BETA

Awaiting Parliament 1st reading / single reading / budget 1st stage



2016/2005(ACI) Interinstitutional agreement on better law-making
RoleCommitteeRapporteurShadows
Lead AFCO HÜBNER Danuta Maria (EPP) CORBETT Richard (S&D), MCINTYRE Anthea (ECR), PAGAZAURTUNDÚA RUIZ Maite (ALDE), CHRYSOGONOS Kostas (GUE/NGL), DURAND Pascal (Verts/ALE)
Lead committee dossier: AFCO/8/05452

Activites

  • 2016/03/09 Vote in plenary scheduled
  • 2016/03/08 Debate in plenary scheduled
  • 2016/02/25 Committee report tabled for plenary, single reading
    • A8-0039/2016 summary
  • 2016/02/23 Vote in committee, 1st reading/single reading
  • #3448
  • 2016/02/16 Council Meeting
  • 2016/01/18 Committee referral announced in Parliament, 1st reading/single reading
  • 2015/05/19 Non-legislative basic document published
    • COM(2015)0215 summary
    • DG {'url': 'http://ec.europa.eu/dgs/secretariat_general/index_en.htm', 'title': 'Secretariat-General'}, TIMMERMANS Frans

Documents

  • Non-legislative basic document published: COM(2015)0215
  • Debate in Council: 3448
  • Committee report tabled for plenary, single reading: A8-0039/2016
AmendmentsDossier
97 2016/2005(ACI)
2016/02/03 AFCO 97 amendments...
source: 576.805

History

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

activities/5/type
Old
Debate in plenary scheduled
New
Debate in Parliament
activities/4/docs/0/text
  • The Committee on Constitutional Affairs adopted the report by Danuta Maria HÜBNER (EPP, PL) on the conclusion of an Interinstitutional Agreement on Better Law Making between the European Parliament, the Council of the European Union and the European Commission.

    Members welcomed the agreement reached between the institutions and considered this a good basis for establishing and developing a new, more open and transparent relationship between them with a view to delivering better law-making in the interest of the Union's citizens.

    Programming: the report welcomed in particular the results of the negotiations as regards multiannual and annual interinstitutional programming, the Commission's follow-up to Parliament's legislative initiatives, and the provision of justifications for and consultations on envisaged withdrawals of legislative proposals. It welcomed the agreed interinstitutional exchange of views in the event that a modification of the legal basis of an act is envisaged, and expressed its strong determination to resist any attempt to undermine the legislative powers of the European Parliament by means of a modification of the legal basis.

    Better law-making tools: underlining the importance of the new IIA’s provisions on better law-making tools (impact assessments, public and stakeholder consultations, evaluations, etc.), Members considered that that impact assessments must be comprehensive and balanced and should assess, inter alia, the cost to producers, consumers, workers, administrators and to the environment of not adopting the necessary legislation. They stressed the importance of taking into account, and paying attention to, the needs of SMEs at all stages of the legislative cycle and called for the assessment of the impact on SME to be included in impact assessment reports.

    The report recalled that, in its resolution of 27 November 2014 on the revision of the Commission’s impact assessment guidelines and requested that the independence of the Regulatory Scrutiny Board (formerly 'Impact Assessment Board') be strengthened including, in particular, that members of the Board should not be subject to political control. Members believed, in this respect, that the establishment of the Regulatory Scrutiny Board is a welcome first step in achieving independence thereof. They also pointed out that the legislators may also carry out their own impact assessments where they consider this necessary.

    Simplification of legislation: Members welcomed the agreement between the institutions to cooperate in order to update and simplify legislation and to exchange views thereon, prior to the finalisation of the Commission Work Programme. They underlined the importance of the agreed "Annual Burden Survey" as provided for in the agreement.

    According to Members, the feasibility and desirability of establishing objectives for the reduction of burdens in specific sectors must be carefully evaluated on a case-by-case basis in close cooperation between the institutions. Moreover, they is necessary to focus on the quality of legislation, and without undermining relevant Union standards. The Commission is expected to propose, on a regular basis, the repeal of legal acts where such repeal is deemed to be necessary.

