§ Mr. MitchellTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what are the terms of reference of the Political Committee of the European Council established under Article 25 of the Treaty on European Union; what is its membership; what opinions from it(a) have been requested by the European Council and (b) have been produced under its own initiative; and where each has been published. [128849]
§ Mr. VazThe Political Committee monitors the international situation in the areas covered by the common foreign and security policy and contributes to the definition of policies by delivering opinions to the Council at the request of the Council or on its own initiative. It also monitors the implementation of agreed policies. It consists of representatives of member states (usually the Political Director of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs) and of the Commission.
The Political Committee submits advice to the Council on all areas covered by the common foreign and security policy. It does not submit advice to the European Council.
Decisions taken by the Council on the basis of advice submitted by the Political Committee are published in the Official Journal of the European Communities.