Democratic control in the Member States of the European Council and the Euro zone summits. Annex 1, Questionnaires on the 27 Member States.
Date: 2015-11-25
Institutions: Directorate-General for Internal Policies of the Union
Subjects: EU Member State, European Council, democracy, euro area, governance, parliamentary scrutiny

 
DIRECTORATE GENERAL FOR INTERNAL POLICIES 

POLICY DEPARTMENT C: CITIZENS' RIGHTS AND 

CONSTITUTIONAL AFFAIRS 


CONSTITUTIONAL AFFAIRS 

Democratic control in the Member States 

of the European Council and the 

Euro zone Summits 


ANNEX 1 

QUESTIONNAIRES ON THE 27 MEMBER STATES 

PE 474.392 

EN
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 










 

 
AUTHOR(S) 

Mr Wolfgang WESSELS, Trans European Policy Studies Association (Principal Investigator) 
Mr Olivier ROZENBERG, Notre Europe – Jacques Delors Institute (Principal Investigator) 

Ms Mirte VAN DEN BERGE, Trans European Policy Studies Association 
Ms Claudia HEFFTLER, Trans European Policy Studies Association 
Mr Valentin KREILINGER, Notre Europe – Jacques Delors Institute 
Ms Laura VENTURA, Trans European Policy Studies Association 

RESPONSIBLE ADMINISTRATOR 

Mr Petr Novak 
Policy Department C - Citizens' Rights and Constitutional Affairs 
European Parliament 
B-1047 Brussels 
E-mail: poldep-citizens@europarl.europa.eu 

LINGUISTIC VERSIONS 

Original: EN 
Executive summary: DE, FR 

ABOUT THE EDITOR 

To contact the Policy Department or to subscribe to its newsletter please write to: 
poldep-citizens@europarl.europa.eu 

Manuscript completed in March. 
© European Union, 2013 

This document is available on the Internet at: 
http://www.europarl.europa.eu/studies 

DISCLAIMER 

The opinions expressed in this document are the sole responsibility of the author and do 
not necessarily represent the official position of the European Parliament. 

Reproduction and translation for non-commercial purposes are authorized, provided the 
source is acknowledged and the publisher is given prior notice and sent a copy. 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
   
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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Annex 1 - Questionnaires On The 27 Member States 

Contents 

Austria: Eric Miklin, University of Salzburg.................................................. 4
 
Belgium: Regis Dandoy / Clément Jadot, Université Libre de 


Bruxelles.................................................................................................... 11
 
Bulgaria: Dobrin Kanev, BECSA........................................................................ 17
 
Czech Republic: Viera Knutelska, Charles University Prague ........... 22
 
Cyprus: Kalliope Agapiou-J., University of Cyprus ................................. 28
 
Denmark: Mette B. Christensen, Danish Institute for International 


Studies........................................................................................................ 31
 
Estonia: Piret Ehin, University of Tartu........................................................ 36
 
Finland: Tapio Raunio, University of Tampere.......................................... 42
 
France: Valentin Kreilinger / Kateryna Perepechay / Olivier 


Rozenberg, Sciences Po Paris / Notre Europe ........................ 46
 
Germany: Claudia Hefftler / Oliver Höing, University of Cologne... 52
 
Greece: Konstantin Iliopoulos / Anna Vallianatou, Greek Centre of
 

European Studies & Research ......................................................... 59
 
Hungary: Gabriella Ilonszki, Corvinus University of Budapest ........ 65
 
Ireland: Gavin Barrett, University College Dublin .................................. 70
 
Italy: Michele Comelli, Istituto Affari Internazionali ............................ 76
 
Latvia: Zaneta Ozolin, University of Latvia ................................................ 80
 
Lithuania: Ramunas Vilpisauskas, Vilnius University ........................... 85
 
Luxembourg: Astrid Speitzer, University of Luxembourg ................... 89
 
Malta: Roderick Pace, University of Malta .................................................. 93
 
Netherlands: Iona Ebben / Adriaan Schout / Jan Marinus Wiersma, 

Institute for International Relations Clingendael................. 97
 
Poland: Maria Karasinska-Fendler / Anna Jedrzejewska, European 

Institute in Lodz ...................................................................................102
 
Portugal: Davor Jancic, Utrecht University ...............................................110
 
Romania: Angela Tacea, Sciences Po Paris ...............................................118
 
Slovakia: Andrea Figulova, Institute of European Studies and 


International Relations at Comenius University...................124
 
Slovenia: Ana Marija Kristovic / Vid Tomic / Zlatko Sabic, Faculty of 

Social Sciences in Ljubljana............................................................130
 

Spain: Manuel Sánchez de Dios , Universidad Complutense de Madrid
 

......................................................................................................................134
 
Sweden: Hans Hegeland, Parliament of Sweden....................................139
 
United Kingdom: Ariella Huff / Julie Smith, Cambridge University143
 

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Policy Department C: Citizens' Rights and Constitutional Affairs 
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Austria: Eric Miklin, University of Salzburg 
Name  of  your  Member  State:  Austria  (lower  house:  Nationalrat;  upper  house: 
Bundesrat) 

1. The formal rules 
- Are there formal rules regarding the parliamentary scrutiny of European Council 
meetings and Euro zone summits? 
Yes. Scrutiny is taking place within the general framework of parliamentary scrutiny of EU 
affairs. According to Article 23e (1) Federal Constitutional Act (Bundes-Verfassungsgesetz, 
B-VG), this framework addresses ‘all projects’ (‘alle Vorhaben’) within the framework of the 
European  Union.  Because  of  this  broad  notion,  it  never  was  a  discussion  whether  or  not 
Euro zone summits should be handled within or outside this general framework.1 

- If  yes,  what  are  their  legal  bases  (Constitution,  Legal  provisions,  Standing 
Orders, other)? 
1.  Article  23  a-k  of  the  B-VG2  defines  the  general  rights  of  the  Austrian  parliament  in  EU 
affairs vis-à-vis the government. 

2. The Rules of Procedure for the Nationalrat (Geschäftsordnungsgesetz Nationalrat, GOG­
NR3) specify these rights and define the ways, through which they are to be executed. 

3.  With  January  2012,  an  EU-Information  Law  (EU-Informationsgesetz,  EU-InfoG4)  came 
into effect. It aims at optimising information-flows between parliament and government. 

4.  An  act  of  delegation  (Delegationsbeschluss)  of  the  Nationalrat’s  Main  Committee 
specifies where different kind of EU issues are dealt with. Art. 23k (2) B-VG states that the 
parliaments Main Committee (meeting as Main Committee of European Affairs) is in charge 
of  the  first  chamber’s  EU-related  tasks.  However,  the  committee  may  delegate  tasks  to  a 
Standing  Sub-Committee  on  EU  Affairs.  According  to  the  actual  Delegationsbeschluss,  the 
Main  Committee  has  kept  all  issues  dealt  with  at  European  Councils  and  Euro  zone 
summits,  while  day-to-day  decision-making  in  the  Council  is  delegated  to  the  sub­
committee. 
- If yes, what are these rules about? What obligations does the government have? 
According  to  Article  23e  B-VG,  the  government  has  to  inform  the  parliament  about  all 
projects  discussed  on  the  EU  level  without  any  delay  and  Art.  23f  (3)  B-VG  states  that 
further informational duties of the government are to be specified via federal law – which is 
done with the EU-InfoG. The informational rights lied down in this law are comprehensive. 
The government has to make available all documents received from EU bodies (and hence 
also from the European Council). It also has to provide Parliament with all documents from 
Austrian  bodies  that  help  the  parliament  to  exercise  its  EU-related  rights  and  duties.  All 
these documents are to be made available via an electronic database, administrated by the 
parliamentary administration (Parlamentsdirektion) (§1-3 EU-InfoG). 
Article  23e  (3)  B-VG  provides  both  EU  committees  with  the  right  to  adopt  opinions 
(Stellungnahmen) that bind the government in all negotiations or votings on the EU-leve 

1 Interview with two clerks of the Austrian Parliament, 13 July 2012. 
2 http://www.jusline.at/Bundes-Verfassungsgesetz_%28B-VG%29.html (last retrieved 21.7.2012). 
3 http://www.jusline.at/Geschaeftsordnungsgesetz_%28GOGNR%29.html (last retrieved 21.7.2012). 
4 http://www.jusline.at/EU-Informationsgesetz_%28EU-InfoG%29.html.(last retrieved 21.7.2012). 

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Annex 1 - Questionnaires On The 27 Member States 

on legally binding measures that would affect national law. The government is allowed to 
deviate from such an opinion only for imperative foreign or integrative policy reasons and 
only  after  consulting  the  parliament  again.  Article  23e  (4)  provides  the  Bundesrat  with  a 
similar  right  for  all  issues  that  would  negatively  affect  the  competences  of  Austria’s  nine 
federal states (Länder). 

- If yes, do these rules make distinctions between the different types of meetings 
of the European Council (regular, extraordinary, Euro zone summit)? 
No. For some time, it was unclear whether or not Euro zone summits were affected by the 
main committees Delegationsbeschluss mentioned above. Hence, there was some 
discussion, whether, according to the act, these summits should be taken care of by the 
main committee or by the standing sub-committee. However, this ambiguity was 
eliminated via a new Delegationsbeschluss in January 2012 and Euro zone summits are 
now explicitly kept under the Main Committee’s competences.5 

2. Ex-ante control  
-  Do  national  parliaments  take  part  in  the  preparation  of  meetings  of  the 
European Council and Euro zone summits? 
Yes,  they  do.  A  debate  (open  to  the  public  and  the  media)  is  taking  place  in  the  Main 
Committee on EU Affairs before every regular European Council, and most of the time also 
before  an  extraordinary  European  Council  or  a  Euro  zone  summit.  Just  recently,  the 
Committee decided unanimously that discussions at these meetings may not only cover the 
official agenda of a European Council, but also things like e.g. discussions during informal 
dinner-meetings of the heads of states.6 

- Do Parliaments’ Rules of Procedure provide for priority debates? 
Not explicitly with regard to the European Council. However, they provide two ways to push 
an issue on the plenary agenda, which may also be used for European issues: 

First, §46 (6) GOG-NR provides the right to call for an extraordinary parliamentary session 
(Sondersitzung)  if this is supported by at least 20 Members of Parliament (MPs) or by all 
members of a party group. Each MP can sign such a request once a year. Regarding the 
summits under investigation in this study no such meeting has taken place ex-ante. 
However, a Sondersitzung took place ex post, after meeting C7 on 14 December 2011.7 

Second, during a plenary session, five MPs may bring in a privileged interpellation 
(Dringliche Anfrage; §93 GOG-NR) or a privileged motion (Dringlicher Antrag, §74a GOG­
NR).  If brought in before 3pm, both need to be dealt with on the same day. Again, each 
MP can sign such an interpellation/motion once a year. In addition, each party group has 
another four privileged motions or interpellations available. In the timeframe under study in 
point 6 of this report, a Dringliche Anfrage (brought by an opposition group) enforced an 
ex-ante debate before meeting C5 on 20 October 2011.8 

- If so, which bodies are responsible for, and involved in, this preparatory work 
(for example, committees, plenary or other bodies)? 

5 Interview with two clerks of the Austrian Parliament, 13 July 2112.
 
6 Parliamentary correspondence No. 61 from 27 January 2012.
 
http://www.parlament.gv.at/PAKT/PR/JAHR_2012/PK0061/ (last retrieved 21.7.2012).
 

7 Plenary protocol XXIV/139.
 
8 Plenary protocol XXIV/126.
 

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Policy Department C: Citizens' Rights and Constitutional Affairs 
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As  stated  above,  the  main  body  to  deal  with  European  Council  meetings  or  Euro  zone  
summits  is  the  parliament’s  Main  Committee  meeting  as  Main  Committee  on  European 
Affairs.  Formally,  meetings  can  be  scheduled  by  either  the  committee  chair  or  by  20  MPs 
(GOG §34 (4)) and it is the chair who decides on the agenda. De facto, timing and agenda 
are  coordinated  informally  and  on  a  consensual  basis  amongst  all  party  groups  and  it  is 
common sense that the committee meets before a European Council.9 

Plenary in Austria plays a sub-ordinated role with regard to EU scrutiny in general and this 
is  also  the  case  when  it  comes  to  European  Council  meetings.  However,  §74  GOG-NR 
provides for four  ‘Topical EU-Hours’ (Aktuelle Europastunden) per year (lasting about one 
hour)  and  for  two  formal  declarations  of  the  government  ‘in  temporal  proximity’  to 
European  Council  meetings.  The  latter  shall  inform  the  parliament  about  the  general 
processes within the European Council and are followed by a debate. In addition, common 
‘Topical Hours’ (Aktuelle Stunden) might be (and are sometimes) used to discuss European 
(Council) issues too. 

With  the  financial  crisis,  also  the  finance  committee  increasingly  started  to  engage  with 
meetings of the European Council and especially Euro zone summits.10 

- Which governmental authorities take part in the parliamentary debates? 

Usually, the chancellor and also the vice-chancellor are present when the Main Committee 
on  European  Affairs  meets.  Lately,  also  the  minister  of  finance  attended  some  meetings 
(e.g.  before  meeting  C4).  Debates  in  the  committee  start  with  a  government  statement 
about what is to be expected from a European Council and about Austria’s position. This is 
followed  by  one  or  more  rounds  of  questions  and  answers  between  government  and 
parliament. 

Chancellor and Vice-Chancellor are normally present also at plenary debates. 

- Is  there  a  vote  for  a  parliamentary  resolution  before  the  European  Council 
meeting? 

As stated above, the constitution provides both EU committees with the power to formulate 
a  binding  opinion.  Throughout  the  years,  however,  such  binding  opinions  have  been  rare 
for  two  reasons:  First,  this  was  due  to  bad  experiences  in  the  early  days  of  Austria’s  EU 
membership  when  a  minister,  because  of  a  tight  mandate,  returned  from  Brussels  with  a 
result  that  was  inferior  to  what  could  have  been  achieved  otherwise.  Second,  governing 
parties  preferred  to  control  their  party  fellows  in  government  internally.  Recently,  the 
numbers  of  binding  opinions  have  gone  up  again.  Still,  their  main  function  usually  is  to 
back up the government’s standing on the European level. 

3. Ex-post control: institutional body 
Which  is  the  responsible body  within  the  Parliament  to  control  the  results  of  the 
European  Council  and  the  Euro  zone  summits  (the  plenary,  committees,  other 
bodies)? 
De-jure,  main  responsibility  still  lies  with  the  Main  Committee  on  European  Affairs. 
However, the committee never meets ex-post. To the extent that ex-post control is taking 
place,  this  is  carried  out  by  the  plenary  (or  informally  within  the  party  groups).  Overall, 
however, ex-post control is clearly less institutionalised than control ex-ante. 

9 Interview with two clerks of the Austrian Parliament, 13 July 2112. 
10 Interview with two clerks of the Austrian Parliament, 13 July 2012. 

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Annex 1 - Questionnaires On The 27 Member States 

4. Ex-post control: debates in parliament 
-  What  is  the  organization  of  the  plenary  debates  after  the  European  Council 
meetings?  (NB:  if  there  are  no  debates  in  the  plenary  but  in  committees,  do 
indicate this fact and answer accordingly) 
Like  with  debates  ex-ante,  there  are  no  regular/institutionalised  plenary  debates  ex-post. 
However,  the  same  instruments  available  ex-ante  can  also  be  used  ex  post  to  have  a  
debate: 

- EU-declarations of the government (cf. meeting C7) 
- Topical (EU) Hours (Aktuelle Europastunden bzw. Aktuelle Stunden) (cf. C211) 
- Privileged Interpellation/Motions (cf. meeting C2 and C612) 
- Which is the competent institutional body to decide on setting the agenda of the 
plenary  for  those  debates?  Who  takes  the  initiative  in  practice?  Can  the 
government avoid a debate? 

The body to decide on the plenary agenda is the Präsidiale, which is composed of the three 
presidents  of  the  chamber  and  the  directors  of  the  party  groups  (Klubdirektoren). 
Regarding EU-declarations of the government it is up to the government, whether it wants 
to  give  such  a  declaration.  Hence,  the  government  cannot  be  forced  to  give  a  formal  
declaration.  However,  it  can  be  forced  into  a  public  debate  via  an  privileged 
interpellation/motion.  This  happened  e.g.  after  the  meetings  C2  and  C6  when  opposition 
groups criticized the government for not making a declaration voluntarily. Government also 
cannot  prevent  discussions  in  the  context  of  ‘Topical  (EU-)  Hours’.  The  topics  for  these 
debates are chosen by one of the party groups. If there is more than one request for such a 
debate,  requests  are  chosen  from  party  groups  (primarily)  on  a  rotational  basis  via  the 
Präsidiale. 

In sum, neither the government, nor its majority in the parliament, can avoid a public 
debate. 

- Which governmental authorities take part in the parliamentary debates? Does 
the Head of Government/ Prime Minister take part? 

Usually, at least the member responsible for the issue discussed is taking part. In many 
cases, this is the chancellor often joined by the vice-chancellor/the minister of foreign 
affairs) or, lately, also the minister of finance. 

- How is the debate structured? Is there a vote after the debate? 

If  there  is  a  formal  declaration  of  the  government,  this  declaration  may  take  about  25 
minutes  (sometimes  split  between  e.g.  the  chancellor  and  the  vice  chancellor).  This  is 
followed by a debate in which each party group has a total of 25 minutes speaking time. 

Topical (EU-) Hours and debates on privileged interpellations start with a statement of the 
MP  of  the  respective  party  group  (10  minutes)  which  is  followed  by  a  statement  of  the 
respective government member (10 minutes). This is followed by a debate. 
In  the  course  of  these  debates,  party  groups  can  bring  non-binding  motions 
(Entschließungsanträge) that prompt the government to take future actions. Such motions 
are often brought by opposition groups, but also by, or jointly with, governing parties. For 
example, at the debate after C6, two motions brought by the opposition were voted down 
by  the  government  while  a  motion  brought  jointly  by  an  opposition  party  and  the  two 
governing parties was passed successfully. 

11 Debate on 30 March 2011; Plenary protocol XXIV/99.
 
12 Debates on 30 March and on 28 October 2011; Plenary protocols XXIV/99 and 128.
 

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Policy Department C: Citizens' Rights and Constitutional Affairs 
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5. Since Lisbon 
-  After  the  Treaty  of  Lisbon  came  into  force,  were  there  significant  changes 
regarding the parliamentary control of the European Council? 
As  a  response  to  the  Treaty  of  Lisbon  Art.  23  B-VG  was modified  in  201013  and  a  revised 
version of the GOG-NR14 as well as the new EU-InfoG came into force with January 2012. 
However,  most  of  the  changes  made  did  not  concern  parliament’s  dealing  with  the 
European  Council  but  rather  its  new  powers  like  the  EWS,  the  political  dialogue,  etc.  Also 
the  EU-Information  law  basically  just  codified  what  by  then  had  already  been  established 
practice. 

