SP(2005)5015

Results of vote in Parliament

The European Parliament adopted a resolution based on the own-initiative report by Andrew DUFF (ALDE,UK) on guidelines for the approval of the European Commission. (Please see the document of 06/06/2005.) Parliament laid down certain principles, criteria and arrangements for making the whole college of the Commission subject to its vote of consent.

Criteria for assessment: Parliament stated that it would evaluate Commissioners-designate on the grounds of their general competence, European commitment and indubitable independence, assessing knowledge of the relevant portfolio and communication skills. It would have special regard for gender balance, and may express itself on the disposition of portfolio responsibilities by the President-elect. Parliament stated also that it would expect full disclosure of information pertaining to financial interests.

Hearings: Each Commissioner-designate will be invited to appear before the appropriate parliamentary committee or committees for a single hearing of three hours. The hearings will be in public. Parliament laid down certain guidelines for the organisation of hearings, as well as arrangements where there are mixed portfolios.

Evaluation: An indexed video recording of the hearings should be made available for the public record within twenty-four hours. The committees should meet without delay after the hearing to make their evaluation of the individual Commissioners-designate. These meetings will be in camera. After this:

-The committees are invited to state whether the Commissioners-designate are qualified both to be a member of the college and to carry out the particular duties for which they have been nominated. If a committee is unable to reach a consensus on both of these points, as a last resort its chairman will put the two decisions to a vote.

-The statements of evaluation shall be made public and presented at a joint meeting of the Conference of Presidents and the Conference of Committee Chairs, which shall be held in camera.

-The President-elect of the Commission shall present the whole college of Commissioners at a sitting of Parliament. The presentation will be followed by a debate. In order to wind up the debate, any political group or at least thirty-seven Members may table a motion for resolution.

-Following the vote on the motion for resolution, Parliament will then vote on whether or not to give its consent to the appointment as a body of the President and other members of the Commission. Parliament shall decide by a majority of the votes cast, by roll call. It may defer the vote until the next sitting;

If there is a change in the composition or disposition of the Commission during its term of office, Parliament will invite the candidate for the Commission to participate in a hearing under the same conditions as those already laid down.

Lastly, in order to facilitate the preparation of the approval process of the Commission, Parliament requested the Council to bring forward the period of the next parliamentary elections from June to May 2009.

T6-0465/2005

Debate in Parliament

A6-0179/2005

A6-0179/2005

The committee adopted the own-initiative report by Andrew DUFF ( ALDE , UK ) on guidelines for the approval of the European Commission. The report laid down the criteria for assessment of candidates and the arrangements for the conduct of the hearings by the EP's committees and subsequent evaluation. It also established the procedures to be followed in the event of a change in the composition or disposition of the Commission during its term of office. The aim was to incorporate these criteria and arrangements into the Rules of Procedure - which had hitherto contained no such guidance on the actual organisation of the hearings - in order to ensure a uniform approach by the committees and a coordinated procedure to ensure horizontal scrutiny of the result of the hearings. The key points of the report were as follows:

- Parliament may seek any relevant information regarding the Commissioners-designate in order to evaluate their aptitude, including full disclosure of information pertaining to financial interests;

- the hearings will take place in public, "in circumstances and under conditions whereby Commissioners-designate enjoy an equal and fair opportunity to present themselves and their opinions", including through "a pluralistic political dialogue" with the MEPs;

- Parliament will have special regard for gender balance and may express itself on the disposition of portfolio responsibilities by the President-elect;

- an indexed video recording of the hearings should be made available for the public record within 24 hours;

- the committees should meet without delay after the hearing, in camera, to make their evaluation, stating whether the Commissioners-designate are qualified both to be members of the college and to carry out the particular duties for which they have been nominated. If a committee is unable to reach a consensus on both these points, its chairman can put the two decisions to a vote. The statements of evaluation shall then be made public;

- the President-elect of the Commission shall present the whole college of Commissioners at a sitting of Parliament. This will be followed by a debate and possibly a motion for resolution. Parliament will then vote on whether or not to give its consent to the appointment of the Commission as a body, deciding by a majority of the votes cast, by roll call;

- in the event of a change in the composition of the Commission during its term of office (when a vacancy is caused by resignation, compulsory retirement or death or in the event of the accession of a new Member State ), the new candidate will be invited to participate in a hearing under the same conditions;

- if there is a substantial reshuffle of portfolios, the Commissioners concerned will be invited to appear before the relevant committees before taking up their new responsibilities.

Finally, in order to facilitate consultations between Parliament and the Council before a candidate for Commission President is proposed, as well as the approval process of the Commission in general, the committee called on the Council to bring forward the period of the next parliamentary elections from June to May 2009.

PE357.790