Progress: Procedure completed
| Role | Committee | Rapporteur | Shadows |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lead | AFCO |
BROK Elmar ( PPE-DE),
BARÓN CRESPO Enrique ( PSE)
|
Lead committee dossier:
Legal Basis:
RoP 54
Legal Basis:
RoP 54Events
The European Parliament adopted a resolution based on the own-initiative report drafted by Enrique BARÓN CRESPO (PES, ES) and Elmar BROK (EPP-DE, DE) on the roadmap for the Union's Constitutional Process, by 469 votes in favour to 141 against and 32 abstentions. It reaffirmed its commitment to achieving a settlement of the ongoing constitutional process of the EU that is based on the content of the Constitutional Treaty, possibly under a different presentation, but which takes into account the difficulties that have arisen in some Member States. In the light of this, Parliament supported the efforts of the German Presidency to obtain from the European Council of June 2007 a commitment to calling an Intergovernmental Conference (IGC), and the definition of a roadmap containing a procedure, a clear mandate and the objective of reaching an agreement before the end of this year.
Parliament insisted on the preservation of all basic principles as contained in Part I of the Constitutional Treaty. This included the express recognition of the values on which the EU is based and of the legally binding force of the Charter of Fundamental Rights. It stated that it would reject any outcome of the negotiations which, if compared with the Constitutional Treaty, would lead to a diminution of the protection of the rights of citizens as well as to less democracy, transparency and efficiency in the functioning of the Union.
The Process must take into account major issues that have been raised during the reflection period and clarify other issues that have already been addressed in the Constitutional Treaty, such as: sustainable development, in particular the struggle against climate change; European solidarity in the field of energy; a coherent migration policy; the European Social Model in the context of demographic change and globalisation; effective common mechanisms for the coordination of economic policies in the euro-zone, while safeguarding the role of the European Central Bank in monetary policy in accordance with the Treaties; the Union's criteria and procedures for enlargement.
Parliament, as the only institution of the European Union directly elected by the citizens, must be fully involved in the IGC at all levels, and to a greater extent than during the 2003-2004 IGC. Members went on to emphasise the importance of dialogue between national parliaments and their respective governments through the IGC. They expressed willingness to maintain close contact with the national parliaments during the forthcoming negotiation phase, as well as with the Committee of the Regions and the European Economic and Social Committee, with the European Social Partners, with religious communities and with civil society.
Parliament demanded that all Member States coordinate their ratification procedures, in order to allow for the ratification process to be completed simultaneously.
Lastly, it stated its intention to deliver an opinion on the convening of the IGC in accordance with Article 48 of the Treaty on European Union, in light of the criteria set out in this resolution.
The committee adopted the own-initiative report drawn up by Enrique BARÓN CRESPO (PES, ES) and Elmar BROK (EPP-DE, DE) on the roadmap for the Union's Constitutional Process.
The committee reaffirmed its endorsement of the content of the Constitutional Treaty, which would make the EU more efficient and democratic, and called on the June European Council to convene an Intergovernmental Conference (IGC) with a view to reaching a settlement on institutional reforms and defining a roadmap "containing a procedure, a clear mandate and the objective of an agreement before the end of this year". It recalled the need to guarantee the EU's decision-making capacity, the effectiveness of its policies and their full democratic legitimacy and to strengthen the Common Foreign and Security Policy and the role of the EU in the world.
The committee report called for the preservation of all basic principles as contained in Part I of the Constitutional Treaty, including the primacy of European law, the double nature of the European Union as a union of States and of citizens, and the new typology of acts. It stressed that the Constitutional Treaty also contained other important improvements such as the consolidation of the existing treaties and the merging of pillars, the express recognition of the values on which the EU is based and of the legally binding force of the Charter of Fundamental Rights, the participation of citizens in the political life of the EU, clarification of the respective competences of the EU and of the Member States, and respect for the subsidiary principle and the role of national parliaments.
The committee stated that the European Parliament would "reject any outcome of the negotiations which, if compared with the Constitutional Treaty, would lead to a diminution of the protection of the rights of citizens(...) as well as to less democracy, transparency and efficiency in the functioning of the Union".
The report went on to underline the need for the IGC to take into account major issues raised during the reflection period and to clarify others that had already been addressed in the Constitutional Treaty, such as climate change, energy, migration policy, the European Social Model, terrorism, enlargement and the coordination of economic policies in the euro-zone. The Commission was urged to prepare proposals for modernising the Constitutional Treaty with regard to these issues.
