To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment he has made of the effect of the outcome of the Government's Balance of Competences Review on his Department's policy on EU reforms.
Answered on
4 March 2015
The review of the Balance of Competences provides the most extensive analysis of the impact of EU membership ever undertaken by the UK or any Member State. Across the entire review, the reports draw on nearly 2,300 pieces of evidence. The reports provide a wealth of evidence that supports the government’s aim to reform the EU to make it more open, competitive, flexible and democratically accountable, with fair treatment of countries inside and outside the eurozone for the benefit of everyone in Europe. This includes the need for a broader and deeper Single Market, greater competitiveness and flexibility, better (and less) regulation and more transparent and accountable institutions and processes.