Strasbourg, 06/05/2009 (Agence Europe) - The European Parliament amended its rules of procedure on Wednesday 6 May, after rejecting the call from the Greens/EFA, challenging some points of the reform which, in the words of Italian MEP Monica Frassoni tend “to further centralise power”, to return the matter to committee. The report by UK Labour MEP Richard Corbett, adopted by 522 votes to 101, with 51 abstentions, codifies practices that have grown up and introduces a number of innovations following recommendations from the working group chaired by German Social Democrat Dagmar Roth-Behrendt. In passing, Parliament adopted an amendment put by the PES and EPP-ED groups that means that the first session of the new Parliament will not be presided by the oldest elected member but by the out-going President or, if necessary, an out-going Vice-President, determined by order of precedence, or, failing that, the longest-serving MEP. The avowed aim of this amendment was to make sure that the leader of the French Front National could not chair the first session.
Parliament accepted the recommendations of its rapporteur, codifying into a new Article 11 the practice that consists of allowing observers from a country that has signed an accession treaty while awaiting the treaty's coming into effect. It also clarifies the role of intergroups, but imposes transparency rules on them. From now on, when fewer than 100 MEPs are present, 10 MEPs (rather than 40 as at present) will be enough to block an oral amendment. Temporary committees become “special committees. The composition of committees will closely reflect proportionality. Committee coordinators and shadow rapporteurs appear in the Parliament rules of procedure, which also set out inter-institutional negotiating arrangements in legislative procedures (on the basis of a mandate from the competent committee). Written statements will be more closely regulated in future (they will have to be within the EU's area of responsibility and not be covered by an on-going legislative procedure) and will be authorised on a case-by-case basis by the EP President. The chair of the session will be able to give the floor to MEPs who indicate they want to speak by raising a blue card. This procedure, which only allows each speaker 30 seconds, will be left to the discretion of the President who must check whether the speaker who is interrupted is prepared to allow the other to speak and that this does not disrupt the debate.
In future, Parliament will also be able to ask the opinion of the Court of Justice on the compatibility of an international agreement with the Treaties, before assent is given.
To reduce the number of plenary session votes, the reform authorises the President to refer a report to the competent committee if more than 50 amendments and split voting and separate votes have been called for. In such cases, only those calls that have been accepted by at least a tenth of the committee members will be put to the plenary session. In other words, calls from political groups will be arbitrated by the committees, a move that could penalise the smaller groups.
Among the other contentious amendments which the Greens and other smaller groups voted against were: - restricting the right of amendment on resolutions contained in own-initiative reports to groups with at least one tenth of MEPs; - joint meetings of more than one committee to deal with one issue. (O.J./transl.rt)