-  Did  any  significant  events  or  changes  in  formal  rules  occur  after  Lisbon  in  the 
upper house? 
No 

-  Since  December  1st  2009,  was  the  survival  of  a  government  influenced  in  one 
way or another by decisions made by the European Council? 
No 

6. Templates to be filled out regarding the lower chamber´s behaviour towards each of 
the 9 European Council meetings and Euro zone summits held between March 2011 and 
March 2012 
Please fill in “yes” or “no” in each box. 

C1 = extraordinary meeting of the European Council and  the meeting of the Heads of 
State or Governement of the Euro Area – 11 March 2011 
C2 = ordinary meeting of the European Council – 24 and 25 March 2011 
C3 = ordinary meeting of the European Council – 23 and 24 June 2011 
C4 = meeting of the Heads of State or Government of the Euro Area – 21 July 2011 
C5 = ordinary meeting of the European Council – 23 October 2011 
C6 = informal meeting of the European Council and meeting of the Heads of State or 
Government of the Euro Area – 26 October 2011 
C7 = ordinary meeting of the European Council – 8 and 9 December 2011 
C8 = informal meeting of the European Council – 30 January 2012 
C9 = ordinary meeting of the European Council – 1 and 2 March 2012 

13 BGBl. I Nr. 57/2010 
http://www.ris.bka.gv.at/Dokument.wxe?Abfrage=BgblAuth&Dokumentnummer=BGBLA_2010_I_57. (last 
retrieved 21.7.2012). 
14 BGBl. I Nr. 114/2011 
http://www.ris.bka.gv.at/Dokument.wxe?Abfrage=BgblAuth&Dokumentnummer=BGBLA_2011_I_114. (last 
retrieved 21.7.2012). 

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Annex 1 - Questionnaires On The 27 Member States 

Before the European Council meeting 

Debates in committees  No  Yes  Yes  Yes  Yes  No  Yes  Yes  Yes 
Debates on the floor  No  No  No  No  Yes  No  No  No  No 

C1  C2 

C3 

C4 

C5 

C6 

C7 

C8 

C9 

Formal declaration by the PM  No  No  No  No  No  No  No  No  No 
Vote of a motion  No  No  No  No  No  No  No  No  No 

After the European Council meeting 

Debates in committees  No  No  No  No  No  No  No  No  No 
Debates on the floor  No  Yes  No  No  No  Yes  Yes  No  No 
Formal declaration by the PM  No  No  No  No  No  No  Yes  No  No 
Vote of a motion  No  No  No  No  No  Yes  No  No  No 

7. Other comments 
- Are there other insitutions or bodies, outside of Parliament, which play a role 
in the control of these results? (i.e. Constitutional courts) 
Art.  140a  B-VG  gives  the  constitutional  court  the  power  to  review  the  lawfulness  of 
international treaties. The Court becomes active only upon request (Art. 140 B-VG). 
Lately, two suits have been announced: 
-  First,  the  oppositional  Austrian  Freedom  Party  (FPÖ)  has  announced  to  file  a  lawsuit 
against  the Treaty  Establishing  the  European  Stability  Mechanism  (ESM).  The  ESM  was 
ratified  with  a  two-thirds  majority  (needed  for  constitutional  changes)  via  the  votes  of 
the  two  governing  parties  and  the  oppositional  Green  Party.  However,  the  FPÖ  argues 
that the ESM still is in breach with the constitution calling the ESM a ‘constitutional coup’ 
(Verfassungsputsch).15 
-  Second,  all  three  opposition  parties  are  currently  discussing  to  file  a  joint  lawsuit 
against  the  Treaty  on  Stability,  Coordination  and  Governance  in  the  Economic  and 
Monetary  Union.  For  this  treaty,  the  government  failed  to  reach  a  2/3  majority. 
However,  according  to  the  government,  such  a  majority  would  have  been  nice  but  not 
necessary as the treaty does not affect constitutional law. This view is challenged by all 
three opposition parties (FPÖ, Green Party and the Alliance for the Future of Austria).16 

- Some of your own remarks (voluntary): 
On the Template: Additionally to the chancellor’s formal declaration at C7, the chancellor 
held introductory/explanatory statements at all meetings of the EU Committee and also 
raised  his  voice/replied  to  interpellations  in  all  other  plenary  debates  mentioned  in  the 
table.  However,  those  statements  did  not  have  the  form  of  a  formal  government 
declaration. 

Selected Literature 

Note: Unfortunately, there is no literature that captures the latest changes related to the 
Treaty of Lisbon. Generally most of the literature on the Austrian parliament in the EU 
available is somewhat dated. 

15 http://www.kleinezeitung.at/nachrichten/politik/3058398/nationalrat-beschliesst-esm-fiskalpakt.story. (last 
retrieved 21.7.2012). 
16 http://diepresse.com/home/politik/innenpolitik/1268695/Klagen-gegen-ESM-und-Fiskalpakt­
aussichtslos?_vl_backlink=/home/politik/innenpolitik/index.do. (last retrieved 21.7.2012). 

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Policy Department C: Citizens' Rights and Constitutional Affairs 
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Blümel, Barbara/Christine Neuhold (2001): The Parliament of Austria: A Large Potential 

with Little Implications, in: Andreas Maurer/Wolfgang Wessels (eds.): National Parliaments 

on their Ways to Europe: Losers or Latecomers?, Baden-Baden, 313-36. 


Fischer, Heinz (2002): Der Hauptausschuss des österreichischen Nationalrats als Instument 

der Willensbildung in Angelegenheiten der Europeäischen Union, in: Bernd M. Kraske (ed.):
 
Pflicht und Verantwortung, Baden-Baden, 37-46. 


Pollak, Johannes/Peter Slominski (2003): Influencing EU Politics. The Case of the Austrian 

Parliament, in: Journal of Common Market Studies, Vol 41(4), 707-729. 

Pollak, Johannes/Peter Slominski (2009): Zwischen De- und Re-Parlamentarisierung. Der 

österreichische Nationalrat und seine Mitwirkungsrechte in EU-Angelegenheiten, in: 

Österreichische Zeitschrift für Politikwissenschaft, 193-212.
 

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Annex 1 - Questionnaires On The 27 Member States 

Belgium: Regis Dandoy / Clément Jadot, Université Libre 
de Bruxelles 
Name  of  your  Member  State:  Belgium  (lower  house 
Representatives (CR), upper house the Senate (SE)) 

the  Chamber  of 

1. The formal rules 
- Are there formal rules regarding the parliamentary scrutiny of European Council 
meetings and Euro zone summits? 
Yes. 

- If  yes,  what  are  their  legal  bases  (Constitution,  Legal  provisions,  Standing 
Orders, other)? 
These rules are defined by the Constitution (art. 168) that stipulates: “From the beginning, 
the Houses are informed of negotiations concerning any revision of the treaties establishing 
the European Community and the treaties and acts which have modified or complemented 
them. They receive the draft treaty before its signature.”. In the Standing Orders of the CR, 
a  committee  is  set  up  with  a  mission  to  examine  the  whole  set  of  activities  linked  to  the 
European integration (art. 68, I, 3) and that organises its works and deliberates according 
to article 68, I (art. 68, II, 3). In the Standing Orders of the SE, article 85 stipulates that 
after  each  renewal  of  the  Senate  composition,  the  assembly  designated  for  the  length  of 
the legislature 10 members that will represent the Senate in the Federal Advice Committee 
in  charge  of  European  Issues  (Comité  d’avis  fédéral  chargé  des  questions  européennes  – 
FACEI).17 

- If yes, what are these rules about? What obligations does the government have? 
An Advice Committee for the European Issues (Comité d’avis pour questions européennes – 
ACEI) has been created in 1985 in the CR (CR, art. 68). It is designated after each renewal 
of the CR and is composed of 10 members of the CR (including the president of the CR)18, 
designated  by  the  assembly  proportionally  to  the  political  groups,  and  of  10  members  of 
the  European  Parliament  (EP)  elected  in  Belgium19,  designated  by  the  members  of  the  EP 
elected in Belgium. The presidency of this committee is held by the president of the CR or 
by a vice-president designated by him/her.  
Since 1995 and at the beginning of each legislature, this Committee may be enlarged in a 
Federal Advice Committee in charge of European Issues (Comité d’avis fédéral chargé des 
questions européennes – FACEI)20 since 10 members of the SE can be added (SE, art. 85), 
designated  by  the  assembly  proportionally  to  the  political  groups.21  Even  if  these  two 
‘pieces’  of  the  advice  committee  may  meet  separately,  they  usually  meet  together 
(Delpérée,  Dopagne,  2010:  80;  Van  Der  Hulst,  2011:  134)  since  it  has  been  argued  that 
Belgium  would  have  more  weight  on  the  European  agenda  if  it  speaks  with  one  unique  
(federal)  voice.  This  committee  is  presided  alternatively  by  the  president  of  the  ACEI  and 
by  a  member  of  the  Senate.  The  first-vice  president  of  the  FACEI  is  always  a  member  of 
the  other  federal  assembly  and  the  second-vice  president  is  a  member  of  the  EP.  The 
labour organisation and deliberations of both committees (ACEI and FACEI) are similar. The 
ACEI and/or the FACEI hold their meetings according to the European agenda, usually twice 
a month. 

17 For more information about its composition: 

http://www.lachambre.be/kvvcr/pdf_sections/pri/europe/SAMENST.COMP.23april2012.pdf
 
18 As well as 10 substitute members. 

19 As well as 10 substitute members. 

20  Following  the  federalisation  of  the  Belgian  state  in  1993  and  the  fact  that  the  government  is  no  longer
 
responsible to SE but only to the CR, it is has been decided to reinforce the cooperation between the CR and the
 
SE. 

21 As well as 10 substitute members. 


11 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                                                            
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 



 





 

 






Policy Department C: Citizens' Rights and Constitutional Affairs 
____________________________________________________________________________________________   

The ACEI and FACEI may adopt advices but, contrary to other advice committee, they may 
also conclude their woks with resolution and recommendation proposals (or any other text 
to be submitted to the plenary session or demanding standing committee). When the FAC 
adopts  a  resolution  proposal,  its  two  pieces  (the  10  members  of  the  CR  and  the  10 
members  of  the  EP  on  the  one  hand,  and  the  10  members  of  the  SE  on  the  other  hand) 
approve  it  separately.  The  resolution  proposal  adopted  by  the  ACEI  is  sent  directly  to  the 
plenary session of the CR. In the SE, the resolution proposal is sent to the committee for 
Foreign Relations (CFR) where it is approved by the SE delegation of the FACEI and by the 
members of the CFR, before being sent to the plenary session of the SE. 

When  the  committee  auditions  government  members,  the  meetings  may  be  organised 
jointly  with  the  committee  for  foreign  affairs  of  the  CR  and  the  SE.  In  some  cases,  other 
committees (such as the finance committee of the CR and SE on the 11/03/2011 and 24­
25/03/2011  or  the  committee  for  social  affairs  of  the  SE  on  the  24-25/03/2011)  may  be 
associated to the meetings. 

- What obligations does the government have? 
The  federal  parliament  is  informed  on  the  positions  of  the  federal  governments  in  the 
European  Councils  via  several  channels:  through  the  answers  provided  by  the  prime 
minister  (PM)  to  questions  and  answers  occurring  during  the  so-called  ‘pre-briefings’  and 
‘debriefings’  of  the  European  summits,  and  through  the  monthly  exchanges  that  each 
standing committee of the CR is supposed to hold on European issues deal with its area of 
competences and on resolutions of the EP that concerns it (CR, art. 36). 

The obligations of the government towards the ACEI and the FACEI are mainly informative 
ones: 
- to deliver an annual report to the CR regarding the execution of the treaties related to the 
European  Union,  even  though  the  government  does  not  always  comply  to  this  obligation  
(Delpérée, Dopagne, 2010: 156). 
- to provide the ACEI and the FACEI and the standing committees with the agenda of the 
European Councils as well as the report of these meetings, focusing theposition of Belgium. 
The  Belgian  permanent  representation  systematically  sends  to the  ACEI  and  the  FACEI  all 
the documents related to the activities of the European Council. 
- to regularly express its views to the ACEI and the FACEI on issues that on the agenda of 
the  European  Council  and  on  the  conclusions  of  those  meetings.  Ensuring  this  feedback 
process is the most important activity of the FACEI (Delpérée, Dopagne, 2010). Basically, it 
means that auditions of the PM are organised before and after each European Council.  
-  since  the  committee  may  also  decide  to  hear  individual  members  of  the  government 
(usually the minister of foreign affairs), these ministers have to report to this committee. 

- If yes, do these rules make distinctions between the different types of meetings 
of the European Council (regular, extraordinary, Euro zone summit)? 
No. 

12 


 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  


____________________________________________________________________________________________   

Annex 1 - Questionnaires On The 27 Member States 

2. Ex-ante control  
-  Do  national  parliaments  take  part  in  the  preparation  of  meetings  of  the 
European Council and Euro zone summits? 
Yes, but at the committee level. In the case of a ‘pre-briefing’, it starts with a presentation 
of the agenda of the European Council by the PM in the FACEI. Afterwards, the members of 
the FACEI – and, eventually, of the associated committees – may express their opinion and 
concerns and ultimately the PM replies.  

Moreover,  the  works  of  the  FACEI  may  end  up  with  the  draft  of  advices,  proposals  or 
recommendations (art. 68, I, 4) that allow this committee to issue more formal documents 
on the Belgian position within the European Council since its mission to examine the whole 
set of activities linked to the European integration (art. 68, I, 3) (see above). 

Overall,  Delpérée  and  Dopagne  (2010)  believe  that  this  committee  participation  the 
preparation of meetings of the European Council  is rather limited and mainly passive (i.e. 
reacting the PM’s agenda presentation). 

- Do Parliaments’ Rules of Procedure provide for priority debates? 
Yes, indirectly and at the committee level, since each meeting of the European Council is 
preceded by an exchange of views between the members of the FACEI and the PM (and/or 
another member of the federal government). Since these meetings occur only a few days 
before the European Council (even sometimes the day before) and since it highly depends 
on the availability of the PM, it may have an impact on the overall parliament agenda that 
would have to adapt the gathering of this meeting. 

- If so, which bodies are responsible for, and involved in, this preparatory work 
(for example, committees, plenary or other bodies)? 
1. The cabinet of the PM that prepares the speech of the PM in front of the FACEI. 
2. The FACEI or the ACEI (see above). This committee later on relays (via its secretariat) 
the information to each standing committee via the ‘Europromotor’, i.e. the member of 
each standing committee that is in charge of the follow-up of the advices, resolution and 
recommendation proposals as well as proposals of normative acts coming from the FACEI 
(art. 37  of the Standing Orders of the CR). 
3. In some cases and depending on the policy issues at stake, other standing committees 
may be associated to the debate between the PM and the FACEI (see above). 

- Which governmental authorities take part in the parliamentary debates? 
It concerns the PM and/or eventually another member of the federal government (CR, doc 
1365/001). 

- Is  there  a  vote  for  a  parliamentary  resolution  before  the  European  Council 
meeting? 
Yes,  theoretically  the  works  of  the  FACEI  may  conclude  their  woks  with  resolution  and 
recommendation  proposals  (art.  68,  I,  4)  that  allow  this  committee  to  express  its  opinion 
on  the  Belgian  position  in  the  European  Council  and  that  ultimately  may  be  submitted  to 
the  plenary  session  or  to  the  demanding  standing  committee.  However,  since  these 
meetings  occur  only  a  few  days  before  the  European  Council  (even  sometimes  the  day 
before), these votes basically never occur. 

13 


 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 


Policy Department C: Citizens' Rights and Constitutional Affairs 
____________________________________________________________________________________________   

3. Ex-post control: institutional body 
- Which is the responsible body within the Parliament to control the results of the 
European  Council  and  the  Euro  zone  summits  (the  plenary,  committees,  other 
bodies)? 

Similarly to the ‘pre-briefings’, the FACEI (see above – same composition) is responsible for 
the audition of the PM in a ‘debriefing’ on the conclusions of the European Council. In some 
cases, the FACEI issues advices, resolution and recommendation proposals are transmitted 
to  the  ‘Europromotor’  of  each  standing  committee  (see  above)  or  to  the  plenary  session 
(see above). 

4. Ex-post control: debates in parliament 
The ex-post control is based on the works of the FACEI, structured the same way as for the 
Ex-ante control (see above). 

-  What  is  the  organization  of  the  plenary  debates  after  the  European  Council 
meetings?  (NB:  if  there  are  no  debates  in  the  plenary  but  in  committees,  do 
indicate this fact and answer accordingly) 

There  are  no  debates  in  plenary  after  the  European  Council  meetings  even  tough, 
theoretically,  both  the  CR  and  the  SE  could  have  a  plenary  discussion  if  the  FACEI  issues 
advices, resolution and recommendation proposals that are transmitted to the plenary. To 
our knowledge, that never happened. 

Still, since the Belgian government is responsible to the CR (Constitution, art. 101) and as 
part of their control activity of the government, members of the CR have the possibility to 
submit  written  questions,  oral  questions  and  interpellations  to  the  members  of  the 
government.  However,  these  questions,  and  interpellations  rarely  concern  the  European 
Council meetings. For example, during the period under scrutiny, no interpellations, 10 oral 
questions and 31 written questions concerned – sometimes indirectly – this issue. 

- Which is the competent institutional body to decide on setting the agenda of the 
plenary  for  those  debates?  Who  takes  the  initiative  in  practice?  Can  the 
government avoid a debate? 
The  president  of  the  CR  decides  on  the  relevance  (art.  124,  CR  Standing  Orders)  and  the 
agenda  of  the  plenary  is  set  by  the  conference  of  the  presidents  (of  the  political  groups) 
(art. 124, CR Standing Orders). The member of the CR sends its question to the president 
of the CR, via the his/her political group president. 

-  Which  governmental  authorities  take  part  in  the  parliamentary  debates?  Does 
the Head of Government/ Prime Minister take part? 
Every member of the government (even at the same time when the issue covers different 
ministerial portfolios) can be targeted by the questions and interpellations. 

- How is the debate structured? Is there a vote after the debate? 
Questions are gathered by topic and there is no vote after written questions, oral questions 
and interpellations. 

14 


 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
 


____________________________________________________________________________________________   

Annex 1 - Questionnaires On The 27 Member States 

5. Since Lisbon 
-  After  the  Treaty  of  Lisbon  came  into  force,  were  there  significant  changes 
regarding the parliamentary control of the European Council? 
No. 

