Toespraak Eurocommissaris Sefcovic over versterkte rol voor nationale parlementen (en)

Honourable members, ladies and gentlemen,

It is a great honour for me to speak today before the Sejm EU Affairs Committee, and I would like to warmly thank you, and in particular Chairman [of the EU Affairs Committee] Rakoczy, for your kind invitation, which I have accepted with greatest pleasure.

As agreed with Chairman Rakoczy, I will present to you the main features of the Commission's Work Programme 2010; and with your permission, and since your Committee is the main actor - and you the experts - when it comes to examining and discussing documents and proposals adopted by the Commission, I would also like to take this opportunity to talk to you more generally about the Commission's relations with national Parliaments and how we would like to see these relations evolve in the future.

But before I do so, allow me first to pay tribute to the many colleagues of yours - 15 Members of the Sejm, including three Vice Marshals of this House - who lost their lives in the tragic plane crash in April. What happened on 10 April was a terrible loss, not only for the families and friends of the victims, not only for Poland, but also for Europe as a whole.

Let me start with some general considerations as regards the relations between the Commission and national Parliaments.

The delegation of your committee [Chairman Stanislaw RAKOCZY, Andrzej GALAZEWSKI and Tadeusz IWINSKI] and myself have just come back from a very constructive and interesting meeting of the COSAC in Madrid. For the Commission, this COSAC meeting was a particularly important meeting, since it was not only the first one after the entry into force of the new Treaty of Lisbon, but also the first one after the new Commission took up its functions in February this year.

Therefore, I would like to reiterate a few messages, which I already had the honour to pass in Madrid, to all of you in this room. I hope that by doing so I will raise your awareness as regards the importance for national Parliaments to be closely involved in European matters and to engage in a political dialogue with the Commission and the other EU institutions.

The Barroso II Commission has taken up its functions during a particularly important phase in its relations with national Parliaments, which coincides with the first implementation phase of the important new provisions related to national Parliament contained in the Lisbon Treaty.

As you know, the Treaty of Lisbon gives national Parliaments much greater scope to participate alongside the European institutions in the work of the EU. It explicitly recognizes that “national Parliaments contribute actively to the good functioning of the Union” and contains a series of new rights and obligations, through which national Parliaments will be able to exercise this new role conferred to them by the new Treaty.

For example, national Parliaments now take part in the revision procedures of the Treaties. They can oppose an initiative of the European Council to invoke the bridging or passerelle clause to shift from unanimity to QMV. They can also oppose a Council decision to have aspects of family law with cross-border implications adopted by ordinary legislative procedure. And they are directly involved in the monitoring and evaluation of Europol and Eurojust and, more generally, are entitled to being informed about the implementation of the Union policies in the area of Freedom, Security and Justice.

However, featuring most prominently among national Parliaments' new rights is certainly their responsibility to "ensure compliance with the principle of subsidiarity in accordance with the procedure set out in Protocol [No 2]", commonly known as "subsidiarity control mechanism" or the "yellow and orange card procedure".

This new procedure gives national Parliaments the possibility to require the Commission to review a legislative proposal and also involves the possibility for the legislator to stop the ordinary legislative procedure if a given number of national Parliaments questions conformity with the subsidiarity principle of a particular proposal within 8 weeks.

On 1 December 2009, President Barroso and former Vice President Wallström sent a letter to the Presidents of the 40 Chambers of national Parliaments, explaining in detail how the Commission intended to put the new subsidiarity control mechanism into practice.

The main messages the Commission wanted to pass with this letter were:

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  The Commission is welcomes the subsidiarity control mechanism as a political, and not as a purely accounting exercise.

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  The Commission is confident that national Parliaments will use this instrument in a responsible and constructive way, respecting the distinction between subsidiarity issues and policy input.

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  The Commission wants to facilitate the use of this new instrument and does not intend to create artificial obstacles for national Parliaments.

The reactions we received from national Parliaments on our letter, were all positive and encouraged us to continue to put a strong emphasis on developing this political vision for our relations.

The Commission has started to receive the first opinions from national Parliaments on legislative proposals falling under the new subsidiarity control mechanism. The great majority of these opinions have been positive, three of them negative, namely

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  an opinion from the French Senate on the European Heritage Label;

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  an opinion from your "neighbours" from the [Polish] Senate on the Frontex proposal;

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  and an opinion by the Austrian Bundesrat on the proposal concerning translation and interpretation in criminal proceedings.

After having prepared the ground for a smooth implementation of the new Treaty provisions, in some respects the ball is now in the court of national Parliaments. It is with great interest and particular attention that we are following the different discussions currently taking place on the future of interparliamentary cooperation, be it within the context of COSAC or the Conference of Speakers of EU Parliaments or in other informal or ad-hoc fora.

One of the most frequently asked questions, especially after the first experience gathered during the last four months, is when we expect this new mechanism to be triggered for the first time, and whether we expect it to be triggered at all.

