Committee
European and External Relations Committee 03 March 2016
03 Mar 2016 · S4 · European and External Relations Committee
Item of business
Presidency of the Council of the European Union (Priorities)
I ask everyone who comes to our committee these kinds of questions. At the end of your presidency, what can we expect to see that will be different and will have been improved by the agenda of connecting with ordinary people that you have as a priority? What can we expect to see that has not been done so far?
In the same item of business
The Convener
SNP
Item 2 is our first evidence session, which is on the Netherlands presidency of the European Union. What an exciting time this is to be in the presidency, sir.
Simon Smits (Ambassador of the Kingdom of the Netherlands to the United Kingdom)
You can say that again.
The Convener
SNP
I welcome both our witnesses: Simon J H Smits, the ambassador extraordinary and plenipotentiary of the Kingdom of the Netherlands to the Court of St James—th...
Simon Smits
Wonderful—thank you for having me. I will set out some of our principles and ideas for the coming months, and I will be most happy to take your questions. A...
The Convener
SNP
Thank you. We will go to questions.
Willie Coffey (Kilmarnock and Irvine Valley) (SNP)
SNP
Good morning, Ambassador Smits. Your presentation described one of your key priorities as connecting and reconnecting with ordinary people in the European Un...
Simon Smits
I will be glad to. By the way, we are only one third of the way through the presidency, not halfway—I wish that we were halfway. To be serious, this is also...
Willie Coffey
SNP
You mentioned the new digital age that we are in. Social media can play a big part in reaching out to and communicating with ordinary people throughout the U...
Simon Smits
Social media play a critical role in getting information across and creating a dialogue, although I am not saying that the spread is always 100 per cent. The...
Willie Coffey
SNP
I ask everyone who comes to our committee these kinds of questions. At the end of your presidency, what can we expect to see that will be different and will ...
Simon Smits
It is difficult to predict anything, but I can tell you what my hopes are and what my Government’s input is. We will see better regulation. That means that, ...
Jamie McGrigor (Highlands and Islands) (Con)
Con
Your excellency, how did the Netherlands presidency contribute to the agreement of the reform package that has been negotiated ahead of the UK referendum? Ma...
Simon Smits
You may have my personal view, but I think that it is more important to have my Government’s view, because I am only the messenger. The negotiations on the ...
Jamie McGrigor
Con
Will the changes for competitiveness help the small to medium-sized enterprises that you spoke of?
Simon Smits
Yes. I gave the example of there being fewer reporting requirements. To go back to what I said about issues that relate to better regulation, there is a lot ...
Jamie McGrigor
Con
That is very true. Convener, do I have time for another question?
The Convener
SNP
Yes.
Jamie McGrigor
Con
One of the presidency’s key priorities is to promote sustainable growth, innovation and jobs, which goes back to elements of the Europe 2020 strategy. How is...
Simon Smits
We recently organised a competitiveness council meeting under the leadership of the Netherlands minister for economic affairs. Growth, jobs, the digital age ...
Anne McTaggart (Glasgow) (Lab)
Lab
Good morning, panel. Your excellency, I will take you back to the refugee crisis, which you mentioned in your opening statement. The competence for addressi...
Simon Smits
As I said, that is the subject that is closest to the hearts and minds of the Dutch Government at present, as we see what is happening at the borders. A num...
Anne McTaggart
Lab
Just to home in on your point about tackling the root causes, what kind of work has been done so far? What work is projected to come your way to make the sit...
Simon Smits
It is very difficult from my perspective to say exactly what has been done. I know that my Government—the foreign minister and the Prime Minister—are extreme...
Adam Ingram (Carrick, Cumnock and Doon Valley) (SNP)
SNP
I want to follow up on the refugee crisis. You are obviously trying to act to ensure a unified response to the crisis from European member states, but we see...
Simon Smits
Your question relates exactly to the point that I made earlier. The only way to tackle the crisis is by working together. As our Prime Minister said the day ...
Adam Ingram
SNP
Have you made any progress in trying to broker an agreement between those countries that are particularly affected by the migrant crisis? People are travelli...
Simon Smits
I will give you a concrete example. Next week, we will hold a special European Council meeting with the Turkish Prime Minister, Mr Davutoglu, which was previ...
Adam Ingram
SNP
It is clear that there are different approaches in different countries. For example, the UK does not wish to take any of the influx of people who have come i...
Simon Smits
All solutions are possible, but let us not forget that there are already agreements in place—including with Turkey and the surrounding countries—that need to...
The Convener
SNP
Your excellency, you mentioned next week’s special European Council meeting with Turkey, which is very welcome. I know that Turkey has a dual role. It has a ...