European Parliament resolution on guidelines for the approval of the Commission (2005/2024(INI))
Date: 2005-12-01
Institutions: Committee on Constitutional Affairs, European Parliament
Subjects: European Commission, European Parliament, appointment of staff, institutional activity, interinstitutional relations (EU)

22.11.2006

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 285 E/137

Thursday 1 December 2005

Calls for the training of journalists to eliminate stereotyping, discrimination and racism in sports

13.
reporting;

Encourages international sport organisers and sponsors to invest in local communities in developing

14.
countries;

15. Welcomes the forthcoming World Summit on Physical Education to be held on 2-3 December 2005
in Magglingen, Switzerland;

16.
Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission, the governments
and parliaments of the Member States, the ACP-EU Council of Ministers and Joint Parliamentary Assembly,
the UN Secretary-General and the African Union.

P6_TA(2005)0465

Approval of the Commission

European Parliament resolution on guidelines for the approval of the Commission (2005/2024(INI))

The European Parliament,

— having regard to Articles 213 and 214 of the Treaty establishing the European Community and Arti-

cle 126 of the Treaty establishing the European Atomic Energy Community (1),

— having regard to Articles I-26, I-27, I-28, III-348 and III-350 of the Treaty establishing a Constitution
for Europe, and to Declaration 7 on Article I-27 of the Constitution for Europe, annexed to the Final
Act of the Intergovernmental Conference,

— having regard to Article 10 of the Act of 20 September 1976 concerning the election of Members of the

European Parliament by direct universal suffrage (2),

— having regard to the Framework Agreement on relations between the European Parliament and the

Commission of 26 May 2005 (3),

— having regard to its resolution of 18 November 2004 on the election of the new Commission (4),

— having regard to Rule 45 and to Rules 98 and 99 of its Rules of Procedure,

— having regard to the report of the Committee on Constitutional Affairs (A6-0179/2005),

Whereas:

A. parliamentary hearings of Commission candidates,

first used in 1994 and developed since, have
acquired a legitimacy which is fully accepted not only by Parliament and the Commission but also by
the Council and the Member States,

B.

C.

the Commission's democratic accountability is greatly enhanced by a parliamentary approval process
which is open, fair and consistent, and in which each Commissioner-designate discloses to Parliament
all relevant information,

in the light of experience and with a view to future constitutional reform, it is now desirable to review
the way Parliament approves the Commission,

(1) As amended by Article 4 of the Protocol on enlargement of the Treaty of Nice, as modified by Article 45 of the 2003

Act of Accession.

(2) OJ L 278, 8.10.1976, p. 5. Act as amended by Council decision 2002/772/EC, Euratom (OJ L 283, 21.10.2002, p. 1).
(3) Texts Adopted, P6_TA(2005)0194, Annex.
(4) OJ C 201 E, 18.8.2005, p. 113.

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Official Journal of the European Union

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22.11.2006

Thursday 1 December 2005

Adopts the following principles, criteria and arrangements for making the whole college of the Com-

1.
mission subject to its vote of consent:

Criteria for assessment

(a) Parliament will evaluate Commissioners-designate on the grounds of their general competence, Euro-
pean commitment and indubitable independence. It will assess knowledge of the relevant portfolio and
communication skills.

(b) Parliament will have special regard for gender balance. It may express itself on the disposition of port-

folio responsibilities by the President-elect.

(c) Parliament may seek any information relevant to its reaching a decision about the aptitude of the

candidates. It will expect full disclosure of information pertaining to financial interests.

Hearings

(d) Each Commissioner-designate will be invited to appear before the appropriate parliamentary committee

or committees for a single hearing of three hours. The hearings will be in public.

(e) The hearings will be organised jointly by the Conference of Presidents and the Conference of Commit-
tee Chairs. Appropriate arrangements will be made to associate relevant committees where portfolios
are mixed. There are three possibilities:
— if the portfolio of the Commissioner-designate falls within the remit of only one parliamentary

committee, he/she will be heard by that committee alone;

— if the portfolio of the Commissioner-designate falls more or less equally within the remit of several

parliamentary committees, he/she will be heard jointly by these committees;

— if the portfolio of the Commissioner-designate falls mainly within the remit of one parliamentary
committee and only to a small extent within the remit of one or more other parliamentary com-
mittees, he/she will be heard by the committee mainly responsible, which will invite the other
committee or committees to attend the hearing.

