P6_TA(2007)0173

Simplification of Community legislation (amendment of the Rules of Procedure)

European Parliament decision of 10 May 2007 on changes to be made to Parliament's Rules of Procedure to bring internal procedures into line with the requirements of simplification of Community legislation (2005/2238(REG))

The European Parliament,

- having regard to the proposal for amendment of its Rules of Procedure B6-0582/2005,

- having regard to the Communication of the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions entitled "Implementing the Community Lisbon programme: A strategy for the simplification of the regulatory environment" (COM(2005)0535),

- having regard to the conclusions of the European Council of 15 and 16 June 2006, particularly paragraph 41 thereof,

- having regard to its resolution of 16 May 2006 on a strategy for the simplification of the regulatory environment [1],

- having regard to its resolution of 16 May 2006 on the outcome of the screening of legislative proposals pending before the Legislator [2],

- having regard to the Communication from the Commission to the Council, the European Parliament, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions entitled "A strategic review of Better Regulation in the European Union" (COM(2006)0689),

- having regard to Rules 201 and 202 of its Rules of Procedure,

- having regard to the report of the Committee on Constitutional Affairs and the opinion of the Committee on Legal Affairs (A6-0143/2007),

A. whereas Parliament undertook, in its abovementioned resolution of 16 May 2006 on a strategy for the simplification of the regulatory environment (paragraph 21), "to give thought to the improvement of its procedures and its internal legislative techniques in order to speed up the simplification dossiers, while complying with the procedures laid down in primary law, in this particular case the EC Treaty",

B. whereas codification and recasting techniques are among the most important tools for simplifying Community legislation, which is part of the new Lisbon strategy for growth and employment in Europe,

C. whereas the Rules of Procedure contain a provision on codification which should be revised, but no provision on recasting,

D. whereas Parliament wishes, through a re-examination and clarification of its procedures, to make a serious contribution to the simplification efforts and to encourage the Commission to make more proposals in this spirit,

E. whereas it would be desirable for the Council to undertake similar steps;

1. Decides to amend its Rules of Procedure as shown below;

2. Points out that the amendments will enter into force on the first day of the next part-session;

3. Instructs its President to forward this decision to the Council and the Commission, for information.

PRESENT TEXT | AMENDMENTS |

Amendment 1

Rule 80

1. When a Commission proposal for official codification of Community legislation is submitted to Parliament, it shall be referred to the committee responsible for legal affairs. Provided that it is ascertained that the proposal does not entail any change of substance to existing Community legislation, the procedure laid down in Rule 43 shall be followed. | 1. When a Commission proposal for codification of Community legislation is submitted to Parliament, it shall be referred to the committee responsible for legal affairs. The latter shall examine it in accordance with the arrangements agreed at interinstitutional level [3] in order to ascertain that it is a straightforward codification, with no changes of a substantive nature. |

2. The chairman of the committee responsible or the rapporteur appointed by that committee may participate in the examination and revision of the proposal for codification. If necessary, the committee responsible may give its opinion beforehand. | 2. The committee which was responsible for the acts to be codified may, at its own request or at the request of the committee responsible for legal affairs, be asked to give its opinion on the desirability of codification. |

3. Notwithstanding the provisions of Rule 43(3), the simplified procedure may not be applied to a proposal for official codification where this procedure is opposed by a majority of the members of the committee responsible for legal affairs or of the committee responsible. | 3. Amendments to the text of the proposal shall be inadmissible. However, at the rapporteur's request, the chairman of the committee responsible for legal affairs may submit for the latter's approval, amendments relating to technical adaptations, provided that those adaptations are necessary in order to ensure that the proposal complies with the codification rules and do not involve any substantive change to the proposal. |

| 4. If the committee responsible for legal affairs concludes that the proposal does not entail any substantive change, it shall refer it to Parliament for approval. If the committee takes the view that the proposal entails a substantive change to Community legislation, it shall propose that Parliament reject the proposal. In either case, Parliament shall take a decision by means of a single vote, without amendments or debate. |

Amendment 2

Rule 80a (new)

| Rule 80a Recasting 1. When a Commission proposal recasting Community legislation is submitted to Parliament, that proposal shall be referred to the committee responsible for legal affairs and to the committee responsible for the subject matter. 2. The committee responsible for legal affairs shall examine the proposal in accordance with the arrangements agreed at interinstitutional level [4] with a view to checking that it entails no substantive changes other than those identified as such in the proposal. For the purpose of that examination, amendments to the text of the proposal shall be inadmissible. However, the second subparagraph of Rule 80(3) shall apply as regards the provisions which remain unchanged in the recasting proposal. 3. If the committee responsible for legal affairs considers that the proposal does not entail any substantive changes other than those identified as such in the proposal, it shall inform the committee responsible. In such a case, over and above the conditions laid down in Rules 150 and 151, amendments shall be admissible within the committee responsible only if they concern those parts of the proposal which contain changes. However, amendments to the parts which have remained unchanged may be admitted by way of exception and on a case-by-case basis by the chairman of the above committee if he considers that this is necessary for pressing reasons relating to the internal logic of the text or because the amendments are inextricably linked to other admissible amendments. Such reasons must be stated in a written justification to the amendments. 4. If the committee responsible for legal affairs considers that the proposal entails substantive changes other than those which have been identified as such in the proposal, it shall propose that Parliament reject the proposal and it shall inform the committee responsible that it has done so. In such a case the President shall request the Commission to withdraw the proposal. If the Commission does so, the President shall hold the procedure to be superfluous and shall inform the Council accordingly. If the Commission does not withdraw its proposal, Parliament shall refer the matter back to the committee responsible for the subject matter, which shall consider it in accordance with the normal procedure. |

[1] OJ C 297 7.12.2006, p. 136.

[2] OJ C 297 7.12.2006, p. 140.

[3] Interinstitutional Agreement of 20 December 1994, Accelerated working method for official codification of legislative texts, point 4, OJ C 102, 4.4.1996, p. 2.

[4] Interinstitutional Agreement of 28 November 2001 on a more structured use of the recasting technique for legal acts, point 9, OJ C 77, 28.3.2002, p. 1.

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