Opinion of the European Economic and Social Committee on 25 acts to be adapted as a matter of urgency to Council Decision 1999/468/EC of 28 June 1999 laying down the procedures for the exercise of implementing powers, as amended by Council Decision 2006/512/EC of 17 July 2006 COM(2006) 901, 902, 903, 905, 906, 907, 908, 909, 910, 911, 912, 913, 914, 915, 916, 917, 918, 919, 920, 921, 922, 923, 924, 925, 926 final
Date: 2007-03-14
Institutions: European Economic and Social Committee
Subjects: ESC opinion, European Commission, capacity to exercise rights, comitology, institutional reform, interinstitutional relations, legislative-executive relations, power of implementation, powers of the institutions (EU)

13.7.2007

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 161/45

Opinion of the European Economic and Social Committee on 25 acts to be adapted as a matter of
urgency to Council Decision 1999/468/EC of 28 June 1999 laying down the procedures for the exer-
cise of implementing powers, as amended by Council Decision 2006/512/EC of 17 July 2006

COM(2006) 901, 902, 903, 905, 906, 907, 908, 909, 910, 911, 912, 913, 914, 915, 916, 917, 918,
919, 920, 921, 922, 923, 924, 925, 926 final

(2007/C 161/14)

Between 18 January and 8 February 2007, the Council decided to consult the European Economic and
Social Committee, under Articles 37, 44, 47, 55, 95, 152, 175 and 262 of the Treaty establishing the Euro-
pean Community, on the above-mentioned proposals.

On 14 January 2007, the Committee Bureau instructed the Section for the Single Market, Production and
Consumption to prepare the Committee's work on the subject.

Given the urgent nature of the work, the European Economic and Social Committee appointed Mr Retureau
as rapporteur-general at its 434th plenary session, held on 14 and 15 March 2007 (meeting of 14 March),
and adopted the following opinion by 96 votes to one with three abstentions.

1. Summary of the Committee opinion

1.1
The Committee welcomes the introduction of the regula-
tory procedure with scrutiny into the comitology system,
to scrutinise and,
enabling the Council and the Parliament
where appropriate, amend the Commission's
implementing
regulations when the legislative act recognises the Commission's
right to exercise implementing powers in some areas, without
authorising it to make substantive amendments;
in principle,
this involves only making the adjustments and changes neces-
sary for the proper application of the act in question, in accord-
ance with Article 251 TEC.

The Committee notes that

1.2
the urgent amendment of
some acts proposed by the Commission (1) is in line with Deci-
sion 2006/512/EC and the joint statement concerning both the
list of acts to be adjusted as quickly as possible and the repeal of
time limits on the exercise of the Commission's implementing
powers.

2. Commission proposals

Council Decision 2006/512/EC of 17 July 2006 (2)
2.1
amended Council Decision 1999/468/EC (3) of 28 June 1999
laying down the procedures for the exercise of implementing
powers conferred on the Commission, in particular by the addi-
tion of Article 5a introducing a new regulatory procedure with
scrutiny.

2.2
The comitology procedures for the follow-up of each
legislative act will thus comprise a further option strengthening
the Parliament's scrutiny over the exercise of the implementing
powers conferred on the Commission by the act, with reference
to acts subject to this new option and governed by the co-deci-
sion procedure, or the Lamfalussy process in financial matters.

(1) COM(2006) 901 to 926.
(2) OJ L 200 of 22.7.2006, p. 11.
(3) OJ L 184 of 17.7.1999, p. 23.

In a joint statement (4), the Commission, the Council and
2.3
the Parliament agreed on a list of instruments that they believed
should urgently be adjusted to the amended Decision, so as to
replace the initial procedure with the new regulatory procedure
with scrutiny. This joint statement further stipulates that the
principles of good legislation require that implementing powers
be conferred on the Commission without any time limit.

2.4
The Commission now proposes to amend retroactively
26 legislative acts considered to be of key importance (5), so as
to introduce the new procedure and, where appropriate, repeal
any time limits on the implementing powers which might be
included in the acts.