-  Did  any  significant  events  or  changes  in  formal  rules  occur  after  Lisbon  in  the 
upper house? 
Following the Treaty of Lisbon, national parliaments are directly associated to the European 
decision-making  process  via  the  controls  of  subsidiarity  and  proportionality  (JO.C.306,  17 
Dec. 2007, pp. 148-152). Since in some policy domains, the parliaments of the regions or 
of the communities have the competency to transpose European legislation, a cooperation 
agreement  had  to  be  signed  between  the  federal,  regional  and  community  assemblies 
regarding the application of the subsidiarity principle. 

In addition, the CR changed its Standing Orders by including a detailed procedure (art. 37 
bis)  that  broadly  stipulates  that  the  CR  services  examine  the  projects  of  European 
legislative acts and draft a note on the respect of the principle of and proportionality that is 
sent to the members of each standing committee concerned by the act and to the members 
of  the  ACEI.  The  committee  may  draft  and  adopt  an  advice  that  is  sent  to  the  European 
institutions as well as to the federal government. The advice may be submitted for approval 
in the plenary session if demanded by one third of the members of the committee. 

-  Since  December  1st  2009,  was  the  survival  of  a  government  influenced  in  one 
way or another by decisions made by the European Council? 
No.  The  only  serious  threat  to  the survival of  the  Belgian  government  occurred on  the  19 
November  2009  when  PM  Herman  Van  Rompuy  (CD&V)  was  elected  by  the  European 
Council as President of the European Council under the Treaty of Lisbon and therefore had 
to  resign  (which  he  did  on  25  November  2009).  He  was  replaced  as  PM  by  Yves  Leterme 
(CD&V) on 25 November 2009 after five days of political turmoil and party negotiations. 

6. Templates to be filled out regarding the lower chamber´s behaviour towards each of 
the 9 European Council meetings and Euro zone summits held between March 2011 and 
March 2012 
Please fill in “yes” or “no” in each box. 

C1 = extraordinary meeting of the European Council and the meeting of the Heads of State 
or Government of the Euro Area – 11 March 2011 
C2 = ordinary meeting of the European Council – 24 and 25 March 2011 
C3 = ordinary meeting of the European Council – 23 and 24 June 2011 
C4 = meeting of the Heads of State or Government of the Euro Area – 21 July 2011 
C5 = ordinary meeting of the European Council – 23 October 2011 
C6 = informal meeting of the European Council and meeting of the Heads of State or 
Government of the Euro Area – 26 October 2011 
C7 = ordinary meeting of the European Council – 8 and 9 December 2011 
C8 = informal meeting of the European Council – 30 January 2012 
C9 = ordinary meeting of the European Council – 1 and 2 March 2012 

15 


 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 


Policy Department C: Citizens' Rights and Constitutional Affairs 
____________________________________________________________________________________________   

Before the European Council meeting 

C1  C2  C3  C4  C5  C6  C7  C8  C9 

Debates in committees  Yes  Yes  Yes  No 

Yes  Yes 
Debates on the floor  No  No  No  No  No  No  No  No  No 
Yes  Yes 
Vote of a motion  No  No  No  No  No  No  No  No  No 

Formal declaration by the PM  Yes  Yes  Yes  No 

Yes  Yes  No 

Yes  Yes  No 

After the European Council meeting 

Debates in committees  Yes  Yes  Yes  Yes  Yes  Yes  Yes  Yes  Yes 
Debates on the floor  No  No  No  No  No  No  No  No  No 
Formal declaration by the PM  Yes  Yes  Yes  Yes  Yes  Yes  Yes  Yes  Yes 
Vote of a motion  No  No  No  No  No  No  No  No  No 

7. Other comments 
- Are there other institutions or bodies, outside of Parliament, which play a role 
in the control of these results? (i.e. Constitutional courts) 
No. 

- Some of your own remarks (voluntary): 
The period under scrutiny March 2011 and March 2012 is not representative of the 
‘normal’ working of the Belgian institutions. Between April 2010 and December 2011 and 
due to the political crisis, the government was a care-taker government, meaning that 
the parliamentary control of the government was strongly reduced. 

Selected litterature 

Delpérée Francis, Dopagne Frédéric, Le dialogue parlementaire Belgique-Europe, Bruylant, 
Bruxelles, 2010. 

Van der Hulst Marc, Le parlement fédéral. Organisation et fonctionnement, Editions UGA, 
Kortrijk-Heule, 2011. 

16 


 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 


____________________________________________________________________________________________   

Annex 1 - Questionnaires On The 27 Member States 

Bulgaria: Dobrin Kanev, BECSA 
Name of your Member State: Bulgaria (one chamber National Assembly (NA)) 

1. The formal rules 
- Are there formal rules regarding the parliamentary scrutiny of European Council 
meetings and Euro zone summits? 
Most of the formal rules don’t concern specifically the European Council meetings. There is 
only  one  provision  in  the  Rules  of  Procedure  of  the  NA  -  Art.  113(2)  -  indicating  the 
possibility of “hearings of the Prime Minister on the position of the Republic of Bulgaria at 
impending meetings of the European Council”22. 

However parliamentary control in this regard can be exercised and is exercised through the 
general  rules  of  parliamentary  scrutiny  and  the  rules  of  parliamentary  oversight  on  EU 
Affairs. 

-  If  yes,  what  are  their  legal  bases  (Constitution,  Legal  provisions,  Standing 
Orders, other)? 

The Constitution (1991) provides general rules of parliamentary control (Art. 62, 79-80, 83, 
89-90). In 2005 the Constitution was supplemented with Art. 105 in order to establish new 
rules of parliamentary oversight in view of the membership in the EU. 

The  acting  Rules  of  Organisation  and  Procedure  of  the  NA  (adopted  in  July  2009)  besides 
the  general  regulation  of  parliamentary  oversight  (chapters  8  and  9)  contain  a  special 
chapter (No 10) titled ‘Parliamentary Monitoring and Control on European Union Affairs’. 

- If yes, what are these rules about? What obligations does the government have? 

According  to  Art.  105  of  the  Constitution  the  government  (Council  of  Ministers)  has  to 
inform  the  NA  on  issues  concerning  the  obligations  of  the  state  resulting  from  its 
membership  in  the  EU  (para  3),  when  participating  in  the  drafting  and  adoption  of  EU 
instruments  has  to  inform  the  NA  in  advance,  and  has  to  give  detailed  account  for  its 
actions (para 4)23. 

The  Rules  of  Procedure  of  the  NA  provide  for  the  obligation  of  the  Prime  Minister  (PM)  to 
present a report at the beginning of every six-month period of the presidency of the EU on 
the  participation  of  Bulgaria  in  the  EU  affairs  during  the  preceding  presidency  and  on  the 
tasks  during  the  current  presidency  (para  1).  Furthermore  as  stated  above  “the  NA  may 
hold hearings of the Prime Minister on the position of the Republic of Bulgaria at impending 
meetings of the European Council” (para 2)24. 

- If yes, do these rules make distinctions between the different types of meetings 
of the European Council (regular, extraordinary, Euro zone summit)? 

They don’t make these distinctions. 

2. Ex-ante control  
-  Do  national  parliaments  take  part  in  the  preparation  of  meetings  of  the 
European Council and Euro zone summits? 
The Bulgarian parliament is rarely taking part in the preparation of the meetings. It is often 
the case that the parliament is not even informed about the position of the government 

22 Rules of Organisation and Procedure of the National Assembly:
 
http://www.parliament.bg/en/rulesoftheorganisations (last retrieved: 18 July 2012).
 
23 Constitution of the Republic of Bulgaria: http://www.parliament.bg/en/const (last retrieved: 18 July 2012).
 
24 Rules of Organisation and Procedure of the National Assembly:
 
http://www.parliament.bg/en/rulesoftheorganisations (last retrieved: 18 July 2012).
 

17 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                                                            
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 

 

 

 

 
Policy Department C: Citizens' Rights and Constitutional Affairs 
____________________________________________________________________________________________   

before  these  meetings.  In  the  reference  period  the  PM  has  informed  the  parliament  just 
once and this was one hour before his departure for the meeting on 24 March 2011. 

The  only  time  the  parliament  was  activated  was  before  the  informal  meeting  of  the 
European  Council  on  30  January  2012  as  far  as  the  NA  has  to  be  consulted  before 
endorsing  the  treaties  on  the  European  Stability  Mechanism  and  the  fiscal  compact  and 
signing after that the Treaty on Stability, Coordination and Governance in the EMU.  

- Do Parliaments’ Rules of Procedure provide for priority debates? 

No. 

- If  so,  which  bodies  are  responsible  for,  and  involved  in,  this  preparatory  work 
(for example, committees, plenary or other bodies)? 

With  regard  to  the  only  case  of  preparation  (January  2012),  between  12  and  25  January 
there  have  been  meetings  (joint  or  separate)  of  the  Committee  on  European  Affairs  and 
Oversight  on  the  European  Funds,  the  Budget  and  Finance  Committee  and  the  Foreign 
Policy and Defence Committee. In this period of time the PM also gave some information on 
a plenary sitting answering questions during the parliamentary control time. 

- Which governmental authorities take part in the parliamentary debates? 

Sometimes it is the PM, otherwise usually the Minister of Foreign Affairs, more rarely – the 
Finance Minister. 

- Is  there  a  vote  for  a  parliamentary  resolution  before  the  European  Council 
meeting? 

As far as the most debates occurred either through questioning the PM or some ministers, 
or  on  the  initiative  of  the  PM,  there  is  no  vote  for  a  resolution.  Only  once  on  27  January 
2012  the  parliament  passed  a  resolution  on  the  participation  in  the  Treaty  on  Stability, 
Coordination and Governance in the EMU. 

3. Ex-post control: institutional body 
Which  is  the  responsible body  within  the  Parliament  to  control  the  results  of  the 
European  Council  and  the  Euro  zone  summits  (the  plenary,  committees,  other 
bodies)? 
Normally  it  is  the  plenary.  The  Committee  on  European  Affairs  and  Oversight  on  the 
European  Funds  is  also  vested  with  the  function  of  control  on  the  issues  related  to  EU 
affairs. Its activities however are mainly oriented towards oversight on the transposition of 
EU  legislation,  subsidiarity  and  proportionality  control  (after  the  Lisbon  Treaty),  and 
oversight on the absorption of the resources from the European Funds and Programs. The 
Budget  and  Finance  Committee  and  the  Foreign  Policy  and  Defence  Committee  are  also 
participating  in  some  forms  of  parliamentary  control.  Sometimes  joint  sessions  of  these 
committees are organised. 

4. Ex-post control: debates in parliament 
-  What  is  the  organization  of  the  plenary  debates  after  the  European  Council 
meetings?  (NB:  if  there  are  no  debates  in  the  plenary  but  in  committees,  do 
indicate this fact and answer accordingly) 
There are no regular debates in the Bulgarian NA after the European Council meetings. As 
far as the provision in the Rules of Procedure does not oblige the PM to give a report and 

18 


 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 


____________________________________________________________________________________________   

Annex 1 - Questionnaires On The 27 Member States 

only  provides  such  possibility  (“the  NA  may  hold  hearings  of  the  Prime  Minister)  the 
debates are happening if at all mostly in the time of parliamentary control. 

- Which is the competent institutional body to decide on setting the agenda of the 
plenary  for  those  debates?  Who  takes  the  initiative  in  practice?  Can  the 
government avoid a debate? 

Generally the agenda is set by the majority. In practice the initiative is in the hands of the 
PM.  PM  Borissov  himself  stated  in  the  parliament  that  it  was  “expression  of  his  good  will” 
that he informed the plenary before the meeting on 24 march 201125 

The  government  can  easily  avoid  a  debate  having  in  mind  the  formulation  in  the  Rules  of 
Procedure. Moreover Art. 105 (3, 4) that requires from the government to inform the NA on 
issues concerning the obligations resulting from its membership in the EU is interpreted by 
the majority in the sense that it concerns only the drafting and adoption of EU acts, not the 
political  decisions  taken  at  the  European  Council  meetings  as  far  as  they  don’t  need 
parliamentary ratification26. 

After the meeting of the European Council in December 2011 four parliamentary groups (all 
except  the majority  of  GERB)  insisted  several  times  to  be  held  a  hearing  of  the  PM  about 
the  results  of  the  meeting.  The  majority  through  its  vote  rejected  all  of  the  requests. 
Finally,  the  PM  sent  the  foreign  minister,  who  didn’t  attended  the  meeting,  to  inform  the 
MPs.27 

Most  of  the  MPs  prefer  to  make  use  of  their  right  to  address  questions  to  the  PM  or 
ministers that occurs during the last three hours of each Friday sitting. 

-  Which  governmental  authorities  take  part  in  the  parliamentary  debates?  Does 
the Head of Government/ Prime Minister take part? 

The PM is taking part as well as the Minister of Foreign Affairs. As a rule the PM prefers to 
transfer this role to the Foreign minister. PM Borissov didn’t make a formal declaration and 
didn’t take the floor even at the plenary session on 27 January 2012 when a resolution on 
the Treaty on Stability, Coordination and Governance in the EMU was voted. 

- How is the debate structured? Is there a vote after the debate? 

There  are  specific  rules  only  for  the  debates  on  the  regular  report  of  the  PM  at  the 
beginning  of  every  six-month  period  of  the  presidency  of  the  EU  on  the  participation  of 
Bulgaria  in  the  EU  affairs  during  the  preceding  presidency  and  on  the  tasks  of  Bulgaria 
during  the  current  presidency28.  They  were  passed  with  a  resolution  of  the  NA  on  1  
September 201029 and provide for presentation of the PM, participation of one member of 
each parliamentary group limited to 10 minutes and concluding five minutes for the PM. No 
resolution is voted on the report of the PM. 

In practice most of the debates happened while MPs were addressing questions to the PM 
or  some  of  the  ministers  and  were  structured  according  the  rules  of  usual  parliamentary 
control. 

25 Minutes of plenary proceedings, 1 April 2011: http://www.parliament.bg/bg/plenaryst/ID/2587 (last retrieved 

19 July 2012) (translation by the author). 

26 For example PM Borissov answering question of MP and deputy speaker G. Pirinski - Minutes of plenary
 
proceedings, 18 March 2011): http://www.parliament.bg/bg/plenaryst/ID/2579 (last retrieved 19 July 2012);
 
Monika Panayotova, Head of the Committee on European Affairs and Oversight on the European Funds, 

http://www.parliament.bg/bg/plenaryst/ID/2573  (last retrieved 19 July 2012)
 
27 See Plenary session 14.12.2011, http://www.parliament.bg/bg/plenaryst/ID/2680 (last retrieved: 19 July 2012)
 
28 These debates are not really debates on the European Council meetings although sometimes issues of this kind
 
are also discussed. 

29 Resolution on Passing of Procedural Rules on the Application of Art. 113(1) of the Rules of Organisation and 

Procedure of the NA (translation by author): http://www.parliament.bg/bg/desision/ID/13476 (last retrieved: 23 

July 2012).
 

19 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                                                            
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 





 
 

 



 
 

 

 







 


Policy Department C: Citizens' Rights and Constitutional Affairs 
____________________________________________________________________________________________   

5. Since Lisbon 
-  After  the  Treaty  of  Lisbon  came  into  force,  were  there  significant  changes 
regarding the parliamentary control of the European Council? 
In June 2010 the Rules of Procedure of the NA were supplemented defining the process and 
procedure  for  elaboration  of  Annual  Programme for  the  Participation  of  Bulgaria  in  the  EU 
decision-making  process  (Art. 103)  and  for  subsidiarity  checks  (Art.  105).  Nothing  special 
about control over the European Council meetings was envisaged. 

-  Did  any  significant  events  or  changes  in  formal  rules  occur  after  Lisbon  in  the 
upper house? 
The Bulgarian NA is a one chamber institution. 

-  Since  December  1st  2009,  was  the  survival  of  a  government  influenced  in  one 
way or another by decisions made by the European Council? 
No. 

6. Templates to be filled out regarding the lower chamber´s behaviour towards each of 
the 9 European Council meetings and Euro zone summits held between March 2011 and 
March 2012 
Please fill in “yes” or “no” in each box. 

C1 = extraordinary meeting of the European Council and  the meeting of the Heads of 
State or Governement of the Euro Area – 11 March 2011 
C2 = ordinary meeting of the European Council – 24 and 25 March 2011 
C3 = ordinary meeting of the European Council – 23 and 24 June 2011 
C4 = meeting of the Heads of State or Government of the Euro Area – 21 July 2011 
C5 = ordinary meeting of the European Council – 23 October 2011 
C6 = informal meeting of the European Council and meeting of the Heads of State or 
Government of the Euro Area – 26 October 2011 
C7 = ordinary meeting of the European Council – 8 and 9 December 2011 
C8 = informal meeting of the European Council – 30 January 2012 
C9 = ordinary meeting of the European Council – 1 and 2 March 2012 

C1  C2  C3  C4  C5  C6  C7  C8 

C9 

Before the European Council meeting 

Debates in committees  n 
Debates on the floor  n 
Formal declaration by the PM  n 
Vote of a motion  n 

n 
n 
n 
y 
y*  n 
n 
n 

After the European Council meeting 

Debates in committees  n 
Debates on the floor  n 
Formal declaration by the PM  n 
Vote of a motion  n 

n 
y 
n 
n 

n 
n 
n 
n 

n 
n 
n 
n 

n 
n 
n 
n 

n 
n 
n 
n 

n 
n 
n 
n 

n 
n 
n 
n 

n 
n 
n 
n 

n 
n 
n 
n 

y 
y 
n 
n 

y 
y 
n 
y 

n 
n 
n 
n 

n 
n 
y 
n 
y**  n 
n 
n 

*Statement using the right of the PM to speak in the plenary whenever he so requests.
 
** In the regular report of the PM at the beginning of every six-month period of the presidency of the 

EU. 


20 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 




____________________________________________________________________________________________   

Annex 1 - Questionnaires On The 27 Member States 

7. Other comments 
- Are there other institutions or bodies, outside of Parliament, which play a role in 
the control of these results? (i.e. Constitutional courts) 
The  Constitutional  Court  could  provide  a  binding  interpretation  of  the  Constitution 
(especially of the controversially discussed Art. 105) but it hasn’t been approached on this 
issue or issues concerning parliamentary control of European Council summits. 

