Activities of Mercedes BRESSO related to 2023/2084(INI)
Plenary speeches (1)
Implementation of the Treaty provisions on national parliaments - Implementation of the Treaty provisions on EU citizenship (joint debate – Implementation of the Treaty provisions)
Amendments (25)
Amendment 7 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital A a (new)
Recital A a (new)
Aa. Whereas National parliaments "contribute actively to the good functioning of the Union” (Art. 12 of the treaty on EU) and together with the European Parliament play an essential role in strengthening the democratic legitimacy of the EU project;
Amendment 12 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital C
Recital C
C. whereas this accountability can be facilitated by increasee National parliaments and the European Parliament should play a common strategic mission in order to increase accountability and transparency in the Council, especially with regard to the voting record of Member States;
Amendment 14 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital E
Recital E
E. whereas the pluralism of national parliaments is remarkably beneficial to the Union and the underrepresentation of parliamentary minorities in European affairs should be counterbalanced while fully respecting the majorities in each national parliament and in accordance with their proportions; whereas pluralism in National parliaments’ representation could prove to be particularly useful in the view of a future Convention to amend the EU Treaties in the goal to reach a stronger consensus;
Amendment 20 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital G
Recital G
G. whereas national parliaments and their role within the EU institutional framework were addressed by a number of proposals contained in the report on the final outcome of the Conference on the Future of Europe (CoFoE); whereas the experience of the Conference on the Future of Europe has shown the potential of a new fruitful alliance between National parliaments and the European Parliament;
Amendment 22 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital H
Recital H
H. whereas national parliaments play a role in any revision of the European Treaties, in particular in the goal to strengthen the parliamentary dimension and the democratic life of the EU; whereas the European Parliament in its resolution of 9 June 2022 called for a Convention for the revision of the Treaties;
Amendment 23 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital I
Recital I
I. whereas a European public sphere could be fostered by a series of forums on the European agenda and such forums could be endorsed through a common ‘European Week’, in which members of national parliamentary chambers would simultaneously discuss European affairs with Commissioners, Members of the European Parliament and ministers from the sitting Council presidency; whereas the development a true European public sphere requires in parallel also an adequate promotion of forms of citizens’ participation and consultation, that can be complementary to a stronger parliamentary dimension of the EU;
Amendment 28 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital L
Recital L
L. whereas the eight-week period laid down in Article 4 of Protocol No 1 has proven to be inadequate for the timely monitoring of compliance with the principle of subsidiarity and must be considered in the framework of a future Treaty revision; whereas innovative and stronger tools of cooperation between National parliaments and the European Parliament can be considered, starting with a more intense dialogue among political families and groups;
Amendment 31 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital N
Recital N
N. whereas the CoFoE recommended that national parliaments and regional parliaments with legislative powers ‘be granted the possibility to suggest a legislative initiative to the European level’, an instrument which would afford them the opportunity to suggest constructive proposals for the Commission’s consideration and with due regard for the Commission’s right of initiative, having first secured Parliament’s support; whereas the goal to achieve a full right of initiative for the European Parliament was highlighted in numerous occasions during the current legislature;
Amendment 32 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital P
Recital P
P. whereas the implementation of a ‘red card’ procedure is cannot conceivable at this stage ofbe considered as suitable and constructive tool in the goal to increase the participation on National parliaments in the European integration process;
Amendment 36 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital R
Recital R
R. whereas national parliaments have relevant competencies in the areas of freedom, security and justice pursuant to Articles 70, 85 and 88 TFEU and should therefore play an important role in the future of the Union’s security and defence policy; whereas a stronger role of National parliament is also particular needed in the process of the so-called European Semester;
Amendment 38 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Considers that the implementation of the rights and obligations of national parliaments deriving from the Treaty of Lisbon has enhanced their role within the European constitutional framework, thus providing for more pluralism, democratic legitimacy and the better functioning of the Union; praises the good experience of cooperation between National parliaments and European Parliament during the Conference on the Future of Europe; considers that National parliaments and European Parliament have the potential to be natural allies in the goal of shaping a stronger parliamentary dimension of the EU and fostering more intense forms of democratic participation;
Amendment 43 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Considers that transparency of the working methods and decision-making processes of the EU institutions represents a precondition for enabling national parliaments to effectively fulfil their institutional role deriving from the Treaties; calls, therefore, for the voting records of Member States in the Council to be made public; calls, furthermore, for national parliaments to make full use of their respective competences, inter alia by adapting their internal organisation, timetables and rules of procedures to enable them to do so; encourages National parliaments and European Parliament to introduce more innovative and stronger tools of cooperation at the political and administrative level, starting by more intense forms of exchange and dialogue among European political families and groups;
Amendment 46 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. Recalls, while encouraging strengthened political dialogue with national parliaments, that decisions must be taken in accordance with constitutional competences, the EU Treaties and the EU acquis and by taking into account the clear delineation between the respective decision-making competences of the national and European bodies;
Amendment 49 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6
Paragraph 6
6. Statresses that the alignment of the European Semester with the agendas of national parliaments could further contribute to the coordination of economic policies, while underlining that such alignment should not disregard the powers of self-governance and the specific rules of procedure of each parliamentary chamber; calls for the consideration of a specific Protocol to define the cooperation between National parliaments and European Parliament in the European Semester process;
Amendment 53 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10
Paragraph 10
