The European Parliament adopted a resolution drafted by Richard CORBETT (PES, UK) on the amendment of Rule 47 of Parliament's Rules of Procedure ‘Enhanced Cooperation between Committees’. The report adopted by 625 votes in favour to 19 against with 15 abstentions. (Please refer to the summary dated 10/04/2007).

The House also adopted a joint amendment by the PES, ALDE, EPP-ED et GUE/NGL which states that:

- as regards the procedure with associated committees, where a question of competence has been referred to the Conference of Presidents pursuant to Rules 179(2) or 45, and the Conference of Presidents, on the basis of Annex VI, considers that the matter falls almost equally within the competence of two or more committees, or that different parts of the matter fall under the competence of two or more committees, Rule 46 shall apply with the following additional provisions:

- the rapporteur and the draftsmen shall keep each other informed and shall endeavour to agree on the texts they propose to their committees and on their position regarding amendments;

- the chairmen, rapporteur and draftsmen concerned shall endeavour to jointly identify areas of the text falling within their exclusive or joint competences and agree on the precise arrangements for their cooperation;

- the committee responsible shall accept without a vote amendments from an associated committee where they concern matters which the chairman of the committee responsible considers, on the basis of Annex VI, after consulting the chairman of the associated committee, to fall under the exclusive competence of the associated committee and which do not contradict other elements of the report. The chairman of the committee responsible shall take account of any agreement reached under the third indent.

Lastly, it is provided that in the event of a conciliation procedure taking place on the proposal, Parliament's delegation shall include the draftsman of any associated committee.

It should be noted that the amendment proposed by the Greens/EFA was not accepted at Plenary.

The Committee on Constitutional Affairs adopted the report drafted by Mr. Richard CORBETT (PES, RU) on amendment of Rule 47 of Parliament's Rules of Procedure ‘Enhanced Cooperation between Committees’.

The purpose of the proposed modification is to make this article more flexible, without changing it radically. Technically speaking, it is proposed to strengthen cooperation between parliamentary committees where a question falls almost equally between the competences of two or more of them. Members are laying down more precise rules as to how ‘associated’ committees should work and how this can be achieved.

In particular, the report provides for greater transparency between the draftsman of the opinion and the main rapporteur. The latter shall keep each other informed and shall endeavour to agree on the texts they propose to their committees. This change mainly seeks to strengthen the dialogue between the rapporteurs and, in particular, between the draftsmen of opinions.

Members also want the committees concerned to be able to decide jointly regarding those parts of the text that relate to their exclusive or joint competence and to reach agreement on specifically how they will work together.

Lastly, the Committee proposes that the title of the article should be changed in order to avoid any confusion in terminology with the Title VII of the TEU which is entitled ‘Provisions on enhanced cooperation’. This is why it proposes to give this article the title ‘Procedure with associated committees’.