Activities of François ALFONSI 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)
Shadow reports (1)
REPORT on the implementation of the Treaty provisions on national parliaments
Amendments (23)
Amendment 6 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital A
Recital A
A. whereas national parliaments and regional parliaments with legislative powers’ active participation in European affairs and enhanced scrutiny of national governments by national parliaments and regional parliaments with legislative powers are instrumental in ensuring the democratic accountability and legitimacy of the EU institutional system;
Amendment 13 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital C
Recital C
C. whereas this accountability can be facilitated by increased transparency in the Council, especially with regard to the voting record and positions of Member States throughout the legislative process;
Amendment 16 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital E
Recital E
E. whereas the pluralism of national and regional 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;
Amendment 18 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital F
Recital F
F. whereas Protocol No 2 (Article 6) acknowledges that national parliaments may consult regional parliaments with legislative powers, yebut the role of regional parliaments is dependent on the national arrangements and very often remains advisoryy are not properly taken into account;
Amendment 25 #
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 and regional parliamentary chambers would simultaneously discuss European affairs with Commissioners, Members of the European Parliament and ministers from the sitting Council presidency;
Amendment 30 #
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 considerextended in the framework of a future Treaty revision;
Amendment 35 #
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 anplay a much more important role in the future ofregarding the Union’s security and defence policy by also building on the Interparliamentary Conference (IPC) on CFSP/CSDP as established by Article 10 of Protocol No 1;
Amendment 40 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Takes the view that the accountability of national governments to national parliaments as acknowledged by Article 10(2) TEU is the keystone of the role of national parliamentary chambers in the European Union; encourages national and regional parliaments to fully exercise their European functions in order to directly influence and scrutinise the content of European policies, in particular via the monitoring of their national governments acting as members of the European Council and the Council;
Amendment 42 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. Calls on the Member States to ensure that national parliaments and regional parliaments with legislative powers are granted enough time, the capacity and the necessary access to information in order to fulfil their constitutional role of scrutinising and thus legitimating the activity of national governments when these governments act at European level;
Amendment 45 #
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, as well as their proposals and amendments to legislative texts 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;
Amendment 47 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. Recalls, while eEncouraginges strengthened political dialogue with national parliaments, that decisions must be taken in accordance with constitutional competences andbetween the European institutions, and national parliaments and regional parliaments with legislative powers; recalls that decisions must bye takingen into account the clear delineation betweenrdance with the respective decision-making competences of the local, regional, national and European bodies;
Amendment 48 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6
Paragraph 6
Amendment 50 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7
Paragraph 7
7. Calls for the implementation of a national period for budgetary and economic policy dialogue, during which national parliaments would be able to deliberate upon and contribute to the European Semester by providing their governments with a mandate in their relations with the Commission and the Council;
Amendment 51 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8
Paragraph 8
8. Stresses the relevance of the principle of proportional representation of members from different political parties in this regard; recommends, therefore, that national parliamentary delegations acting before the European institutions should reflect political diversity, including national or linguistic minorities, where relevant;
Amendment 55 #
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, that meetings between national and European political groups in the framework of EU interparliamentary cooperation could bring added value in the form of authentic European political debate;
Amendment 61 #
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 regarunderstanding of 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 encompassingunderstanding should include all the elements of subsidiarity;
Amendment 66 #
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-week period must be reconsiderextended in the framework of a futurethe next Treaty revision;
Amendment 68 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13 a (new)
Paragraph 13 a (new)
13a. Calls for national parliaments to systematically include the reasoned opinions of regional parliaments with legislative powers into their reasoned final opinions that are sent to the Presidents of the Parliament, the Council and the Commission, especially when regional exclusive competences may be affected;
Amendment 70 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14
Paragraph 14
14. Reiterates its suggestion ofSuggests setting up a system, sometimes called a ‘green card’ procedure, whereby at least one third ofny national parliaments can submit constructive proposals torequest the Commission withor the aim of positively influencing the European debaParliament, once the latter has been granted and the Commission’s power of initiative, having first secured Parliament’s support general direct right of initiative, to submit proposals with the aim of positively influencing the European debate; suggests, in this regard, that the Commission or the Parliament 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 72 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15
Paragraph 15
Amendment 74 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17 a (new)
Paragraph 17 a (new)
17a. Is concerned by the General Secretariat of the Council’s intention to restrict access by national parliaments to the Council’s legislative database; calls on the Council to ensure that access by all national parliaments to the Council’s legislative database is granted;
Amendment 77 #
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; encourages, furthermore, the European institutions and the regional parliaments with legislative powers to have a more active engagement and a direct interaction between each other;
Amendment 84 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 22
Paragraph 22
22. Recommends that national parliaments be fully involved in the continuing development of the common security and defence policy; believes that such involvement should be promoted in close cooperation with the European Parliament, also in line with Article 10 of Protocol No 1 and with full respect for the provisions of national constitutions regarding security and defence policies; invites national parliaments to reflect in more detail on defence capability prioritisation at EU level, including through joint interparliamentary meetings between representatives from national parliaments and Members of the European Parliament also within the context of the IPC on CFSP/CSDP which meets twice a year in the parliament of the rotating Council presidency and via political dialogue;