- Some of your own remarks (voluntary): 
The  democratic  control  of  the  European  Council  summits  is  largely  neglected  by  the 
Bulgarian  parliament  unless  the  NA  has  to  ratify  or  to  be  consulted  on  issues  decided  at 
these  meetings.  Firstly,  the  parliamentary  majority  tries  to  avoid  the  control  over  the  PM 
and  the  government  using  its  vote  or  specific  interpretations  of  the  Constitution,  leaving 
the  “political  issues”  in  governmental  competence.  Secondly,  the  NA  itself  is  limiting  its 
to  subsidiarity  and 
competencies 
proportionality control. 

legislative  process  especially 

the  ordinary 

to 

21 


 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 


Policy Department C: Citizens' Rights and Constitutional Affairs 
____________________________________________________________________________________________   

Czech Republic: Viera Knutelska, Charles University 
Prague 
Name  of  your  Member  State:  Czech  Republic  (lower  house  Chamber  of  Deputies 
(C), upper house Senate (S)) 

1. The formal rules 
- Are there formal rules regarding the parliamentary scrutiny of European Council 
meetings and Euro zone summits? 
The  scrutiny  of  European  Council  meetings  follows  the  same  provisions  as  the  general 
scrutiny  of European  affairs,  with the  exception  some  decisions  that  may  be  taken  by  the 
European  Council  (according  to  the  art.  31(3),  48(6),  48(7)  of  the  Treaty  on  European 
Union  and  art.  312(2)  of  the  Treaty  on  the  functioning  of  the  European  Union)  that  are 
subject to special procedure – prior assent – in both parliamentary chambers. 

- If  yes,  what  are  their  legal  bases  (Constitution,  Legal  provisions,  Standing 
Orders, other)? 
General  basis  for  the  parliamentary  scrutiny  of  European  affairs  is  defined  by  the  Article 
10a of the Constitution (adopted in 2001, so-called Euro-amendment)30. Specific provisions 
are then defined in the Rules of procedure of both chambers, in the case of the CD it is the 
Part  15a  (art.  109a-109l)  of  the  Rules  of  Procedure31.  Articles  109i-109k  concern  the 
scrutiny  of  specific  decisions  of  the  European  Council  (latest  modification  was  adopted  in 
May 2009). 

Moreover,  there  is  the  Directive  of  the  Government  on  the  procedure  for  transmitting 
EC/EU  draft  legislative  acts  and  European  Commission  documents  to  the  Chamber  of 
Deputies and the Senate of the Czech Republic (n. 680 of June 7, 2006)32 that provides for 
transmission of information on European affairs, and specifically includes information on the 
proceedings in the European Council. 

- If yes, what are these rules about? What obligations does the government have? 
The Constitution obliges oblige the government to inform the parliament “regularly and in 
advance  of  issues  related  to  obligations  arising  from  (the  Czech  memberships  in  the  EU)” 
and  gives  both  chambers  the  right  to  express  their  views  on  the  proposed  decisions  that 
are being prepared in the EU. 
Rules  of  procedure  of  the  CD  state  that  the  government  submits  to  the  CD  all  legislative 
proposals  of  the  EU  and,  if  it  so  decides  or  if  the  CD  so  requires,  any  other  proposed 
European  act.  The  rules  of  procedure  of  the  CD  provide  only  for  scrutiny  of  the  Council 
meetings;  the  European  Council  meetings  are  specifically  mentioned  as  a  subject  of 
obligatory scrutiny and prior assent of the CD only in cases in some specific decisions 

30 Available in English at http://www.senat.cz/informace/zadosti/ustava-eng.php (last retrieve 23 July 2012); 
31  Act  no.  90/1995  on  the  Rules  of  procedure  of  the  Chamber  of  Deputies  as  amended,  available  in  Czech  on 
http://www.psp.cz/docs/laws/1995/90_index.html (last retrieved 21 July 2012). 
32  http://isap.vlada.cz/homepage2.nsf/pages/esd/$file/zasilani.pdf  (last  retrieved  21  July  2012),  (title  translation 
based on the English translation of an older version available at www.psp.cz/home/vybory/VEZ/brozuravez.doc) 

22 


 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                                                            
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 


____________________________________________________________________________________________   

Annex 1 - Questionnaires On The 27 Member States 

(according to the art. 31(3), 48(6), 48(7) of the Treaty on European Union and art. 312(2) 
of the Treaty on the functioning of the European Union. Note: Assent of S is also required.) 
However, the article 109b on the scrutiny of the Council meetings is generally interpreted 
as applying also to the European Council. 

Interestingly, rules of procedure of S specifically mention that the government informs the 
S about the provisional agenda of the European Council and about its results. 

This  distinction  between  the  chambers  is  not  apparent  in  Government  Directive.  The 
directive  states  that  upon  request  of  the  respective  (European)  committee  of  either 
chamber,  a  member  of  the  government  attends  meeting  of  this  committee  before  the 
meeting  of  the  European  Council  that  has  on  its  agenda  any  proposed  European  act, 
decision or document, and informs about the position of the government for the European 
Council. After the summit, the responsible member of the government submits a report on 
the summit to both committees without delay. 

- If yes, do these rules make distinctions between the different types of meetings 
of the European Council (regular, extraordinary, Euro zone summit)? 
No. The only specific mention of the European Council summits is in fact in the rules of 
procedure of the S and in the Government Directive. 

2. Ex-ante control  
-  Do  national  parliaments  take  part  in  the  preparation  of  meetings  of  the 
European Council and Euro zone summits? 
Yes,  but  there  is  no  general  formal  rule  that  would  require  them  to  take  part  /  place  the 
issue  on  the  agenda  of  the  committee  or  chamber  (with  the  exception  of  the  obligatory 
assent  with  some  decision  mentioned  above).  Debates  on  European  Council  are  more 
common in the CD than in the S, it has become practice for the PM to attend the meeting 
of the CD’s Committee for European Affairs before each EC, if possible. If he cannot attend 
personally,  his  Secretary  of  State  for  European  Affairs  usually  substitutes  for  him.  This 
practice  is  rarely  not  observed,  usually  for  time  constraints  reasons  on  the  part  of  the 
Committee or rescheduling of the EC. 

Moreover, both chambers also receive information on preparation of the Czech position for 
the  European  Council  through  participation  at  the  executive  coordination  mechanism.  The 
main executive coordination body for the European affairs, the Committee on the European 
Union  (V-EU,  essentially  the  government),includes  at  working  level  (level  of  deputy-
ministers)  also  representatives  from  both  chambers  of  the  parliament  as  associate 
members. The V-EU at working level discusses the proposed mandate for European Council 
(which is to be approved by the V-EU).33 

- Do Parliaments’ Rules of Procedure provide for priority debates? 
Yes. According to the art. 51(4) of the Rules of Procedure of the CD, upon the request of at 
least 1/5 of the CD, a session must be convened within 10 days. 
Moreover, regarding European issues, the Chairman of the Committee for European Affairs 
of  the  CD  or  the  government  can  ask  the  Speaker  to  place  an  issue  on  which  the 
Committee has passed a motion on the agenda of the next plenary session (within eight 

33 Statute of the Committee on European Union, in English is available at 
http://www.vlada.cz/assets/ppov/veu/statuses_committee_eu_en.pdf (last retrieved 21 July 2012). 

23 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                                                            
 
 
 
 
Policy Department C: Citizens' Rights and Constitutional Affairs 
____________________________________________________________________________________________   

days of passing that motion the in the Committee). Again, in cases of the European Council 
decisions were prior assent of the parliament is required, the issue has to be placed on the 
agenda  of  the  next  plenary  session,  or,  if  needed,  a  special  plenary  session  could  be 
convened. 

- If so, which bodies are responsible for, and involved in, this preparatory work 
(for example, committees, plenary or other bodies)? 
Typically,  the  upcoming  European  Council  is  discussed  in  the  Committee  for  European 
Affairs of the CD, more rarely in the plenary. If the issue is not placed on the agenda of the 
plenary,  any  motion  passed  by  the  Committee  for  European  Affairs  is  considered  to  be  a 
motion  of  the  CD.  Typical  debate  on  upcoming  European  Council  begins  with  presentation 
of the prepared Czech position (“mandate”) by a member of the government, followed by a 
debate.  In  the  period  from  March  2011  to  March  2012,  there  was  one  case  when  the 
presentation was not followed by a debate (before the October summit). 

In the S, European issues, including the European Council, are more often discussed in the 
plenary, as the S’ Committee on European Affairs cannot pass a motion in the name of the 
whole chamber. 

- Which governmental authorities take part in the parliamentary debates? 
In the case of the CD, it is usually the Prime Minister or his Secretary of State for European 
Affairs,  more  rarely  the  First  Deputy  Minister  of  Foreign  Affairs.  In  S,  other  members  of 
government  (who  also  present  other  issues  the  same  day)  present  the  government’s 
position. 

- Is  there  a  vote  for  a  parliamentary  resolution  before  the  European  Council 
meeting? 
Sometimes,  but  this  is  quite  rare.  Moreover,  such  resolution  usually  just  states  formal 
support of the government’s position (“the CD takes into account”)34. 
In  the  period  from  March  2011  till  March  2012,  there  was  only  one  case  when  the  CD 
adopted a different that just simple “taking into account” resolution and this regarded the 
obligatory  prior  assent  of  the  CD  with  the  amendment  of  art.  136.  In  this  case,  CD 
consented  with  the  proposed  EC’s  decision,  but  also  instructed  the  government  on 
negotiating mandate should this proposed decision be amended at the EC meeting itself.35 

3. Ex-post control: institutional body 
Which  is  the  responsible body  within  the  Parliament  to  control  the  results  of  the 
European  Council  and  the  Euro  zone  summits  (the  plenary,  committees,  other 
bodies)? 
Again, there is no obligatory mechanism for the ex-post control. As in the case of the ex-
ante control, the issue can be discussed either in the Committee or in the plenary, and the 
parliament  also  receives  information  on  the  basis  of  the  Government  Directive  or  through 
its  representatives  in  the  V-EU  at  working  level  that  also  receives  information  on  the 
discussion at the European Council. 

34 All resolutions of the CD are available at http://psp.cz/ff/2b/0b.htm (last retrieved 21 July 2012).
 
35 Resolution of the CD no. 75 of the 11th session of the 6th  CD, available at  http://www.psp.cz/ff/fd/fe/69/08.htm
 
(last retrieved 21 July 2012). 


24 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                                                            
 
 
  
 
 

 

 


____________________________________________________________________________________________   

Annex 1 - Questionnaires On The 27 Member States 

4. Ex-post control: debates in parliament 
- What is the organization of the plenary debates after the European Council 
meetings? (NB: if there are no debates in the plenary but in committees, do 
indicate this fact and answer accordingly) 
The ex-post debates in plenary are not obligatory. In the period between March 2011 and 
March 2012 there were only two such debates, after the last EC in 2011 and the first EC in 
2012. Both related to the Czech reluctance/refusal to accede to the fiscal treaty. 

- Which is the competent institutional body to decide on setting the agenda of the 
plenary for those debates? Who takes the initiative in practice? Can the 
government avoid a debate? 

The  agenda  is  prepared  by  the  Organisational  Committee36  and  then  proposed  by  the 
Speaker.  Moreover,  any  committee,  party  group  or  a  deputy  can  propose  amendments  of 
the proposed agenda. However, this has to be approved by the plenary, so the government 
can theoretically avoid a debate thanks to its majority in the CD. This happened once in the 
period  from  March  2011  to  March  2012;  the  opposition  (namely  the  Shadow  Minister  of 
Foreign Affairs L. Zaorálek) proposed a debate on the Report of the PM on the EC meeting 
of 11 March 2011, the proposal was not adopted thank to the government’s majority.37 

- Which governmental authorities take part in the parliamentary debates? Does 
the Head of Government/ Prime Minister take part? 
Yes, if requested, the PM attends these meetings and presents the results of the EC. 

- How is the debate structured? Is there a vote after the debate? 
The debate usually starts with a presentation by the PM followed by a discussion. The two 
debates  in  December  2011  and  in  February  2012  both  followed  this  pattern.  At  the  end, 
there were always two conflicting resolutions proposed, one by a coalition deputy and other 
by  an  opposition  deputy.  In  both  cases,  the  coalition  proposal  expressing  support  for  the 
government  (formal  “taking  into  account”)  was  adopted.  The  opposition  proposals, 
proposed both times by the shadow Minister for Foreign Affairs, were not adopted.38 

Ex-post  debates  in  the  S  were  little  more  common.  The  S  also  passed  several  resolutions 
expressing disagreement with the government’s position towards the Fiscal Treaty.39 

This difference between the CD and the S can be attributed mostly to the fact the current 
majority  in  the  S  is  held  by  the  opposition  (the  Czech  Social  Democratic  Party,  which  in 
general  expresses  more  pro-European  views  than  the  main  coalition  party,  the  Civic 
Democratic Party). 

36 Consisting of the Speaker, vice-speakers and representatives of party groups. 

37 Same thing happened twice in relation to ex-ante control (regarding the two last meetings of the EC in 2011),
 
see protocols of plenary debates, http://psp.cz/eknih/2010ps/stenprot/Index.html (last retrieved 23 July 2012).
 
38 The proposal concerning the December EC asked the government to “do everything for the consolidation of 

eurozone and stabilisation of European institutions”, the proposal concerning the January EC asked the
 
government to sign the Fiscal Treaty, see protocols of plenary debates, 

http://psp.cz/eknih/2010ps/stenprot/Index.html (last retrieved 23 July 2012).
 
39 Protocols of plenary debates of the S, http://senat.cz/xqw/xervlet/pssenat/finddoc?typdok=steno (last retrieved 

21 July 2012). 


25 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
                                                            
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 



 

 



 



 
 






Policy Department C: Citizens' Rights and Constitutional Affairs 
____________________________________________________________________________________________   

5. Since Lisbon 
-  After  the  Treaty  of  Lisbon  came  into  force,  were  there  significant  changes 
regarding the parliamentary control of the European Council? 

Yes.  Because  of  the  introduction  of  the  simplified  treaty  change  procedure  and  passarelle 
clauses,  the  rules  requiring  prior  assent  of  both  chambers  in  cases  in  some  specific 
decisions  (according  to  the  art.  31(3),  48(6),  48(7)  of  the  Treaty  on  European  Union  and 
art.  312(2)  of  the  Treaty  on  the  functioning  of  the  European  Union  (similar  provisions 
concern some decisions of the Council).  

-  Did  any  significant  events  or  changes  in  formal  rules  occur  after  Lisbon  in  the 
upper house? 
See above 

-  Since  December  1st  2009,  was  the  survival  of  a  government  influenced  in  one 
way or another by decisions made by the European Council? 
Not really. Although there is a clear difference between two main coalition parties, the more 
euro-sceptic  Civic  Democratic  Party  (PM  Petr  Nečas)  and  more  pro-integration  TOP  09 
(Minister  of  Foreign  Affairs  Karel  Schwarzenberg)  and  there  have  been  many  occasions 
when these two parties presented opposing views on European integration (e.g. the Fiscal 
Treaty), these did not effectively threaten the survival of the government. 

6. Templates to be filled out regarding the lower chamber´s behaviour towards each of 
the 9 European Council meetings and Euro zone summits held between March 2011 and 
March 2012 
Please fill in “yes” or “no” in each box. 

C1 = extraordinary meeting of the European Council and  the meeting of the Heads of 
State or Government of the Euro Area – 11 March 2011 
C2 = ordinary meeting of the European Council – 24 and 25 March 2011 
C3 = ordinary meeting of the European Council – 23 and 24 June 2011 
C4 = meeting of the Heads of State or Government of the Euro Area – 21 July 2011 
C5 = ordinary meeting of the European Council – 23 October 2011 
C6 = informal meeting of the European Council and meeting of the Heads of State or 
Government of the Euro Area – 26 October 2011 
C7 = ordinary meeting of the European Council – 8 and 9 December 2011 
C8 = informal meeting of the European Council – 30 January 2012 
C9 = ordinary meeting of the European Council – 1 and 2 March 2012 

26 


 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 


____________________________________________________________________________________________   

Annex 1 - Questionnaires On The 27 Member States 

Before the European Council meeting 

C1  C2  C3  C4  C5  C6  C7  C8  C9 

Debates in committees  N  Y40  Y  NA  N  N  Y 

Debates on the floor  N  Y 
Formal declaration by the PM  N  Y 
Vote of a motion  N  Y 

After the European Council meeting 

Y 
N  NA  N  N  N  N  N 
Y  NA  N  N  Y 
Y  N 
N  NA  N  N  N  N  N 

Y 

Debates in committees  N  N  N  NA  N  N  N  N  N 
Y  N 
Y  N 
Y  N 

Debates on the floor  N  N  N  NA  N  N  Y 
Formal declaration by the PM  N  N  N  NA  N  N  Y 
Vote of a motion  N  N  N  NA  N  N  Y 

7. Other comments 
- Are there other insitutions or bodies, outside of Parliament, which play a role 
in the control of these results? (i.e. Constitutional courts) 
None yet. However, because of the binding mandate for the government required before 
some  of  the  EC’s  decisions,  future  involvement  of  Constitutional  court  could  be 
theoretically possible. 

- Some of your own remarks (voluntary): 
Note:  The  Czech  Parliament  enjoys  rather  privileged  access  to  the  executive 
coordination  mechanism,  so  it  has  very  good  informal  access  to  information  on  all 
European issues. 

Selected literature 

Knutelská,  V.  (2011):  'Working  Practices  Winning  Out  over  Formal  Rules:  Parliamentary 
Scrutiny  of  EU  Matters  in  the  Czech  Republic,  Poland  and  Slovakia',  Perspectives  on 
European Politics and Society, 12:3, 320-339 
Král,  D.  and  Bartovič,  V.  (2010)  The  Czech  and  the  Slovak  Parliaments  after  the  Lisbon 
Treaty  Prague: Europeum, 
http://www.europeum.org/doc/publications/Narodni_parlamenty_ENG_Web.pdf 
retrieved 23 July 2012) 

(last 

Pítrová,  L.  and  Coxová,  M.  (2007)  'Parliamentary  Control  of  EU  Decision-making  in  the 
Czech  Republic',  In  Tans,  O.,  Zoethout,  C.,  Peters,  J.  (eds)  National  parliaments  and 
European  Democracy:  A  Bottom-up  Approach  to  European  Constitutionalism  Groningen: 
Europa Law Publishing 

40  There  were  two  separate  meetings  both  of  the  Committee  and  of  the  plenary  concerning  this  European 
Council.  First  meeting  in  both  cases  concerned  the  obligatory  prior  assent  of  the  CD  with  the  EC’s  decision 
amending  art.  136  TFEU,  second  meeting  in  both  cases  concerned  the  overall  agenda  of  the  EC.  A  motion  was 
passed by  the CD both times. The  PM  attended  the second meeting of  the  Committee and both  meetings of  the 
CD. 

27 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                                                            
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 


Policy Department C: Citizens' Rights and Constitutional Affairs 
____________________________________________________________________________________________   

Cyprus: Kalliope Agapiou-J., University of Cyprus 
Name of your Member State: Cyprus (House of Representatives) 

1. The formal rules 
- Are there formal rules regarding the parliamentary scrutiny of European Council 
meetings and Euro zone summits?  
No,  there  are  no  formal  rules  specifically  for  European  Council  meetings  and  Euro  zone 
summits.  Scrutiny is carried out through regular procedures of parliamentary scrutiny. 

-  If  yes,  what  are  their  legal  bases  (Constitution,  Legal  provisions,  Standing 
Orders, other)? 

