Activities of Christian SAGARTZ related to 2020/2262(INI)
Shadow reports (1)
REPORT on European Union regulatory fitness and subsidiarity and proportionality - report on Better Law Making covering the years 2017, 2018 and 2019
Amendments (22)
Amendment 1 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 7
Citation 7
— having regard to all the previousthe Commission communications to the European Parliament, the European Council, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions on the need for better regulation in order to achieve better results for the benefit of EU citizens,principles of subsidiarity and proportionality: Strengthening their role in the EU's policymaking1a, and its Annex, _________________ 1a COM(2018)703
Amendment 2 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 8
Citation 8
— having regard to the decision of the President of the European Commission of 14 November 2017 on the establishment of a Task Force on Subsidiarity, Proportionality and ‘Doing Less More Efficiently’ (C(2017)7810), which presented its findings on 10th of July 2018,
Amendment 8 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital -A (new)
Recital -A (new)
-A whereas the principles of subsidiarity and proportionality govern the exercise of the EU’s competences; whereas in areas in which the EU does not have exclusive competence, the principle of subsidiarity seeks to safeguard the ability of the Member States to take decisions and action and authorises intervention by the Union when the objectives of an action cannot be sufficiently achieved by the Member States, but can be better achieved at Union level, ‘by reason of the scale and effects of the proposed action’; whereas the purpose of including a reference to the principle in the EU Treaties is also to ensure that powers are exercised as close to the citizen as possible, in accordance with the proximity principle referred to in Article 10(3) of the TEU;
Amendment 10 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital B
Recital B
B. whereas theat Task Force issued recommendations to improve the application of subsidiarity and proportionality in the work of the EU institutions and to give local and regional authorities and national parliaments a more prominent role in order to achieve ‘active subsidiarity’; whereas it responded to the questions “how to better apply subsidiarity and proportionality principles within the EU institutions”, “how to better involve regional and local authorities and national parliaments in EU policymaking and implementation” and “whether there are policy areas where powers could be returned over time to Member States”,
Amendment 14 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital D
Recital D
D. whereas in 2018 the Commission continued to apply its reinforced better regulation agenda and to integrate the principles of subsidiarity and proportionality at all stages of policy- making; whereas it made further improvements to the ‘Have Your Say’ web portal;
Amendment 15 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital D a (new)
Recital D a (new)
D a. whereas the Commission launched on 3 July 2020 a revamped version of the ‘Have Your Say’ web portal to better contribute online to EU law and policymaking; whereas that new version should further improve Commission consultation and communication with the public and increase transparency; whereas as part of its ‘Better Regulation’ agenda, the aim of the portal is to enhance the quality of EU policymaking;
Amendment 28 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital H
Recital H
H. whereas the current crisis has strengthened therevealed the urgent need to alleviate unnecessary regulatory burdens to make sure that EU laws deliver their intended benefits while reducing unnecessary costs, particularly for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and micro enterprises;
Amendment 33 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph -1 (new)
Paragraph -1 (new)
-1 Recalls the importance of the annual reports on subsidiarity and proportionality prepared by the Commission;
Amendment 34 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Welcomes the constant consideration ofUnderlines that the principles of subsidiarity and proportionality, which are the guiding principles ofor the European Union when it chooses to act; recalls the concerns raised in previous reports about the somewhat perfunctory character of the annual reports on subsidiarity and proportionality prepared by the Commission, which often fail to pay detailed consideration to how these principles are observed in EU policy- making;
Amendment 42 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Recalls that the principle of subsidiarity enshrined in Article 5 of the Treaty on European Union aims toshall ensure that decisions are taken as closely as possible to citizens and businesses and that constant checks are carried out to verify that action at EU level is justified in the light of the possibilities available at national, regional or local level and to guarantee that the EU does not take action, except in the areas that fall within its exclusive competence, unless it is more effective than action taken at national, regional or local level; recalls, too, that the principle of proportionality requires that any action taken by the EU should not go beyond what is necessary to achieve the objectives of the Treaties;
Amendment 47 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2 a (new)
Paragraph 2 a (new)
2 a. Underlines the importance of adequately explaining the need for legislative initiatives and their impact on all important sectors (economic, environmental, and social) with the aim of respecting the principles of subsidiarity and proportionality;
Amendment 49 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
