Voorstel over oplossing zetelkwestie tot 2014 lijkt het te halen (en)

Members of the committee on Constitutional Affairs held on Tuesday a debate on the proposal for the new distribution of seats in the European Parliament. A majority of Members speaking in the debate supported the seats allocation proposed and the methodology set out by the two rapporteurs.

Alain Lamassoure (EPP-ED, FR), one of the two co-rapporteurs, explained that the proposal sought to avoid any reduction in terms of seats for any country, compared to the provisions of the Nice treaty. This would facilitate, according to the rapporteur, the necessary agreement in the Council. The purpose of the current proposal, therefore, is to distribute the 16 seats made available by the European Council in its mandate on the treaties reform, settled last June.

Adrian Severin (PES, RO), the other co-rapporteur, said: "This is not a contest between countries; it is a win-win situation as long as the distribution follows the best representation criteria possible". He explained that it seems not to be possible to agree on a unequivocal mathematical formula, when deciding the number of Members for each EU country. He acknowledged: "some proposals are rather imperfect, but to adjust them, one should reduce the current share of seats" for some Member States.

The rapporteurs explained that their aim is to correct, as much as is feasible, the unfair representation of some Member States. In fact, they said, some countries are underrepresented when taking into full account the size of their population. Examples given were Spain and France. Further corrections, they said, may be achieved when dealing with the next enlargement.

Finally, both rapporteurs proposed to include in the EP proposal a revision clause to find a more stable solution for future distributions adopted after 2014.

Majority of speakers in favour of the proposal

Most of MEPs who joined the debate expressed their support for the rapporteurs' proposal. The proposed method was welcomed as logical and in everybody's interest. According to the majority of those speaking, it would also help the Council to find a consensus.

Nevertheless, some Members spoke against the proposed allocation of seats. Particularly, some MEPs argued that the proposal was not fair to smaller countries.

According to the mandate for the proposed reform treaty, the new composition of the EP will be set by a unanimous decision of the European Council, on the basis of a proposal from Parliament and with its consent.

The report is due to be put to the vote in the committee on 2 October, then debated and voted in plenary at the Brussels session of 10 and 11 October.

For more information on the proposed distribution of seats in the European Parliament and the legal context for this debate, please consult the background note available via the link below.

Proposal to amend the Treaty provisions concerning the composition of the European Parliament Procedure: Own-initiativePlenary vote: October I, Brussels

10/09/2007

Committee on Constitutional Affairs

In the chair : Jo LEINEN (PES , DE)