On Wednesday 20 November, the Ambassadors of the EU Member States approved a letter from the Hungarian Ambassador, whose country holds the Presidency of the Council of the EU, expressing the EU Council’s concerns about the proposed revision of the 2010 Framework Agreement between the European Commission and the European Parliament (see EUROPE 13509/18).
“Our key focus is to ensure institutional balance, respect Treaty-defined roles and preserve the Council’s decision-making prerogatives”, explained the Hungarian Presidency on X.
In its letter to the Presidents of the Commission and the European Parliament, the EU Council opposes any provision, in the context of a possible revision of the framework agreement, which would have the effect of upsetting the institutional balance provided for in the Treaties and which would be contrary to the procedures contained therein. “The Treaties define exhaustively the respective powers conferred on the institutions which may not be modified or supplemented by the institutions themselves, either unilaterally or by agreement between them”, the document adds.
The ambassadors question the principle of “equal treatment” between the EU Council and the European Parliament, which is not enshrined in the Treaties, the Commission’s commitment to provide a full detailed justification to the European Parliament for each proposal based on Article 122 TFEU, the improvement of the flow of information on international agreements, the commitment to strengthen institutional cooperation on budgetary issues and the European Parliament’s right of initiative.
See the letter: https://aeur.eu/f/ef4 (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)