    Delegated and implementing acts: the report pointed to the need for a swift agreement on appropriate criteria for delineating delegated and implementing acts and a prompt alignment of all basic acts to the legal framework introduced by the Treaty of Lisbon.

    Mutual exchange of views and information between Parliament and the Council: Members considered that those measures should be developed further, particularly in terms of mutual access to information and meetings, so as to ensure a truly equal balance and equal treatment between the legislators throughout the legislative procedure. They warned that the agreed informal exchanges of views should not develop into a new arena of non-transparent interinstitutional negotiations.

    Where Parliament and the Council fully exercise their prerogatives in the legislative procedure, Members considered that second-reading agreements should be the standard procedure whereas first reading agreements should be used only where a considered and explicit decision has been taken to do so.

    They highlighted the important role given to national parliaments by the Lisbon Treaty and encouraged better use of the existing subsidiarity and proportionality mechanisms as laid down in the Treaties.

    Issues to monitor: the report points out issues that need further follow-up at technical and/or political level, with the active involvement, and drawing on the expertise, of all parliamentary committees having the relevant experience:

    • programming;
    • verification of the legal basis of acts;
    • evaluation of the application by the Commission of its abovementioned Better Regulation Guidelines and of the effective functioning of the newly created Regulatory Scrutiny Board;
    • the transparency and coordination of the legislative process (including the appropriate use of first and second-reading procedures, practical arrangements for exchanges of views, information-sharing and comparison of time-tables, transparency in the context of trilateral negotiations, development of platforms and tools for the establishment of a joint database on the state of play of legislative files, the provision of information to national parliaments and practical arrangements for cooperation and information-sharing regarding negotiations on, and the conclusion of, international agreements);
    • an evaluation and possible follow up of the independence of the Regulatory Scrutiny Board in fulfilling its role in supervising and providing objective advice on respective impact assessments;
    • the expectation by Parliament, pursuant to the relevant provisions of the new IIA, that the Commission comes forward with proposals establishing targets, where feasible, for the reduction of burdens in key sectors as soon as possible while ensuring that the objectives of the legislation are met;
    • delegated and implementing acts, (negotiations on delineation criteria for delegated and implementing acts, the setting-up of a register of delegated acts and full alignment of pre-Lisbon acts);
    • implementation and application of Union legislation (scrutiny of the communication, by Member States, of the transposition of directives, as well as of each national measure that goes beyond the provisions of Union legislation ("gold-plating")).

    In conclusion, the committee approved the draft Interinstitutional Agreement on better law-making as well as the statement by Parliament and the Commission contained in Annex II to this decision.

activities/4/docs
  • url: http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do?type=REPORT&mode=XML&reference=A8-2016-0039&language=EN type: Committee report tabled for plenary, single reading title: A8-0039/2016
activities/4/date
Old
2016-03-07T00:00:00
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2016-02-25T00:00:00
activities/4/type
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Indicative plenary sitting date, 1st reading/single reading
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Committee report tabled for plenary, single reading
activities/5
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2016-03-08T00:00:00
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EP
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Debate in plenary scheduled
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2016-03-09T00:00:00
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Vote in plenary scheduled
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Awaiting committee decision
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Awaiting Parliament 1st reading / single reading / budget 1st stage
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2016-02-23T00:00:00
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EP
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Vote in committee, 1st reading/single reading
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body: EP shadows: group: S&D name: CORBETT Richard group: ECR name: MCINTYRE Anthea group: ALDE name: PAGAZAURTUNDÚA RUIZ Maite group: GUE/NGL name: CHRYSOGONOS Kostas group: Verts/ALE name: DURAND Pascal responsible: True committee: AFCO date: 2016-01-14T00:00:00 committee_full: Constitutional Affairs rapporteur: group: EPP name: HÜBNER Danuta Maria
procedure/Modified legal basis
Rules of Procedure of the European Parliament EP 150
activities/1/committees/0/shadows/3
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GUE/NGL
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CHRYSOGONOS Kostas
activities/1/committees/0/shadows/4
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Verts/ALE
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DURAND Pascal
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CSL
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3448
docs
url: http://register.consilium.europa.eu/content/out?lang=EN&typ=SET&i=SMPL&ROWSPP=25&RESULTSET=1&NRROWS=500&DOC_LANCD=EN&ORDERBY=DOC_DATE+DESC&CONTENTS=3448*&MEET_DATE=16/02/2016 type: Debate in Council title: 3448
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General Affairs
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2016-02-16T00:00:00
type
Council Meeting
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group
GUE/NGL
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CHRYSOGONOS Kostas
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Verts/ALE
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DURAND Pascal
activities/0/docs/0/text
  • PURPOSE: to present new measures to deliver better rules for better results.

