Brussels, 19/11/2015 (Agence Europe) - At the second round of inter-institutional talks on reduction of emissions from road vehicles, the Council of Ministers is reported to have proposed to the European Parliament on Thursday 19 November to change the comitology procedure in the future for amendments to European legislation in order to use the ordinary legislative procedure instead, but the Parliament is reported to have rejected the idea.
MEP Bas Eickhout (Greens/EFA, the Netherlands) says the European Parliament came up with the draft amendment, but refuses to accept it unless the Council promises to review the agreement struck in comitology on 28 October on the conformity factor, which created a rumpus amongst politicians and the media due to its lack of ambition (see EUROPE 11421 and 11429). He said the Council was trying to use publication of this press release as a trick to put pressure on the Parliament.
A diplomatic source says the Council initially suggested opting for an implementing act, which would allow the Commission to set common standards in order to ensure uniform implementation of the legislation throughout the EU, under the control of the two co-legislating institutions, but the source said the proposal was rejected by the European Parliament.
At present, it is the regulatory procedure with scrutiny (PRAC) that applies to such cases. This measure was used from 2006 to 2009 for so-called quasi-legislative measures that have since been phased out. Given the number of legislative acts using the procedure (some 300), the procedure is still temporarily applicable.
In brief, the PRAC allows the Council, or the European Parliament, to block a measure for two to three months after its approval by comitology if the measure outstrips the implementation powers granted to the Commission, if it is not compatible with the aim of the legislation or the contents of the legal act, or if it goes beyond the EU's powers under the principles of subsidiarity and proportionality. (Original version in French by Pascal Hansens)