Many people hold strong views about the Europe Union based on different perspectives about its role , but perhaps we don’t think enough, in the round, about the impact of EU membership and current EU rules and laws on the UK as a whole.
Therefore in July 2012 the UK Government launched the so-called “Balance of Competences” Review.
This is a two year project to examine the totality of the UK’s membership of the EU. Not a policy-making exercise, but an evidence gathering and analytical programme of work.
This week saw the publication of the first round of reports, covering areas such as the single market, health, development co-operation and humanitarian aid, foreign policy, animal health and welfare and food safety, and taxation.
Another three rounds of reports will issue before the end of 2014. Taken together, it will be the most extensive analysis of the EU’s relationship with the UK, or indeed any member state, ever undertaken.
Over the last six months the UK Government has been consulting extensively across the UK and with other EU Partners. We have listened to businesses, civil society and a range of organisations.
The first reports, drawing on this evidence, give a detailed picture of the effect of the EU’s competences (ie the powers the EU exercises in relation to member states). The initial reports have highlighted a number of the benefits that EU action brings, while also looking at some of the trade-offs and constraints it imposes. A number of themes are already emerging:
- evidence of the economic value to the UK of being part of the Single Market, and of the UK’s important role within it, although views vary about whether the Single Market necessarily requires the current volume of EU-wide employment and social policy. Such questions will be explored in later reports.
- tension between the case for EU-wide regulation and the scope for national flexibility. Harmonisation ensures consistent standards for British consumers. But the reports identify areas where harmonisation comes with costs, particularly for small businesses, and where giving space for more national flexibility could make sense. How to strike the best balance here will be a theme of our continuing efforts to secure better regulation as part of a more competitive, business-friendly EU for the future.
- areas where collective action can be effective – from tackling public health issues, to co-ordinating overseas aid, to controlling animal diseases. But the reports also highlight areas where Member States need to retain national control –in taxation, for example, or in defence, where each Government has a veto on the launch of EU military missions.
We remain open to contributions from across the EU. Evidence has been published alongside the reports, with the aim of making this process as transparent and inclusive as possible.
There are still twenty-six reports to be written and I encourage you to send in any evidence that might be relevant. The opportunity to contribute to the next round of reports continues until next month. You can read the first batch of reports, as well as access more information on what and how to contribute to future reports here.