In three cases, the listed co-decision instruments not only
2.5
modify already existing basic acts but also merely refer to comi-
tology provisions which have to be aligned in those acts. In
these cases, the Commission has therefore proposed to adjust
the latter. In particular:

2.5.1
To align Directive 2005/1/EC of the European Parlia-
ment and of the Council of 9 March 2005, the Commission
proposes to adjust:

— Directive 91/675/EEC of 19 December 1991 setting up a
European insurance and occupational pensions committee;

— Directive 92/49/EEC of 18 June 1992 on the coordination
of laws, regulations and administrative provisions relating to
direct insurance other than life assurance and amending
Directives 73/239/EEC and 88/357/EEC (third non-life insur-
ance Directive);

(4) OJ C 255 of 21.10.2006, p. 11.
(5) I.e. documents COM(2006) 901 to 926, introduced by Communica-
tion COM(2006) 900 final. It should however be noted that the EESC
has not been consulted on COM(2006) 904 final.

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— Directive 2002/83/EC of the European Parliament and of
the Council of 5 November 2002 concerning life assurance;

products and amending Council Directive 92/42/EEC and
Directives 96/57/EC and 2000/55/EC of
the European
Parliament and of the Council;

— Directive 2005/68/EC of the European Parliament and of
the Council of 16 November 2005 on reinsurance and
amending Council Directives 73/239/EEC, 92/49/EEC as
well as Directives 98/78/EC and 2002/83/EC.

2.5.2
To align Directive 2003/41/EC of the European Parlia-
ment and of the Council of 3 June 2003 on the activities and
supervision of institutions for occupational retirement provision,
the Commission proposes to adjust:

— Directive 2002/83/EC of the European Parliament and of

the Council mentioned above.

2.5.3
To align Directive 2001/107/EC of the European Parlia-
ment and of the Council of 21 January 2002, the Commission
proposes to adjust:

— Directive 85/611/EEC on the coordination of laws, regula-
tions and administrative provisions relating to undertakings
for collective investment in transferable securities (UCITS).

The list of

2.6
priority is reproduced below:

instruments to be aligned as a matter of

(1) Directive 2006/49/EC of the European Parliament and the
Council of 14 June 2006 on the capital adequacy of invest-
ment firms and credit institutions;

(2) Directive 2006/48/EC of the European Parliament and the
Council of 14 June 2006 relating to the taking up and
pursuit of the business of credit institutions;

(3) Directive 2006/43/EC of the European Parliament and of
the Council of 17 May 2006 on statutory audits of annual
accounts and consolidated accounts, amending Council
Directives 78/660/EEC and 83/349/EEC and repealing
Council Directive 84/253/EEC;

(4) Regulation 2006/562/EC of the European Parliament and
of the Council of 15 March 2006 establishing a Com-
munity Code on the rules governing the movement of
persons across borders (Schengen Borders Code);

(5) Directive 2005/68/EC of the European Parliament and of
the Council of 16 November 2005 on reinsurance and
amending Council Directives 73/239/EEC, 92/49/EEC as
well as Directives 98/78/EC and 2002/83/EC;

(6) Directive 2005/60/EC of the European Parliament and of
the Council of 26 October 2005 on the prevention of the
use of the financial system for the purpose of money laun-
dering and terrorist financing;

(8) Regulation 2005/396/EC of the European Parliament and
of the Council of 23 February 2005 on maximum residue
levels of pesticides in or on food and feed of plant and
animal
Council Directive
91/414/EEC;

amending

origin

and

(9) Directive 2004/109/EC of the European Parliament and of
the Council of 15 December 2004 on the harmonisation
of transparency requirements in relation to information
about issuers whose securities are admitted to trading on a
regulated market and amending Directive 2001/34/EC;

(10) Directive 2004/39/EC of the European Parliament and of
the Council of 21 April 2004 on markets in financial
instruments amending Council Directives 85/611/EEC and
93/6/EEC and Directive 2000/12/EC of
the European
Parliament and of the Council and replacing Council Direc-
tive 93/22/EEC;

(11) Directive 2003/71/EC of the European Parliament and of
the Council of 4 November 2003 on the prospectus to be
published when securities are offered to the public or
admitted to trading and amending Directive 2001/34/EC;

