HC Deb 13 February 1996 vol 271 c482W
Mr. Steen

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment on which occasions in the last three years officials have vetoed draft EU legislation on the grounds that a fiche d'impact had not been correctly prepared. [13654]

Sir Paul Beresford

Since the implementation of the Maastricht treaty all EC environmental legislation has been adopted under qualified majority voting and a veto cannot apply. The correct preparation of fiches d'impact is a very important part of our consideration of proposals for EC legislation. It is one of the factors taken into account when Ministers consider the UK's negotiating position on a particular proposal.