- If yes, what are these rules about? What obligations does the government have? 
- If yes, do these rules make distinctions between the different types of meetings 
of the European Council (regular, extraordinary, Euro zone summit)? 

2. Ex-ante control  
-  Do  national  parliaments  take  part  in  the  preparation  of  meetings  of  the 
European Council and Euro zone summits? 

No,  due  to  the  explicit  separation  of  powers  as  provided  for  in  the  Constitution  of  the 
Republic of Cyprus, this is not possible. 

- Do Parliaments’ Rules of Procedure provide for priority debates? 

Article 73(5) of the Constitution provides for an emergency procedure. 

- If so, which bodies are responsible for, and involved in, this preparatory work 
(for example, committees, plenary or other bodies)? 

According to the Constitution, a draft Bill or Private Bill characterized as of an urgent nature 
is debated by the competent Committee and then debated in the Plenary before voted. 

- Which governmental authorities take part in the parliamentary debates? 

The Rules of Procedures provide that (rule 42) (2) In case of an introduction of a Bill by the 
Government, a notification for the meeting of the competent Committee of the House shall 
be sent to the Minister who has introduced the Bill under question, or in whose competence 
the  matter  under  question  falls.  (3)  Ministers  can  be  present  at  the  debates  of  the 
Committees of the House and express their views (4) A Committee of the House shall have 
the  right  to  summon  any  interested  organ,  authority,  organization,  society,  association, 
trade  union,  person  or  corporate  body  to  provide  information  and  evidence  or  to  express 
and elaborate views and opinions on any Bill or matter under debate. 

Furthermore, the only case when a Minister addresses the Plenary is when the draft Bill on 
the State Budget is submitted, in which case the Minister of Finance presents the draft Bill. 

- Is  there  a  vote  for  a  parliamentary  resolution  before  the  European  Council 
meeting? 

There have not been any resolutions regarding European Council meetings so far.  

3. Ex-post control: institutional body 
Which  is  the  responsible body  within  the  Parliament  to  control  the  results  of  the 
European  Council  and  the  Euro  zone  summits  (the  plenary,  committees,  other 
bodies)? 

28 


 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 


____________________________________________________________________________________________   

Annex 1 - Questionnaires On The 27 Member States 

Any  Committee  may,  in  the  exercise  of  parliamentary  control  consider  any  matters  within 
its competence. After the conclusion of debate therein, a report expressing the views of the 
Committee is addressed to the Plenary.  Further, any MP may submit written questions to 
the Government regarding the above issues. 

4. Ex-post control: debates in parliament 
- What is the organization of the plenary debates after the European Council 
meetings? (NB: if there are no debates in the plenary but in committees, do 
indicate this fact and answer accordingly) 
If,  as  explained  above,  a  decision  of  a  competent Committee  to  examine  such an  issue  is 
taken, then the Plenary debates the report of the Committee.   

- Which is the competent institutional body to decide on setting the agenda of the 
plenary for those debates? Who takes the initiative in practice? Can the 
government avoid a debate? 
The President of the House of Representatives sets the agenda of all Plenary meetings. 
The Government cannot avoid a debate. 

- Which governmental authorities take part in the parliamentary debates? Does 
the Head of Government/ Prime Minister take part? 
As explained above the competent Committee may summon any person it deems necessary 
in  the  context  of  the  debate  of  an  issue.  Ministers  are  very  often  invited  to  meetings  of 
parliamentary Committees. 

Regarding  the  President  of  the  Republic  (Head  of  Government)  Article  79.1  of  the 
Constitution  provides  that  “The  President  (…)  of  the  Republic  may  address  the  House  of 
Representatives  by  message,  or  transmit  to  the  House  of  Representatives  their  views 
through the Ministers.  Therefore he/she cannot be summoned by a Committee. 

- How is the debate structured? Is there a vote after the debate? 
Not necessarily.  If the issue for which a Ministry is invited is to inform the Committee on 
the state of play regarding a given issue then a vote is not necessary. 

5. Since Lisbon 
-  After  the  Treaty  of  Lisbon  came  into  force,  were  there  significant  changes 
regarding the parliamentary control of the European Council? 
No. 
-  Did  any  significant  events  or  changes  in  formal  rules  occur  after  Lisbon  in  the 
upper house? 
No. 
-  Since  December  1st  2009,  was  the  survival  of  a  government  influenced  in  one 
way or another by decisions made by the European Council? 
No. 

6. Templates to be filled out regarding the lower chamber´s behaviour towards each of 
the 9 European Council meetings and Euro zone summits held between March 2011 and 
March 2012 
Please fill in “yes” or “no” in each box. 

C1 = extraordinary meeting of the European Council and  the meeting of the Heads of 
State or Governement of the Euro Area – 11 March 2011 

29 


 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 


Policy Department C: Citizens' Rights and Constitutional Affairs 
____________________________________________________________________________________________   

C2 = ordinary meeting of the European Council – 24 and 25 March 2011 
C3 = ordinary meeting of the European Council – 23 and 24 June 2011 
C4 = meeting of the Heads of State or Government of the Euro Area – 21 July 2011 
C5 = ordinary meeting of the European Council – 23 October 2011 
C6 = informal meeting of the European Council and meeting of the Heads of State or 
Government of the Euro Area – 26 October 2011 
C7 = ordinary meeting of the European Council – 8 and 9 December 2011 
C8 = informal meeting of the European Council – 30 January 2012 
C9 = ordinary meeting of the European Council – 1 and 2 March 2012 

Before the European Council meeting 

C1  C2  C3  C4  C5  C6  C7  C8  C9 

Debates in committees  No  No  No  No  No  No  No  No  No 
Debates on the floor  No  No  No  No  No  No  No  No  No 
Formal declaration by the PM  No  No  No  No  No  No  No  No  No 
Vote of a motion  No  No  No  No  No  No  No  No  No 

After the European Council meeting 

Debates in committees  Yes  Yes  Νο  Yes  Νο  Νο  Yes  Yes  Νο 
Debates on the floor  Νο  Νο  Νο  Νο  Νο  Νο  Νο  Νο  Νο 
Formal declaration by the PM  Νο  Νο  Νο  Νο  Νο  Νο  Νο  Νο  Νο 
Vote of a motion  Νο  Νο  Νο  Νο  Νο  Νο  Νο  Νο  Νο 

7. Other comments 
- Are there other insitutions or bodies, outside of Parliament, which play a role in the 
control of these results? (i.e. Constitutional courts) 
No. 
- Some of your own remarks (voluntary): 

30 


 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 


____________________________________________________________________________________________   

Annex 1 - Questionnaires On The 27 Member States 

Denmark: Mette B. Christensen, Danish Institute for 
International Studies 
Name of your Member State: Denmark 

1. The formal rules 
- Are there formal rules regarding the parliamentary scrutiny of European Council 

meetings and Euro zone summits? 

- If  yes,  what  are  their  legal  bases  (Constitution,  Legal  provisions,  Standing  

Orders, other)?  

The  general  legal  bases  for  the  Danish  Parliament’s  control  of  EU  affairs  consist  of  the 
Accession Act of 1972 and successive agreements between the European Affairs Committee 
(EAC)  and  the  government  described  in  28  special  reports.  The  formal  rules  regarding 
parliamentary  scrutiny  of  European  Council  meetings  are  laid  down  in  a  special  report  of 
the EAC from 28 May 197641. 

- If yes, what are these rules about? What obligations does the government have? 

According  to  the  special  report  from  1976,  the  government  is  obliged  to  consult  the  EAC 
and the Foreign Affairs Committee (FAC) on European Council meetings42. 

The government’s shifting of documents on European Council meetings is not described in 
any of the special reports and is based on an informal agreement between the Ministry of 
Foreign Affairs and the EAC. According to this, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is obliged to 
forward copies of all European Council documents that they regard as politically important. 
In  practice,  the  government  usually  forwards  the  confidential  draft  conclusions  of  an 
upcoming  European  Council  meeting  to  the  members  of  the  EAC  and  the  FAC  plus  other 
relevant documents as soon as they are available to the government43. 

Compared  to  the  formal  rules  of  the  parliamentary  control  of  Council  meetings,  there  are 
very  few  rules  governing  the  control  of  the  European  Council  meetings.  The  obligation  of 
the government is mainly to consult the EAC and the FAC. For the Council formations, the 
government has a much larger number of obligations both for providing different types of 
information  (factual  notes,  evaluation  of  the  principle  of  subsidiarity,  political  positions  of 
other member states etc.) and for seeking an actual mandate for its negotiation positions in 
the Council44. 

- If yes, do these rules make distinctions between the different types of meetings 
of the European Council (regular, extraordinary, Euro zone summit)? 

The rules do not distinguish between different types of meetings. 

2. Ex-ante control  
-  Do  national  parliaments  take  part  in  the  preparation  of  meetings  of  the 
European Council and Euro zone summits? 

41  The European Affairs Committee of the Danish Parliament, Booklet.
 
(http://www.thedanishparliament.dk/Publications/The European Affairs Committee.aspx) 

42  Beretning fra Markedsudvalget, 28. Maj 1976( Special EAC report from 28 May 1976)
 
(http://euo.dk/dokumenter/ft/euu/beretninger/).
 
43  Vejledende  sammenskrivning  af  Europaudvalgets  beretninger,  2011  (A  comprehensive  overview  of  all  special
 
reports issued by the EAC). Interview with EAC Secretariat.  

(http://euo.dk/dokumenter/ft/euu/beretninger/).
 
44  The European Affairs Committee of the Danish Parliament, Booklet.
 
(http://www.thedanishparliament.dk/Publications/The European Affairs Committee.aspx) 

Interview with EAC Secretariat. 


31 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                                                            
 
  
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 

 



 

 

 



 

 






Policy Department C: Citizens' Rights and Constitutional Affairs 
____________________________________________________________________________________________   

A  debate  takes  place  prior  to  each  to  the European  Council  summits  in  both  the  EAC  and 
the FAC and the parliament is therefore always involved in the preparatory work45. 

- Do Parliaments’ Rules of Procedure provide for priority debates? 

No specific rules for priority debates of the European Council exist, but Danish MPs do have 
a number of general formal rights of referring an issue to the plenary. MPs can put issues 
of  special  urgency  or  interest  on  the  agenda  of  the  floor  through  interpellations  and  §20 
questions according to the rules of the Standing Order of the Folketing. Both rights consist 
of posing questions to Ministers with the aim of gaining information and putting an issue on 
the political agenda, leading to public debate. Interpellations are used to prepare a debate 
on  broader  political  questions  where  all  parties  are  granted  speaking  time.  Interpellations 
can lead to a plenary vote on the issue in question. §20 questions are posed by individual 
MPs to one of the ministers on a specific issue of concern. §20 questions are not followed 
by a vote. The MP posing the question can ask for either a written or oral answer. Written 
answers  are  forwarded  continually,  whereas  oral  answers  are  given  briefly  during  the 
weekly  question  time  in  the  plenary.  MPs  can  also  ask  "impromptu  questions",  which  the 
Ministers must immediately answer without time for preparation. This happens once a week 
during what is known as the ‘Question Hour’.  

In general, interpellations and §20 questions are not used very frequently in EU matters as 
in most cases the debates are kept within the EAC. Since the EAC meetings are open to the 
public, the members do not have the same incentives to refer a debate to the plenary as it 
doesn’t necessarily lead to more media attention than the committee meetings.  Moreover, 
both  the  members  of  the  EAC  and  the  government  have  the  opportunity  to  call  for  an 
extraordinary committee meeting in matters of urgency46. 

- If so, which bodies are responsible for, and involved in, this preparatory work 
(for example, committees, plenary or other bodies)? 

In most cases the EAC is responsible for priority debates (as described above), but is does 
happen from time to time that a parliamentarian refers an issue to the plenary.  

- Which governmental authorities take part in the parliamentary debates? 

The  Prime  Minister  makes  an  oral  presentation  of  the  negotiation  position  of  the  Danish 
government to both the EAC and the FAC. Both committee meetings usually take place on a 
Friday with only half an hour in between. The following debates in the two committees are 
somewhat  different  in  character  as  the  EAC  meetings  are  open  to  the  public  and  are 
broadcast  on  the  Folketing’s  TV  channel  and  also  available  at  the  parliament’s  website, 
whereas FAC meetings are closed. The debate during FAC meetings is often of a more free 
and  confidential  character  in  terms  of  what  can  be  expressed  by  the  participants.  For 
example, the position of other member states can be discussed. In the EAC, members can 
make  references  to  relevant  Council  meetings  during  the  discussion  of  European  Council 
summits as the same committee is in charge of scrutinizing these. EAC members thus have 
broader  and  more  in-depth  knowledge  of  EU  developments  than  the  FAC  members  do. 
Moreover, the two committees have quite different memberships. The EAC members are 

45 Interview with EAC Secretariat. 

46 Link from ft.dk: ’Parliamentary control of the government’ 

(http://www.thedanishparliament.dk/About_the_Danish_Parliament/Tasks/Control.aspx) 

Sousa, Maja Møller (2009), Domesticating Europe: The Europeanisation of the Danish Parliament, PhD 

Dissertation, University of Copenhagen.
 

32 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                                                            
 
 
 
 









 
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Annex 1 - Questionnaires On The 27 Member States 

usually  EU  spokes  persons  of  the  political  parties;  whereas  the  FAC  consist  of  quite 
experienced, high-profile politicians such as former ministers, party leaders etc.47 

Formally,  the  government  may  decide  to  seek  a  negotiation  mandate  to  the  EAC,  which 
subsequently will be adopted if there is no majority against it, following the usual practice 
regarding  the  control  of  Council  meetings.  If  this  is  the  case,  the  negotiation  position  is 
presented by the Minister of Foreign Affairs48 a week before the Prime Minister is presenting 
the agenda of the European Council meeting at the EAC. In this way, the timing of issuing 
negotiation  mandates  takes  into  account  that  the  actual  preparation  of  the  European 
Council meetings are already handled during the meetings of the Council of General Affairs. 
In  practice,  the  government  almost  never  seeks  negotiation  mandates  before  European 
Council  meetings  except  from  when  major  treaty  changes  are  on  the  agenda.  This  is 
because  the  actual  law-making  and  decision-making  procedures  take  place  during  the 
normal  council  formations  where  the  Danish  government  is  already  obliged  to  present  its 
negotiation  position  ex-ante  and  seek  a  negotiation  mandate  from  the  EAC  before  joining 
the  negotiations  in  Brussels.  Parliamentary  control  of  actual  EU  decision-making  is 
therefore considered to be ensured49. 

- Is  there  a  vote  for  a  parliamentary  resolution  before  the  European  Council 
meeting? 

No voting takes place in the two committees50. 

3. Ex-post control: institutional body 
- Which is the responsible body within the Parliament to control the results of the 
European  Council  and  the  Euro  zone  summits  (the  plenary,  committees,  other 
bodies)? 
The  EAC  and  the  FAC  are  the  responsible  bodies  for  the  control  of  the  European  Council, 
and summit conclusions are always discussed in both committees 51. 

4. Ex-post control: debates in parliament 
- What is the organization of the plenary debates after the European Council 
meetings? (NB: if there are no debates in the plenary but in committees, do 
indicate this fact and answer accordingly) 
Usually there are no plenary debates as the ex-post control takes place in committees, 
except from when new treaties or major treaty changes need to be adopted by the plenary 
through a motion for a resolution. Individual MPs do, however, have different formal 
opportunities of setting the agenda of the plenary (as described above). 

- Which is the competent institutional body to decide on setting the agenda of the 
plenary for those debates? Who takes the initiative in practice? Can the 
government avoid a debate? 

- Which governmental authorities take part in the parliamentary debates? Does 
the Head of Government/ Prime Minister take part? 

47 Interview with EAC Secretariat and interviews with members of the EAC.
 
48  The  current  government  (elected  on  15  September  2011)  has  created  a  new  permanent  Minister  of  Europe
 
position.  The  Danish  Europe  Minister  is  now  in  charge  of  presenting  negotiation  mandates  to  the  EAC  instead  of
 
the Minister of Foreign Affairs.  

49 Interview with EAC Secretariat.  

50  The European Affairs Committee of the Danish Parliament, Booklet.
 
(http://www.thedanishparliament.dk/Publications/The European Affairs Committee.aspx) 

51  Vejledende  sammenskrivning  af  Europaudvalgets  beretninger,  2011  (A  comprehensive  overview  of  all  special
 
reports issued by the EAC). 


33 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                                                            
  
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
 

 

 

 





 



 




Policy Department C: Citizens' Rights and Constitutional Affairs 
____________________________________________________________________________________________   

The EAC is responsible for setting the agenda of the committee. The Danish Prime Minister 
is obliged to present the conclusions to both the EAC and the FAC and a debate with the 
government on the conclusions of a European Council meeting can therefore not be 
avoided. All European Council meetings are therefore automatically subject to ex-post 
parliamentary control52. 

- How is the debate structured? Is there a vote after the debate? 

The presentation of the Prime Minister is followed by a question and answer session where 
all members of the committee are invited to discuss the outcome of the meeting with her. 
For this reason, the debate (both ex-ante and ex-post) does not reflect discussions among 
the political parties in parliament, but is rather a discussion between individual MPs and the 
minister. No voting takes place53. 

5. Since Lisbon 
-  After  the  Treaty  of  Lisbon  came  into  force,  were  there  significant  changes 
regarding the parliamentary control of the European Council? 
No  significant  changes  have  taken  place  regarding  the  control  of  European  Council 
meetings after the Lisbon Treaty54. 

-  Did  any  significant  events  or  changes  in  formal  rules  occur  after  Lisbon  in  the 
upper house? 
An agreement has been made between the EAC and the Government on how to monitor the 
principle  of  subsidiarity.  The  procedure  was  formally  endorsed  by  the  EAC  on  26  March 
2010. According to the new procedures the task of monitoring subsidiarity issues is a joint 
responsibility of the EAC and the sectoral committees. On the basis of an annual selection 
of  a  number  of  proposals  from  the  European  Commission’s  Work  Programme,  checks  are 
conducted  on  the  principle  that  sectoral  committees  are  responsible  for  the  initial 
consideration  of  the  proposals,  whereas  the  EAC  adopts  the  reasoned  opinion  and  then 
sends it to the European institutions55. 

-  Since  December  1st  2009,  was  the  survival  of  a  government  influenced  in  one 
way or another by decisions made by the European Council? 
Since 2009, Denmark has held one general election in 2011, which was not influenced by 
decisions made in the European Council.  

6. Templates to be filled out regarding the lower chamber´s behaviour towards each of 
the 9 European Council meetings and Euro zone summits held between March 2011 and 
March 2012 
Please fill in “yes” or “no” in each box. 

