WRITTEN QUESTION E-0858/01 by Christopher Huhne (ELDR) to the Commission. Commission right to withdraw proposals.
Date: 2001-03-22
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: Council of the European Union, European Commission, European Parliament, adoption of a law by vote, drafting of EU law, powers of the institutions (EU), proposal (EU), veto

18.9.2001

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

C 261 E/209

(2001/C 261 E/237)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-0858/01

by Christopher Huhne (ELDR) to the Commission

Subject: Commission right to withdraw proposals

(22 March 2001)

Does the Commission take the view that it is entitled effectively to (cid:145)veto(cid:146) legislation by withdrawing

1.
from the Council and the European Parliament any proposal that it has submitted?

2.

Has its view been challenged by the legal services of any other institution?

Answer given by Mr Prodi on behalf of the Commission

(18 April 2001)

1.
Article 250(2) of the EC Treaty (formerly Article 189a(2)) states that (cid:145)As long as the Council has not
acted, the Commission may alter its proposal at any time during the procedures leading to the adoption of
a Community act(cid:146). The Commission(cid:146)s power to alter proposals, combined with its right of initiative, has as
its corollary the power to withdraw proposals, although the Commission cannot exercise this power unless
certain conditions are met.

The Commission(cid:146)s current stance is that it may withdraw proposals in two cases, namely:

(cid:129) where there is a risk that the Council may alter the nature of the proposal or where the decision taken
on the proposal may result in an infringement of the EC Treaty (first indent of Article 211 (formerly
Article 155) of the EC Treaty). The Commission does not exercise this power, however, if the Council
is thereby placed in the position of failing to meet a Treaty obligation, i.e. it does not exercise any
right of veto;

(cid:129) where a proposal has become outdated or has been replaced by another proposal. In such cases, it is
withdrawn for purely administrative reasons. Parliament is duly informed one month before the
decision to withdraw the proposal is published in the Official Journal.

2.
It is not for the Commission to express an opinion on the position taken by the legal services of the
other institutions. It notes, however, that no decision to withdraw a proposal has yet been the subject of
proceedings before the Court of Justice.

(2001/C 261 E/238)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-0859/01

by Christopher Huhne (ELDR) to the Commission

(22 March 2001)

Subject: Commission(cid:146)s withdrawal of proposals

Will the Commission indicate the number of occasions on which it has withdrawn a proposal for a
directive or regulation from the Council of Ministers or the European Parliament in each of the last five
years, giving the reference number of the proposal and a brief description of the subject?

Answer given by Mr Prodi on behalf of the Commission

(18 April 2001)

Over the last five years no proposals have been withdrawn for reasons of substance. As regards proposals
withdrawn for administrative reasons, the Honourable Member is referred to the answer given to Question
E-858/01 (1).

(1) See page 210.