BETA


2011/2058(REG) EP Rules of Procedure, Rules 123 and 42: written declarations and legislative initiatives

Progress: Procedure completed

RoleCommitteeRapporteurShadows
Lead AFCO TRZASKOWSKI Rafał (icon: PPE PPE) GURMAI Zita (icon: S&D S&D), THEIN Alexandra (icon: ALDE ALDE), HÄFNER Gerald (icon: Verts/ALE Verts/ALE), FOX Ashley (icon: ECR ECR), SCHOLZ Helmut (icon: GUE/NGL GUE/NGL), MESSERSCHMIDT Morten (icon: EFD EFD)
Lead committee dossier:
Legal Basis:
RoP 227-p1

Events

2012/12/13
   EP - Results of vote in Parliament
2012/12/13
   EP - Decision by Parliament, 1st reading/single reading
Details

The European Parliament adopted a decision on the amendment of Rule 123 on written declarations and Rule 42 on legislative initiatives of Parliament’s Rules of Procedure.

Parliament recalls that written declarations have a very limited impact, in terms of both agenda-setting and influencing decisions taken by the institutions, and may give a misleading impression as to their effectiveness; when properly used, however, they still retain value as a popular campaigning tool. Moreover, for proposals calling for a legislative action, Rule 42(2) should be used, giving individual Members a real opportunity to influence Union legislation and to incorporate a given proposal into the work of Parliament's committees.

In light of these considerations, Parliament has decided to amend its Rules of Procedure as follows:

Rule 42 – paragraphs 2 and 3 (legislative initiatives):

any Member may table a proposal for a Union act on the basis of the right of initiative granted to Parliament under Article 225 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union. Such a proposal may be tabled together by up to 10 Members. The proposal shall indicate its legal basis and may be accompanied by an explanatory statement of no more than 150 words; the proposal shall be submitted to the President, who shall verify whether the legal requirements are fulfilled. He may refer the proposal for an opinion on the appropriateness of the legal basis to the committee responsible for such verification . If the President declares the proposal admissible, he shall announce it in plenary and refer it to the committee responsible; where such a proposal is signed by a majority of Parliament's component members, the report on the proposal shall be deemed to be authorised by the Conference of Presidents. The committee shall draw up a report in accordance with Rule 48, after having heard the authors of the proposal; where a proposal is not opened for additional signatures or is not signed by a majority of Parliament's component Members the committee responsible shall take a decision on further action within three months of the referral, and after having heard the authors of the proposal.

Rule 123 (written declarations):

at least 10 Members from at least three political groups may submit a written declaration of not more than 200 words relating exclusively to a matter falling within the competence of the European Union; the contents of such a declaration may not go beyond the form of a declaration. In particular, it may not call for any legislative action , contain any decision on matters for which specific procedures and competences are laid down in these Rules of Procedure or deal with the subject of ongoing proceedings in Parliament The authorisation to proceed further shall be subject to a reasoned decision by the President pursuant to paragraph 1 in any given case. Written declarations shall be published in the official languages on Parliament's website and distributed electronically to all Members. They shall be entered, with the names of the signatories, in an electronic register. This register shall be public and shall be accessible through Parliament's website. The signature of any Member may be added to a declaration entered in the electronic register. It may be withdrawn at any time before the end of a period of three months from the entry of the declaration in the register. In the event of such a withdrawal the Member concerned shall not be permitted to add his or her signature again to the declaration.

Members take the view that the institutions to which a written declaration is addressed should inform Parliament about the intended follow-up within three months from receipt of such a declaration. Members intend, moreover, to seek an agreement with the Commission on this principle on the occasion of the next negotiations on the revision of the Framework Agreement on relations between the European Parliament and the Commission.

Lastly, the resolution notes that the quality and relevance of some written declarations, and in particular their concordance with the competences of the Union as set out in Title I of Part I of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, can be underwhelming. In the next term, therefore, Parliament might assess the impact of the new provisions of its Rules of Procedure concerning written declarations and examine their effectiveness.

Documents
2012/12/13
   EP - End of procedure in Parliament
2012/07/24
   EP - Committee report tabled for plenary, single reading
Details

The Committee on Constitutional Affairs adopted the report by Rafał TRZASKOWSKI (EPP, PL) on amendment of Rules 123 and 42 of Parliament's Rules of Procedure: written declarations and legislative initiatives.

