17. Commission reform: constitutional aspects
A5-0328/2000
European Parliament resolution on the Commission White Paper on reformingthe Commission
(aspects concerningthe Committee on Constitutional Affairs) (COM(2000) 200 wdash C5-0448/2000
wdash 2000/2218(COS))
The European Parliament,
xdash having regard totheWhite Paperonreforming theCommission(COM(2000)200xdashC5-0448/2000),
xdash having regard to Article 213(2) of the EC Treaty,xdash havingregardtoitsresolutionof13January1999ontheinstitutionalimplicationsoftheapprovalby
theEuropeanParliamentofthePresidentoftheCommissionandtheindependenceofthemembersofthe Commission(
1),
xdash having regard to its resolution of 23 March 1999 on the resignation of the Commission and the
appointment of a new Commission(2),
xdash having regard to its resolution of 19 January 2000 containing its observations on action to be taken
on the second report of the Committee of Independent Experts on the reform of the Commission(3),
xdash having regard to its resolution of 17 February 2000 on the agreement between the European Parlia-
mentandtheCommissiononproceduresforimplementingCouncilDecision1999/468/ECof28June1999layingdowntheproceduresfortheexercise ofimplementingpowersconferredontheCommis-
sion(
4),
xdash having regard to its resolution of 13 April 2000 containing the European Parliament’s proposals for
the Intergovernmental Conference(5),
xdash having regard to Rule 47(1) of its Rules of Procedure,xdash having regard to its other resolutions of 30 November 2000 on the White Paper on reforming the
Commission(
6),
xdash having regard to the report of the Committee on Constitutional Affairs (A5-0328/2000),
A. whereas the enlarged European Union will more than ever need a strong and independent Commis-
sion, with the responsibility for defining and defending the commoninterest, ensuring respect for theTreaties and European law and holding the right of legislative initiative,
B. whereas the guidelines laid down by the Commission in its White Paper go well beyond a simple
answer to the malfunctions found by the Committee of Independent Experts,
C. whereas there is an urgent need to establish clearer lines of accountability and service to the public,D. whereas in general the White Paper contains proposals for substantially improving management and
administrative procedures within the Commission but without laying down any general political fra-mework for action, the strategic choice in favour of concentrating on the Commission’s core tasks
being linked to the aim of ensuring an independent, strong and efficient Commission,
E. whereas the proposals in the White Paper barely touch on the Commission’slegislative role,
(1) OJ C 104, 14.4.1999, p. 59.
(2) OJ C 177, 22.6.1999, p. 19.
(3) OJ C 304, 24.10.2000, p. 135.
(4) ‘Texts Adopted’, Item 11.
(5) ‘Texts Adopted’, Item 7.
(6) ‘Texts Adopted’, Items 14, 15 and 16.13.8.2001 EN C 228/211 Official Journal of the European Communities
Thursday 30 November 2000
F. whereas the implementation of the Treaties of Maastricht and Amsterdam has clearly shown the pro-
blems in carrying out decisions made by the European Council or the Council of Ministers in fieldsoutside traditional Community policy areas, and it therefore became apparent that the Commissionwas the only institution able to ensure the coordinated implementation of Union policies,
G. whereas, on the other hand, the actual management of the Union’s policies and of the majority of
Community appropriations must continue to be a matter for the Member States’ administrations orbodies approved by the Commissionand by them, in order toreap the benefits ofdecentralised man-agement and avoid bureaucratic duplication of effort,
H. having regard to the role the Treaties assigned Parliament as opposed to the Commission,
1. Repeats its attachment tothe principle ofa strong,independent, effective, transparent and politically
answerable Commission which inspires confidence in citizens, and hopes that it will have the financial,humanandpoliticalresources toperformtheinstitutionaltasksanddutiesconferred onit bythe Treaties;
2. Points out that the independence guaranteed Commissionersfrom governments and private interests
must apply also in respect of the members of their private offices and their composition;
3. Welcomes the reforms that have already been implemented by the Commission xdash notably the new
structure of directorates-general, new rules on Commissioners’private offices, the end of national flags onsenior posts and new presidential powers for the dismissal of Commissioners;
4. Urges that the principle of an independent and impartial European civil service be maintained;5. Regrets to note that the first stage of the reform of the Commission was not preceded by any in-
depth consideration of the problems of European governance and reserves the right to scrutinise this first
stage for consistency with the subsequent stages stemming in particular from the White Paper on govern-ance to be adopted by the Commissionduring the first half of 2001;
6. Welcomes the Commission’s desire to improve the coordination of budgetary and legislative priori-
ties and needs throughout the planning cycle and to define the resources needed in the light of the objec-tives;
