Resolution on the implications of the entry into force of the Treaty of Amsterdam (list of legislative proposals pending as at 1 May 1999, indicating new legal bases and any changes in legislative procedure following the entry into force of the Treaty of Amsterdam) (C4-0134/99 SEC(99) 0581 C4-0219/99)
Date: 1999-05-04
Institutions: Committee on Legal Affairs, European Parliament
Subjects: EU legal system, European treaties, legal basis, legislative procedure, parliamentary procedure, revision of the Treaty (EU)

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19.
Points out also that there are geographical barriers within the European Union, such as mountain
ranges, which make transport between neighbouring regions difficult, and that special attention should
therefore be paid to these problems;

Considers  that  transport  policy  should  take  into  account  the  special  needs  of  border  regions;

20.
Welcomes the promotion of interregional and cross-border projects;

21.
Considers that the linking of the applicant countries to the European Union must be coherent with
the  Community’s  transport  policy;  welcomes  the  introduction  of  pre-accession  structural  aid  and  the
reorientation of the Phare programme with a view to the forthcoming enlargement, with greater emphasis
being placed on infrastructure investment in the Central and Eastern European countries;

22.
Is convinced that improving pan-European transport links between the European Union and the
neighbouring  areas,  including  the  former  Soviet  states  and  the  Mediterranean  countries,  is  of  utmost
importance for the future relations; regrets that neither TACIS nor the MEDA programmes are at present
allowed to support major infrastructure investment; calls for transport infrastructure improvements to be
regarded  as  eligible  funding  when  consideration  is  given,  in  the  future,  to  the  revision  of  TACIS  and
MEDA;

Instructs  its  President  to  forward  this  resolution  to  the  Commission,  the  Council  and  the

23.
governments and parliaments of the Member States.

7.  Legislative proposals pending

A4-0255/99

Resolution on the implications of the entry into force of the Treaty of Amsterdam (list of legislative
proposals  pending  as  at  1  May  1999,  indicating  new  legal  bases  and  any  changes  in  legislative
procedure following the entry into force of the Treaty of Amsterdam) (C4-0134/99 − SEC(99)0581 −
C4-0219/99)

The European Parliament,

−  having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community,

−  having regard to the Treaty on European Union which entered into force on 1 May 1999,

−  having regard to the Commission documents containing a list of legislative proposals pending as at
1 May 1999, indicating new legal bases and any changes in legislative procedure following the entry
into force of the Treaty of Amsterdam (C4-0134/99 − SEC(99)0581 − C4-0219/99)),

−  having regard to its resolution of 20 January 1994 on the application of the Treaty on European Union
to proposals pending before the Council on 31 October 1993 for which its entry into force will require
a change in the legal basis and/or a change in procedure (1),

−  having regard to the letters of 13 and 26 April 1999 from the President of Parliament to the President

of the Council concerning implementation of the Treaty of Amsterdam,

−  having regard to the report of the Committee on Legal Affairs and Citizens’ Rights and the opinions of
the committees concerned, namely the Committee on Employment and Social Affairs, the Committee
on  Budgets,  the  Committee  on  Development  and  Cooperation,  the  Committee  on  Fisheries,  the
Committee  on  Transport  and  Tourism,  the  Committee  on  External  Economic  Relations,  the
Committee  on  Civil  Liberties  and  Internal  Affairs,  the  Committee  on  Research,  Technological
Development  and  Energy  and  the  Committee  on  the  Environment,  Public  Health  and  Consumer
Protection (A4-0255/99),

(1)  OJ C 44, 14.2.1994, p. 175.

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A.  whereas the new Treaty contains no transitional provisions governing the action to be taken on current
legislative  procedures  and  whereas  the  institutions  must  therefore  fill  this  gap  by  referring  to  the
general principles of Community law and must in particular:

−  give  full  effect  to  the  institutional  changes  by  complying  with  the  spirit  and  letter  of  the  new
Treaty, so as to ensure that the new political objectives laid down therein, which are reflected in
the changes in legal basis and/or procedure, are fully taken on board,

−  comply with the principle of economy of procedure enshrined in the case law of the Court of
Justice of the European Communities, since such compliance also constitutes a political duty to
citizens,

B.  whereas the new objectives set for the Union have implications for the scope and substance of current

legislative acts concerning in particular:

