Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2002-12-16-Speech-1-064"
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"en.20021216.5.1-064"2
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".
Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, as it happens that I am the last to speak, by the same token I shall be the last to compliment Mr Bourlanges on his report, but I am not alone in doing so. This report is indeed remarkable in many aspects. First of all, because it covers in depth one of the fundamental points of the issues raised at Laeken. Secondly, because of its rigour, effectiveness and the concise proposals that Parliament formulates in the report, which do indeed lead to genuine simplification of our legislative system, which the rapporteur himself, Mr Bourlanges, described as rather chaotic. Lastly, I must say, because of the extremely rich, clever, skilful pen of your rapporteur, whose talent contradicts each day what a great French diplomat used to say. This diplomat, Mr Talleyrand, who Mr Bourlanges knows well, used to claim, quite wrongly, that spirit may be very useful but does not lead anywhere. On the contrary, Mr Bourlanges, your spirited report leads to a very well-argued resolution. I would like to express the Commission’s full approval of most of the conclusions of this resolution, in accordance, furthermore, with our own communication, which I prepared with President Prodi and my colleague Mr Vitorino here on 5 December last with regard to the institutional framework.
Mr President, I would like to emphasise three points. The first concerns the actual principle of the organisation of the legal structure of the Union in three blocs – constitutional, legislative and implementing – which would provide the operation of the Union with the clarity that is sorely lacking today. This reorganisation is indispensable if we are to clarify the legislative role of each institution: the responsibility of the European Parliament and the Council for laying down legislative acts and the primary responsibility of the Commission for ensuring that legislative acts are applied and adopting implementing acts. Naturally, adoption and revision procedures for future constitutional treaties are also important. The Commission, like Parliament, would like to call on the Convention as a model for these procedures more frequently from now on.
Over and above procedural issues, Parliament and the Commission share the same point of view on the need to include sectoral policies within the constitutional treaty. Yet again, I must reiterate that we cannot have strong institutions with weak policies.
My second point, ladies and gentlemen, which is fundamental to this report, concerns the creation of a genuine legislative bloc. The time has come to call a spade, a spade, as you say yourself, and therefore to talk about European laws. These laws will be adopted by a legislative authority divided into two equal arms; they will be adopted by means of a single procedure, the egalitarian codecision procedure that Mr Leinen rightly focused on earlier on. Here, at last, is an option that would provide all the citizens with a clear, transparent plan, although it is clear that certain aspects of the codecision procedure would need to be streamlined.
Furthermore, specific adjustments certainly need to be made in the area of organic laws or budgetary acts, and your report, Mr Bourlanges, paves the way for this to take place.
My third point concerns the role you would like the European Commission to play in implementing legislation. I am not talking here about actual governmental functions, although I would note in passing that we should also clarify the exercising of these functions, which must be shared between the Commission, which proposes, and the Council, which decides, with appropriate information provided to the European Parliament. This applies to the fields of police and justice and to the field of common foreign and security policy. With regard to Community competence to implement European legislation, however, we, like you, would like this to be clearly awarded to the Commission and monitored equally by Parliament and the Council, in other words by the two arms of the legislative and budgetary authority. Mrs Randzio-Plath has emphasised this point, moreover. We need to carry out fundamental rationalisation to know who does what in the European Union and introduce greater transparency and accountability into the exercising of these implementing competences.
It is in this regard, ladies and gentlemen, that I must inform you of two concerns the Commission has on two points in your report. The first was raised by Mrs Frassoni earlier. It relates to the possibility of awarding at least part of these implementing competences to an authority other than the Commission. Ladies and gentlemen, we must avoid encouraging or facilitating what could be perceived as dismantling regulatory power in the European Union. The second point that concerns us, and Mr Corbett and Mrs Bérès, amongst others, have raised it, is that of granting Parliament and the Council a generalised right of veto with regard to implementing measures. I am indeed talking about implementing measures. This point is currently the subject – although some of the details may be different - of a reasoned discussion within the context of the preparation of the draft interinstitutional agreement on improving legislation, and my colleague, Mrs de Palacio, will discuss it here tomorrow.
I shall not repeat the Commission’s position, as it is already well-known. Allow me simply to say that, as regards implementing measures each institution must be able to exercise its prerogatives autonomously, in harmony with the other institutions, and must avoid burdening the citizens and economic entities with the risk of legal insecurity.
Mr President, in conclusion, I would like to congratulate the members of the Committee on Constitutional Affairs and your rapporteur most sincerely on the inspired work they have achieved with this report. We shall have to fight to impose the ambitious conclusions arising from the report. Mr Bourlanges, ladies and gentlemen, there is some distance between the Bourlanges report, as you are able to adopt it, and the conclusions of the Convention working group headed by Mr Amato. In order to bridge this gap when the future constitutional treaty is drafted, it is essential for the Commission and Parliament to continue to take the same line within the Convention. You can count on Mr Vitorino and myself for that. This is an element that Mrs Kaufmann and Mr Duff raised earlier, which makes Mr Bourlanges’ report all the more useful and relevant."@en1
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