Amato’s plan to axe two-thirds of EU law-making machinery

Date: 28/11/02

By Dana Spinant

TWO-THIRDS of the procedures used by the EU to make laws should be scrapped, according to radical proposals due to be unveiled by Giuliano Amato, the former Italian prime minister and vice-chairman of the Convention on the future of Europe.

Abstract terms used for current EU legislation should be replaced by simpler names such as laws or framework laws, his working group recommends.

Amato's report, which will be presented at the Convention plenary on 5 December, focuses on how EU decision-making can be simplified without harming efficiency. Simplification of the Union's complex legislative system, to make it easier for the public to understand, is one of the Convention's key tasks.

'Nothing is more complicated then simplification,' the group's draft conclusions concede. But it is clear on the need to both reduce the number of decision-making procedures and to simplify. The group suggests that regulations be re-named laws while directives should become framework laws.

'We need a solution to the legal, procedural and linguistic chaos in the EU,' commented MEP Jean-Louis Bourlanges. The French deputy, whose parliamentary report on the 'hierarchy of laws' was studied by Amato's group, believes this triple chaos is the result of 'implicit federalism'.

'So far, it has all been about creating a federal system, but without admitting it. The names that were given to laws were just a way of hiding what they actually were,' Bourlanges said.

Amato's group recommends that the 15 types of EU legislation be reduced to five: three binding (laws, framework laws and decisions) and two non-binding (recommendations and opinions).

Laws would be directly applicable in all member states. Framework laws would be binding as to the result to be achieved, but would allow the member states to choose the type of law or administrative measure they need to take. Decisions might designate specific targets.

The group proposes that the same legal instruments be used for all EU areas, including Justice and Home Affairs and Common Foreign and Security Policy. 'This would be the logical conclusion of the abolition of pillars,' a senior Convention official said.

'In foreign affairs, we would not use laws; decisions are the most appropriate,' the official added. However, the group is split on this. While some members want to keep the present instruments (common strategies, joint actions and common positions) others want all instruments to be replaced with decisions. A compromise will be sought during the debate in the Convention's plenary.

Amato's group calls for a mechanism to enable the European Parliament and Council of Ministers to delegate technical details of legislation to the Commission.

It also proposes changes to the co-decision procedure, under which the Parliament and Council jointly adopt laws. In an enlarged EU, the conciliation committees, gathering one representative per each member state and an equal number of MEPs, would become too large, the group says. It proposes that the Council and Parliament decide case-by-case on the number of representatives on the committee, while preserving parity between the institutions.

Spanish MEP Iñigo Méndez de Vigo, a member of the Convention's praesidium, said the group's recommendations could result in a radical overhaul. 'They are simplifying and also clarifying. We have to give answers to 'why' and 'how'. This is the very good answer to the 'how' debate,' he added.

Two-thirds of the procedures used by the EU to make laws should be scrapped, according to radical proposals due to be unveiled by Giuliano Amato, the former Italian prime minister and vice-chairman of the Convention on the future of Europe.