On Wednesday 11 December, the Conference of Presidents of the European Parliament’s political groups (CoP) postponed its decision on the reform of parliamentary committees (see EUROPE 13539/20), several sources told Agence Europe.
Another source said that the postponement was intended to give the chairs more time to examine the terms of reference of future committees.
The CoP could give its opinion by written procedure on Monday 16 December so that a vote can be taken at the plenary session from 16 to 19 December 2024. If not, the decision will have to wait until January, according to sources.
The decision was to transform the Security and Defence (SEDE) and Public Health (SANT) sub-committees into full committees. As a result of this change, their members will have to be reappointed.
The European Parliament could also set up two special parliamentary committees, one on a ‘European Democratic Shield’ and the other on the ‘housing crisis’, which would have an initial 12-month mandate, according to draft European Parliament decisions obtained by Agence Europe.
Security/Defence. According to the draft decision, the ‘SEDE’ committee should work in particular on the defence industrial component, such as EU defence capabilities, preparedness and resilience of the Union and its Member States, including research, development and innovation and joint production.
Actions relating to EU defence industrial integration and cooperation with a view to a single defence market, as well as those “aimed at strengthening the European defence technological and industrial base and consolidating defence industrial cooperation intended for exclusively military use by the Member States and the relevant EU capabilities” would also be part of the Committee’s remit.
Public health. The creation of a standing committee on public health is also under discussion. As a result, the Public Health sub-committee will cease to exist. The name and powers of the Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety are amended accordingly.
The areas of competence of this new ‘Public Health’ committee will include pharmaceutical products and medical devices, programmes and specific actions in the field of public health, preparedness and response to health crises, mental health and patients’ rights, health aspects of bioterrorism, the European Medicines Agency and the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control.
Democracy. The aim of the ‘European Democratic Shield’ special committee, which will follow on from the INGE special committee of the previous mandate, will be to strengthen the EU’s action against hybrid threats, manipulation of information and interference, whether internal or external.
The special committee will work in particular on actions contributing to the EU’s democratic processes, democratic resilience, media freedom and pluralism, information literacy and the fight against interference using online platforms. This special committee could have around thirty members, according to a document obtained by Agence Europe.
Housing. Finally, the CoP could approve the creation of a special committee on the ‘housing crisis’ in the EU, following the Commission’s announcements earlier this year on the scale of the problem.
According to the mandate Agence Europe was able to obtain, in order to come up with “solutions for decent, sustainable and affordable housing”, the parliamentarians would like to “map current housing needs across territories and population groups” to “best assess the impact of this crisis on the European population”.
The special committee should propose an analysis of overall policies in this area, at European, national and local level, and put forward solutions for monitoring and handling property speculation, tourist lettings, European legislation on investment and the allocation of resources, and certain constraints on construction and renovation.
MEPs could also call for “the development and future implementation of the European plan for affordable housing” and a “European strategy for housing construction”. (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant, Lionel Changeur and Isalia Stieffatre)