Conference of Community and European Affairs Committees of Parliaments of the European Union (COSAC) — Contribution adopted by the XXXVI COSAC — Helsinki, 20 - 21 November 2006
Date: 2006-11-21
Institutions: European Parliament
Subjects: COSAC, EU relations, Russia, enlargement of the Union, interinstitutional relations, vision of Europe

9.2.2007

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 29/7

IV

(Notices)

NOTICES FROM EUROPEAN UNION INSTITUTIONS AND BODIES

EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT

Conference of Community and European Affairs Committees of Parliaments of the European Union
(COSAC)

Contribution adopted by the XXXVI COSAC

Helsinki, 20-21 November 2006

(2007/C 29/03)

1. Cooperation with the European Commission and the

Council

1.5. COSAC calls on the Council to respect the six-week period
between a new legislative proposal being available in all
official
languages and its introduction on the Council's
agenda.

1.1. COSAC appreciates

the

early implementation of

the
commitment by the European Commission to transmit
directly all new legislative proposals and consultation
papers to national parliaments. This information is impor-
tant, since it enables national parliaments to strengthen
parliamentary scrutiny and to improve the process of
policy formulation.

1.2. COSAC also appreciates the European Commission's call
for comments on legislative proposals and consultation
papers from national parliaments and its commitment to
take into account the views expressed, in particular with
reference to the principles of subsidiarity and proportion-
ality. The future influence of national parliaments in EU
decision-making will depend on their willingness and their
ability to assume their responsibilities in scrutinising the
European Commission's proposals.

1.3. To ensure that national parliaments can react in a timely
manner, the European Commission is asked to provide
in order to
more detailed information on its proposals,
to programme their
allow national parliaments better
analyses. This
together with supporting
impact assessments, will allow national parliaments to
discuss the substantive policy direction of the European
Commission, as envisaged in President Barroso's initiative
and endorsed by the European Council.

information,

1.4. COSAC also welcomes the publication of the communica-
tion on the European Commission's Legislative and Work
Programme for 2007 in all official languages.

1.6. COSAC encourages the Council to continue the process of
opening its meetings to the public whenever it considers
and votes on draft legislation, in order to reduce the gap
between citizens and the Union and to make possible
more effective scrutiny of Council decisions by national
parliaments. COSAC calls on the forthcoming Presidencies
and the European Commission also to work actively
towards improving public access to documents, since the
right of access to documents should be a main principle of
the work of the EU's institutions. In this regard, COSAC
also emphasises the importance of the Commission's Euro-
pean Transparency Initiative.

2.

Future of the European Union

2.1. COSAC calls on the Finnish and German Presidencies to
ensure a passage from reflection to action in order to
achieve a constitutional settlement. The Joint Parliamentary
Meeting on 4-5 December 2006 will once again provide
from national
an excellent arena for parliamentarians
parliaments and the European Parliament
to continue
discussion on the future of the European Union and to
share ideas with the Council and the European Commis-
sion. COSAC calls on the German Presidency to ask for the
views of national parliaments and the European Parliament
and take them into account when preparing the Berlin
the Treaty of
Declaration for the 50th anniversary of
Rome.

C 29/8

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

9.2.2007

2.2. COSAC welcomes the initiative to be promoted by the
Italian Parliament on 22 and 23 March 2007 in celebration
of the 50th anniversary of the Rome Treaties. The initiative
will enable representatives of national parliaments and the
European Parliament both to underline the significance of
such an important date for the lives of the peoples that
they represent, and to contribute to joint reflection on the
best possible ways to push European integration forward.

2.3. In addition to these

institutional questions, COSAC
to revive the Lisbon Process for
considers it essential
Growth and Employment. The Annual Policy Strategy
should contain concrete measures related to this goal.

2.4. COSAC supports the accession by the EU to the European
Convention for Human Rights. All EU Member States have
ratified the European Convention for Human Rights and
support the Charter of Fundamental Rights, as proclaimed
at Nice in 2000.

3.

The Area of Freedom, Security and Justice

3.1. COSAC calls on the Council to reinforce its efforts to solve
the problem of illegal immigration and at the same time to
work towards a coherent strategy on legal
immigration.
Immigration policy is a vital question for the future of the
European Union and it should be based on a more
comprehensive policy that is coordinated with develop-
ment and trade policies. Finding a common solution is
essential to all Member States and to the EU as a whole.
Such a solution is particularly important, especially in
respect of immigration from the African continent, and it
will provide a concrete follow-up to the conference held in
Rabat in July 2006 which brought together representatives
from countries of origin, transit countries and destination
countries.

3.2. COSAC emphasises the importance of the enhancement of
the area of freedom, security and justice. Citizens expect
the Union to be efficient in guaranteeing their security.
However, there must be a balance between security and
fundamental rights, particularly in the field of data protec-
tion. Guaranteeing the free movement of citizens, their
security and their access to justice requires more efficient
implementation from the Member States. Stronger political
commitment, and trust in each other's judicial systems is
needed to fulfil the expectations of our citizens.

3.3. COSAC recalls that the Schengen acquis is a part of the
European acquis which is open to all Member States that
are willing to join and fulfil the criteria. While acknowled-
ging with regret the now inevitable delay in its completion,
COSAC stresses
the importance of developing SIS II
according to a new and strict schedule.

3.4. As the timely abolition of the EU's internal border controls
is of utmost importance to its citizens, COSAC calls for
every effort to be made to enable the expansion of the
Schengen area
schedule
confirmed by the European Council in June 2006. COSAC
therefore welcomes the thorough consideration by the
European Commission and the Council of the European
Union of the initiative enabling the timely expansion of
the Schengen area on the basis of the current SIS I+.

to the original

according

3.5. COSAC notes the efforts made by the Presidency and the
European Commission to improve decision making in
justice and home affairs, especially in third pillar matters.
This question is important to the effectiveness of the EU in
safeguarding the security of citizens.

4.

Enlargement

4.1. COSAC welcomes the accession of Bulgaria and Romania
to the Union from 1st January 2007 and encourages fellow
parliamentarians in both countries to work efficiently to
complete their final preparations for accession. COSAC
calls on the European Council to debate openly all aspects
of further enlargement,
including the Union's integration
capacity and the positive experiences accumulated thus far.
The benefits of
should be
adequately explained to the public.

the enlargement process

5.

EU and Russia

5.1. COSAC supports a comprehensive dialogue with Russia for
a new PC A (Partnership and Cooperation Agreement). The
EU and Russia have shared interests, and close cooperation
should continue. This cooperation should not only concen-
trate on economic issues but also environmental, energy,
health and welfare issues. COSAC stresses that future nego-
tiations on the PCA should also include questions of
democracy, the rule of law, human rights and fundamental
freedoms, also making full use of existing instruments of
the Council of Europe. The importance of these values has
been emphasized by recent unacceptable events, notably
the murder of Anna Politkovskaya.

5.2. COSAC considers that the PCA should be based on an
equal partnership between the EU and its Member States
on the one hand and Russia on the other which is founded
on common values
interests. Solidarity
and mutual
between European Union and its Member States is a funda-
mental principle which should also be applied in the EU's
common trade policy, particularly in trade disputes with
other countries, such as the current Polish dispute with
Russia.