The Commission is of course fully aware of the fact that the 8 weeks deadline is very demanding for national Parliaments and that the thresholds are certainly not easy to trigger. Looking in particular at what the Commission has received in terms of opinions from national Parliaments over the last 4 years, in the context of the political dialogue, suggests that the Treaty thresholds would never have been reached. There are still extremely few Commission proposals or communications on which we receive 4 or more opinions. Of course, in a world where the Commission undertakes extensive consultation before making a proposal, this is normal - in most cases we would hope to have addressed concerns before making a proposal.

For the very reason that use of the new Treaty mechanism will probably be relatively rare, and that this new instrument allows national Parliaments - strictly speaking - to express themselves only on the question of subsidiarity and only on normal legislative texts, it is essential to maintain, and even deepen, the political dialogue we have built up with national Parliaments in the course of the last four years.

Maintaining the political dialogue will give us the possibility to exchange opinions not only on subsidiarity questions, and not only on legislative proposals, but on basically all Commission documents, including their content, their legal base or aspects of proportionality. I believe this is what many of you are interested in.

Just to recall: In the context of the political dialogue, launched by President Barroso in May 2006, the Commission invites national Parliaments to react on any Commission document or legislative proposal and commits itself to reply in detail to any opinion received by one of the 40 chambers in the context of this exercise, which raises concrete questions, comments or concerns on different aspects of a document. The European Council [of June 2006] has even gone further and invited the Commission explicitly to take into account the views expressed by national Parliaments.

The political dialogue works very well. The number of opinions we receive from national Parliaments has been constantly increasing, from 168 in 2006/2007 to 200 in 2008 and 250 in 2009. This clear upward trend has also been confirmed during the first months of this year. There is certainly still room for improvement, on both sides, but overall I think everybody agrees that this initiative has been a great success.

So far, your Chamber has chosen not to participate on a regular basis in this dialogue, and we are of course fully aware that this does not mean you are not interested in European Affairs, but that you define your respective role rather via the scrutiny of your own governments than of the Commission. Nevertheless, I would like to seize the opportunity today to encourage you to share your views on some issues of key interest also with the Commission, and to send us your opinions, so that we can establish a regular exchange with you.

You may ask yourself: Why is the Commission so interested in developing the political dialogue with national Parliaments? Because we have understood that it is in our own interest to hear your opinions and take them into account:

National Parliaments can help the Commission to achieve some of its main objectives, such as

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  ensuring a proper transposition of EU law and a better implementation of EU initiatives;

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  improving the process of policy formulation;

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  and bringing Europe closer to its citizens and better communicating Europe.

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  Our dialogue with you can also help us increasing our own horizontal understanding of national dynamics and processes.

Let me conclude this first part of my intervention by emphasising that the Commission is determined to further promote the role of national Parliaments and to keep national Parliaments on top of the institutional and political agenda of the Commission.

The Commission’s relations with national Parliaments have fundamentally evolved in the course of the last 5 years, and a lot has changed to the positive. This trend will continue with the Lisbon Treaty, with national Parliaments having a more important role at EU level and becoming key actors who will quickly become an integral part of European decision making mechanisms.

However, further progress is still possible, on both sides. Realising the potential of this political partnership and establishing even more constructive relations will remain a key objective.

In this sense, let me assure you that the Commission will

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  closely monitor the proper implementation of the new Treaty provisions concerning national Parliaments and will be particularly vigilant that it meets the subsidiarity related requirements contained in Protocol 2.

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  It also aims at closely involving national Parliaments in the implementation of Europe 2020 and is open to examine possible methods of cooperation as regards the implementation of the EU Budget, and in particular the fight against fraud. In both areas, the Commission counts on the active support of national Parliaments in achieving our common EU objectives.

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  Furthermore, the Commission will be particularly attached to regular and substantial information of national Parliaments with regard to programming issues. In this regard, it will aim to present the Commission Work Programme to the permanent representatives of national Parliaments as soon as possible after its adoption.

Let me add that President Barroso and I have particularly encouraged our fellow Commissioners to visit national Parliaments especially with the aim to presenting and to explaining our Work Programme and its implications.

This is, after all, one of the main reasons why I am here today, and this brings me to the next point of my intervention: the Commission Work Programme as adopted by the College of Commissioners on 31 March.

Some preliminary words on the structure of this Programme and on our overall approach:

The new structure of this year's Work Programme, which the Commission has sent to you immediately after its adoption, aims at increasing transparency and predictability. It identifies 34 strategic initiatives, which the Commission commits to deliver before the end of December. Several major proposals have already been tabled. In addition - and for the first time - the Programme sets out an indicative multiannual overview, which covers 280 initiatives for 2010 and beyond.

The Work Programme will be reviewed every year to identify new strategic initiatives and adapt the multi-annual strand as required. This "rolling" approach will enhance transparency and predictability for all stakeholders, while preserving the necessary flexibility to react to unforeseen developments.

