WRITTEN QUESTION E-4036/00

by Bart Staes (Verts/ALE) to the Council

(3 January 2001)

Subject: 133 Committee (2)

The 133 Committee is the real power behind and decision-making centre for the European Union's commercial policy. It takes its name from Article 133 of the Treaty of Amsterdam. That article provides for the establishment of a special committee appointed by the Council to assist the European Commission. The 133 Committee constitutes the link between the European Commission and the Council.

Each Member State has one full and one substitute member to represent it on that committee. Those civil servants take important decisions relating to international trade issues such as the banana dispute, the supply of medicinal products to poor countries and the American levy on European steel. The Council resolves any political problems and ratifies the decisions taken by the committee. Some proposals are debated solely within the committee and approved en bloc by Coreper (the national civil servants appointed to the European Union) without further debate.

Are reports published about the documents used by and the debates in the 133 Committee?

1. If so, does the public have access to those reports?

2. (a) If not, why are no reports published about the documents used by and the debates in the 133 Committee, given the political nature of the decisions taken?

(b) Will the Council ensure that, henceforth, reports are published about the documents used by and the debates in the 133 Committee? Will it also ensure that the public has access to those reports? If not, why does the Council refuse inspection of the decision-making process in the 133 Committee?

Joint answer to Written Questions E-4034/00, E-4036/00 and E-4037/00

(31 May 2001)

1. The Council would point out that decisions on the common commercial policy, are adopted by the Council in accordance with Article 133 of the Treaty on the basis of Commission proposals or recommendations.

2. Article 133(3) also establishes that the negotiations the Commission is authorised by the Council to open within the framework of the commercial policy are conducted by the Commission in consultation with a special committee appointed by the Council to assist the Commission in this task and within the framework of such directives as the Council may issue to it.

3. When the Treaty of Rome entered into force in January 1958, a special committee was set up in implementation of the transitional provisions of Article 111. It comprised senior officials from the Member States in the field of commercial policy, usually at Director-General level. Its composition remained unchanged when, in February 1959, Article 113 of the Treaty of Rome on the principles governing the common commercial policy became applicable. Subsequent amendments to the Treaty have not changed the basic provisions of this Article.

4. The Committee (at senior official level) normally met once a month. With the launch of the Tokyo Round of trade negotiations in 1973, it became necessary to convene meetings of the Committee more frequently and sometimes at short intervals. This led to the inception of a Committee of deputies, which normally holds weekly meetings, while the Committee of full members continues to meet monthly. The 133 Committee (Deputies) is made up of delegates most of whom work in the permanent representations of the Member States in Brussels. The Council also set up sectoral committees Article 133 Committee (Textiles), Article 133 Committee (Services), Article 133 Committee (ECSC), Article 133 Committee (Mutual Recognition) and Article 133 Committee (Motor Vehicles).

5. Regarding discussions within the 133 Committee on proposals and working documents submitted by the Commission and documents that record the outcome of discussions within the Committee, it should be remembered that public access to Council documents is covered by Council Decision 93/721/EC of 20 December 1993, amended by Council Decisions 96/705/EC of 6 December 1996 and 2000/527/EC of 14 August 2000, which make provision for cases where confidentiality must be maintained, in particular with regard to commercial and industrial matters.

6. The Council is aware of the requests emanating from the European Parliament as regards decision-making procedures concerning the common commercial policy. These requests were examined at the Intergovernmental Conference which completed its discussions at the European Council in Nice. The amendments to the text of the Treaty agreed by the Conference did not affect this aspect of Article 133.

7. Both the Council and the Commission regularly brief the European Parliament on the salient aspects of the Community's commercial policy and, under the Westerterp procedure of 1973, the Council keeps the European Parliament informed of trade agreement negotiations with third countries before the negotiations begin, as they progress and when they are concluded.