EU nations have written a joint letter denouncing as “problematic” a brand new try to enhance relations between the European Parliament and the European Commission, warning that it goes in opposition to its founding treaties.
The European Parliament’s long-awaited dream of gaining the correct to suggest new legal guidelines has been met with a fierce rebuke from the 27 member states, who in a joint letter denounced the transfer for what they understand as an extra of energy.
“The Treaties comprehensively outline the respective powers conferred on the establishments which can’t be modified or supplemented by the establishments themselves, both unilaterally or by settlement between them,” the capitals mentioned on Tuesday.
The letter got here in response to a joint statement revealed final month by Roberta Metsola, president of the European Parliament, and Ursula von der Leyen, president of the European Commission, aimed to enhance relations between the 2 establishments, which have been tormented by tensions and varied accusations for 5 years.
MEPs have typically complained that the Commission favors the Council over Parliament, leaving legislators out of the loop on essential selections. The Commission’s lack of transparency and the absence of Commissioners in plenary classes regarding their portfolios have been a recurring level of rivalry.
Seeking to iron out their variations, Metsola and von der Leyen pledged “larger transparency and higher dialogue” in a nine-point declaration that goals to kind the idea for an up to date framework settlement between the 2 establishments.
Among the factors is “the strengthening of Parliament’s proper of initiative” supplied for in Article 225 of the Treaties, which permits deputies to ask the chief to current a brand new legislation.
For Member States, this promise is unacceptable because it “constitutes an try and erode the correct of initiative that the Treaties confer on the Commission”.
Under present guidelines, the Commission is the one establishment licensed to draft and current new laws. Subsequently, the Parliament and the Council negotiate new proposals till an settlement is reached. Only then will the legislation be authorised.
For years, the Parliament, the one EU establishment straight elected by voters, has pushed for its personal “proper of initiative” to legislate, just like how nationwide parliaments function. Member states have firmly resisted this marketing campaign, fearing that it might weaken their very own powers.
These fears have been laid naked within the joint letter, which sharply criticizes many elements of the Metsola-von der Leyen assertion as “regrettable” and “problematic”.
Member States oppose the precept of “equal therapy” between Parliament and Council signed by Metsola and von der Leyen. In their opinion, such a precept doesn’t exist within the Treaties and is due to this fact invalid.
Governments additionally criticize von der Leyen’s dedication to “present justifications and complete data” when the Commission presents emergency legal guidelines beneath Article 122, which bypass Parliament and solely require Council approval. The article has been broadly used to reply to the COVID-19 pandemic and the power disaster.
This dedication “seems to intrude with the Commission’s proper of initiative and the Council’s decision-making autonomy”, the Member States mentioned, underlining that the duty to justify Article 122 proposals “dangers hampering the pace and effectiveness” of the bloc’s widespread response to extraordinary occasions.
The nations conclude the letter by warning in opposition to “any provision” that might upset “the institutional steadiness envisaged by the Treaties”.
