Hervormingen Europarlement goedgekeurd (en)

Amendments to Parliament's rules of procedure, taking up changes agreed by the political groups in a third package of reforms to update its internal procedures, were approved by the Constitutional Affairs Committee on Wednesday. These reforms complete a process begun two years ago. The first two packages, adopted in 2007 and 2008, dealt with plenary sessions, EP reports, the legislative process and inter-institutional relations.

The Committee also approved another report providing in Parliament's rules of procedure for changes that would come into force if and when the Lisbon Treaty is ratified by all Member States.

Both reports were drafted by Richard Corbett (PES, UK). The report on the third reform package was approved in committee with 19 votes in favour, three against and two abstentions. The one on the Lisbon Treaty was approved with 20 votes in favour, three against and one abstention.

The changes approved include reforms to:

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  allow the use of joint committee meetings for complex legislative dossiers that cross committee boundaries,
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  make it mandatory for the Conference of Committee Chairs to give a recommendation to the Conference of Presidents on how to resolve any conflict of competences between committees,
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  generally increase co-operation between committees, notably by enhancing the role of opinion-giving committees;
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  formalise EP s consultation with European civil society,
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  clarify the role of  "intergroups", i.e. unofficial groupings formed on specific issues with Members from different political groups,
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  modify existing rules on debates in plenary,
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  introduce a motion to reject the Commission's proposal in first reading; and
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  formalise the negotiating procedure with other EU institutions (e.g. for "first reading" agreements).

These reforms complete a process begun two years ago, when a working group on EP Reform was proposed by Parliament President Hans-Gert Pöttering and established under the chairmanship of Dagmar Roth-Behrendt (PES, DE).

The first two packages, adopted in autumn 2007 and autumn 2008, related to the organisation of plenary sessions, the handling of EP reports, the operation of the legislative process and improvements in inter-institutional relations.

Changes relating to the entry into force of the Lisbon Treaty

The approved amendments, which cannot enter into force unless the Treaty ratification process is successfully concluded, include reforms to:

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  regulate role of observers from accession countries,
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  establish a procedure to ensure respect for the principles of subsidiarity and proportionality,
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  establish a procedure for Treaty revision, including the Convention,
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  set up a procedure for the election of the President of the Commission, and introduce a secret ballot vote, and
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  set up a procedure for approving the withdrawal of a Member State.

22/04/2009

In the chair : Jo LEINEN (PES, DE)