At its meeting on 31 March 2022, the Committee considered how to support the Parliament’s scrutiny of the Scottish Government’s commitment to alignment with EU law. The Committee agreed to ask SPICe to commission research setting out all the significant EU legislative developments which come within the scope of the Scottish Government’s policy commitment to continued EU alignment
SPICe commissioned Dr Lisa Claire Whitten from Queen’s University Belfast to set out a baseline of EU policy and law in devolved areas which are potentially within the scope of the Scottish Government’s commitment to align with EU law.
Alignment with European Union Law Report (931KB, pdf) posted 18 November 2022
After receiving Dr Whitten’s report, the Committee agreed to commission an external body to provide the Parliament with an EU Law tracker based on the model developed by Dr Whitten. The primary purpose of the tracker will be to provide transparency and allow the Parliamentary Committees, stakeholders including business and the public to track relevant developments in EU law. This will allow business and civil society in Scotland to continue to be aware of EU legislative developments which may affect them. The tracker will also assist the Parliament in scrutinising the Scottish Government’s commitment to EU alignment.
Following a procurement exercise, the Parliament has commissioned Dr Whitten to produce an EU law tracker which will see two reports a year delivered to the Constitution, Europe, External Affairs and Culture Committee. These reports will include a number of case studies outlining changes to EU law and will be published and made available to the relevant subject committees. The first report was presented to the Committee and published in September 2023.
EU Law Tracker Report (September 2023) (2MB, pdf) posted 18 September 2023
EU Law Tracker Report (January 2024) (5MB, pdf) posted 08 March 2024
EU Law Tracker Report (September 2024) (5MB, pdf) posted 26 September 2024
Guidance
Guidance to subject committees of the Scottish Parliament on post-EU scrutiny (324KB, pdf) posted 14 November 2023
The Committee completed a call for views on the Scottish Government's Policy to Align with EU Law
This closed on the 4 December 2024
The Committee has sent and received the following correspondence during the inquiry:
Letter from the Convener to the Cabinet Secretary for Constitution, External Affairs and Culture in relation to the Third EU Law Tracker Report, 2 October 2024
Letter from the Cabinet Secretary for Constitution, External Affairs and Culture in relation to the Scottish Parliament's EU Law Tracker, 1 May 2024
Letter from the Convener to the Cabinet Secretary for the Constitution, External Affairs and Culture in relation to the Second EU Law Tracker Report, 14 March 2024
Letter that the Committee was copied into from the Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs, Land Reform and Islands, Mairi Gougeon, 30 October 2023
Letter from the Convener to the Cabinet Secretary for the Constitution, Europe, External Affairs and Culture on the Continuity Act and EU Law Tracker, 14 September 2023