§ Mr. MitchellTo ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office if he will list each of the new responsibilities which he will 147W assume when the signed Treaty of Amsterdam takes effect and for each (a) the likely effect on departmental staffing, (b) the bodies or persons in the European Union principally concerned and (c) the relevant section of that treaty and the consolidated treaties of the European Union and European Community. [80419]
§ Mr. KilfoyleThe Treaty of Amsterdam is not expected to have an impact on Cabinet Office staffing. The EU Institutions have to take account of the requirements of the "Protocol on Subsidiarity and Proportionality" and the "Declaration on the Quality of Drafting of Community Legislation", which fall under the responsibilities of the Cabinet Office.
It was agreed at the Vienna European Council in December 1998 that the Protocol would come into force immediately, without waiting for the ratification of the Treaty. An Inter-Institutional Agreement putting the Declaration into effect was finalised in December 1998.