The committee considers that in the light of Parliament's increased prerogatives, as well as the introduction of the European citizens' initiative, the significance of written declarations has changed, though they still can be a useful tool enabling Members to raise awareness on issues of public concern.

Parliament’s Rules of Procedure should be amended, and the committee recommends new rules, the main points being as follows:

· at least 10 Members from at least three political groups may submit a written declaration of not more than 200 words on a matter falling exclusively within the competence of the European Union ;

· the contents of such a declaration may not go beyond the form of a declaration. In particular, it may not call for any legislative action , contain any decision on matters for which specific procedures and competences are laid down in the Rules of Procedure or deal with the subject of ongoing proceedings in Parliament;

· the authorisation to proceed further shall be subject to a reasoned decision by the President in any given case. Written declarations shall be published in the official languages on Parliament's website and distributed electronically to all Members. They shall be entered, with the names of the signatories, in an electronic register. This register shall be public and shall be accessible through Parliament's website;

· where the institutions to which the adopted text has been addressed do not inform Parliament about the intended follow-up within three months from its receipt , the matter shall, at the request of one of the authors of the declaration, be placed on the agenda of a subsequent meeting of the committee responsible.

Members take the view that the institutions to which a written declaration is addressed should inform Parliament about the intended follow-up within three months from receipt of such a declaration. Members intend, moreover, to seek an agreement with the Commission on this principle on the occasion of the next negotiations on the revision of the Framework Agreement on relations between the European Parliament and the Commission.

Members add that the quality and relevance of some written declarations, and in particular their concordance with the competences of the Union as set out in Title I of Part I of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, can be underwhelming. In the next term, therefore, Parliament might assess the impact of the new provisions of its Rules of Procedure concerning written declarations and examine their effectiveness.

Documents
2012/07/12
   EP - Vote in committee, 1st reading/single reading
2012/06/25
   EP - Amendments tabled in committee
Documents
2012/04/02
   EP - Amendments tabled in committee
Documents
2012/02/16
   EP - Committee referral announced in Parliament, 1st reading/single reading
2012/02/02
   EP - Committee draft report
Documents
2011/02/14
   EP - Responsible Committee

Documents

Activities

AmendmentsDossier
70 2011/2058(REG)
2012/04/02 AFCO 64 amendments...
source: PE-486.057
2012/06/25 AFCO 6 amendments...
source: PE-492.630

History

(these mark the time of scraping, not the official date of the change)

