The European Parliament is working on a major overhaul of its powerful lawmaking committees, according to an internal Parliament document seen by EURACTIV, which will be discussed by the assembly’s leaders on Wednesday (14 June).
The three proposals on the table focused on reforming the Parliament’s 20 legislative committees – and 3 sub committees – “aim at a simplification of procedures, a reduction of conflicts of competences and ensuring a consistent European Parliament position in interinstitutional negotiations,” the document states.
The committees are the Parliament’s main source of legislative power, with the Economic and Monetary Affairs, Budgets, Internal Market and Environment and Public Health committees among those that deal with most of the laws on which MEPs have an equal say with national ministers.
Meanwhile, the Foreign Affairs committee is viewed by many in the Parliament as the main prize when the committee chairperson positions are divided between the political groups at the start of each mandate.
However, Parliament officials have indicated that the current structure leaves too much room for overlapping policy competences, leading to competition between committees on legislative files which can undermine the Parliament’s negotiating strength with the European Commission and the Council of Ministers.
The ‘Westminster model’
The first option, described as the ‘Westminster model’, consists of “a reduced number of broad horizontal standing committees covering large policy areas” at the beginning of each five year legislative mandate, together with ad hoc “Bill Committees”, for specific pieces of legislation. The “Bill Committees” would disband at the end of each legislative procedure and their creation would be in the hands of the Conference of Presidents – the body composed of the president of the European Parliament and leaders of the political groups.
The “Horizontal Standing Committees” could be composed of 80-120 members – a significant increase in size on the current committees which have between 25 and 88 deputies – and would scrutinise the “Bill Committees” which can be formed by between 20 and 80 members.
The second model proposes to create a series of “Grand Committees covering large policy areas,” composed of 80-120 members, and “Selected Committees responsible for sectorial policy areas under the broader remit of the Grand Committees.”
Differently from the current system where committees meet with a periodical schedule, the new proposal would make the Grand Committees meetings pending on needs.
Slimmed committees
The last proposal would maintain the same features of the current committee structure but reduce the number of committees, revising their competences and creating “temporary legislative committee for cross-cutting proposals”.
According to the document, the “cross-cutting proposals” committee could be also integrated to the first two models, “as a last resort, to deal with specific important cross-cutting legislative proposals (or Commission pre-legislative strategic documents) falling into the remit of several committees,” the document explains.
These kinds of committees can be, for instance, a committee on “relations with citizens”, another one on “gender equality and gender mainstreaming”, and a committee on “rule of procedures, immunities and legal matters,” the document illustrates.
Next steps
The political groups will provide feedback to the three proposals in Strasbourg on Wednesday. The Parliament aims to conclude the integral reform before the end of this legislative mandate in late Spring 2024.
[Edited by Benjamin Fox]
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Source: euractiv.com