(12) Regulation 2003/1829/EC of the European Parliament and
of the Council of 22 September 2003 on genetically modi-
fied food and feed;

(13) Directive 2003/6/EC of the European Parliament and of
the Council of 28 January 2003 on insider dealing and
market manipulation (market abuse);

(14) Directive 2002/96/EC of the European Parliament and of
the Council of 27 January 2003 on waste electrical and
electronic equipment (WEEE);

(15) Directive 2002/95/EC of the European Parliament and of
the Council of 27 January 2003 on the restriction of the
use of certain hazardous substances in electrical and elec-
tronic equipment;

(16) Directive 2002/87/EC of the European Parliament and of
the Council of 16 December 2002 on the supplementary
supervision of credit institutions,
insurance undertakings
and investment
firms in a financial conglomerate and
amending Council Directives 73/239/EEC, 79/267/EEC,
92/49/EEC, 92/96/EEC, 93/6/EEC and 93/22/EEC, and
Directives 98/78/EC and 2000/12/EC of
the European
Parliament and of the Council;

(7) Directive 2005/32/EC of the European Parliament and of
the Council of 6 July 2005 establishing a framework for
the setting of ecodesign requirements for energy-using

(17) Directive 2002/83/EC of the European Parliament and of
the Council of 5 November 2002 concerning life assur-
ance;

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(18) Regulation 2002/1606/EC of the European Parliament and
of the Council of 19 July 2002 on the application of inter-
national accounting standards;

(19) Directive 2001/83/EC of the European Parliament and of
the Council of 6 November 2001 on the Community code
relating to medicinal products for human use;

(20) Directive 2001/18/EC of the European Parliament and of
the Council of 12 March 2001 on the deliberate release
into the environment of genetically modified organisms
and repealing Council Directive 90/220/EEC;

(21) Directive 2000/60/EC of the European Parliament and of
the Council of 23 October 2000 establishing a framework
for Community action in the field of water policy;

(22) Directive 2000/53/EC of the European Parliament and of
the Council of 18 September 2000 on end-of life vehicles;

(23) Directive 98/8/EC of the European Parliament and of the
Council of 16 February 1998 concerning the placing of
biocidal products on the market;

(24) Directive 92/49/EEC of 18 June 1992 on the coordination
of laws, regulations and administrative provisions relating
to direct insurance other than life assurance and amending
Directives 73/239/EEC and 88/357/EEC (third non-life
insurance Directive);

(25) Directive 91/675/EEC of 19 December 1991 setting up an

insurance committee;

(26) Directive 85/611/EEC of 20 December 1985 on the coor-
dination of laws, regulations and administrative provisions
relating to undertakings for collective investment in trans-
ferable securities (UCITS).

Brussels, 14 March 2007.

3. General comments

3.1
The Committee has always considered that comitology
involving only representatives of the Commission
procedures,
and Member State governments and tasked, according to the
nature of
the committee established, with the management,
consultation or regulation flowing from the follow-up and
implementation of legislative acts, should be more transparent
and accessible to people living in Europe and especially to those
affected by these acts.

3.2
It therefore welcomes the decision to introduce a new
regulatory procedure with scrutiny for acts governed by the co-
decision procedure. With the Parliament not being directly
involved in the committees, it was appropriate that a system be
established to scrutinise the Commission's implementing powers
so as to verify that the implementing regulations adopted auton-
omously by the Commission did not exceed these powers.

The repeal of

3.3
time limits on implementing powers,
which are included in some acts, follows on logically from the
enhancement of the scrutiny exercised by the Parliament and
to amend Commission imple-
the Council, and their right
menting regulations for any act governed by the co-decision
procedure and the Lamfalussy process.

3.4
The joint statement of 21 October 2006 called on the
Commission, as a matter of urgency, to submit proposals under
the Decision of 17 July 2006, and the Committee notes that the
Commission has duly complied with this request.

It also notes that the acts amended are consistent with

3.5
the priorities established by this decision.

The President

of the European Economic and Social Committee

Dimitris DIMITRIADIS