A4-0089/94

Resolution on the eleventh annual report on the monitoring of the application of Community law - 1993 (COM(94)0500 - C4-0011/94)

The European Parliament,

- having regard to the Commission's eleventh annual report (COM(94)0500 - C4-0011/94) ((OJ C 154, 6.6.1994.)),

- having regard to the Communication of 8 March 1994 from the Commission to the Council and the European Parliament on the development of administrative cooperation in the implementation and enforcement of Community legislation in the Internal Market (COM(94)0024),

- having regard to the 1993 annual management report on CELEX (interinstitutional system of automated documentation on Community law),

- having regard to the Council Resolution of 20 June 1994 on the electronic dissemination of Community law and national implementing laws and on improved access conditions ((OJ C 179, 1.7.1994, p. 3.)),

- having regard to the Commission's White Paper on European social policy - A way forward for the Union (COM(94)0333 - C4-0087/94),

- having regard to the report of 14 September 1994 on progress in the implementation of Community legislation into national law presented by the Commission at the Internal Market Council of 23 and 24 September 1994 in Frankfurt an der Oder, Germany,

- having regard to the comments made by the national parliaments,

- having regard to the report of the Committee on Legal Affairs and Citizens' Rights and the opinions of the Committee on Social Affairs and Employment, the Committee on Transport and Tourism and the Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Consumer Protection (A4-0089/94),

A. whereas the Union is a Community under the rule of law and the Member States must apply Community law as effectively and rigorously as they apply their own national law,

B. whereas the Community has a duty, following the entry into force of the Treaty on European Union, to legislate in such a way as to fulfil the aspirations and needs of citizens while respecting the principle of subsidiarity; whereas, in this context, the Member States must remain free enough to be able to apply Community law in a way which takes account of specific regional characteristics, though without affecting the full implementation of Community law,

C. whereas strict adherence to the principle of subsidiarity is essential for bringing Community law much closer to the citizen, but whereas that principle must be applied only to future Community action so as not to undermine the principle of legal certainty,

D. whereas, in order for the Community to be close to its citizens, the Community legislative process must be open; whereas, in order to confirm the democratic nature of the Community institutions and the citizens' confidence in them, the institutions must allow greater public access to their documents,

E. whereas, again with the aim of making European integration more democratic, Community law must be made more readable and more accessible, thereby improving its chances of being understood and correctly interpreted by national authorities (judicial and administrative), economic agents and by citizens in general,

F. whereas over the last three years the Community institutions have made remarkable efforts and so achieved crucial progress, in particular the adoption of most of the measures in the programme contained in the White Paper on the completion of the internal market,

G. whereas the numerous Community acts already adopted on the functioning of the internal market and the application of the principle of subsidiarity to future acts, which allows national authorities more discretion in the implementation of Community law, requires the Commission to be more rigorous in acting as the 'guardian of the Treaties' in accordance with Article 155 of the EC Treaty; whereas full implementation in all the Member States is essential to ensure that the internal market functions to the advantage of all the Community's citizens and undertakings,

H. whereas, following the entry into force of the Treaty on European Union, the European Parliament is required to play a major role in the monitoring of the application of Community law; whereas it must, as it has hitherto, assess the Commission's exercise of its supervisory power but must also act in its own right, particularly through own-initiative reports, parliamentary committees of inquiry, parliamentary questions and petitions; whereas, in addition, it must cooperate in this context with the national parliaments, as it already does,

1. Notes that Commission action under Article 169 of the EC Treaty led to more or less the same number of infringement procedures as were instituted in the previous year (1209 in 1993 and 1216 in 1992), that the number of reasoned opinions increased from 248 in 1992 to 352 in 1993 and that 44 actions were brought before the Court of Justice (whereas in 1992 the Commission brought 64 actions);

2. Regrets that the state of implementation of Community law is not entirely satisfactory since, as regards the implementation of the measures in the White Paper on completion of the internal market, although a final decision has been taken on 270 of the 282 measures which the Commission proposed to the Council (the implementation rate was 89% on 23 September 1994), there are numerous delays in economically and politically important areas, namely insurance, public service contracts, company law, intellectual and industrial property and new technologies;

3. Notes with concern that, particularly in the agricultural and environmental sectors, there has been a marked fall in the rate of implementation; similarly, in the social policy field, the Commission's White Paper of 27 July 1994 shows that the implementation rate is particularly unsatisfactory for legislation on health and safety based on the framework directive on health and safety; points out that this delay in implementation tends to serve as an excuse for not drawing up new legislative proposals;

4. Emphasizes that, in certain sectors concerned in particular with the internal market, the Community is increasingly confronted with incomplete implementation; calls on the Commission to improve its means of cooperating with national authorities and not to hesitate, where necessary, to initiate the infringement procedure laid down in Article 169 of the EC Treaty; also draws the attention of the national parliaments to this situation which has a very adverse affect on the functioning of the Community;

