EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT : DESIGNATION OF DELEGATES

HL Deb 14 December 1972 vol 337 cc808-9WA

LORD KENNET

asked Her Majesty's Government:

What meaning they attach to the word "shall" in Article 138(2) of the Treaty of Rome, and in Article 10 of the Treaty of Accession.

EARL JELLICOE

These two provisions must be read in the context of paragraph 1 of Article 138 of the E.E.C. Treaty. Their effect is that, while it is the task of the Member States to lay down the procedure for the designation of delegates to the European Parliament, it is for national Parliaments to make the actual designations. But national Parliaments are neither parties to the Treaty, nor the agents of national Governments, and it is difficult to see how the Treaties can impose a direct international obligation upon national Parliaments.