§ Lord Pearson of Rannochasked Her Majesty's Government:
What are the powers of the European Parliament under (a) the co-decision procedure; (b) other European Union procedures; and (c) in respect of the other European Union institutions. [HL3729]
§ Baroness Symons of Vernham DeanThe European Parliament (EP) has powers of co-decision where provided for in the treaty establishing the European Community (TEC). Article 251 TEC sets out the co-decision procedure, which gives the European Parliament an ability both to shape the detail of legislation and to prevent a proposed act proceeding.
The EP also possesses, in a more limited area, powers of: assent (where its powers to amend a given proposal are less but its consent to it is still required), which apply for instance on enlargements of the Union; co-operation (under the procedure set out in Article 252), which apply mostly in the context of economic and monetary union; consultation (where the EP's opinion must be sought and noted, even if not 39WA acted upon); and information (where the EP is informed but cannot formally respond).
The Treaty on European Union (TEU) requires that the EP be consulted on the main aspects of the common foreign and security policy, and be kept informed of developments. The EP has the power in this area to ask questions of the Council and make recommendations to it.
The EP possesses a number of specific powers in respect of other EU institutions. These include: the power to request Commission proposals where it considers they are required for the implementation of the treaty (Article 192 TEC); the power to set up a committee of inquiry to investigate alleged abuses in the implementation of Community law (Article 193 TEC); the power to censure and thereby require the Commission as a whole to resign (Article 201), although this power does not extend to individual Commissioners; and the power to bring proceedings against other institutions before the ECJ (Articles 230 and 232). The EP has extensive powers over the Community budget.
§ Lord Pearson of Rannochasked Her Majesty's Government:
Which areas are subject to the co-decision procedure under (a) the Treaty of Nice; and (b) the proposed European Union Constitution. [HL3730]
§ Baroness Symons of Vernham DeanIn my reply to the noble Lord's Question of 17 June 2003 (Official Report, col. WA 91), I placed in the Library of the House a list of the provisions that were transferred to co-decision under each of the previous EU treaties, including the Nice Treaty. These already cover the large majority of EU legislative proposals.
The new treaty would slightly amend the co-decision procedure set out in Article 251 TEC and apply it to all areas where European laws and framework laws are adopted under the ordinary legislative procedure (Article III-302). The treaty would thereby create further areas of co-decision, including laws on intellectual property (Article III-68), structural funds (III-19), the common agricultural policy (III-127.2), asylum (III-167), immigration (III-168), Eurojust (III-174), and Europol (III-177). We will supply a full list as part of our comprehensive analysis of the treaty after the final text is produced in the autumn.
§ Lord Pearson of Rannochasked Her Majesty's Government:
What are the arrangements for qualified majority voting in the Council of Ministers under (a) the Treaty of Nice; and (b) the proposed European Union Constitution; and when the arrangements under the Treaty of Nice will come into force. [HL3731]
§ Baroness Symons of Vernham DeanThe arrangements for qualified majority voting in the Council of Ministers under the Treaty of Nice were superseded by new provisions in Article 12 of the 2003 Treaty of Accession, which will come into effect on 140WA November 2004. Between 1 May and 31 October this year, transitional arrangements apply which are detailed in Article 26 of the 2003 Treaty of Accession.
Arrangements for qualified majority voting in the Council of Ministers under the draft EU constitution are set out in Article I-24 (CIG 86/04). They will come into effect on 1 November 2009, assuming the treaty is ratified by all 25 member states. From the date the EU constitution comes into effect until 1 November 2009, transitional arrangements will apply which are detailed in the Protocol on the transitional provisions relating to the institutions and bodies of the Union Article 2 (CIG 86/04 ADD 1).
Relevant pages of the documents referred to above are available in the Library of the House.