Brexit-related highlights from this week's report

13 February 2018

European Scrutiny Committee draws attention to exchanging personal data with third countries and anti-microbial resistance in its latest report.

1. Europol: Exchanging personal data with third countries (some of which have human rights concerns)

Clarification is needed on how Europol intends to manage an agreement allowing the exchange of personal data with countries about whom the UK has human rights concerns.

The Commission is seeking a mandate from the Council to negotiate agreements enabling Europol to exchange personal data with the law enforcement authorities of eight countries - Jordan, Turkey, Lebanon, Israel, Tunisia, Morocco, Egypt and Algeria. Two of these countries - Israel and Egypt - are considered by the Government to be "human rights priority countries" and it has concerns about respect for human rights and the rule of law in some of the others.

The Committee ask what additional assurances the Government would like to see, whether the proposed negotiating directives should be amended to include specific safeguards and whether their terms should be the same for each country, or tailored to address specific human rights concerns in each one. We also request further information on legal base for the proposals and the UK's Title V (justice and home affairs) opt-in.

2. Anti-microbial resistance

The Committee is calling for additional efforts to be detailed in maintaining, post-Brexit, the existing levels for animal and public health protection in terms of anti-microbial resistance. The Committee asks for further information, once agreement on transition has been concluded, on the development of plans to mitigate possible risks such as being outside relevant networks and in a position where it cannot influence the review of relevant legislation to which the UK may wish to be aligned as part of any trade agreement.

Further information

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