− 

the progressive establishment of an area of freedom, security and justice (new Title IV of the EC
Treaty),  which  will  require  proposals  on  the  free  movement  of  persons,  visas,  immigration,
asylum and judicial cooperation in civil matters, which to date have been based on intergovern-
mental cooperation, to be dealt with on the basis of the Community method and a Community
perspective,

−  proactive measures to combat all forms of discrimination (new Articles 12 and 13 EC Treaty),

− 

− 

− 

− 

− 

the protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms (Article 6 EC Treaty),

the transparency of public activities (new Article 255 EC Treaty),

the protection of privacy (new Article 286 EC Treaty),

the adoption of measures to combat racism and xenophobia (Article 29 EC Treaty),

the  adoption  of  measures  to  combat  terrorism,  trafficking  in  persons  and  offences  against
children, drug trafficking, arms trafficking, corruption and fraud (Article 29 EC Treaty),

−  measures  in  the  field  of  judicial  cooperation  in  civil  matters  having  cross-border  implications

(Article 65 EC Treaty),

−  measures  to  combat  fraud  affecting  the  financial  interests  of  the  Community  (Article  280  EC

Treaty),

−  measures setting high standards of quality and safety of organs and substances of human origin,

blood and blood derivatives (Article 152(4)(a) EC Treaty),

−  measures in the veterinary and phytosanitary fields (Article 152(4)(b) EC Treaty),

C.  whereas Parliament has a duty to accept fully the new institutional responsibilities laid down in the

Treaty, in particular where:

− 

the codecision procedure applies,

− 

it is involved for the first time in Council decisions under a consultation procedure (e.g. Article 65
of the EC Treaty),

D.  whereas under the codecision procedure Parliament is co-legislator and, with the Council, has joint
and legal political responsibility for acts coming under that procedure; whereas its participation in the
formulation  and  conclusion  of  such  acts  is  based  on  an  interinstitutional  balance  substantially
different from that laid down by the Treaties for other legislative procedures, under which the Council
alone bears final responsibility,

E.  whereas the entry into force of the Treaty of Amsterdam will require three types of changes to be

made to legislative proposals pending:

−  a change of legal framework following the setting of new objectives for the Union (e.g. Title IV of

the EC Treaty),

−  a change of legal basis, with no change in procedure (e.g. proposals based on Article 100a which

are to be based on Article 152 since they relate to public health),

−  a change of legislative procedure (e.g. in the transport field, Article 75 (cooperation) has become

Article 71 (codecision)),

F.  whereas, in the three instances referred to above, wherever the relevant Treaty change entails a change
in the nature of the act concerned and a substantially different role for Parliament in the legislative
procedure (e.g. the introduction of new Community powers or of the codecision procedure), the latter
must begin when the Treaty comes into force,

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G.  whereas the Treaty has entered into force in exceptional political circumstances, at a time when the
Commission  has  resigned  and  Parliament  is  holding  its  last  part-session  prior  to  the  European
elections on 13 June 1999,

H.  whereas,  in  certain  instances  in  which  the  codecision  procedure  applies,  the  Treaty  provides  for
compulsory consultation of the Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions;
whereas, in addition to the legal implications deriving therefrom, such consultation has major political
implications in that it fosters greater participation by interested parties in the drafting of Community
acts; whereas, in this connection, Parliament accepts its responsibility as co-legislator to ensure that
this procedure is fully implemented,

I.  whereas,  in  the  public  interest,  the  institutions  should,  in  accordance  with  the  principle  of
wholehearted cooperation, provide for an accelerated procedure for urgent legislative proposals to
which the codecision procedure applies following the Treaty’s entry into force, on condition that such
proposals are of major political importance and due respect is shown for Parliament’s prerogatives
and the principle of legal certainty,

J.  whereas, given that the Union’s powers are exclusively sector-based, all Community acts must be
based on a Treaty provision conferring on the Union the power to act and indicating the procedure to
be followed; whereas the Court of Justice has consistently found that the choice of legal basis for any
act must be based on objective factors which may be subjected to judicial scrutiny,

K.  whereas each Community act must be adopted under the procedure laid down in the provision which
constitutes the appropriate legal basis for that act, in the form in which it applies at the time of the act’s
final adoption,

Notes the legislative proposals forwarded by the Commission and, as regards all those which have
1.
evolved towards the codecision procedure, considers, as a general rule, that the procedure began on 1 May
1999;

