Report from the Commission. Annual report 2013 on relations between the European Commission and national parliaments

In 2013, relations between the European Commission and national Parliaments continued to evolve through two channels: on the one hand, through the subsidiarity control mechanism, introduced by the Lisbon Treaty to assess whether new Commission legislative proposals (which do not fall into areas of exclusive EU competence) comply with the subsidiarity principle; and on the other hand, through the political dialogue that the Commission launched in 2006 to improve the exchange of information and opinions on policy issues, both on legislative proposals and non-legislative initiatives. Furthermore, many meetings and discussions took place, reflecting the richness of the wider exchange between the Commission and national Parliaments.

This ninth annual report on relations between the Commission and national Parliaments focuses on the political dialogue. Specific aspects relating to the subsidiarity control mechanism, including the second ‘yellow card’ that was triggered by a number of national Parliaments for the Commission’s proposal for a Council Regulation on the establishment of the European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO), are dealt with in the 2013 Annual Report on Subsidiarity and Proportionality which is published in parallel to this report and which should be seen as complementary to it.

This second ‘yellow card’ was a clear expression of the willingness of national Parliaments to make their voices heard in their relations with the Commission on a particular piece of legislation. More broadly, the wider political dialogue on the Commission’s proposals and initiatives continued to allow national Parliaments to play a constructive role in shaping policy at EU level, especially in the context of the deepening Economic and Monetary Union (EMU) and implementing the European Semester recommendations.

As in previous years, the political dialogue in 2013 mainly took place through:
i) general bilateral and multilateral debates and discussions, often during inter-parliamentary meetings (section 2);
ii) the exchange of written opinions from national Parliaments and Commission replies (section 3); and
iii) contacts and meetings throughout the year (section 4).

This report closes with a succinct look ahead to the future of relations between the Commission and national Parliaments (section 5).

• Primary Source

EUR-Lex: COM(2014)507: Follow the progress of this report through the decision-making procedure http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/HIS/?uri=COM:2014:507:FIN

ESO: Background information: Report from the Commission - Annual report 2013 on subsidiarity and proportionality http://www.europeansources.info/record/report-from-the-commission-annual-report-2013-on-subsidiarity-and-proportionality/

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