SP(2006)3065-2

SP(2006)2902

Results of vote in Parliament

The European Parliament adopted a resolution based on the own-initiative report drafted by Sylvia-Yvonne KAUFMANN (GUE/NGL, DE) in response to the Commission communication on the outcome of the screening of legislative proposals pending before the Legislator. (Please see the summary dated 25/04/2006.)

T6-0206/2006

Debate in Parliament

A6-0143/2006

A6-0143/2006

The committee adopted the own-initiative report drawn up by Sylvia-Yvonne KAUFMANN (GUE/NGL, DE) in response to the Commission communication on the outcome of the screening of legislative proposals pending before the Legislator. The committee welcomed the communication and said that the withdrawal or modification of the great majority of the proposals mentioned in it would "contribute to a simplification of the Community legislative environment". MEPs insisted, however, that the Commission should take into proper consideration the objections raised by the President of the European Parliament. The committee welcomed the fact that, before adopting its final position, the Commission had again reviewed its proposals in the light of Parliament’s objections. It acknowledged that, in every case in which the Commission had not accepted those objections, it had stated reasons for not doing so and that in some cases it had also indicated possible initiatives by means of which Parliament's wishes could be met. The report stressed that in future proceedings of this nature, the Commission should present specific reasons for the withdrawal or the modification of each proposal, and "not confine itself to invoking general principles that do not clearly explain the reasons why the Commission believes that a specific proposal should be withdrawn or modified"

MEPs asked the Commission, immediately after it has been appointed, to draw up and submit to Parliament and the Council a list stating which of its predecessor's legislative proposals it intends to retain. They also asked the Commission to include in its annual legislative and working programme a list of the proposals it intends to withdraw or modify, in order to allow Parliament to express its point of view in accordance with its prerogatives under the Treaties and the procedures laid down in the Framework Agreement of 26 May 2005. The committee recognised, however, that, within clear limits, the ability of the Commission to withdraw a legislative proposal during a procedure leading to its adoption:

- flows from its right of legislative initiative and constitutes a logical complement to its ability to modify a proposal,

- may contribute to enhancing the role of the Commission in the legislative procedure, and

- can be considered as a positive element in ensuring that the procedures leading to the adoption of a Community act and the interinstitutional dialogue are aimed at promoting the 'Community interest'.

Lastly, the report put forward the following guidelines on the withdrawal and the modification of legislative proposals by the Commission:

(a) the Commission may, in principle, withdraw or modify a legislative proposal at any time during the procedures leading to its adoption as long as the Council has not acted. This means that in codecision and cooperation procedures the Commission may no longer do so after the adoption of the common position by the Council unless, in its decision on the common position, the Council has exceeded its powers to amend the Commission proposal, so that the decision in reality constitutes a legislative initiative by the Council itself, for which the Treaty does not provide;

(b) where Parliament has rejected a legislative proposal or has suggested substantial amendments to it, or where Parliament has in some other way asked the Commission to withdraw or substantially modify a legislative proposal, the Commission shall take this position into proper consideration. If, for important reasons, the Commission decides not to follow the position expressed by Parliament, it shall explain the reasons for that decision in a statement to Parliament;

(c) where the Commission intends to withdraw or modify a legislative proposal on its own initiative, it shall give Parliament prior notification of its intention. This notification shall be given in good time, allowing Parliament the opportunity to give its view on the matter, and shall include a clear explanation of the reasons for which the Commission believes that a specific proposal should be withdrawn or modified. The Commission shall take the view of Parliament into proper consideration. If, for important reasons, the Commission decides to withdraw or modify its proposal, against the wishes of Parliament, it shall explain the reasons for that decision in a statement to Parliament.

PE372.122

PE371.801

PE369.916

PE370.018

The Commission has previously announced its intention to screen proposals that are pending before the Council/Parliament with regard to their general relevance, their impact on competitiveness and other effects. The objectives, process and outcomes of this screening exercise, which is the first of its kind, are presented in this Communication.

Objectives of the screening of pending proposals: The screening exercise aimed at enabling the Commission to ensure that all pending legislative proposals are fully consistent with the political priorities of the Commission and to check whether changed circumstances justify a review of the initial approach followed. More specifically, the screening exercise aimed at testing pending proposals on three accounts:

-pending proposals were examined for their consistency with the EU Lisbon objectives and in particular the goal of promoting competitiveness. The criteria used for evaluating proposals in this respect were those specified in the ‘competitiveness test’ that forms part of the recently revised impact assessment guidelines;

-pending proposals were checked for possible lack of substantial progress in the legislative process for a significant period of time.

-pending proposals were examined to determine whether they meet current better regulation requirements, notably with regard to appropriate impact assessments. This criterion affects in particular those proposals presented at a time when impact assessments were not a formal requirement.