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Old
http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do?type=REPORT&mode=XML&reference=A7-2012-242&language=EN
New
http://www.europarl.europa.eu/doceo/document/A-7-2012-0242_EN.html
events/4/docs/0/url
Old
http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do?type=TA&language=EN&reference=P7-TA-2012-502
New
http://www.europarl.europa.eu/doceo/document/TA-7-2012-0502_EN.html
activities
  • date: 2012-02-16T00:00:00 body: EP type: Committee referral announced in Parliament, 1st reading/single reading committees: body: EP shadows: group: S&D name: GURMAI Zita group: ALDE name: THEIN Alexandra group: Verts/ALE name: HÄFNER Gerald group: ECR name: FOX Ashley group: GUE/NGL name: SCHOLZ Helmut group: EFD name: MESSERSCHMIDT Morten responsible: True committee: AFCO date: 2011-02-14T00:00:00 committee_full: Constitutional Affairs rapporteur: group: PPE name: TRZASKOWSKI Rafał
  • date: 2012-07-12T00:00:00 body: EP type: Vote in committee, 1st reading/single reading committees: body: EP shadows: group: S&D name: GURMAI Zita group: ALDE name: THEIN Alexandra group: Verts/ALE name: HÄFNER Gerald group: ECR name: FOX Ashley group: GUE/NGL name: SCHOLZ Helmut group: EFD name: MESSERSCHMIDT Morten responsible: True committee: AFCO date: 2011-02-14T00:00:00 committee_full: Constitutional Affairs rapporteur: group: PPE name: TRZASKOWSKI Rafał
  • date: 2012-07-24T00:00:00 docs: url: http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do?type=REPORT&mode=XML&reference=A7-2012-242&language=EN type: Committee report tabled for plenary, single reading title: A7-0242/2012 body: EP type: Committee report tabled for plenary, single reading
  • date: 2012-12-13T00:00:00 docs: url: http://www.europarl.europa.eu/oeil/popups/sda.do?id=21902&l=en type: Results of vote in Parliament title: Results of vote in Parliament url: http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do?type=TA&language=EN&reference=P7-TA-2012-502 type: Decision by Parliament, 1st reading/single reading title: T7-0502/2012 body: EP type: Results of vote in Parliament
committees/0
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AFCO
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2011-02-14T00:00:00
rapporteur
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shadows
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date
2011-02-14T00:00:00
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docs
  • date: 2012-02-02T00:00:00 docs: url: http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do?type=COMPARL&mode=XML&language=EN&reference=PE480.808 title: PE480.808 type: Committee draft report body: EP
  • date: 2012-04-02T00:00:00 docs: url: http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do?type=COMPARL&mode=XML&language=EN&reference=PE486.057 title: PE486.057 type: Amendments tabled in committee body: EP
  • date: 2012-06-25T00:00:00 docs: url: http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do?type=COMPARL&mode=XML&language=EN&reference=PE492.630 title: PE492.630 type: Amendments tabled in committee body: EP
events
  • date: 2012-02-16T00:00:00 type: Committee referral announced in Parliament, 1st reading/single reading body: EP
  • date: 2012-07-12T00:00:00 type: Vote in committee, 1st reading/single reading body: EP
  • date: 2012-07-24T00:00:00 type: Committee report tabled for plenary, single reading body: EP docs: url: http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do?type=REPORT&mode=XML&reference=A7-2012-242&language=EN title: A7-0242/2012 summary: The Committee on Constitutional Affairs adopted the report by Rafał TRZASKOWSKI (EPP, PL) on amendment of Rules 123 and 42 of Parliament's Rules of Procedure: written declarations and legislative initiatives. The committee considers that in the light of Parliament's increased prerogatives, as well as the introduction of the European citizens' initiative, the significance of written declarations has changed, though they still can be a useful tool enabling Members to raise awareness on issues of public concern. Parliament’s Rules of Procedure should be amended, and the committee recommends new rules, the main points being as follows: · at least 10 Members from at least three political groups may submit a written declaration of not more than 200 words on a matter falling exclusively within the competence of the European Union ; · the contents of such a declaration may not go beyond the form of a declaration. In particular, it may not call for any legislative action , contain any decision on matters for which specific procedures and competences are laid down in the Rules of Procedure or deal with the subject of ongoing proceedings in Parliament; · the authorisation to proceed further shall be subject to a reasoned decision by the President in any given case. Written declarations shall be published in the official languages on Parliament's website and distributed electronically to all Members. They shall be entered, with the names of the signatories, in an electronic register. This register shall be public and shall be accessible through Parliament's website; · where the institutions to which the adopted text has been addressed do not inform Parliament about the intended follow-up within three months from its receipt , the matter shall, at the request of one of the authors of the declaration, be placed on the agenda of a subsequent meeting of the committee responsible. Members take the view that the institutions to which a written declaration is addressed should inform Parliament about the intended follow-up within three months from receipt of such a declaration. Members intend, moreover, to seek an agreement with the Commission on this principle on the occasion of the next negotiations on the revision of the Framework Agreement on relations between the European Parliament and the Commission. Members add that the quality and relevance of some written declarations, and in particular their concordance with the competences of the Union as set out in Title I of Part I of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, can be underwhelming. In the next term, therefore, Parliament might assess the impact of the new provisions of its Rules of Procedure concerning written declarations and examine their effectiveness.
  • date: 2012-12-13T00:00:00 type: Results of vote in Parliament body: EP docs: url: https://oeil.secure.europarl.europa.eu/oeil/popups/sda.do?id=21902&l=en title: Results of vote in Parliament
