THE Scottish Parliament is being advised to establish formal links with the country's EU representatives as a way of maximising its clout within the European Union.
The scheme is being championed by SNP Euro-MP Allan Macartney and will be submitted this week to the all-party consultative steering group examining the Parliament's possible working methods under the chairmanship of the minister for devolution, Henry McLeish.
Mr Macartney believes there should be a well-defined institutional relationship between the Parliament and the EU which would involve explicit recognition, and an accepted role, for the country's representatives in Europe.
Under his proposal, a special joint committee with about 36 members would be established. Half the number would be members of the Scottish Parliament, while the remaining places would be allocated to Scots heavily involved in EU business.
In addition to Scotland's eight Euro-MPs, the European representation would include the country's four members on the Committee of the Regions (COR) as well as Scottish delegates to the Union's economic and social committee (EcoSoc) and to the
Strasbourg-based Council of Europe.
''The key to this working is that it should not be an informal liaison body, but should have quasi- parliamentary status. The Parliament will appoint the members of the advisory COR and EcoSoc and the Council of Europe, so it makes sense for it to have close links with them,'' Mr Macartney said last night.
He will suggest that the new Scottish-European joint assembly should meet at least twice a year - once in Edinburgh and once in Brussels - although extra sessions could be held if required. It would have the specific power to call ministerial representatives as well as European Commissioners and EU officials to its meetings and to cross-examine them.
Both the Scottish Executive and the Commission would also be able to use the joint assembly's expertise and ask for its advice on European policy issues affecting Scotland.
''Such a format and such procedures are quite familiar to those used to the European Parliament's way of working, although perhaps strange to those accustomed only to the British parliamentary system. But I believe that the manifest need for a European liaison function for the Scottish Parliament could be met by such a mechanism,'' the Scotland North- East MEP said yesterday.
Several precedents already exist. The best known in EU circles regularly brings together an equal number of Euro-MPs and parliamentarians from 70 African, Caribbean and Pacific countries which enjoy especially close and privileged links with the European Union.
Mr Macartney's suggestion is one of many which Mr McLeish's steering group will examine as it considers ways of ensuring that the new Parliament operates in the most accessible, efficient and democratic manner possible.
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