As he announced to EUROPE (see EUROPE 12688/1), the President of the European Parliament wants to strengthen the institution after the Covid-19 crisis. To this end, he presented a reflection paper, of which EUROPE received a copy on Thursday 15 April.
Mr Sassoli’s aim is “moving towards a more resilient and effective institution that would be also better prepare to deal with future crisis or events”.
The President of the European Parliament therefore proposes a three-stage process. The first, which is currently underway, concerns consultation with Members of Parliament.
During the second phase, scheduled for mid-April to mid-July, discussion groups will focus on five themes: reforming the plenary, strengthening parliamentary prerogatives, strengthening parliamentary diplomacy, relations with citizens/communication and facilitating internal organisation. These groups, which will meet once or twice a week, will consist of one member nominated by each political group and up to five members selected for those who have provided a feedback on a particular focus group subject in initial phase Three non-quota moderators will facilitate the discussions and report regularly to Mr Sassoli.
Finally, the third phase will focus on the follow-up of the recommendations by the relevant bodies within the Parliament. (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)