Amendment 58 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. NotesTakes note of the conclusions of the Task Force on Subsidiarity, Proportionality and ‘Doing Less More Efficiently’; draws attention to the fact that Parliament declined the invitation to participate by appointing members toconsidered that participation in the Ttask Fforce, with full respect for it set up by the Commission would disregard Parliament’s institutional role and standing as the only directly elected bodyInstitution of the European Union and of ensuring democra, representing the citizens and businesses at Union level and exercising functions of political scrutiny ofver the activity of European UnionCommission, and that, consequently, it decided to decline the invitation to participate by appointing members to the Task Force;
Amendment 65 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6
Paragraph 6
6. Emphasises the importance of the participation of national parliaments in the process of law-making at EU level; regretstakes note of the fact that in 2017 the Commission received 20 % fewer reasoned opinions than in 2016 (52 reasoned opinions in 2017 compared to 65 reasoned opinions in 2016), and that in 2018 it received only 37 reasoned opinions; observes that no proposals received more than four reasoned opinions, which could be a result of improvements made by the Commission and the implementation based on the findings of the task force, among other;
Amendment 67 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7
Paragraph 7
7. Notes that in 20176, of a total number of 41 houses of national parliaments, only 1926 issued reasoned opinions, and that in 2018, that number fell to 14which number fell to 19 in 2017 and 14 in 2018; stresses that such decrease goes hand in hand with the decrease of reasoned opinions in total;
Amendment 82 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11
Paragraph 11
11. Notes that in 2017 the Regulatory Scrutiny Board (RSB) examined a total of 53 impact assessments, that in 12 cases it estimated that it was necessary to improve their analysis of subsidiarity and EU added value, and that 30 opinions contained comments on proportionality; notes that in 2018 it examined 75 impact assessments, that in 16 cases it was necessary to improve their analysis of subsidiarand 17 separate evaluations; observes that that 43% of these impact assessments and 41% of the evaluations examined by the RSB initially received negative opinions and that for almost all impact assessments, services had to improve the reports to meet Board quality stand EU added value, and that 47 opinions contained remarks aimed at improving the analysis of proportionality and comparisons of policy options; underlines that in 2019 the board examined only one impact assessment;ards; concludes that the quality of the original impact assessments and evaluations have to be significantly improved to save time and money as this state seems to be the norm with a rate of 28% and 27% in 2018 and a rate of 100% and 47% in 20192a; _________________ 2a RSB annual reports 2017, 2018, 2019.
Amendment 85 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11 a (new)
Paragraph 11 a (new)
11 a. Underlines that there is an urgent need to improve impact assessments in general when it comes to subsidiarity and proportionality, because they are important preconditions for an effective and balanced EU legislation that can be beneficial for a well-functioning internal market;
Amendment 86 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11 b (new)
Paragraph 11 b (new)
11 b. Stresses that all impact assessments, evaluations and fitness checks should carry out an analysis on subsidiarity and proportionality;
Amendment 89 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12
Paragraph 12
12. Supports the Commission’s commitment to ‘ex ante evaluation’ before considering possible legislative changes; believes that the European Union and the authorities of the Member States should continue to work closely together to ensure better evaluation of the real impact of EU regulations on citizens and businesses, on the economy, on the structure of the society and on the environment;
Amendment 107 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14
Paragraph 14
14. Welcomes the ‘one-in, one- out’ approachprinciple based on stakeholder involvement, through which the Commission aims to offset newly introduced burdens by relieving people and businesses of equivalent burdens at EU level in the same policy area; emphasises, however, that the implementation of this approach should not lead to mechanical decisions to repeal legislation or lower standards;
Amendment 116 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15
Paragraph 15
15. Welcomes, in this regard, the establishment by the Commission of the Fit for Future Platform by the Commission, a high-level expert group with the participation of various stakeholders, Member State experts, and representatives of the Committee of the Regions and the European Economic and Social Committee, which advises the Commission on how to identify potentially burdensome existing EU legislation and how to simplify and modernise it, including through digitalisation;
Amendment 118 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15 a (new)
Paragraph 15 a (new)
15 a. Calls on the Member States’ authorities at national and regional level to become more closely involved at an early stage of the decision-making process, with subsidiarity and proportionality checks and administrative burden assessments of EU legislation; calls further on the Member States to ensure the swift and consistent transposition, implementation and enforcement of legislation, and to avoid unnecessary bureaucratic burdens that can undermine the smooth functioning of the internal market;