Reform of comitology procedures

Reform of comitology procedures:

The Council reached agreement on 21 June 1999 on a Decision laying down the procedures for the exercise of implementing powers conferred on the Commission which will replace the 1987 comitology Decision.

The new Decision will:

• — simplify the committee procedures
• — grant the European Parliament a right of scrutiny over the implementation of acts adopted by co-decision
• — substantially increase transparency in comitology.

The Decision provides for criteria which will guide the legislator in the choice of committee procedure, while allowing for a certain degree of flexibility:

• — the management procedure should be followed as regards management measures such as those relating to the application of the Common Agricultural and Common Fisheries Policies or to the implementation of programmes with substantial budgetary implications;
• — the regulatory procedure should be followed as regards measures of general scope designed to apply essential provisions of basic instruments, including measures concerning the protection of the health or safety of humans, animals or plants, as well as measures designed to adapt or update certain non-essential provisions of a basic instrument;
• — the advisory procedure should be followed in any case in which it is considered to be the most appropriate and will continue to be used in those cases where it currently applies.

The simplification of committee procedures concerns specially the management and regulatory procedures, which will no longer have two variants each.

The most substantial change relates to the regulatory procedure. If the implementing measures the Commission envisages to adopt do not obtain the necessary majority in the committee, the Commission will present a proposal to the Council. The Council will no longer have the possibility to reject the proposal by simple majority (the so-called 'double safety net' is therefore suppressed). If a qualified majority indicates its opposition to the text, the Commission will have to re-examine its proposal, and negotiations will have to continue in order to reach a compromise. The effectiveness of the decision making is guaranteed by the fact that after a time-limit to be fixed in each basic act, if the Council has neither adopted the implementing act nor indicated its opposition to it, the Commission can adopt the measures.

The Decision provides for the involvement of the European Parliament in the implementation of acts adopted by co-decision. If the European Parliament considers that an implementing measure that the Commission intends to take exceeds the implementing powers provided for in the basic act, it can indicate so to the Commission, which will have to re-examine the draft measures. In the framework of the regulatory procedure, the European Parliament is also granted a scrutiny right in those cases where, due to lack of agreement by the committee, the Commission refers to the Council a proposal on the implementing measures. The European Parliament will receive extensive information on committee procedures, so it can fully exercise its right of scrutiny.

Information to the public on committee procedures will be substantially improved. The rules on public access applicable to the Commission are made applicable to committee documents, a list of all the committees will be published in the Official Journal, and the Commission will publish an annual report on the working of committees. A public register will be set up containing the references of comitology documents, and the Commission has indicated that it intends to make available to the public the documents communicated to the European Parliament on comitology proceedings.

Information extracted from Press Release (Council), PRES/99/198 of the General Affairs Council of 21 June 1999. The full text of thePress Release is available at: http://ue.eu.int (click on 'Newsroom' then 'Council' and 'General Affairs Council').

Further information sources on comitology can be found at Section 2.3.a in the 'Recent references' part of each issue of European Access. In European Access Plus carry out an 'Easy search' and type in 'Comitology'. For further information sources on policy making in the European Union carry out an 'Advanced search' and type in 2.3.a in the 'Subject number' field.

[Report on RAPID]