Committee reports on EU Climate Policy, Fisheries Discards and Northern Ireland Protocol

26 Jan 2021 08:45 PM

In its latest report, the European Scrutiny Committee (ESC) considers recent approved and draft EU legislation and policy documents deposited in Parliament by the Government.

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In most cases, each document is accompanied by an Explanatory Memorandum from the relevant Minister. The Committee examines the legal and political significance of the documents 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 yesterday, the Committee highlights the importance of several documents, and how it intends to follow up with the Government. The documents are, in summary:

BEIS – EU Climate Policy

Important because:

The Minister for Climate Change and Corporate Responsibility, Lord Callanan, welcomed the EU’s proposed new emissions reduction target by 2030 and said that, as the incoming President of COP26, the UK was calling on all countries to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Now that the TCA has been agreed, the Committee will invite the Minister to update his analysis on the implications of the EU’s climate policy for the UK.

DEFRA – Fisheries discards

Important because:

The Committee has therefore written to Victoria Prentis MP requesting an update on her position. She was asked how UK exemptions to the discard ban now differ from those of the EU (and where the UK has made the same changes as the EU). She was also asked how the Specialised Committee on Fisheries would work and, given that the Specialised Committee is able to take binding decisions which would then need to be incorporated into UK legislation, what the Government’s intentions were for parliamentary scrutiny of the Specialised Committee’s work.

DEFRA – Northern Ireland Protocol: Batteries Regulation and Electric Vehicles

Important because:

The Committee has written to the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Rebecca Pow MP, emphasising the need for the Government to engage closely with the draft Regulation. It has asked for an analysis of the implications for the UK, particularly Northern Ireland. The Committee has also asked to what extent there is a risk that the proposed Regulation may encourage investment in the battery market in the EU rather than in the UK, and if so, what new rules may be required in the UK to encourage investment in the UK in this sector.

EU financial support for regions and sectors affected by the UK’s withdrawal (The ‘Brexit Adjustment Reserve’)

Important because:

The Chief Secretary to the Treasury, Steve Barclay MP, is due to submit an Explanatory Memorandum on the ‘Reserve’ in the coming weeks. The Committee may re-examine the relevance of the proposed EU scheme for the UK in the light of this Memorandum.

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