    BACKGROUND: the new Commission’s priority is to deliver solutions to the big issues that cannot be addressed by the Member States alone: (i) an investment plan to leverage EUR 315 billion to boost jobs and growth; (ii) an energy union to deliver secure, affordable and sustainable energy; (iii) an internal security agenda to tackle common threats like terrorism and organised crime; (iv) a digital single market to unlock online opportunities; (v) and a migration agenda.

    The new initiatives flow from genuine political priorities and the Commission cannot, and should not, be involved in every issue in the EU.

    The Commission stresses that better regulation is not about "more" or "less" EU legislation, nor is it about deregulating or deprioritising certain policy areas or compromising EU values. The aim is rather to make sure that ambitious policy goals are achieved.

    CONTENT: this Communication sets out a series of actions which demonstrate the Commission’s renewed commitment to apply the principles of better regulation to its everyday work. The aim is to work more transparently and inclusively to produce higher quality proposals, and ensure that existing rules deliver important societal goals more effectively.

    1) Consulting more, listening better: the Commission intends to lead more transparent consultations, which reach all relevant stakeholders and target the evidence needed to make sound decisions. The Commission will create a website for each initiative.

    Thus, stakeholders will be able to:

    • express their views over the entire lifecycle of a policy; (i) there will be twelve-week public consultations when preparing new proposals and when evaluating and carry out "fitness checks" of existing legislation; (ii) citizens or stakeholders will be invited to provide feedback within eight weeks to feed these views into the legislative debate;
    • provide feedback on acts setting out technical or specific elements that are needed to implement the legislation adopted by the European Parliament and the Council: (i) the draft texts of delegated acts and important implementing acts which are subject to comitology will be open to the public on the Commission's website for four weeks; (ii) the Commission will publish an indicative list online of any such acts in the pipeline, so stakeholders can plan ahead.

    2) Explaining better the objectives to be achieve and the results expected: an improved explanatory memorandum accompanying each Commission proposal will explain why the initiative is needed, why it is the best tool for the EU to use, what stakeholders think and what the likely environmental, social and economic impacts are, particularly those on competitiveness and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).

    3) How EU law affects people, businesses and society as a whole: the Commission wants stakeholders to be able to provide feedback on any aspect of EU policy and legislation, at any time. A new "Lighten the Load – Have Your Say" feature on the Commission's better regulation website will give everyone a chance to air their views and make comments on existing EU laws and initiatives in addition to the formal consultations the Commission undertakes.

    4) Better regulation: new, integrated guidelines on better regulation will apply to the Commission's work and will ensure that: (i) economic, social and environmental impacts continue to be considered alongside each other in all of the Commission's analytical work together with fundamental rights; (ii) keeping the EU competitive and the EU's development sustainable remains a priority; (iii) particular attention is paid to the rules that affect SMEs.

    When considering policy solutions, the Commission will consider both regulatory and well-designed non-regulatory means as well as improvements in the implementation and enforcement of existing legislation.

    The Impact Assessment Board which has evaluates initial proposals since 2006, will be replaced by a new Regulatory Scrutiny Board with a strengthened role, which will: (i) assess the quality of the impact assessments which inform political decision-making; (ii) check major evaluations and carry out "fitness checks" of existing legislation.