The President-elect of the Commission will be fully consulted about the arrangements.

(f) The parliamentary committees will submit written questions to the Commissioners-designate in good
time before the hearings. The number of substantive written questions shall be limited to five per
parliamentary committee responsible.

(g) Hearings will take place in circumstances and under conditions whereby Commissioners-designate enjoy

an equal and fair opportunity to present themselves and their opinions.

(h) Commissioners-designate will be invited to make an opening oral statement of no more than twenty
minutes. The conduct of the hearings should aim to develop a pluralistic political dialogue between the
Commissioners-designate and Members of Parliament. Before the end of the session, Commissioners-
designate should be allowed to make a brief closing statement.

Evaluation

(i) An indexed video recording of the hearings should be made available for the public record within

twenty-four hours.

(j) The committees should meet without delay after the hearing to make their evaluation of the individual
Commissioners-designate. These meetings will be in camera. The committees are invited to state
whether the Commissioners-designate are qualified both to be a member of the college and to carry
out the particular duties for which they have been nominated. If a committee is unable to reach a
consensus on both of these points, as a last resort its chairman will put the two decisions to a vote.
The statements of evaluation shall be made public and presented at a joint meeting of the Conference
of Presidents and the Conference of Committee Chairs, which shall be held in camera. Following an
exchange of views, and unless they decide to seek further information, the Conference of Presidents and
the Conference of Committee Chairs will declare the hearings closed.

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Thursday 1 December 2005

(k) The President-elect of the Commission shall present the whole college of Commissioners at a sitting of
Parliament. The presentation will be followed by a debate. In order to wind up the debate, any political
group or at least 37 Members may table a motion for resolution. Following the vote on the motion for
resolution, Parliament will then vote on whether or not to give its consent to the appointment as a
body of the President and other members of the Commission. Parliament shall decide by a majority of
the votes cast, by roll call. It may defer the vote until the next sitting;

Adopts the following arrangements in the event of a change in the composition or disposition of the

2.
Commission during its term of office:

(a) When a vacancy caused by resignation, compulsory retirement or death is to be filled, Parliament,
acting with dispatch, shall invite the candidate for the Commission to participate in a hearing under
the same conditions as those laid down in paragraph 1.

(b)

(c)

In the event of the accession of a new Member State, Parliament shall invite its Commissioner-designate
to participate in a hearing under the same conditions as those laid down in paragraph 1.

In the event of a substantial reshuffle of portfolios, the Commissioners affected will be invited to appear
before the appropriate parliamentary committees before taking up their new responsibilities;

In order to facilitate the preparation of the approval process of the Commission, requests the Council

3.
to bring forward the period of the next parliamentary elections from June to May 2009;

Instructs its President to refer this resolution to the Committee responsible for the Rules of Procedure
4.
with a view to proposing appropriate amendments to the Rules in good time before the next parliamentary
elections;

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

5.
Council.

P6_TA(2005)0466

Applying competition rules to maritime transport

European Parliament resolution on the application of EC competition rules to maritime transport
(2005/2033(INI))

The European Parliament,

— having regard to Articles 80, 81, 82, 83, 85 and 86 of the EC Treaty,

— having regard to the White Paper on the review of Regulation (EEC) No 4056/86, applying the EC

competition rules to maritime transport (COM(2004)0675),

— having regard to the White Paper ‘European Transport Policy for 2010: time to decide’ (COM(2001)

0370),

— having regard to the conclusions of the Presidency of the Lisbon European Council of 23 and 24 March
2000 asking the Commission 'to speed up liberalisation in areas such as gas, electricity, postal services
and transport',

— having regard to Council Regulation (EEC) No 954/79 (1), which contains a framework for applying the

Code of Conduct for Liner Conferences so as to be compatible with the EC Treaty,

— having regard to Council Regulation (EEC) No 4056/86 of 22 December 1986 laying down detailed
rules for the application of Articles 85 and 86 (now Articles 81 and 82) of the Treaty to maritime
transport (2),

(1) OJ L 121, 17.5.1979, p. 1.
(2) OJ L 378, 31.12.1986, p. 4.