My Lords, the sole purpose of the Bill is to enable Ministers to support two draft decisions of the Council of the European Union. The European Union Act 2011 provides that Ministers
may not support certain decisions in the European Council unless they are approved by an Act of Parliament. Neither decision can be adopted by the Council of the European Union without the unanimous support of all member states.
The Bill provides Parliament with the right, given to it by the European Union Act 2011, to consider the proposed use of the Article 352 treaty basis. This article is used in those cases where further action is necessary to achieve one of the objectives set out in the treaties, but where there are no specific provisions to give the EU institutions a specific power to take that action.
The two measures for which approval is sought are proposed Council regulations brought forward under Article 352 of the treaty on the functioning of the European Union. The first draft decision establishes a legal obligation on the European institutions to deposit their paper historical records at the European University Institute in Florence. Previously, European institutions have voluntarily deposited their archives at the European University Institute, and the proposed move to an obligation seeks to provide long-term certainty that the archives will be preserved in accordance with recognised international standards at a single accessible location.
A 1983 Council regulation already obliges the European institutions to preserve and provide access to their historical papers once those records are 30 years old, when they would no longer be in business use. The European Council, Parliament, Commission, Court of Auditors, Economic and Social Committee and Investment Bank currently meet that obligation by depositing their paper archives within the EUI on a contractual basis. The proposed legal obligation reflects these existing arrangements, and will not change the point in time at which the public can access historical records, or the place at which they can be accessed.
Making this practice a legal obligation will help to ensure transparency and scrutiny of the European institutions’ work, and fits alongside the Government’s drive for greater transparency. A measure which allows for greater accountability around EU decision-making is one that the UK should surely welcome.
As the EU moves towards digital record-keeping, the measure also provides that the European institutions should, where possible, make their records available to the public in digital form. In addition, the EUI is to be given permanent access to each institution’s digital archives to fulfil its obligation to make historical records accessible to the public from a single location once they are 30 years old.
The Court of Justice of the European Union and the European Central Bank will be exempt from the obligations under the proposed regulation, but will be able to deposit their records on a voluntary basis. I would like to explain why this is the case. For the Court of Justice, this is because of the volume of records, most of which are case files often containing sensitive personal data, which need to be quickly accessed to support the court’s functions. For the European Central Bank, the exemption is due to the bank’s organisational autonomy and because it’s historical records are subject to a separate 2004 regulation.
This measure will be financed by contributions from the depositing European institutions from their existing budgets, and will have no financial impact on the UK. The Italian Government have made suitable premises permanently and freely available to the European University Institute to ensure that the deposited archives of the European institutions are preserved and protected in accordance with recognised international standards.
The Justice, Institutions and Consumer Protection Sub-Committee of your Lordships’ European Union Committee had the opportunity to consider this measure. Your Lordships sought clarification on the reasoning for allowing the Court of Justice of the European Union and the European Central Bank to deposit their records voluntarily, and on the digital provisions of the proposals, both of which I have just outlined. The committee cleared the measure from scrutiny after the Government provided satisfactory clarification on these points.
The Council has published the final agreed text of this measure and it has received consent from the European Parliament. It is therefore ready for adoption, subject to UK agreement.
The second draft decision provides for the establishment of the Europe for Citizens programme for the period January 2014 to December 2020. This builds on an existing programme of the same name covering 2007-13, but will adopt a simpler and more effective approach. The programme is concerned with improving the way citizens can participate in and contribute to EU matters: first, by strengthening remembrance and common values; and, secondly, by encouraging broader engagement and debate.
Commemoration and participation are the core elements of the programme. Around 20% of the overall budget will provide funding to commemorate both world wars and the victims of totalitarian regimes. It also seeks to raise awareness of the fundamental aim of the European Union to promote peace, values and the well-being of its citizens.
The second and more substantial pillar of the programme, which will receive around 60% of the overall budget, is designed to encourage democratic and civic participation of citizens at European Union level by developing their understanding of the policy-making process in the Brussels institutions and promoting opportunities to empower communities and encourage social action, including volunteering.
At a time when we hear so much about the democratic deficit of the European institutions, and the perception that they are remote from the people they were set up to serve, these are worthwhile and important objectives. Europe for Citizens is a funding programme that will support a range of organisations with a general European interest, with a view to stimulating citizens’ interactions on EU matters, together with organisations that promote debate and activities concerning European values and history.
Like its predecessor, the programme will be implemented through grants based on open calls for proposals and through service contracts based on calls for tender. It will provide for the analysis and dissemination of the results of its activities, supported by regular external and independent evaluation. An interim
evaluation report on the implementation of the programme will be drawn up by the European Commission no later than the end of 2017, and a final evaluation report no later than 2023.
The programme has no new impact on UK domestic policy, and these types of activity have been supported for some time. It reflects the Government’s aim of localising action to encourage communities at grass-roots level. The continuation of the Europe for Citizens programme will ensure that a source of funding at European level will continue to be available to UK civil society organisations, and I would certainly encourage them to submit project proposals so that they may benefit from it.
Looking to the future, I am especially pleased that my officials have obtained confirmation from the European Commission that funding from the Europe for Citizens programme will be eligible to support projects commemorating the centenary of the outbreak of World War I in 2014, with numerous events in both France and the UK being planned for this important anniversary. We anticipate the final version of the text to be adopted in the autumn, once the Commission has confirmed the final budget. It will then be submitted to the European Parliament for consent and subsequently be ready for adoption, pending UK agreement.
The Justice, Institutions and Consumer Protection Sub-Committee of your Lordships’ European Union Committee had the opportunity to consider this measure. The committee considered the measure to play a useful role, and noted its relatively small budget. Following clarification by the Government of the need for a parliamentary debate prior to consent, it subsequently cleared the measure from scrutiny.
It is important that the Europe for Citizens programme is agreed in time for projects to be funded from the time it starts. Our aim is for the Bill to receive Royal Assent before the end of 2013. This would enable the Council regulation to be approved in advance of the period during which it would be active. The Bill extends to the whole of the United Kingdom, and its subject matter does not give rise to any devolution issues. There will be no financial effects or any impact on public service manpower as a result of the Bill. The provisions contained within it do not require an impact assessment. For Europe for Citizens, the EU Commission had originally proposed a budget of €229 million, representing an increase of around 7% on the budget for the existing programme of €215 million. Following the negotiations on the multi-annual financial framework earlier in the spring, it is hoped that that figure will be significantly reduced. This would be a realistic response to the constrained financial conditions which we all have to take into account, but not so severe as to jeopardise the integrity of the programme as a whole.
I confirm that I do not consider that any of the Bill’s provisions engage European Convention Rights and so no issues arise as to the compatibility of the Bill with these rights. It is also the intention is for the Bill to come into force on the day of Royal Assent. For the reasons that I have outlined, I commend this Bill to your Lordships. I beg to move.
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