MEPs get right to block decisions

By Simon Taylor

Date: 22/06/06

New rules giving MEPs the same powers as the Council of Ministers over implementing legislation could come into force by the autumn under a deal struck by the Austrian presidency last week.

The agreement means that MEPs will call a halt to its practice of imposing four-year reviews, known as sunset clauses, on a range of legislation including new financial services laws.

UK Socialist MEP Richard Corbett, who led the Parliament's negotiating team, called the agreement a "huge breakthrough" for MEPs as it gave them the right to block decisions taken by the Council or the European Commission on secondary or delegated legislation.

He predicted that the new deal could apply from July or September depending on when the Parliament and Council had completed their approvals process.

The deal concerns legislation approved under the so-called comitology procedure where decisions on implementing rules for primary legislation are delegated to hundreds of committees chaired by the Commission and made up of member states' representatives. These committees deal with thousands of decisions on mainly technical rules each year.

The Parliament's frustrations over its rights in the procedure date back 20 years but the issue has come to a head over the past 20 months as MEPs have sought to strengthen their powers.

Under the deal, the Parliament will have three months to object to Commission proposals and refer them back for changes. Until now, only the Council could block proposals. "The system lacked transparency and democratic control," said Corbett.

In return, MEPs have agreed that they will not normally impose "sunset clauses" on legislation which has been through the comitology procedure.

Having reached a deal, the Parliament will now unblock funding for committee meetings.

Article reports on an agreement, brokered by the Austrian Presidency in mid-June 2006, according to which the European Parliament would have three months to object to Commission proposals for secondary or delegated legislation, adopted under the so called comitology procedure, and refer them back for changes.

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