Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs written statement – made at on 13 December 2012.
David Lidington
The Minister for Europe
I am keen to keep Members fully informed of developments in the European Union, their implications for the United Kingdom and our priorities. I would, therefore, like to draw Members’ attention to a paper on the priorities of the Irish presidency of the Council of the European Union, which has been placed in the library of the House. I have also deposited a copy of the calendar of ministerial meetings for the duration of their presidency.
Also known as the Council of Ministers. The Council of the European Union forms, along with the European Parliament, the legislative arm of the European Union, and is made up of ministers of the governments of each of the elected states. Not to be confused with the Council of Europe, a completely unrelated internaional organisation, or the European Council, which is a separate but closely related organisation comprised of the heads of state or government of the member states in the European Union.
This phrase is often used in written answers to indicate that a minister has deposited some relevant information in the House of Commons Library. Typical content includes research reports, letters, and tables of data not published elsewhere.
A list of such depositions can be found at http://deposits.parliament.uk/ along with some of the documents. The Library is not open to the public, but copies of documents can be requested if they are not on that website. For more information, see the House of Commons factsheet: http://www.parliament.uk/documents/upload/P15.pdf
