EUU, Alm.del - 2021-22 - Bilag 232: Notat fra det franske COSAC-formandskab vedr. nye arbejdsmetoder for COSAC

Europaudvalget 2021-22
EUU Alm.del Bilag 232
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Background Note

Session 2

New Working Methods within COSAC

COSAC Chairpersons’ Meeting

Paris, 14 January 2022

EUU, Alm.del - 2021-22 - Bilag 232: Notat fra det franske COSAC-formandskab vedr. nye arbejdsmetoder for COSAC

Session 2

New Working Methods

within COSAC

1. The findings

COSAC is the forum for dialogue and in-depth cooperation between national

parliaments and the European Parliament, whose irreplaceable role has been

enshrined in the treaties by the Treaty of Lisbon. Through its ability to adopt

contributions and submit them to the European institutions, it is potentially a

source of proposals on subjects of interest to European citizens, of whom the

national parliaments and the European Parliament are the representatives, in a

national framework for the former, and a European framework for the latter.

It is possible to improve the efficiency of its work. At COSAC meetings, debates

on agenda items generally give rise to short successive speeches without the

following participants being able to react to the speeches and exchange with each

other. Questions are addressed to the speaker who answers them in general terms,

due to lack of time. The contributions adopted could gain in substance if they were

based on more in-depth collective reflection upstream. Finally, in general, the

work of COSAC lacks visibility vis-à-vis the media and the general public.

2. A proposal: the creation of working groups

The COSAC Rules of Procedure state in article 2.6 that “COSAC may decide to

set up a working group to study a particular issue linked with the activities of the

European Union. Such a working group shall also be set up, if deemed necessary,

by an absolute majority of the Chairpersons of the Committees for Union Affairs

of the national Parliaments and of the representatives of the European Parliament.

The Chairperson of the Committee for Union Affairs of the Presidency Parliament

shall act as the Chairperson of the working group. The secretariat of the Presidency

EUU, Alm.del - 2021-22 - Bilag 232: Notat fra det franske COSAC-formandskab vedr. nye arbejdsmetoder for COSAC

Parliament shall provide the secretariat for the working group assisted by the

COSAC Secretariat”.

The establishment of working groups would have several advantages. It would

make it possible to:

give more substance to interparliamentary cooperation and more visibility

to the work of COSAC

by offering the opportunity to several of its members to

work together over time on a subject related to the Union's activities to identify

possible points of agreement and reflect the diversity of views on this subject and

to synthesise this work in the form of a final public document;

promote a better understanding of the differences in approach between

national members of parliament

of the Member States on specific European

subjects;

better structure the organisation of debates during COSAC plenary

meetings.

The chairperson(s) of a working group could in fact be the first speakers

in a debate on the agenda to present the summary of the work of the working group

and possibly, if another speaker was planned to open the debate, question this

speaker on this basis. They could benefit from a right to follow, reengaging with

the speaker if they do not answer the questions with enough precision. The other

COSAC members could then intervene in the debate and in turn pose questions to

the chairs of the working groups and / or, where appropriate, to the speaker.

Themes of the working groups

On the occasion of the French Presidency of the Union,

two working groups

could be set up on matters to be identified, possibly in conjunction with those

selected for the COSAC biannual report, in order to benefit from the comparative

information collected by this means.

The French presidency has retained three key messages in its motto: recovery,

strength and a sense of belonging.

This theme of belonging is of particular importance for COSAC because it brings

into play the links which unite its members and which justify the effort of

cooperation and integration which the Member States agree to, and which is

EUU, Alm.del - 2021-22 - Bilag 232: Notat fra det franske COSAC-formandskab vedr. nye arbejdsmetoder for COSAC

unprecedented by its objectives and the resources committed. The Member States

each have a history, identity and culture containing a strong European component

and also have important national specificities. These elements must be respected

and also be part of a common framework.

The French Presidency is therefore proposing to address the issue of membership

from a parliamentary point of view in two ways through working groups on:

the role of national parliaments in the European Union.

National parliaments

are indeed an important institutional vehicle for expressing and consolidating the

sense of belonging. The purpose of this working group would be to provide a

comprehensive overview of the way in which national parliaments perform their

duties of monitoring the European policy of their governments and the activity of

the European institutions. It would also be to analyse how national parliaments

exercise a collective role at European level and how this role could be improved;

the place of European values at the heart of the feeling of belonging.

Article 2

of the Treaty on European Union, as supplemented by the Treaty of Lisbon, sets

out the values on which the Union is based, namely respect for human dignity,

freedom, democracy, equality, the rule of law and respect for human rights.

Respect for these common values is a key element of our collective contract and

for mutual trust between member states; it is the basis of membership of the

European Union and a necessary condition in order to meet the objectives of the

European construction, among which the completion of the common market and

the creation of a European area of freedom, security and justice. The purpose of

this working group would be to analyse the achievements and the difficulties

encountered by the Member States in conforming to these values while respecting

their national identity.

Composition of working groups

Each national parliament would be invited to appoint a maximum of two members

from its European Union Affairs Committee(s) to represent it on each working

group. The European Parliament could also be represented by a maximum of two

of its members.

EUU, Alm.del - 2021-22 - Bilag 232: Notat fra det franske COSAC-formandskab vedr. nye arbejdsmetoder for COSAC

The total for each working group would thus be a maximum of 56 members of

parliament.

Chairing of working groups

In accordance with COSAC regulations, each working group must be presided

over by the chair of the body specialising in Union affairs of the Parliament

holding the Presidency.

Secretariat of the working groups

The secretariats of the working groups would be provided by the secretariats of the

European Affairs Committees of the National Assembly and of the French Senate,

with the support of the permanent secretariat of COSAC.

Group working method

Each working group would organise hearings, which could take the form of round

tables (representatives of European institutions or national governments, national

or European experts, members of the European Parliament…), and exchanges

between its members. The choice of the persons to be heard would be made by the

chair of the working group, on the basis of the suggestions of the members of the

group.

Members of the working group who so wish may present

short contributions

presenting their point of view in writing or orally.

The work of the working groups would be conducted

in English and French

and

by videoconference.

Conclusions of the working groups

The work of each working group would be concluded by the preparation of a

report, the purpose of which would be:

to provide an exhaustive overview of the points of agreement between the

members of the working group but also of their differences in approach.

The

purpose of the working group reports is not to develop a single approach on a

given subject: it is to highlight what unites the 27 but also the diversity of points of

view on subjects that concern all the Member States, the shared understanding of

EUU, Alm.del - 2021-22 - Bilag 232: Notat fra det franske COSAC-formandskab vedr. nye arbejdsmetoder for COSAC

the differences alone enabling progress to be made in defining a common base and

in strengthening mutual trust;

to make proposals to COSAC members that could later be incorporated into

contributions submitted to COSAC.

By setting up working groups, COSAC

could thus better assert itself as a force for proposals.

The final report of each working group would be drawn up by the group chair and

submitted to the working group members for consideration before the final version

is circulated to COSAC members.

Timetable for establishment and work of working groups

If the Chairpersons' Meeting on 14 January 2022 agreed to launch the

establishment of these working groups, a letter could immediately be sent to the

committee chairs of each parliament proposing that they appoint their

representative(s) for the working groups.

The composition of these groups could be established by/at the end of January

2022.

The working groups could hold their first meetings in February 2022 before the

COSAC plenary meeting in early March 2022, when a progress report on their

work would be presented by their chairs.

The work of the working groups would continue after the COSAC plenary

meeting.

Each working group should adopt its final report and transmit it to the members of

COSAC by the end of the French Presidency in the first half of 2022.