Strasbourg, 20/05/2003 (Agence Europe) - After Tuesday's debate on British Labour party member, Dick Corbett's report on the amendment of the committee procedures decision of 1999 on the Commission's competency of execution and following the vote on the amendments, the European Parliament finally supportedthe rapporteur's request for a Commission referral. Mr Corbett had from the very beginning, declared that if the Commission was not ready to "possibly" renounce the term used in the proposal and if it was not prepared to grant Parliament the right of appeal, equivalent to its own, it should be referred. While agreeing in part (and in some cases to all the amendments), Commissioner Margot Wallström rejected those that were particularly dear to the heart of Mr Corbett.
The referral to the Commission was not to the liking of Jean-Louis Bourlangues either (EPP, France), who welcomed most of Mr Corbett's report (the goal of which is to enhance Parliament's powers of control over the texts for applying in legislative acts in committee procedures) but did not agree with him on the two following points: the possibility that the Commission, in cases of disagreement with the Parliament, is quite simply allowed to withdraw its text, without having to take any legislative initiative. According to Mr Bourlanges, this would constitute a clear green light to hold back acts for application. (Ms Wallström also disagreed with Mr Corbett on this proposal); the possibility that a Commission text, presented because it deems it impossible to settle a disagreement with the Council with a simple amendment, is applied until adoption of a new legislative act. Mr Bourlanges argued that this would give the Commission the power to impose a contentious text over a period of months or even years and would give it the power to officially recognise the power to ignore or break the law.