The political groups in the European Parliament are certainly having a hard time forging lasting agreements. After the failure of the negotiations on a joint EPP, S&D and Renew Europe work programme, the three political groups are now struggling tirelessly with the creation of special parliamentary committees and sub-committees.
The idea, which originally came from a suggestion by Secretary-General Klaus Welle and former European Parliament President Antonio Tajani, is to set up special committees on the major issues of the day and to distribute the presidencies to the three most powerful groups in Parliament, namely the EPP, S&D and Renew Europe. It was between these three groups that negotiations took place in February (see EUROPE 12420/7).
While the discussions on the Cancer Committee, disinformation and the Subcommittee on Taxation went relatively quickly, those on artificial intelligence quickly came up against the title of the new committee (see EUROPE 12428/10). The S&D group wants this special committee, whose powers are limited to non-legislative own-initiative reports, to deal only with artificial intelligence, while the Renew Europe group wants a broader mandate for digital affairs. This position can be explained in particular by the parliamentary work that has already begun to be organised on digital policy – in particular the future act on digital services – and which has given rise to a plethora of own-initiative reports already in the hands of the various groups (see EUROPE 12423/6).
According to our information, the matter should go back to the Conference of Presidents, perhaps at the next meeting on 11 March.
The only certainty at this stage is the presidencies. The EPP gets the Cancer Committee; the S&D gets the Disinformation Committee and the Subcommittee on Taxation and the Renew Europe group, the Artificial Intelligence (and Digital) Committee. The disinformation commission would also cover foreign interference. For its part, the Subcommittee on Fiscal Affairs will not deal with money laundering issues, except for matters relating to tax transparency, which are the sole responsibility of the Committee on Economic Affairs. (Original version in French by Sophie Petitjean, with Marion Fontana)