  • date: 2012-12-13T00:00:00 type: Decision by Parliament, 1st reading/single reading body: EP docs: url: http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do?type=TA&language=EN&reference=P7-TA-2012-502 title: T7-0502/2012 summary: The European Parliament adopted a decision on the amendment of Rule 123 on written declarations and Rule 42 on legislative initiatives of Parliament’s Rules of Procedure. Parliament recalls that written declarations have a very limited impact, in terms of both agenda-setting and influencing decisions taken by the institutions, and may give a misleading impression as to their effectiveness; when properly used, however, they still retain value as a popular campaigning tool. Moreover, for proposals calling for a legislative action, Rule 42(2) should be used, giving individual Members a real opportunity to influence Union legislation and to incorporate a given proposal into the work of Parliament's committees. In light of these considerations, Parliament has decided to amend its Rules of Procedure as follows: Rule 42 – paragraphs 2 and 3 (legislative initiatives): any Member may table a proposal for a Union act on the basis of the right of initiative granted to Parliament under Article 225 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union. Such a proposal may be tabled together by up to 10 Members. The proposal shall indicate its legal basis and may be accompanied by an explanatory statement of no more than 150 words; the proposal shall be submitted to the President, who shall verify whether the legal requirements are fulfilled. He may refer the proposal for an opinion on the appropriateness of the legal basis to the committee responsible for such verification . If the President declares the proposal admissible, he shall announce it in plenary and refer it to the committee responsible; where such a proposal is signed by a majority of Parliament's component members, the report on the proposal shall be deemed to be authorised by the Conference of Presidents. The committee shall draw up a report in accordance with Rule 48, after having heard the authors of the proposal; where a proposal is not opened for additional signatures or is not signed by a majority of Parliament's component Members the committee responsible shall take a decision on further action within three months of the referral, and after having heard the authors of the proposal. Rule 123 (written declarations): at least 10 Members from at least three political groups may submit a written declaration of not more than 200 words relating exclusively to a matter falling within the competence of the European Union; the contents of such a declaration may not go beyond the form of a declaration. In particular, it may not call for any legislative action , contain any decision on matters for which specific procedures and competences are laid down in these Rules of Procedure or deal with the subject of ongoing proceedings in Parliament The authorisation to proceed further shall be subject to a reasoned decision by the President pursuant to paragraph 1 in any given case. Written declarations shall be published in the official languages on Parliament's website and distributed electronically to all Members. They shall be entered, with the names of the signatories, in an electronic register. This register shall be public and shall be accessible through Parliament's website. The signature of any Member may be added to a declaration entered in the electronic register. It may be withdrawn at any time before the end of a period of three months from the entry of the declaration in the register. In the event of such a withdrawal the Member concerned shall not be permitted to add his or her signature again to the declaration. Members take the view that the institutions to which a written declaration is addressed should inform Parliament about the intended follow-up within three months from receipt of such a declaration. Members intend, moreover, to seek an agreement with the Commission on this principle on the occasion of the next negotiations on the revision of the Framework Agreement on relations between the European Parliament and the Commission. Lastly, the resolution notes that the quality and relevance of some written declarations, and in particular their concordance with the competences of the Union as set out in Title I of Part I of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, can be underwhelming. In the next term, therefore, Parliament might assess the impact of the new provisions of its Rules of Procedure concerning written declarations and examine their effectiveness.
  • date: 2012-12-13T00:00:00 type: End of procedure in Parliament body: EP
links
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    New
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    • date: 2012-02-16T00:00:00 body: EP type: Committee referral announced in Parliament, 1st reading/single reading committees: body: EP shadows: group: S&D name: GURMAI Zita group: ALDE name: THEIN Alexandra group: Verts/ALE name: HÄFNER Gerald group: ECR name: FOX Ashley group: GUE/NGL name: SCHOLZ Helmut group: EFD name: MESSERSCHMIDT Morten responsible: True committee: AFCO date: 2011-02-14T00:00:00 committee_full: Constitutional Affairs rapporteur: group: PPE name: TRZASKOWSKI Rafał
    • date: 2012-07-12T00:00:00 body: EP type: Vote in committee, 1st reading/single reading committees: body: EP shadows: group: S&D name: GURMAI Zita group: ALDE name: THEIN Alexandra group: Verts/ALE name: HÄFNER Gerald group: ECR name: FOX Ashley group: GUE/NGL name: SCHOLZ Helmut group: EFD name: MESSERSCHMIDT Morten responsible: True committee: AFCO date: 2011-02-14T00:00:00 committee_full: Constitutional Affairs rapporteur: group: PPE name: TRZASKOWSKI Rafał
    • date: 2012-07-24T00:00:00 docs: url: http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do?type=REPORT&mode=XML&reference=A7-2012-242&language=EN type: Committee report tabled for plenary, single reading title: A7-0242/2012 body: EP type: Committee report tabled for plenary, single reading
    • date: 2012-12-13T00:00:00 docs: url: http://www.europarl.europa.eu/oeil/popups/sda.do?id=21902&l=en type: Results of vote in Parliament title: Results of vote in Parliament url: http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do?type=TA&language=EN&reference=P7-TA-2012-502 type: Decision by Parliament, 1st reading/single reading title: T7-0502/2012 body: EP type: Results of vote in Parliament
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    links
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      AFCO/7/05212
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