5. Considers that there is an urgent and essential need for the European Parliament and Council, as the legislative authorities, in association with the Commission, to improve the means by which citizens can determine the current state of Community legislation and the acts adopted by the Union institutions under the foreign and internal cooperation policies; accordingly, the European Parliament, the Council and the Commission should cooperate more effectively and reorganize the CELEX (Communitatis Europaeae LEX) database so that, once preparatory acts and implementing measures have been added, the system is clearer, more comprehensive and easier to consult;

6. Calls on the Official Publications Office of the European Communities to hold, by the end of 1995, jointly with the appropriate bodies of the Council, Parliament and Commission as well as of the national governments and parliaments, a seminar to assess the prospects for interoperability and synergy between CELEX and the other Community databases and national databases of legal information;

7. Regrets the delay which has occurred in the work of codifying Community legislation; considers that an enormous effort of codification is needed in order to provide lawyers, those involved in the legal process and also European citizens with the main legislation in force in a convenient form; welcomes the interinstitutional agreement being concluded on the basis of its resolution of 6 May 1994 on the transparency of Community legislation and the need for it to be consolidated ((OJ C 205, 25.7.1994, p. 514.)); however, considers that the proposed 'official codification' will not be sufficient to achieve the objective sought and that a real reformulation of Community legislation must now be considered in accordance with the legislative procedures laid down in the Treaties; notes that the major national codification exercises have been carried out in this way and have not been restricted simply to a restatement of the texts concerned;

8. Calls on the Commission to consider, together with those professionally involved (magistrates and lawyers), the cost of access to legislative texts, related publications and computerized systems of Community law with the sole objective of making access to this legislation more affordable, and hence easier, possibly by concluding a satisfactory specific agreement;

9. Considers, in the same vein, that Community law should become a compulsory subject in the continuing education of lawyers at universities so as to facilitate the implementation of Community law by the national courts;

10. Notes that the Commission is continuing to cooperate with national governments by holding regular bilateral meetings to assess the progress made in implementing Community acts; according to the Commission, those meetings 'clear the log-jam in the internal implementation process' so as to avoid or close numerous infringement proceedings (in 1993 the Commission closed 50% of the infringement procedures initiated); considers, however, that the Commission is particularly discreet about the specific content of the discussions and should, for the sake of greater openness, inform Parliament in its next report of what was at stake in the negotiations and what results (positive and negative) were achieved;

11. Deplores the fact that certain states persist in not complying with judgments of the Court of Justice, some of which date from 1981 (Case C-137/80 Commission v Belgium, about the transfer of pension rights) or from 1983 (Case C-90/82 Commission v France, about the retail price of manufactured tobaccos; Case C-322/82 Commission v Italy, about quality standards for fruit and vegetables), even though for five or six years they have had judgments delivered against them on the basis of Article 171 of the EC Treaty; calls on the Commission to use its power under Article 171(2) to ask the Court to impose penalties on states which refuse to comply with its judgments;

12. Calls on the Member States to make the conditions for obtaining free legal aid in respect of disputes involving questions of European Union law as flexible as possible and to encourage the creation of legal aid centres and bodies for proceedings of this sort;

13. Notes that the number of references for preliminary rulings again increased in 1993 (to 204 from 162 in 1992) and considers that, in view of the importance of these references for preliminary rulings and the disparity between states, the Commission would be well advised to draw up a report, possibly in collaboration with the competent services of the Court of Justice, explaining the disparity (e.g. 57 references were made from Germany and only one from Ireland) and how the judgments of the Court of Justice are received by the national courts;

14. Expresses it concern that, even though the jurisdiction of the Court of First Instance has been expanded, preliminary-ruling proceedings still take too long (the trend has been as follows: 1990 - 17.5 months; 1991 - 18.2 months; 1992 - 18.8 months; 1993 - 20.4 months); considers that a working party should be set up, composed inter alia of judges of the Court of Justice, national judges and members of Parliament's Committee on Legal Affairs and Citizens' Rights, with the task of determining the reasons for the delays and proposing ways of speeding up procedures before the Court of Justice, particularly those relating to references for preliminary rulings;

15. Notes that the Commission considers that encouragement should be given to holding meetings, seminars and conferences on the monitoring of the observance of Community law as well as to exchanges of national civil servants and joint training programmes dealing with monitoring, and calls on the Commission to draw up a full assessment of those initiatives;

16. Considers that the establishment of continuing education courses in Community law for magistrates, judges and lawyers must be encouraged; consequently, calls on the Commission, in cooperation with the Court of Justice, to take stock of existing continuing education courses and submit its conclusions in its next annual report;

17. Calls on the Commission to compile information which could in future be included in its annual report in a section dealing specifically with cooperation in the fields of justice and home affairs;

18. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Commission, the Council, the Court of Justice and to the governments and parliaments of the Member States.