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Europaudvalget 2002-03
EUU Alm.del INFO-note I 112
Offentligt

Europaudvalget

(Info-note I 112)

(Offentligt)

Folketingets Europaudvalg

Christiansborg, den 23. januar 2003

Europaudvalgets sekretariat

Til

udvalgets medlemmer og stedfortrædere

Dansk udkast til vedtagelse på det ekstraordinære COSAC-møde

den 27. januar 2003

Efter aftale med udvalgsformanden omdeles herved et dansk udkast til vedtagelse med henblik på drøftelse

på det ekstraordinære COSAC-møde i Bruxelles 27. januar 2003.

Med venlig hilsen

Irli Plambech

Draft

Contribution from COSAC

XXVIII COSAC, Brussels

(addressed to the Convention of the Future of Europe, the EU’s institutions, the

national parliaments and the Presidency).

I. Strengthening the role of the national parliaments in collaboration with the European

Parliament

COSAC wishes to once again call the attention to the need for a strengthening of democracy and

parliamentarism in the EU. The national parliaments and the European Parliament play an essential role in

this respect.

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In order for the European project to succeed it is necessary that the national parliaments be involved to a

greater extent in national EU decisions. A reform of COSAC that enables national parliaments to be better

informed, exchange best practices and express it views on EU-politics in a more efficient manner is

therefore necessary.

COSAC reiterates its resistance to the creation of new institutions. The reform of COSAC is not and shall

not be a step toward the creation of a new institution in the European architecture. The purpose of a

reformed COSAC is to enable the national parliaments to play an active and informed role in EU-politics

within the existing treaty-provisions as also proposed by the Convention’s Working Group on the role of

national parliaments. The protocol on the role of the national parliaments in the Amsterdam treaty gives

COSAC and the national parliaments possibilities that has not been fully utilised.

COSAC expects the Convention on the Future of Europe to include the role of the national parliaments and

the reform of COSAC in its work on a new constitutional treaty for EU.

COSAC considers, that The European Parliament and the national parliaments each have an important role

to play in the area of EU-cooperation and that they have a common interest in a strengthening of

democracy in EU. A strengthening of the role of the national parliaments is therefore in full accordance

with a strengthening of the European Parliament.

II. The reform of COSAC

At the COSAC meeting in

Madrid

12-14 May 2002, a decision was made to strengthen COSAC co-

operation. The chairmanship troika was asked to prepare a reform-proposal in this respect. At the COSAC

meeting in

Copenhagen

16-18 October 2002, it was decided to set up a Working Group consisting of the

chairmen of the European affairs committees of the national parliaments and of a representative of the

European Parliament with the aim of continuing the reform process and to draw up proposals for a reform

of COSAC. The mandate and the tasks of the working group is described in

annexe 1.

On the 10th of January 2003 the Danish presidency sent out its conclusions concerning the

recommendations from the COSAC Working Group as well as the final documents. A proposal for new

rules of procedures was sent out on the 19th of December 2002.

After examination of the presidency’s recommendations and the final documents from the COSAC

working Group, COSAC has reached the following conclusions:

1. COSAC adopts the "Copenhagen

parliamentary Guidelines"

for relations between governments

and Parliaments on Community issues. COSAC invites the Greek presidency to publish the

guidelines in the Official Journal of the European Communities, Serie C.

2. COSAC decides to change the

voting rules

in the rules of procedure with respect to the adoption of

contributions. Contributions shall henceforward be adopted with a majority of 2/3 of the votes cast;

the majority must at the same time constitute at least 50 pct. of the votes. When voting on

contributions each delegation shall have two votes in order to allow differentiated voting from

bicameral parliaments. When voting on revisions of the rules of procedure, unanimity will still be

required and each delegation will still have one vote.

COSAC recommends that contributions adopted by COSAC henceforward shall be published in The

Official Journal of the European Communities, Serie C.

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3. Reaffirming the decision taken at the COSAC meeting 17-18 October 2002 in Copenhagen, all

members of COSAC agree that there is a need for

improved continuity

in the activities of COSAC

and therefore a need for

better secretarial support ,

especially with 25 parliaments participating in

COSAC meetings. All members of COSAC agree, that a better secretarial support for COSAC

• will not create a new institution,

• will not be a new bureaucracy,

• will be paid by the national parliaments, and

• will have a small secretariat, that

• is linked to the Troika and the country holding the Presidency

• co-operates with the representatives in Brussels of the national parliaments

• provides technical support

[Should

one or more parliaments wish not to participate in the financing of the secretariat the

annual cost per parliament should be adjusted accordingly. The secretariat should be placed in

Brussels.]