C1 = extraordinary meeting of the European Council and  the meeting of the Heads of 
State or Government of the Euro Area – 11 March 2011 
C2 = ordinary meeting of the European Council – 24 and 25 March 2011 
C3 = ordinary meeting of the European Council – 23 and 24 June 2011 

52 Ibid 

53 Interview with EAC Secretariat and interviews with members of the EAC.
 
54 Interview with EAC Secretariat 

55  Replies from the EU Parliaments to the questionnaire for the 13th Bi-annual Report, 2010, COSAC.  

(http://www.cosac.eu/documents/bi-annual-reports-of-cosac/)
 
Fact sheet: The Danish Parliament and the European Union, 2011. 
(http://euo.dk/euo_en/) 

34 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                                                            
  
 
 
 
 
 
  
 



 





 


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Annex 1 - Questionnaires On The 27 Member States 

C4 = meeting of the Heads of State or Government of the Euro Area – 21 July 2011 
C5 = ordinary meeting of the European Council – 23 October 2011 
C6 = informal meeting of the European Council and meeting of the Heads of State or 
Government of the Euro Area – 26 October 2011 
C7 = ordinary meeting of the European Council – 8 and 9 December 2011 
C8 = informal meeting of the European Council – 30 January 2012 
C9 = ordinary meeting of the European Council – 1 and 2 March 2012 

C1  C2  C3  C4  C5  C6  C7  C8  C9 

Before the European Council meeting 

Debates in committees  Yes  Yes  Yes  No  Yes  Yes  Yes  Yes  Yes 
Debates on the floor56  No  Yes  No  No  No  No  Yes  No  Yes 
Formal declaration by the PM57  Yes  Yes  Yes  No  Yes  Yes  Yes  Yes  Yes 
Vote of a motion  No  No  No  No  No  No  No  No  No 

After the European Council meeting 

Debates in committees  No  Yes  Yes  No  Yes  No  Yes  Yes  Yes 
Debates on the floor  Yes  Yes  No  No  Yes  No  Yes  Yes  Yes 
Formal declaration by the PM  No  Yes  Yes  No  Yes  No  Yes  Yes  Yes 
Vote of a motion  No  Yes  No  No  No  No  No  No  No 

7. Other comments 
- Are there other insitutions or bodies, outside of Parliament, which play a role in 
the control of these results? (i.e. Constitutional courts) 
- Some of your own remarks (voluntary): 
For section 2 and 3:  
More  time  and  energy  is  usually  invested  in  the  ex-ante  control  of  the  European  Council 
meeting  as  this  is  where  members  of  the  Danish  EAC  have  the  opportunity  to  actually 
influence  the  government’s  negotiation  position.  The  ex-post  control  is  not  seen  as  an 
opportunity  to  influence,  but  more  an  opportunity  to  get  clarifications  from  the  Prime 
Minister on the European Council conclusions and to discuss future EU developments. 

Suggested readings 

Sousa, Maja Møller (2009), Domesticating Europe: The Europeanisation of the Danish 
Parliament, PhD Dissertation, University of Copenhagen. 

Damgaard E., and Jensen, H. (2005) ’Europeanisation of Executive-Legislative relations: 
Nordic Perspectives,’ Journal of Legislative Studies, 11 (3-4), 394-411.  

56 Websearch of parliamentary documents covering §20 questions where oral answers and interpellations. Coded 
when the European Council meetings were mentioned in the debate. 
57  I  regard  the  declarations  of  the  PM  to  the  EAC  and  the  FAC  as  formal  although  they  are  presented  orally 
considering  that it  is a formalised procedure, and that  the declarations  are being recorded in the  minutes of  the 
EAC meetings which are available on the website of the Folketing.  

35 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                                                            
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 


Policy Department C: Citizens' Rights and Constitutional Affairs 
____________________________________________________________________________________________   

Estonia: Piret Ehin, University of Tartu 
Name of your Member State: Estonia (unicameral parliament “Riigikogu”) 

1. The formal rules 
- Are there formal rules regarding the parliamentary scrutiny of European Council 
meetings and Euro zone summits? 
There  are  formal  rules  regarding  the  rights  of  parliamentary  committees  and  a  general 
framework for the parliamentary scrutiny of EU issues. These rules pertain also to European 
Council meetings and Euro zone summits. 

-  If  yes,  what  are  their  legal  bases  (Constitution,  Legal  provisions,  Standing 
Orders, other)? 
The Constitution of Estonia does not contain any relevant provisions. 

The  legal  basis  for  these  rules  is  the  Riigikogu  Rules  of  Procedure  and  Internal  Rules  Act  

which  was  amended  in  2004  in  order  to  give  the  Riigikogu  the  means  to  exercise
 
parliamentary scrutiny over the EU-related activities of the government.  


- If yes, what are these rules about? What obligations does the government have? 
Chapter 4 (“Riigikogu Committees”) of the Riigikogu Rules of Procedure and Internal Rules 
Act lists the EU Affairs Committee as one of the standing committees of the Riigikogu. All 
standing committees have the right to “exercise supervision over the exercise of executive 
power  within  their  particular  field.”58  Specifically,  a  standing  committee  has  the  right  to 
„require  information  necessary  for  its  work  from  the  Government  of  the  Republic  and 
agencies  of  the  executive  power“  and  to  require  the  participation  of  a  member  of  the 
Government  or  officials  of  government  agencies  in  a  committee  sitting  in  order  to  obtain 
information  or  advice.59  Chapter  18  of  the  Act  stipulates  the  procedures  for  legislative 
proceeding of European Union affairs. It obliges the government to submit to the Riigikogu 
draft EU legislation and “other European Union affairs of significance” in order to enable the 
Riigikogu  “to  express  its  opinion.”60  These  provisions  are  interpreted  to  mean  that  before 
European  Council  meetings  and  eurozone  summits,  the  government  must  submit  to  the 
Riigikogu  its  positions  regarding  the  ageda  items  of  the  summits  and  the  Prime  Minister 
must  appear  before  the  Committee  of  EU  Affairs  of  the  Riigkogu  to  explain  and  discuss 
these positions. The Act explicitly  states that the government is required to adhere to the 
opinion  of  the  Riigikogu.  In  case  the  government  fails  to  do  so,  it  must  provide  a 
justification to the European Union Affairs Committee or the Foreign Affairs Committee “at 
the earliest opportunity.”61 
The  Act  also  obliges  the  Prime  Minister  to  appear  before  the  plenary  session  of  the 
Riigikogu once a year in order to present to the the Riigikogu an overview of the activities 
of  the  government  in  implementing  European  Union  policies.  It  also  stipulates  the 
procedures  for  allowing  the  Riigikogu  “to  make  known  its  opposition  to  an  initiative  taken 
by the European Council or a proposal of the European Commission,” referring specifically 
to the passerelle clause (Article 48 (7) of the TEU).62 

- If yes, do these rules make distinctions between the different types of meetings 
of the European Council (regular, extraordinary, Euro zone summit)? 

No. 

58  Riigikogu  Rules  of  Procedure  and  Internal  Rules  Act,  Chapter  4.  http://www.riigikogu.ee/?rep_id=799356
 
(accessed on July 13, 2012). 

59 Ibid, Chapter 4, § 22.
 
60 Ibid, Chapter 18, § 1521.
 
61 Ibid, Chapter 18, § 1524.
 
62 Ibid, Chapter 18, § 1528.
 

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Annex 1 - Questionnaires On The 27 Member States 

2. Ex-ante control  
-  Do  national  parliaments  take  part  in  the  preparation  of  meetings  of  the 
European Council and Euro zone summits? 
The EU Affairs Committee of the Riigikogu plays a central role  in exercising parliamentary 
scrutiny of the EU-related actions of the executive. Before European Council meetings and 
eurozone  summits,  the  government  sends  its  positions  to  the  Riigikogu’s  EU  Affairs 
Committee  and  the  Prime  Minister  appears  before  the  Committee  to  explain  the  positions 
and to discuss these with the members of the Committee.  

The  staff  of  the  EU  Affairs  Committee  has  access  to  the  relevant  government  databases 
which  contain  both  EU  documents  as  well  as  relevant  Estonian  documents.  After  the  EU 
Affairs  Committee  session  the  Committee's  position  is  sent  to  the  government.  The 
Committee  may  also  decline  to  form  an  opinion.  It  may  cooperate  with  other  standing 
committees  of  the  Riigikogu  in  forming  a  position.    The  Committee’s  resolutions  are 
reflected  in  the  minutes  of  the  meetings  which  are  publicly  available  on  the  Riigikogu’s 
webpage  since  2012  (before  2012,  only  agendas  of  the  meetings  were  made  publicly 
available). 

- Do Parliaments’ Rules of Procedure provide for priority debates? 

There are provisions regarding the scheduling and agenda-setting of additional sittings and 
extraordinary  sessions  of  the  Riigikogu.  These  provisions  do  not  refer  specifically  to 
European issues. 

-  If  so,  which  bodies  are  responsible  for,  and  involved  in,  this  preparatory  work 
(for example, committees, plenary or other bodies)? 

The  European  Union  Affairs  Committee  of  the  Riigikogu  has  a  decisive  and  coordinative 
function  in  dealing  with  the  EU  affairs  within  the  Estonian  parliament.  It  may  cooperate 
with  other  standing  committees  in  forming  opinions  about  the  positions  the  government 
has  prepared  for  the  summit  meetings.  The  fact  that  the  members  of  the  EU  Affairs 
Committee  are  simultaneously  members  in  other  sectorial  standing  committees  facilitates 
such cooperation. 

The plenary is not involved in the preparatory work for the summits. 

- Which governmental authorities take part in the parliamentary debates? 

In the Estonian domestic policy coordination system, responsibility for EU affairs rests with 
the  Prime  Minister  (while  individual  ministries  are  endowed  with  significant  EU-related 
responsibilities  within  their  areas  of  competence).  Before  European  Council  meetings  and 
Eurozone summits, the Prime Minister appears before the Riigikogu’s EU Affairs Committee 
to  present  and  discuss  Estonia's  positions  (before  Council  of  Ministers  meetings,  the 
relevant ministers do so). The Committee usually invites other senior government officials 
involved in the preparatory work for the summits. 

- Is  there  a  vote  for  a  parliamentary  resolution  before  the  European  Council 
meeting? 

There  is  no  plenary  vote.  The  EU  Affairs  committee  forms  a  position  which  is  reflected  in 
the  minutes  of  the  meeting.  Usually,  the  Chairman  of  the  Committee  summarises  the 
position  of  the  Committee  after  each  agenda  item  and  if  there  are  no  objections  the 
position of the Committee is reflected in its minutes. In case of disagreement, the item is 

37 


 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 


Policy Department C: Citizens' Rights and Constitutional Affairs 
____________________________________________________________________________________________   

either  put  to  a  vote  or  a  dissenting  opinion  is  entered  into  the  minutes.  According  to  the 
Riigikogu  Rules  of  Procedure  Act,  a  committee  adopts  a  proposal  if  the  majority  of  the 
members have voted in favour. In case of an equal outcome the proposal has not “gained 
support”.63 

3. Ex-post control: institutional body 
Which  is  the  responsible body  within  the  Parliament  to  control  the  results  of  the 
European  Council  and  the  Euro  zone  summits  (the  plenary,  committees,  other 
bodies)? 
The  most  important  form  of  ex-post  control  by  the  Riigikogu  is  ratification  of  the  treaties 
and  adoption  of  legislative  acts  that  follow  from  decisions  taken  at  European  Council 
meetings  and  eurozone  summits.  Voting  in  the  plenary  is  preceeded  by  debates  in  the 
relevant  committees.  For  instance,  in  preparation  for  the  ratification  of  the  treaty 
establishing  the  European  Stability  Mechanism,  the  EU  Affairs  Committee  is  holding  joint 
meetings with the Finance Committee and the Constitutional Committee.  

In terms of controlling the results of the summits, Riigikogu Rules of Procedure and Internal 
Rules  Act  stipulates  that  the  government  is  required  to  adhere  to  the  opinion  of  the 
Riigikogu (e.g. on Estonia’s positions for the summit meetings) and that if the government 
fails to do so, it must provide a justification to the European Union Affairs Committee or the 
Foreign  Affairs  Committee  “at  the  earliest  opportunity.”64  Information  provided  on  the 
webpage  of  the  Riigikogu’s  EU  Affairs  committee  suggests  that  following  Council  of 
Ministers  meetings,  the  relevant  ministries  (in  case  of  European  Council  meetings,  the 
Prime  Minister’s  office)  provide  the  EU  Affairs  Committee  with  a  memorandum  containing 
the  proceedings  of  the  meetings.  Occasionally,  there  are  ex-post  discussions  in  the  EU 
Affairs  Committee  –  but  based  on  the  available  minutes,  such  discussions  appear  to  be 
limited to the Committee “acknowledging the information provided.” 

The  Prime  Minister’s  annual  overview  of  the  government’s  activities  in  implementing 
European  Union  policies  before  the  plenary  session  of  the  Riigikogu  represents  another 
form of ex-post control (for details, see section 4 of this report). 

Finally, post-Lisbon amendments of the Riigikogu Rules of Procedure and Internal Rules Act 
provide the Riigikogu with additional means to control the government and the decisions of 
the European Council (see section 5 of this report). 

4. Ex-post control: debates in parliament 
- What is the organization of the plenary debates after the European Council 
meetings? (NB: if there are no debates in the plenary but in committees, do 
indicate this fact and answer accordingly) 
There are no debates in the plenary following specific European Council meetings or 
Eurozone summits. The plenary session of the Riigikogu discusses EU affairs after the 
annual overview of the government’s EU policies provided by the Prime Minister or when 
deliberating legislative acts or ratifying treaties. 

- Which is the competent institutional body to decide on setting the agenda of the 
plenary for those debates? Who takes the initiative in practice? Can the 
government avoid a debate? 

63 Webpage of the Riigikogu, „Work of the Committee: EU Affairs Commitee,“ 
http://www.riigikogu.ee/index.php?id=35270 (accessed July 15, 2012). 
64 Riigikogu Rules of Procedure and Internal Rules Act, Chapter 18, § 1524. 

38 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
                                                            
 
 
 
____________________________________________________________________________________________   

Annex 1 - Questionnaires On The 27 Member States 

The Prime Minister has an obligation to present to the Riigikogu an overview of the 
activities of the Government of the Republic in implementing European Union policies at 
least once a year. The presentation is usually quite general, focusing on the foundations 
and guiding principles of the government’s EU policy.   

 - Which governmental authorities take part in the parliamentary debates? Does 
the Head of Government/ Prime Minister take part?  
See above. 

- How is the debate structured? Is there a vote after the debate? 
The  Prime  Minister’s  annual  overview  of  the  government’s  activities  in  implementing 
European Union policies before the Riigikogu is followed by a statement by the Chair of the 
EU  Affairs  Committee  (or  some  other  relevant  committee).  Then  a  debate  is  opened. 
Members  of  the  Riigikogu  may  each  pose  one  oral  question  to  the  presenter.  There  is  no 
vote.65 

5. Since Lisbon 
-  After  the  Treaty  of  Lisbon  came  into  force,  were  there  significant  changes 
regarding the parliamentary control of the European Council?  
Yes.  In  the  second  half  of  2009,  in-depth  discussions  started  about  the  necessity  of 
amending  the  existing  regulations  on  domestic  EU-related  decision-making  taking  into 
account  the  Treaty  of  Lisbon  provisions.  In  February  2010,  all  the  6  factions  of  the 
Riigikogu  submitted  a  joint  amendment  to  the  Riigikogu  Rules  of  Procedure  and  Internal 
Rules  Act.  The  amended  Act  was  adopted  on  May  19,  2010.  The  amendments  mostly 
concern three areas:66 
-  Subsidiarity:  the  EU  Affairs  Committee  may  submit  a  draft  resolution  of  the  Riigikogu 
containing  a  reasoned  opinion  on  why  a  draft  European  Union  legislative  act  does  not 
comply with the principle of subsidiarity; 
- Ex-post  control  via  the  European  Court  of  Justice:  A  standing  committee  or  faction  may 
submit  a  draft  resolution  of  the  Riigikogu  containing  a  request  to  the  Government  of  the 
Republic  to  file  an  action  at  the  European  Court  of  Justice  concerning  the  violation  of  the 
principle of subsidiarity. 
- Passerelle: A standing committee or faction may submit a draft resolution of the Riigikogu 
to  make  known  its  opposition  to  an  initiative  taken  by  the  European  Council  to  adopt  a 
decision  referred  to  in  the  first  or  second  subparagraph  of  Article  48(7)  of  the  Treaty  on 
European Union or to proposal by Commission according to Article 81 (3) of the TFEU. 

-  Did  any  significant  events  or  changes  in  formal  rules  occur  after  Lisbon  in  the 
upper house? 
There is no upper house, Estonia has a unicameral parliament. 

-  Since  December  1st  2009,  was  the  survival  of  a  government  influenced  in  one 
way or another by decisions made by the European Council? 
No. 

65 Riigikogu Rules of Procedure and Internal Rules Act, Chapter 18,  § 1525.
 
http://www.riigikogu.ee/?rep_id=799356 (accessed on July 13, 2012).
 
66  Website  of  the  Riigikogu,  “Riigikogu  Post-Lisbon  Treaty”  http://www.riigikogu.ee/index.php?id=172440
 
(accessed July 15, 2012)
 

39 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                                                            
 
 
 
 
 
 

 

 

 

 
Policy Department C: Citizens' Rights and Constitutional Affairs 
____________________________________________________________________________________________   

6. Templates to be filled out regarding the lower chamber´s behaviour towards each of 
the 9 European Council meetings and Euro zone summits held between March 2011 and 
March 2012 
Please fill in “yes” or “no” in each box. 

C1 = extraordinary meeting of the European Council and the meeting of the Heads of State 
or Government of the Euro Area – 11 March 2011 
C2 = ordinary meeting of the European Council – 24 and 25 March 2011 
C3 = ordinary meeting of the European Council – 23 and 24 June 2011 
C4 = meeting of the Heads of State or Government of the Euro Area – 21 July 2011 
C5 = ordinary meeting of the European Council – 23 October 2011 
C6 = informal meeting of the European Council and meeting of the Heads of State or 
Government of the Euro Area – 26 October 2011 
C7 = ordinary meeting of the European Council – 8 and 9 December 2011 
C8 = informal meeting of the European Council – 30 January 2012 
C9 = ordinary meeting of the European Council – 1 and 2 March 2012 

C1  C2  C3  C4  C5  C6  C7  C8  C9 

Before the European Council meeting 

Debates in committees  y 
Debates on the floor  n 
Formal declaration by the PM  n 
Vote of a motion  n 

After the European Council meeting 

Debates in committees  n 
Debates on the floor  n 
Formal declaration by the PM  n 
Vote of a motion  n 

y 
n 
n 
n 

n 
n 
n 
n 

y 
n 
n 
n 

n 
n 
n 
n 

y 
n 
n 
n 

n 
n 
n 
n 

y 
n 
n 
n 

n 
n 
n 
n 

y 
n 
n 
n 

n 
n 
n 
n 

y 
n 
n 
n 

n 
n 
n 
n 

y 
n 
n 
n 

n 
n 
n 
n 

y 
n 
n 
n 

y 
n 
n 
n 

NOTE: during the period covered by the template, the Riigikogu adopted two resolutions pertaining to 
topics central to European Council and Eurozone summit meetings: 
1)	  a  resolution  adopted  on  September  29,  2011  approves  fulfilment  of  obligations  stemming  from 

the framework agreement on the European Financial Stability Facility and changes thereof; 

2)	  the  resolution  adopted  on  February  23,  2012  approves  the  draft  memorandum  to  be  concluded 

between the European Commission and Greece. 

