Strasbourg, 23/05/2012 (Agence Europe) - On Wednesday 23 May, MEPs decided to postpone the vote on the report by Martin David (S&D, UK) on the regulation regarding the European Parliament's right of enquiry, by request of the rapporteur, following the debate which preceded the voting session. “In order to allow discussions to continue with the Commission and Council, I propose postponing the vote. We have already made a lot of progress in recent days and during the debate and it is time to reach an agreement on this dossier”, David explained. His report intends to reinforce the powers of the temporary committees of enquiry of the EP, and in particular the possibility of carrying out enquiries.
During the debate, whilst stating that there was “no point trying to hide the fact that this dossier is a delicate one for all the institutions concerned”, the Danish Minister for European Affairs, Nicolai Wammen, speaking on behalf of the Council, said that the “committees of enquiry cannot be entrusted with a prerogative which is almost legal in nature”, and that they should avoid “any overlap with the competencies of the other European institutions and the member states”.
Commissioner Maros Sefcovic said that the report presented did not go far enough in its compromise amendments, stating that there “are key elements still to be debated”, such as the difference in treatment offered to national civil servants compared to their European counterparts who may be asked to give testimony in the framework of an enquiry, which he feels is unjustified. “It is extremely important that this regulation is absolutely watertight. What we don't need is for it to be called into question in the middle of an enquiry”, he added.
The MEPs also called for a compromise on the part of the Commission and Council and for the legislative and regulatory powers of their institution to be respected, stating that the committee of enquiry is the implementation of a political right and does not want a legal mandate.
The Parliament hopes to reinforce the powers of this committee by allowing it, amongst other things, to carry out inspections on site, to have access to all documents and information which could help it in its work, and to request expert reports. The committee should also be able to summon persons such as witnesses, European national civil servants or other witnesses residing in the EU to appear. Since their creation in 1995, only three committees of enquiry have been created, on the Community transit regime, bovine spongiform encephalopathy (mad cow disease) and on the crisis of the insurance company Equitable Life. (CG/transl.fl)