Activities of Pascal DURAND related to 2020/2132(INI)
Plenary speeches (1)
Parliament’s right of initiative (debate)
Opinions (1)
OPINION on Parliament’s right of initiative
Legal basis opinions (0)
Amendments (23)
Amendment 1 #
Draft opinion
Recital 1 a (new)
Recital 1 a (new)
A. whereas the Commission shall promote the general interest of the Union and take appropriate initiatives to that end; whereas Union legislative acts may only be adopted on the basis of a Commission proposal, except where the Treaties provide otherwise, as laid down in Article 17 of the Treaty of European Union (TEU);
Amendment 1 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 6 a (new)
Citation 6 a (new)
— having regard to its resolution of 15 January 2020 on the European Parliament’s position on the Conference on the Future of Europe,
Amendment 2 #
Draft opinion
Recital 1 b (new)
Recital 1 b (new)
B. whereas the Treaties grant Parliament the direct right of initiative only in very limited cases, namely its own composition, the election of its members and their Statute, the Statute of the European Ombudsman, to initiate a rule of law procedure, to set up temporary inquiry committees and to initiate Treaty revisions; whereas Parliament has the right to request from the Commission to submit any appropriate proposal on matters it considers relevant for a Union act for the purpose of implementing the Treaties, according to Article 225 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU); whereas Rule 47 of the Rules of Procedure of the European Parliament (RoP) further details this indirect right of initiative;
Amendment 2 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 6 b (new)
Citation 6 b (new)
— having regard to its resolution of 18 June 2020 on the European Parliament’s position on the Conference on the Future of Europe,
Amendment 3 #
Draft opinion
Recital 1 c (new)
Recital 1 c (new)
C. whereas Article 225 TFEU obliges the Commission to give reasons, in case it would not submit a legislative proposal as requested by Parliament; recalls thereby the compulsory character of this Treaty provision;
Amendment 4 #
Draft opinion
Recital 1 d (new)
Recital 1 d (new)
D. whereas the European Parliament is the only directly elected EU institution, which at the same time has less legislative initiative powers than most national parliaments;
Amendment 5 #
Draft opinion
Recital 1 e (new)
Recital 1 e (new)
E. whereas Ms Ursula von der Leyen, before she was elected President of the Commission, committed to respond to legislative initiatives, when adopted by a majority of Parliament’s members and in full respect of the proportionality, subsidiarity, and better law-making principles;
Amendment 6 #
Draft opinion
Recital 1 f (new)
Recital 1 f (new)
F. whereas the Conference on the Future of Europe will be an avenue for further reflection with civil society on how to best strengthen the Parliament’s right of initiative with regards to better law- making;
Amendment 7 #
Draft opinion
Recital 1 g (new)
Recital 1 g (new)
Amendment 15 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 a (new)
Paragraph 3 a (new)
3a. Believes that, in accordance with Article 15 of Regulation (EU) 2019/788, in case the Commission has failed to publish its intentions or has set out in a communication that it intends not to take action on a European Citizens’ Initiative (ECI) that has met the procedural requirements, Parliament could decide to follow up with an INL report that is based on the ECI; Urges the Commission to commit itself to submit a legislative proposal following the adoption of a Parliament’s initiative that is based on an ECI that has met the procedural requirements and that is in line with the Treaties and the core values of the Union enshrined in Article 2 TEU; Proposes in that regard to modify the Interinstitutional Framework Agreement on relations between the European Parliament and the European Commission;
Amendment 26 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 a (new)
Paragraph 5 a (new)
5a. Emphasises that Parliament fully adheres to the interinstitutional agreement between the European Parliament, the Council of the European Union and the European Commission on Better Law-Making, which stresses the necessity of a prior "European added value" analysis as well as a "cost of non- Europe" assessment;
Amendment 45 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10 a (new)
Paragraph 10 a (new)
10 a. Notes that these developments are part of a wider trend whereby aforementioned institutions increasingly usurp decision-making power in all EU policy fields; stresses that this practice erodes the institutional balance of the EU as established by the Treaties; believes that the balance should be restored in favour of democratic legitimacy through equivalent rights for Parliament;
Amendment 54 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15
Paragraph 15
15. Regrets that, until 2019, the follow- up on Parliament’s legislative initiative reports adopted pursuant to Article 225 of the TFEU showed that the Commission had only delivered legislative proposals following Parliament requests in a minority of cases8 ; further regrets that the deadlines for the Commission to respond to Parliament requests and to put forward legislative proposals were not adhered to in most casespractically never adhered to; _________________ 8 Study entitled ‘The European Parliament’s right of initiative’, p. 54 (see footnote 7 above).