    5) Keeping EU Law fit for purpose: over time, even well-designed legislation may become out of date, more burdensome than it needs to be, or ceases to achieve its objectives. The regulatory fitness and performance programme (REFIT) adopted by the Commission to ensure that EU legislation remains fit for purpose and delivers the results intended by EU lawmakers. It aims to unlock the benefits of EU law for citizens, businesses and society as a whole in the most efficient and effective way, while removing red tape and lowering costs without compromising policy objectives.

    In the framework of the REFIT programme, the Commission is already working to:

    • reduce burdens in areas such as: public procurement, business statistics and chemicals legislation ;
    • repeal outdated legislation: 23 candidates for repeal have been identified in various policy areas;
    • engage in reviews and comprehensive evaluations across a wide range of policies and legislation – e.g. on late payments, pesticides; food nutrition and health claims; motor insurance; the EU Derivatives Regulation and the Capital Requirements Regulation;
    • improve implementation of legislation and simplify the management of funds in the EU.

    6) Towards an new institutional agreement: the Commission considers that real change will only happen through a commitment shared between all EU institutions, and each and every Member State. Accordingly, it proposes a new agreement with Parliament and Council, whereby the three institutions will particularly undertake to:

    • prioritise initiatives that would simplify or improve existing laws such as those initiatives identified in the Commission's REFIT programme;
    • carry out an impact assessment on any substantial amendments that the European Parliament or the Council propose during the legislative process;
    • agree that legislation should be comprehensible and clear, allow parties to easily understand their rights and obligations include appropriate reporting, monitoring and evaluation requirements, avoid disproportionate costs, and be practical to implement;
    • urge Member States to avoid unjustified "gold plating" of EU rules when transposing them into national law;
    • be more transparent and participative;
    • promote "recast" legislation, so that laws remain clear and well-structured even after being amended; and
    • make EU legislation as accessible as possible: so everyone can see the legislation that affects them— online, up-to-date, reliable, complete and consolidated.

    The Commission hopes the three institutions can finalise a new agreement by the end of 2015.

activities/1/committees/0/shadows/2
group
ALDE
name
PAGAZAURTUNDÚA RUIZ Maite
committees/0/shadows/2
group
ALDE
name
PAGAZAURTUNDÚA RUIZ Maite
activities/1/committees/0/shadows/1
group
ECR
name
MCINTYRE Anthea
committees/0/shadows/1
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ECR
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MCINTYRE Anthea
activities/0/commission/0
DG
Commissioner
TIMMERMANS Frans
other/0
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EC
dg
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TIMMERMANS Frans
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date
2015-05-19T00:00:00
docs
url: http://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/docs_autres_institutions/commission_europeenne/com/2015/0215/COM_COM(2015)0215_EN.pdf celexid: CELEX:52015DC0215:EN type: Non-legislative basic document published title: COM(2015)0215
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Non-legislative basic document published
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EC
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date
2016-01-18T00:00:00
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EP
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Committee referral announced in Parliament, 1st reading/single reading
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body: EP shadows: group: S&D name: CORBETT Richard responsible: True committee: AFCO date: 2016-01-14T00:00:00 committee_full: Constitutional Affairs rapporteur: group: EPP name: HÜBNER Danuta Maria
procedure/dossier_of_the_committee
AFCO/8/05452
procedure/stage_reached
Old
Preparatory phase in Parliament
New
Awaiting committee decision
activities
  • date: 2016-03-07T00:00:00 body: EP type: Indicative plenary sitting date, 1st reading/single reading
committees
  • body: EP shadows: group: S&D name: CORBETT Richard responsible: True committee: AFCO date: 2016-01-14T00:00:00 committee_full: Constitutional Affairs rapporteur: group: EPP name: HÜBNER Danuta Maria
links
other
    procedure
    reference
    2016/2005(ACI)
    title
    Interinstitutional agreement on better law-making
    stage_reached
    Preparatory phase in Parliament
    subtype
    Interinstitutional agreement
    type
    ACI - Interinstitutional agreement procedure
    subject
    8.50.02 Legislative simplification, coordination, codification