Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2005-09-26-Speech-1-111"
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"en.20050926.15.1-111"2
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".
Mr President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, as rapporteur for the 8th directive, I can inform you that we have put together an interesting package in the negotiations with the Council and the Commission. For example, we managed to create more room for national solutions in audit committees, which are supervisory committees within enterprises. We spelled out once more that corporate governance is a matter to be negotiated at Member State level and that it is unacceptable for sweeping solutions in this area to be imposed from the European level.
We managed to make accountancy rotation the rule and the rotation of accountancy offices an exception. We also managed to restrict the administrative burden on the small and medium-sized enterprise in some areas and the Commission has undertaken to present a report on liability before the end of 2006. Commissioner McCreevy said a moment ago that he ‘intends to launch a study in the near future’, but we agreed that a report will be on the table before the end of 2006, and I also hope to have his word that that will be done; we would like to exchange views on this matter in this House too.
Liability is a problem on account of the huge differences between the Member States, but we will need to look for solutions here. All in all, it is a vital piece of legislation which, in my view, has become somewhat more pragmatic in the past six months and also more practical in its application, which is, after all, what this is all about.
There is another big obstacle to negotiate, namely comitology, as you, Commissioner, already pointed out. In that respect, we decided in favour of consistency with the Radwan report, as I believe it is the same interests that are at stake.
Further to a remark made by one Member a moment ago – ‘I do not want to take part in the power games between the institutions’ – I would like to repeat that I do not think this is about power games, but simply a modern way of legislating. We must draft framework legislation and delegate the details to the Commission and the experts, but that can only be done provided that Parliament has the call-back right. That is what matters most of all.
I remember that just before the Dutch referendum on the Constitution, which was, as you know, unsuccessful, there was a large article in one of the Dutch newspapers with the headline ‘Officials in Brussels have the power’. In actual fact, it referred to the executive committees where legislation of all kinds drafted in this House is implemented behind closed doors. That is a typical example that adds to the citizens’ growing dislike for Brussels, where all kinds of things are done behind closed doors.
I think, therefore, that if we discuss this comitology – and I am pleased that the Council has announced that it intends to develop initiatives – that much will need to be done in order to improve matters on this score. In that respect, I endorse the clause setting 1 April 2008 as the ‘sunset’, as also stipulated in the Radwan report. I would like to add, though, that with regard to Article 26, which concerns the adoption of the international accountancy standards, we should make an exception, because these involve, in terms of this sunset clause, international agreements. Needless to say, if and when a new regulation on comitology is introduced, the call-back right will also need to apply to accountancy standards of this kind.
On a final note, I would like to thank my fellow members of the committee for the very constructive collaboration. I think that our negotiations over the past six months have been very useful. I should also like to thank the Commission and the Council for the constructive attitude, and we can be very satisfied with the results achieved."@en1
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