7. Welcomes the first decisions taken by the Commission with a view to establishing appropriate and
higher-quality standards for its own work on the basis of the principle of transparency and in particularthe codes of conduct recently drawn up; hopes that the Commissionwill extend this codification exerciseto administrative procedures;
8. Insists that the Commission must be given the main role in the preparation for and follow-up to
meetings of the European Council and of the Council of Ministers in all its forms and calls upon theCouncil and the Member States to abide scrupulously by this principle;
9. Urges the Council and Member States to associate the Commission fully with the work which takes
place onpolice andjudicial cooperation in the sphere ofcriminal lawwithin the CoordinationCommittee
pursuant to Article 36(2) of the EU Treaty;
10. Calls on the Commission to apply the principles of good governance to the preparation of its leg-
islative proposals, by devising an internal procedure which will ensure that the subsidiarity principle isrespected before any proposal for new regulatory measures is drawn up, and by keeping a chronologicalrecord of procedures in order to reduce the time they take;
11. Is pleased that the Commission intends to improve relations with the social partners and other
outside interlocutors andseesthe discussionpaper ‘The Commissionandnon-governmentalorganisations:building a stronger partnership’ (COM(2000) 11) as a first step in that direction; expects further initiativesin the context of the White Paper on European governance;C 228/212 EN13.8.2001 Official Journal of the European Communities
Thursday 30 November 2000
12. CallsontheCommission,inthecontextoftheWhitePaperonEuropeangovernance,andinaccor-
dance with the undertakings already given by the Commission President, to ascertain whether the alloca-tion of the responsibilities for implementation with the Member States is in keeping with the subsidiarityprinciple, taking into account the specific features of the operational sector and Member States involved,andensuring thatthe Commissiondoesaslittlemanagement aspossiblein order toconcentrate oninitia-tion, coordination and control;
13. InsiststhatMember Statesrecognise their responsibilities toassistthe Commissionin decentralising
the management of Union policies, including willingness to expose their own public administration toproper scrutiny by the European and national parliaments and toaccept sanctionswhen they fail toman-age Union policies correctly;
14. Hopes also that the deliberations on governance will provide an opportunity for the three institu-
tions to establish a common doctrine for externalisation, the establishment of independent agencies beingjustified whenever a scientific opinion or technique is required or decentralised management seems better,butavoidinganydismemberingoftheCommission’spoliticalresponsibilityandensuringthatthelatterhasthe legalmeanstoaccounttoParliamentandthe Councilforthe wayinwhich theagencies performtheirtasks;
15. Urges that the principle whereby responsibility for decision-making continues to be political and
restwiththeCommissionisnotwatereddowninthecourseofthepresentIntergovernmentalConference;
16. Urges support for the role of the Commission as the think-tank and institutional memory of the
Union, and calls for an enhancement of its policy analysis and planning functions;
17. Ispleased that, in the contextofthe CotonouAgreement with the ACP States andthe Commission
decision of 16 May 2000 on the reform of the management of external assistance, steps have been takentowards ensuring decentralised and coordinated external assistance and calls also on the Commission toconduct an overall study into the problem of the Union’s external representation both in internationalnegotiations, in international bodies and in dealing with non-Community countries, and to promote theestablishment of a common diplomatic service which is subordinate to it;
18. NotesthattheappointmentofaHigh Representative fortheCFSPandthesubsequentsetting-up of
defence policy bodies is leading to the creation of European authorities that compete unnecessarily witheachother,withouttheproblemofcoordinatingMemberStates’ownactionsbeingresolvedinanefficientmanner; takes the view that the office of High Representative must in the long run be incorporated intothe Commission;
19. Calls on the Commission to ensure that the machinery for coordination between Parliament, the
Commissionand the Council is in general use to ensure the consistency of decision-making;
20. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Commission, the Council and the govern-
ments of the Member States.
18. Relations between EU and developingcountries
A5-0337/2000
European Parliament resolution on the reform of the Commission and its implications for the
effectiveness of the European Union’s relations with developingcountries (2000/2051(INI))
The European Parliament,
xdash having regard to the White Paper on reforming the Commission(COM(2000) 200),
xdash having regard to the Commission communications of 24 April 2000 (COM(2000) 212) on the Eur-
opean Community’s development policy and of 16 May 2000 (SEC(2000) 814) on the reform of themanagement of external aid,13.8.2001 EN C 228/213 Official Journal of the European Communities
Thursday 30 November 2000