So what do we want to achieve, what are the Commission's political priorities? While the Commission Work Programme for 2010 is only a first small step on the way, it is significant for the direction it sets. Let me take you through its main elements.

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  The long-term vision, which President Barroso set out before he was confirmed for a second term last autumn, was "a sustainable social market economy by 2020".

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  We will focus our attention and our resources on actions which deliver genuine European added-value and can provide the EU dimension of reaching the EU's objectives - objectives which so often can only be secured through joint action at both national and EU level. That is the aim of the Europe 2020 flagship initiatives encompassing the Digital Agenda, the European plan for research and innovation as well as the "Youth on the Move" initiative. Particular attention will also be paid to the energy and transport sectors.

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  The Single Market with its 500 million consumers represents the backbone of European economy. The Commission's vision for reshaping the internal market, assisted by the recent report by Professor Mario Monti, will lead to a major package of proposals by 2012.

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  Inclusion will of course remain a key priority. We will seize every opportunity to encourage employment by providing people with the right skills to facilitate economic transition, or by easing transitions from education and training to work. A broad-ranged European Platform against Poverty will aim to ensure economic, social and territorial cohesion.

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  A comprehensive Action Plan for the Stockholm Programme will ensure that the benefits of the area of freedom, security and justice become more tangible to European citizens.

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  The Commission will also launch public debates on the future of pensions and analyse options for ensuring the sustainability and adequacy of the pension systems.

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  We also want to secure the ambitions of the Lisbon Treaty in terms of a strong EU voice worldwide. The Commission and the new External Action Service will be well placed to deliver a stronger and more coherent EU external policy, under the overall guiding hand of Baroness Ashton as High Representative. One priority for the Commission is to pursue the international development agenda. Another priority will be to project our growth objectives in our external relations, for example through the G20.

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  Last but not least, we will publish the Budget Review and set out what we see as the key principles and parameters for using the EU's financial resources to best effect, taking full account of the Europe 2020 Strategy.

Let me take this opportunity to focus a bit more in detail on what has been of particular interest to the public opinion over the last weeks: European Economic governance and Europe 2020, our exit strategy from the European economic crisis.

Policy coordination is the cornerstone of reinforced economic governance. We live in an interdependent Europe - every minister and every national Parliament should be aware of the potential impacts of their budgetary decisions on their European counterparts. In no case does this mean that Brussels would like to "control national budgets", as one could read in the press.

The Commission fully respects national Parliaments' respective Constitutional orders and traditions of parliamentary scrutiny. But we do need ways to underline the very real mutual interest in avoiding possible inconsistencies, divergences or risks from a European point of view. The final decision, and responsibility, is of course fully national.

It is the Commission's task to supervise the implementation of the Stability and Growth Pact. The tool we can use is the Excessive Deficit Procedure, and the latest developments prove that we need to sharpen the way it works. We should speed up the steps of the procedure and make conditional use of EU expenditure to ensure better compliance with the rules of the Pact. This will require a rigorous application of the current Cohesion Fund regulation when dealing with Member States in repeated breach of the Pact as well as changes in secondary legislation.

For sure, we can move only within the existing institutional framework and to the extent made possible by all the interested parties, national Parliaments included.

To exit the current crisis and to equip Europe with the tools needed to return to growth over the next decade, the European Union in March adopted the Europe 2020 strategy: A strategy for smart, sustainable and inclusive growth.

A strategy, which is clearly more than a vision - it is a programme underpinned by five measurable EU targets for 2020: for employment; for research and innovation; for climate change and energy; for education; and for combating poverty. It is a programme underpinned also by a series of actions to achieve those targets.

At EU level, the Commission will present 7 flagship initiatives such as the digital agenda and the innovation union to the European Council to underpin these objectives. And Member States will need to do their share, too, by translating the EU targets into national ones and by agreeing a structural reform programme containing the measures to meet those objectives and to transform their economies.

As I said, Europe 2020 is not just a vision, it is also a reform programme. Where we must do much better than under the Lisbon strategy is in making sure that we deliver on that programme.

And this is an excellent example where an EU policy can only be effectively implemented with the help of national Parliaments. Indeed, if we are serious about Europe 2020, then I can hardly imagine it to work without national Parliaments.

After the June European Council, all 27 Member States will have to draw up their National Reform Programmes. This will spark a process of monitoring and reflection, including assessing how the EU is progressing towards its 5 headline targets.

Strong delivery of this reform agenda calls for strong ownership by all stakeholders - and in the first instance of course national Parliaments, but also social partners, regions and civic society.

I am confident that you will play an active role, not only in the next weeks and months as Member States finalise their national targets and their Europe2020 reform programmes - But also afterwards, in monitoring closely progress towards meeting those targets and implementing the underpinning reform measures.

Let me conclude by assuring you that the Commission is at your and at your services' disposal, that we are determined to promoting further the role of national Parliaments by keeping them at the top of our institutional and political agenda, and that we are looking forward to engaging in a constructive political dialogue with your Committee and your Chamber.

Thank you for your attention!