THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT
Legislative procedures
Assent procedure
The assent procedure will apply to the following provisions:
New Treaty provisions
Article Fa
Sanctions in the event of a serious and persistent breach of fundamental rights by a Member State
Existing Treaty provisions
Article O
Accession procedure
Article 130d
Structural and cohesion funds
Article 138(3)
Proposals by the European Parliament for a uniform electoral procedure.
Article 228(3), second subpara.
Conclusion of certain international agreements
Co-decision procedure
The co-decision procedure will apply to the following provisions.
New Treaty provisions
Article (5)
Employment - Incentive measures
Article 119
Social policy - Equal opportunities and treatment
Article 129
Public health (former basis Article 43 - consultation)
- minimum requirements regarding quality and safety of organs
- veterinary and phytosanitary measures with the direct objective the protection of public health
Article 191a
General principles for transparency
Article 209a
Countering fraud affecting the financial interests of the Community
New Article
Customs cooperation
Article 213a
Statistics
Article 213b
Establishment of independent advisory authority on data protection
Existing Treaty provisions(??
Article 6
Rules to prohibit discrimination on grounds of nationality (cooperation)
Article 8a(2)(??
Provisions for facilitating the exercise of citizens' right to move and reside freely within the territory of the Member States (assent)
Article 51(2)
Internal market (consultation)
- rules on social security for Community immigrant workers
Article 56(2)(??
Coordination of provisions laid down by law, regulation or administrative action for special treatment for foreign nationals (right of establishment)
Article 57(2)(??
Coordination of the provisions laid down by law, regulation or administrative action in Member States concerning the taking up and pursuit of activities as self-employed persons (consultation)
Amendment of existing principles laid down by law governing the professions with respect to training and conditions of access for natural persons (consultation)
Article 75(1)
Transport policy (cooperation)
- Common rules applicable to international transport to or from the territory of a Member State or passing across the territory of one or more Member States;
- the conditions under which non-resident carriers may operate transport services within a Member State;
- measures to improve transport safety.
Article 84
Transport policy (cooperation)
- sea and air transport
Social policy
Articles resulting from the transposition into the Treaty of the agreement on social policy (Article 2(2)), except for aspects of that Agreement which are currently subject to unanimity (Article 2(3)) (see Chapter 4 - Social provisions)(cooperation)
Article 125
Implementing decisions relating to the European Social Fund (cooperation)
Article 127(4)
Vocational training (cooperation)
- Measures to contribute to the achievement of the objectives of Article 127
Article 129d
Other measures (TENs) (cooperation) 3rd subpara.
Article 130e
ERDF implementing decisions (cooperation)
Article 130o
Adoption of measures referred in Articles 130k and l -2nd subpara.
research (cooperation)
Article 130s(1)
Environment (cooperation)
- Action by the Community in order to achieve the objectives of Article 130r
Article 130w
Development cooperation (cooperation).
Simplification of the co-decision procedure
Amend Article 189b of the TEC
1. Where reference is made in this Treaty to this Article for the adoption of an act, the following procedure shall apply.
2. The Commission shall submit a proposal to the European Parliament and the Council.
The Council, acting by a qualified majority after obtaining the opinion of the European Parliament,
- if it approves all the amendments contained in the European Parliament’s opinion, may adopt the proposed act thus amended;
- if the European Parliament does not propose any amendments, may adopt the proposed act;
- shall otherwise adopt a common position and communicate it to the European Parliament. The Council shall inform the European Parliament fully of the reasons which led it to adopt its common position. The Commission shall inform the European Parliament fully of its position.
If, within three months of such communication, the European Parliament:
(a) approves the common position or has not taken a decision, the act in question shall be deemed to have been adopted in accordance with that common position;
(b) rejects, by an absolute majority of its component members, the common position, the proposed act shall be deemed not to have been adopted;
(c) proposes amendments to the common position by an absolute majority of its component members, the amended text shall be forwarded to the Council and to the Commission, which shall deliver an opinion on those amendments.
3. If, within three months of the matter being referred to it, the Council, acting by a qualified majority, approves all the amendments of the European Parliament, the act in question shall be deemed to have been adopted in the form of the common position thus amended; however, the Council shall act unanimously on the amendments on which the Commission has delivered a negative opinion. If the Council does not approve all the amendments, the President of the Council, in agreement with the President of the European Parliament, shall within six weeks convene a meeting of the Conciliation Committee.
4. The Conciliation Committee, which shall be composed of the members of the Council or their representatives and an equal number of representatives of the European Parliament, shall have the task of reaching agreement on a joint text, by a qualified majority of the members of the Council or their representatives and by a majority of the representatives of the European Parliament. The Commission shall take part in the Conciliation Committee's proceedings and shall take all the necessary initiatives with a view to reconciling the positions of the European Parliament and the Council. In fulfilling this task, the Conciliation Committee shall address the common position on the basis of the amendments proposed by the European Parliament.
5. If, within six weeks of its being convened, the Conciliation Committee approves a joint text, the European Parliament, acting by an absolute majority of the votes cast, and the Council, acting by a qualified majority, shall each have a period of six weeks from that approval in which to adopt the act in question in accordance with the joint text. If either of the two institutions fails to approve the proposed act within that period, it shall be deemed not to have been adopted.
6. Where the Conciliation Committee does not approve a joint text, the proposed act shall be deemed not to have been adopted.
7. The periods of three months and six weeks referred to in this Article shall be extended by a maximum of one month and two weeks respectively at the initiative of the European Parliament or the Council.
Declaration to the Final Act on respect for time limits under co-decision procedure
The Conference calls on the European Parliament, the Council and the Commission to make every effort to ensure that the codecision procedure operates as expeditiously as possible. It recalls the importance of strict respect for the deadlines set out in Article 189b and confirms that recourse, provided for in paragraph 7 of that Article, to extension of the periods in question should be considered only when strictly necessary. In no case should the actual period between the second reading by the European Parliament and the outcome of the Conciliation Committee exceed nine months.
Organization and composition of the European Parliament
Amend Article 137 of the TEC
The European Parliament, which shall consist of representatives of the peoples of the States brought together in the Community, shall exercise the powers conferred upon it by this Treaty.
The number of Members of the European Parliament shall not exceed seven hundred.
Add to Article 2 of the Act of 20 September 1976(??
(Article 138(2) of the TEC)
In the event of amendments to this paragraph, the number of representatives elected in each Member State must ensure appropriate representation of the peoples of the States brought together in the Community.
Amend the first subparagraph of Article 138(3) of the TEC
The European Parliament shall draw up a proposal for elections by direct universal suffrage in accordance with a uniform procedure in all Member States or in accordance with principles common to all Member States.
Add a new paragraph as Article 138(4) of the TEC(??
The European Parliament shall, after seeking an opinion from the Commission and with the approval of the Council acting by unanimity, lay down the regulations and general conditions governing the performance of the duties of its Members.