Meanwhile COSAC invites the working group

consisting of the chairmen of the European affairs committees of the national parliaments and of a representative of the

European Parliament

to continue the examination of the practical, legal and functional aspects related to the

establishment of a COSAC secretariat with a view to enable the ordinary COSAC meeting on the 5th–6th

of May 2003 to present its position on the question to the

Conference of Speakers of the European

Parliaments

on its meeting the 23th-24th of May 2003.

It was the Conference of Speakers of the European Parliaments who in 1989 created COSAC. Furthermore

it is the Speakers, who in many EU-countries have overall responsibility for the co-ordination of work both

within their own parliaments, and for co-operation between national parliaments.

COSAC therefore invites the Conference of Speakers of the European Parliaments on its meeting the 23th-

24th of May 2003 to consider the question of the establishment of a secretariat and the financing of it.

COSAC furthermore invites the Conference of Speakers of the European Parliaments to consider whether

they wish to accept the role as

Presidium for the COSAC,

with the task to decide on and approve

COSAC’s budget.

On the basis of the position of the Conference of Speakers of the European Parliaments the final decision

on the establishment of a COSAC secretariat could be taken at the COSAC meeting in the second half of

2003 under Italian presidency.

1. COSAC recognises the need for a

better long term planning

of meetings adapted to the Council’s

one-year planning schedule of its activities. The planning shall include regular biannual meetings of

the chairpersons and the possibility for the meeting of chairpersons to be given a

mandate in

concrete cases

by the COSAC assembly to adopt contributions if necessary between COSAC-

meetings. The rules of procedure have been adjusted accordingly.

2. COSAC also wishes to support the increased co-operation between the

sectoral standing

committees

by making itself available as a supporting structure.

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3. COSAC shall henceforward once a year invite the

European Commission

to a general discussion on

the contents of its working and legislative programme. In relation to the "early

warning

mechanism",

proposed by the Convention's Working Group on subsidiarity, COSAC wish to offer

secretarial support as a "clearing house", by collecting information (electronically) from parliaments

on any objection and by distributing information on these to other parliaments.

4. The question of finding a better

name

for COSAC shall be referred to the Working Group’s follow-

up to the work of the Convention on the Future of Europe.

5. COSAC adopts the new

IT strategy

for COSAC with better co-operation between the secretariats of

the European Affairs Committees in the national parliaments and the appropriate body in the

European Parliament as proposed by the working group. This implies the set up of a technical

administrative Working Group.

6. COSAC invites the meeting of chairmen to continue the work with respect to the elaboration of

operational agreements between the national parliaments and the EU’s institutions. The working

group has raised a number of criteria, which should be seen as a platform for further discussion on

the content of such agreements.

7. In accordance with the recommendations from the Working Group, COSAC invites the presidency to

inform the Convention of the reform of COSAC.

8. In order to influence the agenda of the Convention and the Intergovernmental Conference COSAC

must furthermore in the early month of 2003 adopt a position on the future role on the national

parliaments in the European Union.

III. Adoption of the new rules of procedures

As a first step in the reform of COSAC and in accordance with the decisions taken on this XXVIII COSAC

in Brussels, COSAC has adopted new rules of procedures.

The new rules of procedures will enter into

force on the 1st of February 2003.

Annexe 1

Extract from the Contributions from XXVIIth COSAC in Copenhagen, October

17-18 October 2002.

….

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"On the basis of this debate and within the present treaty provisions, COSAC decides to set up a working group with the aim of continuing the

Danish Presidency’s reform initiative while paying attention to other proposals. The working group shall have the following tasks:

• To continue the work of drafting a code of conduct setting out minimum standards for effective national

parliamentary scrutiny of governments.

• To draft proposals for how to change COSAC’s rules of procedure concerning majority decisions.

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• To draft proposals on how to establish a secretariat for COSAC that ensures the necessary continuity of

the work of COSAC, including possible changes in COSAC’s rules of procedure.

• To consider the organisation of future meetings of COSAC including the question on how to involve the

sectoral standing committees as well as the composition of the delegations.

• To consider the possibility of letting COSAC assess the Commission’s annual legislative programme in

order to ensure its compliance with the principle of subsidiarity.

• To consider the possibility of giving COSAC a new and more understandable name.

• To consider a new strategy for IT and administrative co-operation between EU administrative bodies in

the national parliaments including the representations of national parliaments in Brussels.

• To consider whether there is a need to establish co-operation agreements with the EU’s institutions.

• To follow the work of the European Convention and the Intergovernmental Conference."

…

of the European Convention and the Intergovernmental Conference."