10. Believes that the establishment of an annual European Week would allow Members of the European Parliament, Commissioners and ministers of sitting Council presidencies to stand before all national and, where appropriate, regional parliamentary assemblies in order to discuss and explain the European agenda alongside national and regional parliamentarians; believes, further, thatsuggests to structure the annual European Week on topical debates mutually agreed between the National parliaments and the European Parliament based on subjects of high relevance for the EU agenda; Proposes to invite representatives of European civil society and a selection of citizens based on the COFOE in order to make the European Week more visible; stresses the importance of meetings between national and European political groups in the framework of EU interparliamentary cooperation could bring added value in theand believes in the added value of such encounters to form of authentic European political debate;sphere; recalls in particular the good model of cooperation established in the framework of the caucuses of political families taking place during the Conference on the Future of Europe,
Amendment 56 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10 a (new)
Paragraph 10 a (new)
10a. Considers a stronger involvement of National parliaments from candidate countries to be an essential tool in order to make the EU enlargement strategy successful; Suggests the involvement of representatives of National parliaments from candidate countries in the proposed European Week
Amendment 58 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12
Paragraph 12
12. Notes that procedures such as the ‘yellow’ or ‘orange’ cards have not been used extensively; believes, however, that the procedural shortcomings of the EWS should not be regarded as conclusive proof of failure to respect subsidiarity; suggests that all EU institutions and Member States agree on a common culture regarding the principles of subsidiarity and proportionality based on the criteria contained in the Protocol on subsidiarity and proportionality originally attached to the Amsterdam Treaty, the relevant case law of the European Court of Justice and the Commission’s own practice; considers that the development of this common culture should allow for a broader understanding encompassing all the elements of subsidiarity and should be fostered through new tools of cooperation such as pilot projects and administrative and political exchanges between National parliaments and the European Parliament;
Amendment 65 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13
Paragraph 13
13. Acknowledges the request by national parliaments to extend the eight- week period during which they can issue reasoned opinions under Article 3 of Protocol No 1; underlines, however, that the current Treaty framework does not provide for such an extension; notes that, as a mitigation measure, from 2019, the Commission began excluding the end-of- year festive period when setting the eight- week period for national parliaments to send reasoned opinions; considers, therefore, that the eight-introduction of a twelve- week period mustshould be reconsidered in the framework of a future Treaty revision;
Amendment 69 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14
Paragraph 14
14. Reiterates its suggestion of setting up a system, sometimes called a ‘green card’ procedure, whereby at least one third of national parliaments can submit constructive proposals to the Commission with the aim of positively influencing the European debate and the Commission’s power of initiative, having first secured Parliament’s support; suggests, in this regard, that the Commission could enjoy the discretion either to take on board such proposals or to issue a formal response underlining its reasons for not doing so; points out that such a procedure cannot consist of a right of initiative or the right to withdraw or amend legislation as this would subvert ‘the Union method’ and the distribution of competences between national and European level, thus violating the Treaties;
Amendment 73 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15
Paragraph 15
15. Considers that the ‘a "green card’" procedure should be directed at the European Parliament once the latter is granted a general direct right of legislative initiative, as the direct representative of EU citizens;
Amendment 75 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18
Paragraph 18
18. Takes note of the current cooperation between the European Parliament and national parliaments in the COSAC, in the Interparliamentary Conference on Common Foreign and Security Policy and within the framework of Article 13 TSCG; takes note, further, of more recent forms of interparliamentary cooperation such as the Joint Parliamentary Scrutiny Group on Europol and the Interparliamentary Committee Meeting on the Evaluation of Eurojust; suggests the introduction of specific forms of stronger cooperation - to be regulated under ad hoc protocols - during the European Semester process as well as in the monitoring of the RFF Recovery and Resilience Facility; stresses that such cooperation should be developed on the basis of the principles of consensus, information-sharing and consultation in order for national parliaments to exercise scrutiny over their respective governments and administrations;
Amendment 76 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19
Paragraph 19
19. Reiterates that the current framework of relations between the Union and national parliaments could be simplified and harmonised in order to make it more efficient and effective; calls, in this context, for a review of the engagement between the Union and its national parliaments across existing platforms and forums, with the aim of strengthening these relations and adapting them to current needs; suggests opening a discussion on the introduction of a political common declaration or framework agreement between the National parliaments and the European Parliament, namely concerning the organisation of the proposed European Week, in order to provide a more coherent framework of cooperation at political, institutional and administrative level;
Amendment 80 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 20
Paragraph 20
20. Points out that strengthening political and technical dialogue between parliamentary committees and political groups, both at national and at European level, would be a highly productive step towards full interparliamentary cooperation; is considering the possibility of allocating additional resources to achieve this aim, and ofsuch as the use of videoconferences, where possiblestaff exchanges or pilot projects;
Amendment 82 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 21
Paragraph 21
21. Acknowledges the relevance of the Interparliamentary Committee Meetings (ICM) established in Articles 9 and 10 of Protocol No 1 and the sectorial success of a ‘committee method’ in interparliamentary cooperation; believes that better interinstitutional cooperation could be attained if the ICM were accorded more relevance by the Members of the European Parliament and the national parliaments and if they were prepared for closer cooperation; considers that the required changes to the rules of procedure should be put in place in order to regulate stronger forms of cooperation between National parliaments and the European Parliament;
Amendment 86 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 22 a (new)
Paragraph 22 a (new)
22a. Recalls the importance to enhance cooperation and dialogue between the National parliaments and the European Parliament on the right of inquiry;