The committee also called for the Parliament, as the only institution of the EU directly elected by citizens, to be fully involved in the IGC at all levels and to a greater extent than during the 2003-2004 IGC. It also called for the creation of an interinstitutional conference (following the model used when drawing up the Maastricht Treaty) in order to keep the European Parliament informed and "bring an important contribution to building a cross-party and transnational consensus in the IGC".
To help achieve a positive outcome, the committee also expressed its willingness to maintain close contact with the national parliaments during the forthcoming negotiation phase, as well as with the Committee of the Regions, the European Economic and Social Committee, the European social partners, religious communities and civil society.
Among other points, the report demanded that all Member States coordinate their ratification procedures, in order to allow for the ratification process to be completed simultaneously, and stressed that everything must be done to avoid the creation of a two-tier Europe.
Documents
- Commission response to text adopted in plenary: SP(2007)3798/2
- Results of vote in Parliament: Results of vote in Parliament
- Decision by Parliament: T6-0234/2007
- Debate in Parliament: Debate in Parliament
- Committee report tabled for plenary, single reading: A6-0197/2007
- Committee report tabled for plenary: A6-0197/2007
- Amendments tabled in committee: PE388.568
- Committee draft report: PE386.486
- Committee draft report: PE386.486
- Amendments tabled in committee: PE388.568
- Committee report tabled for plenary, single reading: A6-0197/2007
- Commission response to text adopted in plenary: SP(2007)3798/2
Activities
- Hans-Gert PÖTTERING
Plenary Speeches (7)
- 2016/11/22 Roadmap for the European Union's constitutional process (debate)
- 2016/11/22 Roadmap for the European Union's constitutional process (debate)
- 2016/11/22 Roadmap for the European Union's constitutional process (debate)
- 2016/11/22 Roadmap for the European Union's constitutional process (debate)
- 2016/11/22 Roadmap for the European Union's constitutional process (debate)
- 2016/11/22 Roadmap for the European Union's constitutional process (debate)
- 2016/11/22 Roadmap for the European Union's constitutional process (debate)
- Francis WURTZ
Plenary Speeches (1)
- Jens-Peter BONDE
Plenary Speeches (1)
- Jim ALLISTER
Plenary Speeches (1)
- Jan ANDERSSON
Plenary Speeches (1)
- John ATTARD-MONTALTO
Plenary Speeches (1)
- Jean-Pierre AUDY
Plenary Speeches (1)
- Enrique BARÓN CRESPO
Plenary Speeches (1)
- Bas BELDER
Plenary Speeches (1)
- Margrietus van den BERG
Plenary Speeches (1)
- Pervenche BERÈS
Plenary Speeches (1)
- Mario BORGHEZIO
Plenary Speeches (1)
- Elmar BROK
Plenary Speeches (1)
- Simon BUSUTTIL
Plenary Speeches (1)
- Carlos CARNERO GONZÁLEZ
Plenary Speeches (1)
- Brian CROWLEY
Plenary Speeches (1)
- Panayiotis DEMETRIOU
Plenary Speeches (1)
- Alexandra DOBOLYI
Plenary Speeches (1)
- Andrew DUFF
Plenary Speeches (1)
- Maria da Assunção ESTEVES
Plenary Speeches (1)
- Ilda FIGUEIREDO
Plenary Speeches (1)
- Genowefa GRABOWSKA
Plenary Speeches (1)
- Bruno GOLLNISCH
Plenary Speeches (1)
- Gunnar HÖKMARK
Plenary Speeches (1)
- Anneli JÄÄTTEENMÄKI
Plenary Speeches (1)
- Bernat JOAN i MARÍ
Plenary Speeches (1)
- Georgios KARATZAFERIS
Plenary Speeches (1)
- Piia-Noora KAUPPI
Plenary Speeches (1)
- Sylvia-Yvonne KAUFMANN
Plenary Speeches (1)
- Jo LEINEN
Plenary Speeches (1)
- Íñigo MÉNDEZ DE VIGO
Plenary Speeches (1)
- Reinhard RACK
Plenary Speeches (1)
- Libor ROUČEK
Plenary Speeches (1)
- Richard SEEBER
Plenary Speeches (1)
- Esko SEPPÄNEN
Plenary Speeches (1)
- Alexander STUBB
Plenary Speeches (1)
- Konrad SZYMAŃSKI
Plenary Speeches (1)
- Witold TOMCZAK
Plenary Speeches (1)
- Alejo VIDAL-QUADRAS
Plenary Speeches (1)
- Johannes VOGGENHUBER
Plenary Speeches (1)
- Corien WORTMANN-KOOL
Plenary Speeches (1)
- Vladimír ŽELEZNÝ
Plenary Speeches (1)
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NI
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ALDE