Process of the screening exercise: The scope of the exercise was limited to pending proposals dated before 1 January 2004. This amounted to 183 proposals. The Commission then identified about 100 proposals that constitute truly new legislative initiatives. The proposals were further evaluated for possible adverse effects on competitiveness and broader economic effects. The rest consist of proposals that are likely to have limited or no impact on competitiveness. These relate mainly to proposals resulting from international obligations or constituting adaptations of the acquis to scientific and technical progress. Some of these proposals also directly contribute to “better regulation” as they codify or simplify the acquis.

Outcomes of the screening exercise: The Commission envisages two broad types of action:

-The Commission intends to withdraw in total 68 proposals. These are considered not to be consistent with the Lisbon objectives or Better Regulation principles, or they are making insufficient progress in the legislative process or are no longer topical.

-Proposals to be maintained in the legislative process but with economic analysis to be presented to the assessment of the legislative authority .This concerns 5 proposals where additional presentation of the analysis of their impact is likely to facilitate decision making by the Legislative Authority. Thus, in total some 73 pending proposals will be subject to some form of intervention.

The withdrawals represent some 31% of all pending proposals from before 1 January 2004. All interventions including proposals singled out for further economic analysis actually represent 33 %8 of those pending proposals.

Moreover, for at least 2 proposals, the screening exercise has produced results that do not fall directly into the above categories. First, concerning the proposal for a Council Directive on the minimum health and safety requirements regarding the exposure of workers to the risks arising from physical agents – optical radiations, 1992/0449/COD, for which the screening exercise has led the Commission to conclude that the aspects dealing with exposure of workers to natural optical radiation should be deleted, as proposed also by the European Parliament.

Secondly, concerning the proposal on Temporary Workers (2002/0072/COD), the Commission reserves its position to reconsider the proposal in light of future discussions on other proposals.

The Annex to the communication summarises the situation and gives details of the proposals concerned.

COM(2005)0462
EUR-Lex

The Commission has previously announced its intention to screen proposals that are pending before the Council/Parliament with regard to their general relevance, their impact on competitiveness and other effects. The objectives, process and outcomes of this screening exercise, which is the first of its kind, are presented in this Communication.

Objectives of the screening of pending proposals: The screening exercise aimed at enabling the Commission to ensure that all pending legislative proposals are fully consistent with the political priorities of the Commission and to check whether changed circumstances justify a review of the initial approach followed. More specifically, the screening exercise aimed at testing pending proposals on three accounts:

-pending proposals were examined for their consistency with the EU Lisbon objectives and in particular the goal of promoting competitiveness. The criteria used for evaluating proposals in this respect were those specified in the ‘competitiveness test’ that forms part of the recently revised impact assessment guidelines;

-pending proposals were checked for possible lack of substantial progress in the legislative process for a significant period of time.

-pending proposals were examined to determine whether they meet current better regulation requirements, notably with regard to appropriate impact assessments. This criterion affects in particular those proposals presented at a time when impact assessments were not a formal requirement.

Process of the screening exercise: The scope of the exercise was limited to pending proposals dated before 1 January 2004. This amounted to 183 proposals. The Commission then identified about 100 proposals that constitute truly new legislative initiatives. The proposals were further evaluated for possible adverse effects on competitiveness and broader economic effects. The rest consist of proposals that are likely to have limited or no impact on competitiveness. These relate mainly to proposals resulting from international obligations or constituting adaptations of the acquis to scientific and technical progress. Some of these proposals also directly contribute to “better regulation” as they codify or simplify the acquis.

Outcomes of the screening exercise: The Commission envisages two broad types of action:

-The Commission intends to withdraw in total 68 proposals. These are considered not to be consistent with the Lisbon objectives or Better Regulation principles, or they are making insufficient progress in the legislative process or are no longer topical.

-Proposals to be maintained in the legislative process but with economic analysis to be presented to the assessment of the legislative authority .This concerns 5 proposals where additional presentation of the analysis of their impact is likely to facilitate decision making by the Legislative Authority. Thus, in total some 73 pending proposals will be subject to some form of intervention.

The withdrawals represent some 31% of all pending proposals from before 1 January 2004. All interventions including proposals singled out for further economic analysis actually represent 33 %8 of those pending proposals.

Moreover, for at least 2 proposals, the screening exercise has produced results that do not fall directly into the above categories. First, concerning the proposal for a Council Directive on the minimum health and safety requirements regarding the exposure of workers to the risks arising from physical agents – optical radiations, 1992/0449/COD, for which the screening exercise has led the Commission to conclude that the aspects dealing with exposure of workers to natural optical radiation should be deleted, as proposed also by the European Parliament.

Secondly, concerning the proposal on Temporary Workers (2002/0072/COD), the Commission reserves its position to reconsider the proposal in light of future discussions on other proposals.

The Annex to the communication summarises the situation and gives details of the proposals concerned.

COM(2005)0462
EUR-Lex