2.
Considers that, given the current political circumstances linked to the completion of the work of the
fourth parliament, it would be more appropriate for the next parliament to confirm most of the proposals
adopted under legislative procedures which have evolved towards the codecision procedure;

3.
Considers  nonetheless  that,  in  particular  for  urgent  legislative  proposals  coming  under  the
codecision procedure, an accelerated procedure could be implemented (during the part-session in May
1999) with a view to taking a final decision thereon, provided that the following conditions are fulfilled:

− 

the  Commission  has  forwarded  a  legislative  proposal  to  Parliament  and  the  Council,  pursuant  to
Article 251 of the EC Treaty,

−  Parliament has confirmed its opinion at first reading, delivered prior to the entry into force of the

Treaty,

− 

the Council has confirmed its common position or, where appropriate, adopted the relevant act if it
accepts Parliament’s amendments,

−  where appropriate, Parliament has adopted the common position (Article 251(2)(a)),

− 

lastly,  where  appropriate,  the  Court  of  Auditors,  the  Economic  and  Social  Committee  and  the
Committee of the Regions have been consulted under an extraordinary procedure;

4. Welcomes the Commission’s undertaking to forward amended proposals at the earliest opportunity,
with a view to taking due account inter alia of the views already expressed by Parliament and the Council
within the context of other legislative procedures which took place prior to the Treaty’s entry into force;

Affirms its political will to cooperate wholeheartedly with the other institutions in implementing the

5.
first stage of the codecision procedure, as laid down in Article 251(2) of the EC Treaty;

Recalls  that,  inter  alia  in  the  fields  of  social  affairs,  energy,  the  environment  and  transport,  the
6.
codecision procedure provides for consultation of the Committee of the Regions and/or the Economic and
Social Committee and calls, in a spirit of wholehearted cooperation, for those two bodies to be able to
express their views as rapidly as possible;

7.
Reserves the right to express its opinion at a later date, particularly on matters in respect of which the
Commission is to submit amended proposals, inter alia because a new legal basis (e.g. Article 152) is to
apply;

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8.
Urges the Commission, in connection with the proposals relating to the area of freedom, security and
justice (Title IV of the EC Treaty), to submit legislative proposals taking due account of the change in the
nature of the acts concerned;

9.
Notes  the  guidelines  on  changes  in  legal  basis  and/or  procedure  set  out  in  the  aforementioned
Commission document, without prejudice however to the subsequent application to given proposals of the
provisions on the verification of legal bases laid down in its Rules of Procedure;

Instructs  its  President  to  forward  this  resolution  to  the  Commission,  the  Council,  the  Court  of
10.
Auditors,  the  Committee  of  the  Regions,  the  Economic  and  Social  Committee,  the  governments  and
parliaments of the Member States.

8.  Plantations of fruit trees * (procedure without report)

Proposal for a Council Directive amending Directive 76/625/EEC concerning the statistical surveys
to be carried out by the Member States in order to determine the production potential of plantations
of certain species of fruit trees (COM(99)0078 − C4-0181/99 − 99/0051(CNS))

(Consultation procedure)

The proposal was approved.

9.  Residue  of  veterinary  medicinal  products  in  foodstuffs  of  animal  origin *

(procedure without report)

Proposal  for  a  Council  Regulation  amending  Regulation  (EEC)  No  2377/90  laying  down  a
Community  procedure  for  the  establishment  of  maximum  residue  limits  of  veterinary  medicinal
products in foodstuffs of animal origin (COM(99)0130 − C4-0167/99 − 99/0072(CNS))

(Consultation procedure)

The proposal was approved.

10. Community  financial  aid  in  the  field  of  trans-European  networks

***I

(procedure without debate)

A4-0260/99

Legislative resolution confirming Parliament’s opinion on the proposal for a European Parliament
and Council Regulation amending Regulation (EC) No 2236/95 laying down general rules for the
granting  of  Community  financial  aid  in  the  field  of  trans-European  networks  (COM(98)0172  −
C4-0283/98 − 98/0101(COD) − former 98/0101 (SYN))

(Codecision procedure: confirmation of first reading)

The European Parliament,

−  having regard to the list of Commission proposals pending as at 1 May 1999 for which the entry into

force of the Amsterdam Treaty entails a change of legal basis and/or procedure,