European Union (Commissioners) Bill

A bill to require a Confirmation Vote or Open election for British Nominees to the European Union Commission.

BE IT ENACTED by The Queen’s most Excellent Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Commons in this present Parliament assembled, in accordance with the provisions of the Parliament Acts 1911 and 1949, and by the authority of the same, as follows:—

Section 1: Definitions

1) For the purposes of this Act the “Commissioner Nominee” is the person or persons whom the Government will nominate to the European Union Commission from the UK.

Section 2: Requirement and Foreign Secretary Choice

1) The United Kingdom EU Commissioner Nominee must have either a Confirmation Vote in the House of Commons, or an Open Election held for the position.

2) When the United Kingdom is required to Nominate a European Union Commissioner, the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs must inform the House of Commons if the government will:

1. Choose to nominate a Commissioner and/or Judge themselves. See Section 3 of this act.

2. Choose to have an open election for the role. See Section 4 of this act.

Section 3: Government Appointment

1) If the Government chooses to appoint nominees themselves, the choices must be voted on by the House of Commons.

1. If more than one commissioner is being nominated at any one time, then each nominee shall have their own vote of confirmation.

2) A vote will be held in the House of Commons, with a majority of MPs voting in favour of the selections in order to be confirmed.

3) The judge appointment and European Commission appointments are separate.

4) If the Confirmation Vote fails, the Government must choose a new nominee.

5) The vote will repeat until the required number of nominees pass the Confirmation vote.

6) Omit nominees that have already been ratified from (5).

Section 4: Open National Election

1) If the Secretary of State chooses to hold an election for the Commission Nominee, the election shall be an open election.

2) The electoral system used for the election shall be determined by how many Commissioners the United Kingdom has to nominate.

1. If there is one Commissioner to nominate, the election shall use AV.

2. If there is two or more Commissioners to nominate, the election shall use STV.

Section 5: Commencement, Short Title and Effect

1) This bill extends to the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

2) This bill comes into force on the day on which this bill is passed.

3) This bill may be cited as the European Union (Commissioners) Act 2016.

This bill is submitted by /u/Demon4372, and sponsored by /u/NicolasBroaddus, it is a Private Members Bill.

The voting period for this bill will end at 10PM BST on the 28th of September.

Vote Aye, No or Abstain. Comments with anything else will be deleted. Comments that are edited will be void and not counted.

If a member is voting by proxy, they must have gained permission from the speaker prior to this vote. If no permission was sought and granted, their vote will not be counted.

For full clarifications on the voting system see this post