7. Other comments 
- Are there other insitutions or bodies, outside of Parliament, which play a role in 
the control of these results? (i.e. Constitutional courts) 
Yes: the Chancellor of Justice and the Supreme Court. 

In  March  2012,  the  Chancellor  of  Justice  Indrek  Teder  submitted  an  application  to  the 
Estonian  Supreme  Court,  challenging  the  constitutionality  of  the  provision  of  the  Treaty 
Establishing the European Stability Mechanism, according to which the making of decisions 
on the provision of financial assistance to the ESM’s Member States is possible on the basis 
of  85%  qualified  majority  vote.  According  to  Teder,  such  a  decision-making  scheme 
“jeopardises  the  principle  of  parliamentary  democracy,  the  principle  of  parliamentary 
prerogatives as well as the budget autonomy of the Parliament.”67 

67  Webpage  of  the  Chancellor  of  Justice,  http://oiguskantsler.ee/en/chancellor-of-justice/public-relations/news 
(accessed July 15, 2012). 

40 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
     
                                                            
 
 
 
 
	 
	 
____________________________________________________________________________________________   

Annex 1 - Questionnaires On The 27 Member States 

The  Supreme  Court  issued  a  judgement  in  July  2012,  dismissing  the  application  of  the 
Chancellor  of  Justice.  The  Court  argued  that    although  the  contested  article  restricts  the 
financial  competence  of  the  Riigikogu,  the  principle  of  rule  of  law  and  the  sovereignty  of 
Estonia, the restriction is justified.68 

- Some of your own remarks (voluntary): 

Critics  of  the  functioning  of  the  Estonian  political  system  argue  that  too  much  power  is 
concentrated  in  party  offices:  parliamentary  debates  (plenary  or  within  committees)  are 
largely  inconsequential  because  everything  of  importance  (including  in  the  realm  of  EU 
affairs) is decided in party offices. 

Further reading 

I am not aware of any English-language publications focusing specifically on the role of the 
Estonian parliament in scrutinizing the EU-related activities of the executive. In terms of a 
broader overview, the following publications may be helpful: 

Jacobsson, Bengt (ed.), The European Union and the Baltic States: Changing forms of 
governance. New York: Routledge 2010. (includes a chapter on “The choice of 
parliamentary EU scrutiny mechanisms in the new member states” by Ann-Cathrine Jungar) 

Ehin, Piret. “Estonia's Integration with the EU: Excelling at Self-Exertion.” In Simon Bulmer 
and Christian Lequesne (eds.). The Member States of the European Union, 2nd edition. 
Oxford: Oxford University Press, forthcoming 2012. 

68  Permanent  Representation  of  Estonia  to  the  EU,  “The  Supreme  Court:  Provision  of  the  Treaty  establishing  the 
European  Stability  Mechanism 
constitutional“, 
http://www.eu.estemb.be/eng/news/aid-1201(accessed July 15, 2012). 

the  Chancellor  of 

Justice  deemed 

contested  by 

41 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                                                            
 
 
 
 
 


Policy Department C: Citizens' Rights and Constitutional Affairs 
____________________________________________________________________________________________   

Finland: Tapio Raunio, University of Tampere 
Name of your Member State: Finland 

1. The formal rules 
- Are there formal rules regarding the parliamentary scrutiny of European Council 

meetings and Euro zone summits? 

- If  yes,  what  are  their  legal  bases  (Constitution,  Legal  provisions,  Standing  

Orders, other)? 

- If yes, what are these rules about? What obligations does the government have? 

- If yes, do these rules make distinctions between the different types of meetings 

of the European Council (regular, extraordinary, Euro zone summit)? 


The involvement of the unicameral Finnish parliament, the Eduskunta, in EU affairs is based 
on  constitutional  rules,  with  Section  96  focusing  on  the  rights  of  the  Eduskunta  in  EU’s 
legislative  process  and  Section  97  in  turn  focusing  on  foreign  policy  and  other  EU  issues. 
According to Section 97 ‘the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Parliament shall receive from 
the  Government,  upon  request  and  when  otherwise  necessary,  reports  of  matters 
pertaining  to  foreign  and  security  policy.  Correspondingly,  the  Grand  Committee  of  the 
Parliament shall receive reports on the preparation of other matters in the European Union. 
The Speaker’s Council may decide on a report being taken up for debate in plenary session, 
during  which,  however,  no  decision  is  made  by  the  Parliament.  The  Prime  Minister  shall 
provide  the  Parliament  or  a  Committee  with  information  on  matters  to  be  dealt  with  in  a 
European Council  beforehand  and without delay  after  a  meeting  of  the  Council.  The  same 
applies  when  amendments  are  being  prepared  to  the  treaties  establishing  the  European 
Union.  The  appropriate  Committee  of  the  Parliament  may  issue  a  statement  to  the 
Government  on  the  basis  of  the  reports  or  information  referred  to  above.’  Hence  the 
government  has  the  constitutional  obligation  to  inform  the  Grand  Committee  [the  EU 
committee]  both  beforehand  and  afterwards  of  European  Council  meetings.  Since 
December  2006  the  government  has  also  provided  written  reports  on  European  Council 
meetings  to  the  Eduskunta,  both  before  and  after  the  meetings.  The  prime  minister  also 
informs the Foreign Affairs Committee about foreign and security matters discussed in the 
European  Council.  If  needed,  the  prime  minister  and  the  government  are  also  in  contact 
with the Grand Committee during the actual European Council meeting. Such contacts can 
be  required  particularly  if  new  issues  or  initiatives  appear  on  the  agenda  of  the  European 
Council  in  the  course  of  the  meeting.  Essentially  the  Eduskunta  enjoys  according  to  the 
constitution unlimited access to information held by the government, with the government 
having  the  obligation  to  provide  the  parliament  without  delay  any  information  it  needs  in 
the  consideration  of  matters.  The  same  applies  to  European  Council  meetings,  and  no 
distinction is made between regular and other European Council meetings.  

2. Ex-ante control  

-  Do  national  parliaments  take  part  in  the  preparation  of  meetings  of  the  

European Council and Euro zone summits? 

- Do Parliaments’ Rules of Procedure provide for priority debates? 

- If  so,  which  bodies  are  responsible  for,  and  involved  in,  this  preparatory  work  

(for example, committees, plenary or other bodies)? 

- Which governmental authorities take part in the parliamentary debates? 

- Is  there  a  vote  for  a  parliamentary  resolution  before  the  European  Council  

meeting? 


42 


 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 


____________________________________________________________________________________________   

Annex 1 - Questionnaires On The 27 Member States 

EU policy belongs almost exclusively to the jurisdiction of the government. This competence 
extends  to  those  EU  organs  that  do  not  take  formal  decisions  and  to  issues  that  do  not  
formally belong to EU’s competence but are in terms of substance and impact closely linked 

to EU matters. The government decides Finland’s positions and who represents the country 
in  the  preparatory  organs  and  actual  meetings  of  the  Council  and  the  European  Council. 
Domestic  preparation  for  European  Council  meetings  is  led  by  the  prime  minister’s  office. 
Hence  the  Eduskunta  as  such  is  not  directly  involved  in  the  national  preparation  of  the 
European  Council  meetings.  However,  the  government  must  provide  the  Eduskunta  and 
particularly  the Grand Committee  all relevant information about the work of the European 
Council. The prime minister appears in the Grand Committee before the European Council, 
and  the  committee  also  receives  a  written  report  from  the  government  about  the 
forthcoming  European  Council  meeting.  The  Foreign  Affairs  Committee  is  informed 
regarding  foreign  and  security  policy  issues  on  the  agenda  of  the  European  Council. 
Recently  the  Grand  Committee  has  pointed  out  that  the  government  should  also  see  to  it 
that  the  Eduskunta  is  kept  better  informed  about  the  preparation  in  the  Council  of  issues 
that are decided or on the agenda of the European Council. Hence the Grand Committee is 
the main parliamentary body responsible for ex ante control of European Council meetings. 

European  Council  meetings  are  not  normally  debated  in  the  plenary,  either  ex  ante  or  ex 
post.  The  Eduskunta  itself  has  remarked  that  the  items  on  the  agendas  of  the  European 
Council  have  not  been  conducive  to  meaningful  and  interesting  parliamentary  debates. 
However,  issues  that  are  on  the  agenda  of  the  forthcoming  European  Council  do 
occasionally appear in plenary debates, for example during question time. Another tool that 
can  be  used  is  prime  minister’s  announcements  that  deal  with  topical  matters.  These 
debates are well-attended by MPs, with the government also present in the chamber. Prime 
Minister  Mari  Kiviniemi  made  such  an  ex  ante  announcement  in  connection  with  the 
extraordinary  meeting  of  the  European  Council  and  the  meeting  of  the  Heads  of  State  or 
Government of the Euro Area held on 11 March 2011. In addition to the oral question time 
and  prime  minister’s  announcements,  the  government  can  also  submit  reports  or 
statements about such matters. Statements are always followed by a vote of confidence on 
the  government,  as  are  interpellations  tabled  by  the  opposition.  In  2011-2012  two 
government statements, given in May 2011 and in February 2012, focused on the eurozone 
crisis.  The  opposition  tabled  three  interpellations  related  to  the  eurozone,  with  the  first 
tabled  by  the  Left  Alliance  (March  2011)  and  the  last  two  by  The  Finns  (November  2011 
and April 2012). In all these plenary debates the government is present in the chamber.   

3. Ex-post control: institutional body 
Which  is  the  responsible body  within  the  Parliament  to  control  the  results  of  the 
European  Council  and  the  Euro  zone  summits  (the  plenary,  committees,  other 
bodies)? 
As  with  ex  ante  control,  the  Grand  Committee  is  the  main  organ  responsible  for  ex  post 
scrutiny of European Council, with the prime minister appearing in the committee after the 
European  Council  meeting.  The  Grand  Committee  also  receives  a  written  report  from  the 
government  about  the  European  Council.  The  Foreign  Affairs  Committee  is  informed 
regarding foreign and security policy issues discussed in the European Council.  

4. Ex-post control: debates in parliament 
-  What  is  the  organization  of  the  plenary  debates  after  the  European  Council 
meetings?  (NB:  if  there  are  no  debates  in  the  plenary  but  in  committees,  do 
indicate this fact and answer accordingly) 

43 


 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 


Policy Department C: Citizens' Rights and Constitutional Affairs 
____________________________________________________________________________________________   

- Which is the competent institutional body to decide on setting the agenda of the 
plenary  for  those  debates?  Who  takes  the  initiative  in  practice?  Can  the 
government avoid a debate? 
-  Which  governmental  authorities  take  part  in  the  parliamentary  debates?  Does 
the Head of Government/ Prime Minister take part? 
- How is the debate structured? Is there a vote after the debate? 

There  are  no  regular  ex  post  debates  about  European  Council  meetings,  but  as  indicated 
above, European Council meetings and the Euro zone issues can be debated in the plenary 
through a variety of procedures. Prime Minister Jyrki Katainen gave an announcement after 
the  informal  meeting  of  the  European  Council  and  meeting  of  the  Heads  of  State  or 
Government of the Euro Area held on 26 October 2011.  

Apart  from  the  prime  minister’s  announcements  and  government  statements,  the 
government  can  not  formally  avoid  a  debate.  However,  regarding  prime  minister’s 
announcements  and  government  statements  it  must  be  emphasized  that  there  has  been 
since  the  euro  crisis  began  in  the  spring  of  2010  serious  political  pressure  on  the 
government  to  initiate  such  debates  in  the  plenary,  including  pressure  from  the  party 
groups  of  the  governing  parties.  Nor  can  the  government  avoid  hearings  in  the  Grand 
Committee  as  the  prime  minister  and/or  the  finance  minister  must  appear  in  the 
committee. 

5. Since Lisbon 
-  After  the  Treaty  of  Lisbon  came  into  force,  were  there  significant  changes 
regarding the parliamentary control of the European Council? 
-  Did  any  significant  events  or  changes  in  formal  rules  occur  after  Lisbon  in  the 
upper house? 
-  Since  December  1st  2009,  was  the  survival  of  a  government  influenced  in  one 
way or another by decisions made by the European Council? 

There  were  no  real  changes  concerning  parliamentary  scrutiny  of  the  European  Council. 
However,  the  Eduskunta  has  emphasized  several  times  the  need  to  make  sure  that  it  is 
fully  informed  and  kept  up-to-date  about  the  work  of  the  European  Council.  Domestically 
the  Lisbon  Treaty  changed  the  status  quo  by  ending  the  possibility  of  both  the  prime 
minister  and  the  president  representing  Finland  in  the  European  Council.  After  late  2009 
the  prime  minister  has  represented  Finland  in  the  European  Council.  This  is  now  also 
recognised in the Finnish constitution, with the amended wording of Section 66 stating that 
‘The  Prime  Minister  represents  Finland  on  the  European  Council.  Unless  the  Government 
exceptionally  decides  otherwise,  the  Prime  Minister  also  represents  Finland  in  other 
activities  of  the  European  Union  requiring  the  participation  of  the  highest  level  of  State’ 
(the  amendment  entered  into  force  in  March  2012).  This  change  obviously  benefits  the 
Eduskunta as the president is not directly accountable to the parliament. 

The  eurozone  problems  have  created  serious  problems  for  the  government,  both  before 
and after the Eduskunta elections held in April 2011 (for more detailed information, see the 
in-depth report). In addition to the votes of confidence that follow government statements 
and  interpellations  reported  above,  the  cabinets  led  by  Mari  Kiviniemi  (Centre  Party)  and 
Jyrki  Katainen  (National  Coalition)  have  also  faced  severe  criticism  from  within  their  own 
party  groups.  This  is  mainly  explained  by  the  fact  that  the  main  political  parties  are 
internally divided over the broad question of European integration, with the parliamentary 
debates hence not confined to the actual concrete issues relating to the euro crisis.    

44 


 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
      
 


____________________________________________________________________________________________   

Annex 1 - Questionnaires On The 27 Member States 

6.  Templates  to  be  filled  out  regarding  the  lower  chamber´s  behaviour  towards  each  of 
the  9  European  Council  meetings  and  Euro  zone  summits  held  between  March  2011  and 
March 2012 
Please fill in “yes” or “no” in each box. 

C1  =  extraordinary  meeting  of  the  European  Council  and    the  meeting  of  the  Heads  of 
State or Governement of the Euro Area – 11 March 2011 
C2 = ordinary meeting of the European Council – 24 and 25 March 2011 
C3 = ordinary meeting of the European Council – 23 and 24 June 2011 
C4 = meeting of the Heads of State or Government of the Euro Area – 21 July 2011 
C5 = ordinary meeting of the European Council – 23 October 2011 
C6  =  informal  meeting  of  the  European  Council  and  meeting  of  the  Heads  of  State  or 
Government of the Euro Area – 26 October 2011 
C7 = ordinary meeting of the European Council – 8 and 9 December 2011 
C8 = informal meeting of the European Council – 30 January 2012 
C9 = ordinary meeting of the European Council – 1 and 2 March 2012 

C1  C2  C3  C4  C5  C6  C7  C8  C9 

Before the European Council meeting 
Debates in committees 

Debates on the floor 

Formal declaration by the PM 

Vote of a motion 
After the European Council meeting 
Debates in committees 

Debates on the floor 

Ye 
s 

Ye 
s 

Ye 
s 

Ye 
s 

Ye 
s 

Ye 
s 

Ye 
s 
No  No  No  No  No  No  No  No 

Ye 
s 
Ye 
s 
Ye 
s 
No  No  No  No  No  No  No  No  No 

No  No  No  No  No  No  No  No 

Ye 
s 

Ye 
s 

Ye 
s 
No  No  No  No  No  Ye 

Ye 
s 

Ye 
s 

Ye 
s 

Ye 
s 

Ye 
Ye 
s 
s 
No  No  No 

Ye 
s 

Formal declaration by the PM 

No  No  No  No  No  Ye 

No  No  No 

s 

Vote of a motion 

No  No  No  No  No  No  No  No  No 

s 

7. Other comments 
- Are there other insitutions or bodies, outside of Parliament, which play a role 
in the control of these results? (i.e. Constitutional courts) 
- Some of your own remarks (voluntary): 

45 


 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 


Policy Department C: Citizens' Rights and Constitutional Affairs 
____________________________________________________________________________________________   

France: Valentin Kreilinger / Kateryna Perepechay / 
Olivier Rozenberg, Sciences Po Paris / Notre Europe 
Name of  your Member State: France (lower house National  Assembly  (NA), upper 
the Senate (S)) 

1. The formal rules 
- Are there formal rules regarding the parliamentary scrutiny of European Council 
meetings and Euro zone summits? 

The  formal  rules  on  parliamentary  scrutiny  at  the  National  Assembly  do  not  specifically 
address European Council or Euro zone summits, but they contain a general framework for 
parliamentary scrutiny of European issues. This framework can be used and is used for the 
control of European Council and Euro zone summits. 

The remaining features of parliamentary scrutiny consist of common practices and informal 
guidelines.69 

- If  yes,  what  are  their  legal  bases  (Constitution,  Legal  provisions,  Standing 
Orders, other)? 

1.  The  provision  in  Article  88-4  of  the  Constitution  states  that  the  National  Assembly  and 
the  Sénat  can  adopt  a  resolution  on  any  document  issued  by  any  EU  institution  (since 
2008).70 This includes the European Council, but internal documents related to and issued 
by  the  European  Council  are  a  “grey  zone”.  The  French  regulation  on  the  participation  of 
the  Parliament  in  the  European  decision  making  process,  of  21  June  2010,  sets  up  the 
details for the request of documents, but only mentions the Council of the European Union. 

2.  Article  48  of  the  Rules  of  Procedure  of  the  National  Assembly  provides  for  debates  on 
European issues.71 

3. Article 73 of the Rules of Procedure of the Sénat and General Instruction of the Bureau 
provides for debates on European issues.72 

- If yes, what are these rules about? What obligations does the government have? 

These  rules  mainly  oblige  the  government  to  keep  parliament  informed,  before  the 
European  Council  as  well  as  after  the  European  Council.  Since  there  are  very  little 
obligations  for  the  government,  the  National  Assembly  and  the  Sénat  must  demand  the 
government  for  additional  documents  related  to  the  European  Council  which  it  then 
receives. 

