EU law and treaties
This page highlights some of the current parliamentary material available on European Union law and treaties. This includes select committee reports, briefing papers on current legislation and other subjects produced by the parliamentary research services, and the latest Early Day Motions put down by MPs.
Standard Notes
| Date | Description |
|---|---|
| 26.02.2013 | European Union (Approvals) Bill [HL] 2012-13: Committee Stage Report |
| The European Union (Approvals) Bill [HL] 2012-13 seeks to approve three EU draft decisions before the UK Government can approve their adoption in the EU Council. | |
| 15.02.2013 | EU Bibliographies: Proposed reform of the Common Agricultural Policy |
| This Note brings together documents relevant to the proposals to reform the Common Agricultural Policy and its scrutiny in the UK and EU. It is not an attempt to define policy in this area. For information on policy developments contact Emma Downing on extn 6787 | |
| 08.02.2013 | EU bibliographies: Proposed reform of the Common Fisheries Policy |
| This Note brings together documents relevant to the proposals to reform the Common Fisheries Policy and its scrutiny in the UK and EU. It is not an attempt to define policy in this area. For information on policy developments contact Oliver Bennett on extn 2263. | |
| 14.01.2013 | Norway's relationship with the EU |
| Norway is not part of the EU, and although it has adopted large amounts of EU legislation, it has little influence. | |
| 11.12.2012 | Recent EU Treaty Amendments and UK Ratification |
| This Note outlines the three Treaty amendments that have been adopted under amended Article 48 TEU since the Lisbon Treaty came into force and how these amendments have been ratified in the UK. |
Research Papers
| Date | Description |
|---|---|
| 31.01.2013 | European Union (Approvals) Bill |
| The European Union (Approvals) Bill (HC Bill 121) aims to approve two draft EU Council decisions and one draft decision of the European Council (the EU Heads of State and Government). | |
| 01.11.2012 | European Union (Croatian Accession and Irish Protocol) Bill [Bill 76 of 2012-13] |
| Croatia is expected to join the EU in July 2013. This Bill would allow the UK to ratify Croatia's accession treaty and would also cover the Protocol to the Lisbon Treaty put forward by the Irish Government. | |
| 30.08.2012 | European Union (Approval of Treaty Amendment Decision) Bill |
| This Bill enables the UK to ratify an amendment to Article 136 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union | |
| 27.03.2012 | The Treaty on Stability, Coordination and Governance in the Economic and Monetary Union: political issues |
| This paper looks at the background to the TSCG, the reasons for the UK's non-participation and some of the issues it raises, such as its effectiveness, its relationship with the EU Treaties and EU law, the use of the EU institutions in a non-EU treaty, and whether it could give rise to a 'two-speed' Europe and further UK isolation in the EU. | |
| 13.10.2010 | How much legislation comes from Europe? |
| This paper explores various approaches to the question of how much national law is based on or influenced by EU law. |
Select Committee Reports
| Date | Description |
|---|---|
| 13.07.2011 | Reasoned opinions on subsidiarity under the Lisbon Treaty. |
| Procedure Select Committee report [Commons] | |
| 08.03.2011 | Amending Article 136 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union. |
| European Union Select Committee (HL) report [Lords] | |
| 01.02.2011 | Implementing the Stockholm Programme: home affairs. |
| European Union Select Committee (HL) report [Lords] | |
| 11.01.2011 | EU Strategy for economic growth and the UK National Reform Programme. |
| European Union Select Committee (HL) report [Lords] | |
| 10.01.2011 | The EU Bill and Parliamentary sovereignty. |
| Government response. European Scrutiny Committee; Foreign and Commonwealth Office report [Commons] |
Early Day Motions
| Date | Description |
|---|---|
| 02.03.2011 | REFERENDUM ON EU MEMBERSHIP |
| That this House calls on the Government to give the British people a referendum on UK membership of the EU. | |
| 25.10.2010 | CHANGES TO THE LISBON TREATY |
| That this House notes the proposals floated by Germany and France to re-open the Lisbon Treaty in order to force Member States that find themselves in a severe financial crisis, as ... | |
| 24.06.2010 | NUTRITION AND THE HEALTH CLAIMS REGULATION |
| That this House notes that the UK natural health products industry currently faces a grave threat both to its businesses and consumer choices from the unforeseen impact of implementation ... | |
| 23.03.2010 | DEPOSITING OF PAPERS WITH THE EUROPEAN SCRUTINY COMMITTEE |
| That this House is concerned at the delay by the Government in depositing relevant papers with the European Scrutiny Committee; believes that following the entry into force of the Lisbon ... | |
| 18.01.2010 | EUROPEAN PUBLIC PROSECUTOR |
| That this House notes with concern that Article 69E, Judicial Co-operation in Criminal Matters, of the Treaty of Lisbon provides for the creation of a European Public Prosecutor's Office ... |
Lords Library Notes
| Date | Description |
|---|---|
| 25.01.2013 | Debate on 31 January: Prime Minister's Speech on Europe |
| This Library Note provides a short history of Prime Ministerial speeches on Europe since 1970; outlines Government policy towards Europe since 2010; summarises David Cameron's speech and selected reaction to it; and considers some aspects of the proposed renegotiation and referendum. It concludes with information about trends in public opinion towards Britain's membership of the EU. | |
| 12.12.2012 | Debate on 17 December: European Union (Croatian Accession and Irish Protocol) Bill (HL Bill 59) and European Union (Approvals) Bill [HL] (HL Bill 57) |
| This Library Note provides background information in advance of the second readings in the House of Lords of the European Union (Croatian Accession and Irish Protocol) Bill and the European Union (Approvals) Bill. | |
| 16.05.2012 | European Union (Approval of Treaty Amendment Decision) Bill (HL Bill 3 of 2012-13) |
| This Library Note provides background reading in advance of the second reading in the House of Lords of the European Union (Approval of Treaty Amendment Decision) Bill [HL] on 23 May 2012. | |
| 10.02.2012 | Debate on 16 February: Recent Developments in the European Union |
| This Library Note considers reaction to recent developments in the EU, ahead of the debate in the House of Lords on 16 February 2012. | |
| 09.02.2012 | The European Union Today |
| This Library Note provides a broad outline of the history and development of the European Union; and presents statistics comparing the EU to the US, Japan, China and Russia. |
POST Papers
| Date | Description |
|---|---|
| 15.05.2012 | Bioenergy |
| Bioenergy is the use of renewable natural material for power, heat and liquid fuels. Currently, the UK sources approximately 3% of its primary energy from bioenergy feedstocks. This POSTnote considers the opportunities and challenges of producing bioenergy sustainably to meet greenhouse gas reduction targets. | |
| 01.07.2009 | Environmental noise, July 2009 |
| This POSTnote examines the effects of noise, the EU Environmental Noise Directive (END) and practical measures for noise management. | |
| 01.06.2009 | Crop protection, June 2009 |
| The pesticide approvals process in Europe is changing. This POSTnote explores the potential implications for UK agriculture and horticulture and examines other crop protection strategies available that complement or compensate for pesticides. |
