penalties arose from infraction proceedings, responsibility for meeting them would have to be borne by the Scottish Executive if it were responsible for the failure; and the same principle would apply to the other parts of the UK.
Links with European institutions
5.9 Influence within the EU begins well before the process of formal negotiations between member states; and operates through many more channels than the formal Community, and inter-governmental processes. Scotland will be able to play its part in the less formal discussions with the institutions of the EU and interests within other member states. Scotland is already represented by its MEPs and its members of the Committee of the Regions and the Economic and Social Committee. The Scottish Executive will be responsible for making proposals to the Scottish Parliament on nominations to Scotland’s established share of representation within the Committee of the Regions and the Economic and Social Committee; and it will be consulted by the UK Government on appointments to other European Institutions, where appropriate.
5.10 It is the norm for regional governments within the EU to have representative offices in Brussels. The Scottish Executive may well consider that such an office would assist Scotland’s direct relationships with regional governments and with institutions in Brussels. It would complement rather than cut across the work of UKREP, which will remain responsible for representing the views of the United Kingdom to the European Institutions; and provide an effective channel of communication with the Scottish Executive. This would be a separate role from that which Scotland Europa currently fulfils for its broad membership of private and public sector bodies, from Scotland and elsewhere.
5.11 UKREP plays a vital role in representing The Scottish Office’s interests, along with those of the rest of the UK. Scottish Office staff have been seconded regularly to UKREP and that will continue to be the case for staff of the Scottish Executive. The secondment of civil servants and others from Scotland to serve in the Institutions of the European Community will also continue.
5.12 The guiding principle which the UK Government sets out to establish in the relationship with the Scottish Executive on EU matters is that there should be the closest possible working relationships and involvement. Provided the Scottish Executive is willing to work in that spirit of collaboration and trust, there will be an integrated process which builds upon the benefits of the current role of The Scottish Office within government. Taken together these arrangements will allow Scotland, within the UK, to develop its role in the European Union.