Clock is ticking on efforts to finish Parliament legislation

Date: 25/03/04

By Martin Banks

THE European Parliament faces a race against time to complete its legislative programme before June's elections.

MEPs could find themselves burning the midnight oil to get through a mountain of reports, which have built up during recent months.

Eighty reports must be dealt with during next week's plenary session in Strasbourg - 25, more than double the average, are listed for Tuesday (30 April) alone - while another 70 are on the agenda for the April session.

The big problem facing the assembly is that the 12-15 April session will be, effectively, the last legislative plenary of the current Parliament.

A full plenary is due to be held in Strasbourg two days after ten new member states join the European Union on 1 May. It will be the first time the 162 observer deputies from accession states sit as full members - they joined the assembly's ranks since the accession treaty was signed but have no voting rights until 1 May.

However, the May plenary will not deal with any reports but will be largely ceremonial to mark EU accession, with a debate on enlargement.

This year's truncated Parliamentary calendar means that MEPs who want their reports adopted before the June elections will have to do so in the next two sessions.

Major legislative items yet to be dealt with include a report by German centre-right deputy Hörst Schnellhardt on the 'hygiene package' which deals with controls on products of animal origin intended for human consumption.

The report needs to be adopted by 15 April, so next week's session is the only possibility for Parliament to act in second reading. Other key reports are by Dutch member Arie Oostlander on Turkey's progress towards accession and a second reading report on investment services by UK MEP Theresa Villiers.

One Parliamentary insider said: “It wouldn't be so bad but many of these reports will probably be debated. If that happens, MEPs will most likely find themselves working until the early hours.”

Parliament's spokesman, David Harley, admitted there is a risk that some reports which are not drafted under the co-decision procedure or some own-initiative reports that are not dealt with in time may simply “fall by the wayside”.

In a bid to prevent this happening, he said Parliament is considering requesting an extension, allowing the new Parliament to deal with any outstanding business when it sits for the first time on 19 July.

He said: “The upcoming legislative programme is very busy. Agendas for the next two sessions contain twice as many reports as normal but, to be honest, this is only to be expected as we come to the end of a Parliamentary legislature.

“I am confident all the legislation that needs to be dealt with will be finished by the end of the current term.”

Crucial reports, such as the controversial one on REACH, the overhaul of the EU's chemicals registration and testing, have been postponed till after the new Parliament starts its legislative work in the autumn.