EUROPEAN AND EXTERNAL RELATIONS COMMITTEE Tuesday 13 March 2007 Session 2 £5.00 Parliamentary copyright. Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body 2007. Applications for reproduction should be made in writing to the Licensing Division, Her Majesty’s Stationery Office, St Clements House, 2-16 Colegate, Norwich NR3 1BQ Fax 01603 723000, which is administering the copyright on behalf of the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body. Produced and published in Scotland on behalf of the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body by RR Donnelley. CONTENTS Tuesday 13 March 2007 Col. DECISION ON TAKING BUSINESS IN PRIVATE ............................................................................................ 2439 SCOTTISH EXECUTIVE EUROPEAN UNION PRIORITIES 2007 ........................................................................ 2441 TRANSPOSITION AND IMPLEMENTATION OF EUROPEAN DIRECTIVES INQUIRY ................................................. 2455 FINLAND STUDY TRIP .......................................................................................................................... 2458 SIFT .................................................................................................................................................. 2465 EUROPEAN AND EXTERNAL RELATIONS COMMITTEE 4th Meeting 2007, Session 2 CONVENER *Linda Fabiani (Central Scotland) (SNP) DEPU TY CONVENER *Irene Oldfather (Cunninghame South) (Lab) COMMI TTEE MEMBERS *Dennis Canavan (Falkirk West) (Ind) *Bruce Craw ford (Mid Scotland and Fife) (SNP) *Phil Gallie (South of Scotland) (Con) *Mr Charlie Gordon (Glasgow Cathcart) (Lab) *John Home Robertson (East Lothian) (Lab) *Gordon Jac kson (Glasgow Govan) (Lab) *Mr Jim Wallace (Orkney) (LD) COMMI TTEE SUBSTITU TES Derek Brow nlee (South of Scotland) (Con) Marilyn Livingstone (Kirkcaldy) (Lab) Richard Lochhead (Moray) (SNP) Nora Radcliffe (Gordon) (LD) *attended THE FOLLOWING GAVE EVIDENCE: Mr Tom McCabe (Minister for Finance and Public Service Reform) Lynne Vallance (Scottish Executive Finance and Central Services Department) CLERK TO THE COMMITTE E Jim Johnston ASSISTANT CLERK Emma Berry Alun Dav idson LOC ATION Committee Room 1 2439 13 MARCH 2007 2440 Scottish Parliament progresses. Does Phil Gallie wish to press his point? European and External Relations Phil Gallie: No, I do not. Committee The Convener: Thank you. The committee agrees to take those items in private. Tuesday 13 March 2007 [THE CONVENER opened the meeting at 14:02] Decision on Taking Business in Private The Convener (Linda Fabiani): I welcome everyone to the European and External Relations Committee’s fourth meeting in 2007. Item 1 is to decide whether to take in private items 6 to 9, which are the committee’s draft response to the European Commission’s green paper on a maritime policy, the committee’s draft report on the inquiry into the transposition and implementation of European Union directives in Scotland, our draft legacy paper and our draft annual report. I suggest that we take those items in private as they relate to draft reports. The committee has not had an opportunity to consider them, so it was not appropriate to make the drafts public before the meeting. Do members agree? Phil Gallie (South of Scotland) (Con): I agree to taking in private all the items except the response to the maritime policy. That does not constitute a report; it is a response. I go along with discussing draft reports in private, which has kind of become a tradition, but the response to the maritime policy is well worth discussing in public. If others feel similarly, that is fine; if not, I will let the matter go. The Convener: The document is a draft response that the committee has not yet agreed. Irene Oldfather (Cunninghame South) (Lab): I think that, technically, the document is a committee report. Members may well want to amend it. The Convener: The response contains recommendations. Phil Gallie: Will we discuss the final outcome at another meeting? The Convener: The intention is that this will be our last meeting of the session. Dennis Canavan (Falkirk West) (Ind): Hear, hear. The Convener: Of course, that is entirely up to members, and depends on how the meeting 2441 13 MARCH 2007 2442 Scottish Executive European February this year. As the committee will be aware, we have removed seven issues and added Union Priorities 2007 nine. The majority of the issues that we removed were removed simply because negotiations in Brussels had ended. Specifically, on the working 14:04 time directive, the Germans made it clear that they The Convener: Our second item is to take will not put a great emphasis on that during their evidence from the Scottish Executive on its presidency, so we removed it. That is not to say European Union priorities. I have pleasure in that the issue could not come back to prominence welcoming Tom McCabe MSP, the Minister for at some point in the future. Finance and Public Service Reform, who has I will not go through in detail each of the nine come along