Amendment 65 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18
Paragraph 18
18. Strongly believes that when the Treaties are next revised, Parliament, as the only directly elected EU institution, should be granted the right to initiate legislationa genuine and general right to initiate legislation; such right of initiative should at least apply in those policy fields in which Parliament is empowered to enact legislation as co- legislator;
Amendment 72 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19
Paragraph 19
19. Is deeply convinced that a general and direct right of initiative would further strengthen the democratic legitimacy of the Union and empower Union citizens; believes that it would reflect the evolution over time of the competences of the Union and its institutionstowards a genuine European democracy, and is of the opinion that Parliament, as the only directly elected EU institution, should be granted the right to propose legislation and policy initiatives, as national parliaments may, when the Treaties are next revised;
Amendment 96 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 24
Paragraph 24
24. Commits to continue exploring the full potential offurther strengthen Parliament’s indirect right of initiative as provided for in the Treaties and further developed in interinstitutional agreements and through the commitment of President von der Leyen; calls on the Commission and the Council to jointly evaluate the functioning of the 2010 Framework Agreement and to engage in discussions on a revision to ensure its provisions and timeframes can be effectively upheld;
Amendment 98 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 25
Paragraph 25
25. Considers it appropriate to review its internal rules, procedures and requirements, also with regard to the drafting of legislative initiative reports under Article 225 of the TFEU to ensure that proposals are focused and well- substantiated; points, in this regard, to the need to address requests to the Commission alone and to ensure that the content of legislative initiative reports remains within the scope of the subject matter of the authorised report; underlines that the adoption of focused and well- substantiated reports under Article 225 of the TFEU by the Parliament requires that the necessary technical and administrative capacity therefor is ensured;
Amendment 99 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 25 a (new)
Paragraph 25 a (new)
25 a. Recognises that legislative own- initiative reports (INL) find their basis in Art. 225 of the Treaty of the Functioning of the European Union, and therefore commits to favour these instruments as the primary means to request the submission of legislative proposals by the Commission;
Amendment 103 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 27
Paragraph 27
27. Believes that the Commission, when assessing the subsidiarity, proportionality and better lawmaking principles as part of its follow-up on Parliament requests for legislative proposals under Article 225 of the TFEU, should take due account of the accompanying analyses concerning ‘European added value’ and the ‘cost of non-Europe’ produced by Parliament; points out that under the Interinstitutional Agreement on Better Law-Making, the Commission is already obliged to respond to any issues raised by the co-legislators in relation to such analyses; believes, furthermore, that the Commission should clearly refer to Parliament’slink draft proposals adopted under Article 225 of the TFEU when such proposals are followed by a legislative initiativeto the relevant INL or INI reports, providing a clear “legislative influence footprint”;
Amendment 104 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 27 a (new)
Paragraph 27 a (new)
27 a. Commits to foster a stronger coordination with the Committee of the Regions and with the Economic and Social Committee by giving due account to their opinions into legislative own- initiative reports. Believes that, given the specific nature of these requests, a revised Framework Agreement should incentivize the Commission to transpose these own- initiative reports into a legislative proposal;
Amendment 106 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 28 a (new)
Paragraph 28 a (new)
Amendment 112 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 30 a (new)
Paragraph 30 a (new)
30 a. Recalls the importance of citizens’ and civil society participation for the democratic legitimacy of the EU; calls on all EU institutions to involve them in a meaningful way in decision-making at all stages of the policy cycle;
Amendment 113 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 30 b (new)
Paragraph 30 b (new)
30 b. Recalls that the Conference on the Future of Europe provides the opportunity to assess the EU’s institutional status quo and give new impetus to European democracy; calls on all participants to the Conference to consider a genuine right of initiative for the European Parliament;