Inquiry launched into European Directives

CEU008/2005 | 25 November 2005

The enforcement of European Directives affecting Scottish interests is to be investigated by a member of the Scottish Parliament’s European and External Relations Committee.

Jim Wallace MSP will lead on whether European Directives have been appropriately transposed and implemented in Scotland based on scrutiny of a set of specific examples. In particular, he will report to the committee on whether they appear to be transposed or implemented more strictly than their terms require or compared to England and Wales or other parts of the EU.

The details of the inquiry into the ‘Transposition and Implementation of European Directives in Scotland’ were agreed at the Committee’s meeting on Wednesday.

Committee reporter Jim Wallace said:

“I am keen to use this inquiry to establish the effect the implementation of these directives is having on Scottish businesses, suppliers and individuals across a range of sectors. I am particularly keen to see if these directives are being enforced too strictly and to the detriment of Scottish interests.

“Over burdening Scottish businesses through guidance and laws coming from Europe cannot be healthy for our prosperity. There is a strong perception that this is what is happening. As MSPs, it is imperative we investigate the facts so that we can act to ensure that the best interests of our businesses are represented.”

The inquiry will establish if there are aspects of the EU obligations that put business in Scotland at a comparative disadvantage.

Focussing mainly on the areas of agriculture, fishing, food safety and the environment, the inquiry will target specific examples such as regulations on waste disposal by incineration under the Waste Incineration Directive (2000/76EC), air quality regulations, fishing and food safety regulations.

Interested parties are invited to feed back to the Committee on the inquiry and more details on this can be found at: http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/business/committees/europe/inquiries/tied/eur-tied-home.htm

Remit of the Inquiry

The full remit of the inquiry is available on the Parliament's website along with background information on the Committee's current external relations activities and initiatives.

The contact for members of the media is:

Sally Coyne: 0131 348 6265
E-mail: sally.coyne@scottish.parliament.uk

European and External Relations Committee contact information

For public information enquiries, contact: 0131 348 5000 or 0845 278 1999 (local call rate)
Text phone: 0131 348 3415 RNID Typetalk calls welcome
email: sp.info@scottish.parliament.uk

Visit our website at: www.scottish.parliament.uk