to present the Executive’s priorities. issues that have been added to the list, but it is He is supported by Lynne Vallance and David worth stressing that we have introduced dossiers Ferguson from the EU strategy and co-ordination on health, agriculture and financial services. EU unit in the Executive’s Europe division. I thank institutional reform has also been included them for attending. I ask the minister to make an because the Germans have made it clear that, opening statement, and then we will move to during their presidency, they want to progress that questions from members. issue at the European Council in June, at which The Minister for Finance and Public Service we want to ensure that our interests are covered. Reform (Mr Tom McCabe): Thank you, convener, The list of key issues was well received by and good afternoon, everyone. Thank you for the Parliament and our external stakeholders. We opportunity to come along, share our thoughts and have gone slightly further on this occasion than discuss some of the key European issues that we simply identifying the key issues; we decided to try have identified for 2007. to identify what we regard as the main priorities at It has become something of a regular this time. Obviously, those are judged against the occurrence for me to come along and have an priorities of the presidency. We have said that exchange with the committee. climate change, the strategic energy review, structural funds, sea fisheries and the spirit drinks The Convener: Can I interrupt you? I am aware regulation would be of particular im portance to us. that you are facing sunlight, which must be However, that in no way diminishes the difficult. Are you okay? Do you want to move? importance of the other issues in the 24 dossiers. Mr McCabe: I am okay. It is pleasing to see that the committee’s EU The Convener: The end blind is not working, so work programme for 2007 largely complements we cannot close it. the list of dossiers. It is important that a range of voices puts across Scotland’s point on issues that Mr McCabe: It is fine, convener, but thanks could have an impact on life in Scotland and our anyway. interests here. The more that the Executive, the As I said, it has become a bit of a regular Parliament and external stakeholders work occurrence for me, on behalf of the Executive, to together, the more value and weight we will add to come along and discuss the key European issues what we say we believe are our main interests in with the committee. We think that the exchange Europe. has been useful and I hope that the committee, I will say no more at the moment, convener. I will too, has found it useful. It seems to me a good try to answer any questions that members have. If way to continue the necessary dialogue between there are detailed questions about a specific the Executive and the Parliament. portfolio that we cannot answer, I will get the As the committee will know, in the six-month relevant portfolio colleague to write to the review of the key issues Executive officials and committee on the specific point. ministers identify current and forthcoming EU The Convener: Thank you, minister. I will go issues of importance to Scotland. Some issues are first to Dennis Canavan, who told me that he has a removed during the review process and others are specific question. added. Issues can be removed, for example, because we think that, over a period, their Dennis Canavan: Thank you, minister, for your importance to Scotland has been minimised and opening statement. One of the Executive’s key other issues are taking over. Given that the EU is dossiers relates to structural funds, and the a moveable feast, other issues come into play at Executive states in that dossier that times. “all that remains is the submission and negotiation of the The list that members have before them is a individual Operational Programmes w ith the Commission.” result of Cabinet consideration of the issues in 2443 13 MARCH 2007 2444 Can you update us on the Executive’s response drawn the European Union’s attention to those to our committee’s report on the pot ential for issues? tripartite co-operation under the EU’s structural Mr McCabe: An awful lot of scientific funds co-operation objective? I am talking in investigation is going on into the way in which the particular about the potential for tripartite co- ecosystem is changing. There is much focus on operation between Scotland, Northern Ireland and that issue. It makes perfect sense to us to review the Republic of Ireland. the cod recovery plan continually, given the Mr McCabe: I ask Lynne Vallance to give you science behind the assessment of the level of more detail on that. stocks and the great concern about the changes taking place in our ecosystem over a particular Lynne Vallance (Scottish Executive Finance period. We have focused our attention on that to and Central Services Department): I have been try to reassure ourselves that the science on which working on that issue with our structural funds decisions are based is as sound as it can be.