All-Party Parliamentary Group for European Reform

The All-Party Parliamentary Group for European Reform (APPGER) was established in 2011. Its function was to:

'explore each area where EU legislation impacts on the UK and assess whether this is better dealt with at the national or European level. To work with MEPs, interest groups and other experts to explore what a new UK-EU relationship could look like and what needs to be done to get there.'

The group was however dissolved following the general election of 2015.

Activites

During 2011 and 2012 the APPG held inquiries into Trade, Regional Development Policy, Agriculture, Fisheries, the EU Budget and Institutions, Social and Employment Law, Financial Services, Environment and Energy Policy, Policing and Criminal Justice, Immigration, and Defence.  

People

Officers as of March 2015

• Co-chair: Julian Smith - Conservative Party
• Co-chair: Thomas Docherty - Labour
• Vice-chairs: Frank Field - Labour | Gisela Stuart - Labour | Baroness Emma Nicholson of Winterbourne - Liberal Democrats | Chris Heaton-Harris - Conservative Party | John Hemming - Liberal Democrats | Mark Garnier - Conservative Party | Margot James - Conservative Party | Karen Lumley - Conservative Party | Anne Marie Morris - Conservative Party | Tim Loughton - Conservative Party

Members, March 2015

Conservative Party - Daniel Byles | David Ruffley

Labour - George Mudie | Kelvin Hopkins | Natascha Engel

SNP - Stewart Hosie | Angus MacNeil

DUP - Nigel Dodds | Ian Paisley Junior

Secretariat

Open Europe acted as the APPGER's secretariat, helping the parliamentary officers organise events and day-to-day administration.

Conservative MP Andrea Leadsom, who subsequently became a treasury minister in 2014 was a co-founder of this group along with another Conservative MP George Eustice (now a Defra minister).