MEPs call for end to Cox’s role at summits

Date: 28/05/03

By Martin Banks

THE European Parliament should be represented at EU summits by the leaders of its main political groups rather than the assembly's president, according to a report published by the Foreign Policy Centre think-tank yesterday (27 May).

It also recommends the establishment of an independent body to evaluate the impact of EU laws on member states.

Dutch Socialist MEP Michiel van Hulten, one of the report's authors, said reforms were urgently needed if the Parliament is to boost its image with the public.

"The European Parliament is the most sophisticated supranational parliament in the world but it faces a crucial moment in its political development. While its institutional powers and legislative authority have steadily increased, political credibility has not yet followed.

"The dilemma is clear: MEPs are at risk of wielding power without adequate legitimacy and responsibility."

The report, entitled 'Reforming the European Parliament', suggests a six-point action plan which van Hulten and co-author MEP Nick Clegg hope will be taken on board by the European

Convention as it enters the final stage of its deliberations on the future of the EU. The proposals, which they claim could be in place before the next elections to the Parliament in June 2004, also include:

• Better scrutiny of the European Commission and Council of Ministers, with MEPs given the power to sack an individual commissioner and the creation of a permanent Council presidency;
• closer links with national parliaments;
• changes in the system by which MEPs are elected;
• increased transparency, with reform of MEPs' "horrendous" expenses, and;
• a single seat for Parliament - in Brussels.

Clegg and van Hulten argue that one of Parliament's biggest weaknesses is its failure to assess the wider political, social and environmental implications of the proposals it considers. At present, impact assessment is a Commission responsibility.

Van Hulten says an agency "independent of political control" must be established to do this instead.

Another area ripe for reform, according to the MEPs, is the present limitation on the Parliament's powers of co-decision. This should be extended, they say, to all areas where the Council of Ministers reaches its decisions by qualified majority (ie all areas except foreign policy and taxation).

Another "much-needed" reform would involve shifting resources from Parliament and individual MEPs to political groups.

"Despite their failings, political groups are in a better position than the Parliament to reach out to voters," they say. "The leaders of Parliament's five largest groups - instead of the president - should attend European summits."

Pat Cox, the current Parliament president, is in "an impossible position in trying to represent the whole Parliament."

Van Hulten and Clegg say that, after the current round of "mind-numbing" EU institutional reforms, there should be no more changes for at least five years.

Their paper also suggests setting up permanent parliamentary committees in each member state comprising of MPs and MEPs, with the former being involved in the confirmation hearings of would-be commissioners.

Clegg said the Convention's final deliberations made this an excellent opportunity to press the case for reform.

He added: "The challenge facing Parliament is simple: how to wield its extensive powers in a manner more fully accountable to voters."

The suggestion that group leaders represent Parliament at summits was rejected as "unworkable" by David Harley, spokesman for Cox and the Parliament. However, he agreed with most of the reforms suggested by the two MEPs.

The Foreign Policy Centre has suggested that the leaders of the main political groups in the European Parliament should attend European Council meetings rather than the President of the European Parliament.

http://fpc.org.uk/fsblob/130.pdf http://fpc.org.uk/fsblob/130.pdf

---