- If yes, do these rules make distinctions between the different types of meetings 
of the European Council (regular, extraordinary, Euro zone summit)? 

No for both houses. 

2. Ex-ante control  
-  Do  national  parliaments  take  part  in  the  preparation  of  meetings  of  the 
European Council and Euro zone summits? 
Yes, a public debate in plenary takes place before each ordinary European Council summit, 
usually in the week before. 

69 Interview with a clerk of the European Affairs Committee, French National Assembly, 13 June 2012.
 
70 French Constitution, http://www.assemblee-nationale.fr/connaissance/constitution.asp (last retrieved 11 June 

2012). Please not that all documents are in French and translated by the authors.
 
71 Rules of Procedure, http://www.assemblee-nationale.fr/13/dossiers/reglement_an.asp (last retrieved 11 June 

2012).
 
72 Rules of Procedure, http://www.senat.fr/reglement/reglement_mono.html (last retrieved 11 June 2012).
 

46 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
  
                                                            
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 



 



 

 
____________________________________________________________________________________________   

Annex 1 - Questionnaires On The 27 Member States 

This  practice  (there  are  no  formal  rules  that  address  the  issue)  of  ex-ante  control  of 
ordinary  European  Council  summits  was  introduced  after  the  failed  referendum  on  the 
Constitutional Treaty in 2005.73 

For other summits the National Assembly does not take part in the preparation. It is argued 
in the NA that as extraordinary and informal summit are often organized with short notice, 
such bad timing does not allow the organization of a debate.74 

Since  2006,  in  the  Sénat  there  is  also  a  debate  in  the  plenary  one week  before  European 
Council. The Minister of European Affairs participates in this debate, makes the statement 
in  the  very  beginning  and  answer  to  the  senators  questions  during  the  question/answer 
period.75 

- Do Parliaments’ Rules of Procedure provide for priority debates? 

Not specifically for the parliamentary scrutiny of the European Council, but Article 48(8) of 
the Rules of Procedure of the National Assembly provides for a “week of control” where no 
legislation  is  passed  in  every  forth  week  when  the  Parliament  sits.  One  session  has  a 
priority  for  European  questions.  If  this  week  falls  near  a  European  Council  summit,  this 
“European moment” will necessarily cover topical issues of the summit.76 

As  for  the  upper  house  the  article  73  sexies  of  the  Rules  of  Procedure  of  the  Sénat  and 
General Instruction of the Bureau provides for oral questions with the debate on European 
issues, the date of which is fixed by the Sénat. 

- If  so,  which  bodies  are  responsible  for,  and  involved  in,  this  preparatory  work 
(for example, committees, plenary or other bodies)? 

All preparatory work (ex-ante control) is done in plenary.77 

The typical debates are organized as follows: 

1. Official statement by a minister (about 30 minutes); 

2.  Statements  by  a  representative  from  each  parliamentary  party  group  (about  4  to  6 
groups at the NA); 

3. Possibly, but not each time: statements by the chairs of the European Affairs Committee 
and Foreign Affairs Committee; 

4. Rapid answer to the different interventions by a minister 

In some cases, such debate is followed a less formal session of oral question focused  

Given those specific features, it can be said that parliamentary party groups are involved in 
the  preparation  and,  to  a  lesser  extent,  the  European  Affairs  and  Foreign  Affairs 
committees.    There  are  no  specific  reports  published  before  a  Council.  Given  the  limited 
number of assistance within groups (as opposed to the number of clerks in committees) 

such  organization  raises  the  issue  of  the  availability  of  expertise  in  the  preparation  of 
European Councils. 

- Which governmental authorities take part in the parliamentary debates? 

73 Interview with a clerk of the European Affairs Committee, French National Assembly, 13 June 2012. 
74 Interview with a clerk of the European Affairs Committee, French National Assembly, 13 June 2012. 
75 Interview with a clerk of the European Affairs Committee, French Sénat, 21 June 2012 
76 http://www.assemblee-nationale.fr/connaissance/constitution.asp (last retrieved 11 June 2012). 
77 Protocols of Plenary debates, http://www.assemblee-nationale.fr/14/debats/  (last retrieved 11 June 2012). 

47 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
   
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
    
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                                                            
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Policy Department C: Citizens' Rights and Constitutional Affairs 
____________________________________________________________________________________________   

Usually, the Minister of State for Foreign and European Affairs is questioned, but sometimes 
the  Junior  Minister  for  European  Affairs  replaces  him.  The  Prime  Minister  rarely  makes  a 
declaration. Their participation is not pre-determined in the rules. 

The Constitution forbids the President to speak before Parliament, so the political actor at 
the summit is not allowed to make announce political decisions. 

If  there  is  no  important  announcement  to  make,  the  National  Assembly  and  the  Sénat  do 
not see the need to have a declaration by the Prime Minister, but there is a declaration by 
the  Minister  of  State  for  Foreign  and  European  Affairs  or  the  Junior  Minister  for  European 
Affairs.  In  several  occasions,  the Minister  for  Foreign  Affairs  made  the  initial  statement  at 
the  beginning  of  the  session,  then  discreetly  leaves  the  floor  during  the  debates,  and  the 
junior minister is in charge of making the final answers to the speeches at the end.78 

- Is  there  a  vote  for  a  parliamentary  resolution  before  the  European  Council 
meeting? 

It is possible to vote on a parliamentary resolution. The only motion for a resolution in the 
timeframe  2011/2012  related  to  some  issues  that  were  relevant  for  the  European  Council 
of  March  2012  was  tabled  by  the  centre-left  in  February  2012.  The  resolution  (and  the 
report  by  Elisabeth  Guigou  et  al.)  addresses  the  issues  of  the  European  Council  of  March 
2012  directly.79  This  must  be  seen  in  the  context  of  the  electoral  campaign  before  the 
presidential and parliamentary elections that took place in May and June 2012. Eventually 
the resolution was defeated by the right wing majority. Yet, on the paper, it is possible to 
adopt officially a resolution either at the Committee level or on the floor. 

More generally, the NA and the Sénat try to be active before the European Council. There 
are three reasons behind this approach: 

- to show to the executive bodies which issues are salient for the legislative body; 

- to stimulate a national debate; 

- to support the President in the negotiations. 

Beyond that, there is no political will at the NA to express an opinion that deviates from the 
President’s position. 

In the Sénat there is no practice of vote in the end of the plenary debates.  

3. Ex-post control: institutional body 
Which  is  the  responsible body  within  the  Parliament  to  control  the  results  of  the 
European  Council  and  the  Euro  zone  summits  (the  plenary,  committees,  other 
bodies)? 

The European Affairs Committees of the NA and of the S are the responsible bodies. Each 
Committee usually sits on Tuesday or Wednesday in the week after the summit.  
On  economic  and  financial  topics  the  Committee  for  Finances,  General  Economy  and 
Planning  has  a  certain  responsibility,  joint  sessions  of  both  committees  have  taken  place. 
The Foreign Affairs Committee could be involved in a similar way. 

78 Protocols of Plenary debates, http://www.assemblee-nationale.fr/14/debats/  (last retrieved 11 June 2012). 
79 Proposal of a resolution for a European restart and a reinforced democratic control, http://www.assemblee­
nationale.fr/13/pdf/propositions/pion4196.pdf (last retrieved 11 June 2012). 

48 

 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
                                                            
 
 
 
 
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Annex 1 - Questionnaires On The 27 Member States 

4. Ex-post control: debates in parliament 
-  What  is  the  organization  of  the  plenary  debates  after  the  European  Council 
meetings?  (NB:  if  there  are  no  debates  in  the  plenary  but  in  committees,  do 
indicate this fact and answer accordingly) 
There  is  no  debate  in  plenary.  One  can  clearly  distinguish  the  different  sets  of 
characteristics  of  ex-ante  control  and  ex-post  control:  Ex-ante  control  takes  place  in 
plenary, ex-post control takes place in committee. This means that ex-post control is more 
specialised, but less transparent for the public than ex-ante control. 

This also reflects the idea that the control exercised by Parliament is more like a “shadow 
control” where the parliamentary majority tries to avoid to weaken the government. 

- Which is the competent institutional body to decide on setting the agenda of the 
plenary  for  those  debates?  Who  takes  the  initiative  in  practice?  Can  the 
government avoid a debate? 

There is no debate in plenary. The debate in committee is common practice. Regarding this 
debate in European Affairs committee, as the habits to organise it is well established, it is 
difficult to identify who take the initiative (formally the Parliament invites the government) 
and to imagine a case where the government would try to avoid such debate. 

-  Which  governmental  authorities  take  part  in  the  parliamentary  debates?  Does 
the Head of Government/ Prime Minister take part? 

Usually,  the  Junior  Minister  for  European  Affairs  is  questioned.80  Other  Ministers  can  be 
questioned,  if  necessary,  according  to  current  events.  This  has  happened  e.g.  to  the 
Minister for Economics and Finance after an economy-centred European Council followed by 
a Euro Area summit in October 2011 (joint meeting of the two responsible Committees).81 

- How is the debate structured? Is there a vote after the debate? 

Normally  the  statement  by  the  Junior  Minister  for  European  Affairs  before  the  European 
Affairs  Committee  of  the  National  Assembly  is  followed  by  a  debate  where  the  Junior 
Minister is questioned. The organisation is rather informal: attending MPs ask the chair to 
question the minister, they make rather long questions where they also give their opinion 
and usually they do not comment the minister’s answer.82 

There  has  never  been  a  vote.  After  the  French  position  has  been  articulated  at  the 
European Council, the Parliament does not articulate a position which could contradict the 
position taken by the President. The idea of accountability is only very weakly represented 
in the procedure for ex-post control. 

5. Since Lisbon 
-  After  the  Treaty  of  Lisbon  came  into  force,  were  there  significant  changes 
regarding the parliamentary control of the European Council? 

No,  two  revisions  of  the  Constitution  had  taken  place  in  2008.  The  practice  of  ex-ante 
control  was  slightly  modified  after  the  failed  referendum  in  2005  which  is  therefore  more 
important than the entry-into-force of the Lisbon Treaty. 

80 Protocols of European Affairs Committee at the National Assembly, http://www.assemblee­
nationale.fr/13/europe/c-rendus/ (last retrieved 11 June 2012).
 
81 Interview with a clerk of the European Affairs Committee, French National Assembly, 13 June 2012.
 
82 Protocols of European Affairs Committee at the National Assembly, http://www.assemblee­
nationale.fr/13/europe/c-rendus/ (last retrieved 11 June 2012).
 

49 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                                                            
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 

 

 




Policy Department C: Citizens' Rights and Constitutional Affairs 
____________________________________________________________________________________________   

-  Did  any  significant  events  or  changes  in  formal  rules  occur  after  Lisbon  in  the 
upper house? 

Since the Treaty of Lisbon came into force the rules of procedure were modified - partly to 
ensure the subsidiarity principle. The European Affaires Committee replaced the Delegation 
for  European  affairs  in  both  assemblies.  The  Committee  got  more  power  than  its 
predecessor, but only in EU legislation revision. As for the ex-ante control of the Council by 
the Sénat, the practice was also modified after the failed referendum in 2005 

-  Since  December  1st  2009,  was  the  survival  of  a  government  influenced  in  one 
way or another by decisions made by the European Council? 
No. 

6. Templates to be filled out regarding the lower chamber´s behaviour towards each of 
the 9 European Council meetings and Euro zone summits held between March 2011 and 
March 2012 
Please fill in “yes” or “no” in each box. 

C1 = extraordinary meeting of the European Council and  the meeting of the Heads of 
State or Governement of the Euro Area – 11 March 2011 
C2 = ordinary meeting of the European Council – 24 and 25 March 2011 
C3 = ordinary meeting of the European Council – 23 and 24 June 2011 
C4 = meeting of the Heads of State or Government of the Euro Area – 21 July 2011 
C5 = ordinary meeting of the European Council – 23 October 2011 
C6 = informal meeting of the European Council and meeting of the Heads of State or 
Government of the Euro Area – 26 October 2011 
C7 = ordinary meeting of the European Council – 8 and 9 December 2011 
C8 = informal meeting of the European Council – 30 January 2012 
C9 = ordinary meeting of the European Council – 1 and 2 March 2012 

C1  C2  C3  C4  C5  C6  C7  C8  C9 

Before the European Council meeting 

Debates in committees  n 
Debates on the floor  n 
Formal declaration by the PM  n 
Vote of a motion  n 

After the European Council meeting 

Debates in committees  n 
Debates on the floor  n 
Formal declaration by the PM  n 
Vote of a motion  n 

n 
y 
n 
n 

y 
n 
n 
n 

n 
y 
n 
n 

y 
n 
n 
n 

n 
n 
n 
n 

n 
n 
n 
n 

y 
y 
n 
n 

n 
n 
n 
n 

n 
n 
n 
n 

y 
n 
n 
n 

n 
y 
y 
n 

y 
n 
n 
n 

n 
n 
n 
n 

y 
n 
n 
n 

n 
y 
n 
n 

n 
n 
n 
n 

7. Other comments 
- Are there other insitutions or bodies, outside of Parliament, which play a role in 
the control of these results? (i.e. Constitutional courts) 
No. The Constitutional Council can control adopted texts before parliamentary ratification if 
they are asked so by some specific political leaders but it has not been an issue so far. 

- Some of your own remarks (voluntary): 

On filling out the templates for the European Councils: 

50 


 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 


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Annex 1 - Questionnaires On The 27 Member States 

The  high  number  of  summits  in  the  period  between  March  2011  and  March  2012  has 
sometimes made it difficult to distinguish between ex-post control of the latest summit and 
ex-ante control of the forthcoming summit. This is particularly true for C1/C2 and C8/C9. 
Both summits in October 2011 have their specific characteristics: C5 was initially scheduled 
for  17/18  October,  but deferred  to  23  October. So  ex-ante  control  took  place  earlier  than 
usual.  C6  was  only  scheduled  due  to  a  parliamentary  reserve  expressed  by  the  German 
Chancellor. Ex-post control of C5 and C6 thus fall together. Ex-ante control of C6 could not 
take place. 

The participation of the Prime minister before the Council of December 2011 is exceptional. 

As  a  result  of  the  French  elections  from  March  to  June  2012,  the  French  Parliament  was 
less active during the 1st semester of 2012. 

Since 2008, the President has been given the right to deliver a speech before the Congress 
in  Versailles,  the  joint  meeting  of  both  assemblies.  Each  group  may  answer  the  President 
but:  a.  in  his/her  absence,  b.  without  any  final  vote.  So  far,  this  rather  controversial 
procedure  was  only  used  once,  by  President  Sarkozy  who  did  not  specially  focused  his 
speech on EU issues. 

Regarding the consequences of the arrival of a new left-wing majority in 2012, it can be 
expected that the parliamentary control of the European Councils could be politically more 
salient in the short future. The European issues took a more significant place than usual 
during the 2012 campaign, notably with François Hollande’s conditions over the ratification 
of the fiscal pact. More generally, European Councils and Euro-zone summits are 
increasingly regarded as significant for the future of France’s economy. In that context, it is 
worth noting that, globally, the new left-wing majority is more internally divided than the 
former right-wing one on EU issues, both regarding the level of European integration and 
the respect of economic orthodoxy. Therefore, the new opposition could try to play on 
those divisions by addressing the issue in Parliament before or after European Councils. 

Selected literature 

Grossman, E., and Sauger, N., ‘Political Institutions Under Stress? Assessing the Impact of 
European Integration on French Political Institutions’, Journal of European Public Policy, 
14/7, 2007, pp. 1117–34. 

Rozenberg, O., “France : Genuine Europeanisation or Monnet for Nothing?”, in Bulmer, S., 
Lequesne, C. (eds), The  Member  States  of the  European  Union,  Oxford,  Oxford  University 
Press, 2nd ed., forthcoming. 

Sprungk, C., ‘The French Assemblée Nationale and the German Bundestag in the European 
Union. Towards Convergence in the ‘Old’ Europe?’, in J. O’Brennan and T. Raunio (eds), 
National Parliaments in the Enlarged European Union (London: Routledge), 2007, pp. 132– 
62. 

51 


 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 


Policy Department C: Citizens' Rights and Constitutional Affairs 
____________________________________________________________________________________________   

Germany: Claudia Hefftler / Oliver Höing, University of 
Cologne 
Name  of  your  Member  State:  Germany  (lower  house  “Bundestag”  (BT),  upper 
house “Bundesrat” (BR)) 

1. The formal rules 
- Are there formal rules regarding the parliamentary scrutiny of European Council 
meetings and Euro zone summits? 

The  scrutiny  of  European  Council  meetings  follows  the  same  provisions  as  the  general 
scrutiny  of  EU  affairs.  The  scrutiny  of  Euro  zone  summits  is  subject  to  an  ongoing 
discussion  between  the  parliament  and  the  government.  A  recent  judgement  by  the 
German  Federal  Constitutional  Court  underlined  that  also  intergovernmental  treaties  are 
regarded as ‘European matters’ (as stipulated in art. 23 of the German Basic Law). This is 
expected  to  have  consequences  for  future  decisions  taken  at  Euro  zone  summits  (see 
below).83 

- If  yes,  what  are  their  legal  bases  (Constitution,  Legal  provisions,  Standing 
Orders, other)? 

The European Council is subject to the obligations defined in Article 23 of the German Basic 
Law (Grundgesetz, GG84) which are further specified in the Act on Cooperation between the 
Federal Government and the German Bundestag in Matters concerning the European Union 
(EUZBBG85)  (with  latest  modifications  in  September  2009).  Concerning  the  change  of  EU 
primary  law,  it  is  also  subject  to  the  Responsibility  for  Integration  Act  (IntVG)  (passed  in 
2009 as a consequence of the Lisbon judgment).86 

- If yes, what are these rules about? What obligations does the government have? 

The  Basic  Law  requires  that  “the  Federal  Government  shall  keep  the  Bundestag  and  the 
Bundesrat  informed,  comprehensively  and  at  the  earliest  possible  time”  (art.  23  (2)  GG). 
The  EUZBBG  further  defines  the  requirements  of  information  sharing  and  participation 
rights by the government. §5 of the EUZBBG mentions explicitly the parliamentary scrutiny 
of European Council meetings. It defines the government´s obligations to inform the BT on 
the  preparation  and  follow-up  of  these  summits.  The  government  is  obliged  to  provide  all 
documents  of  the  European  Council,  reports  and  notes  of  EU  bodies  concerning  European 
Council meetings, the agenda of these summits and the government´s negotiation position 
in oral and written form. 

Concerning  matters  of  EU  affairs  in  general,  the  BT  must  be  given  the  opportunity  to 
deliver  an  opinion  before  the  government  takes  action  at  the  European  level  (§9  (1), 
EUZBBG,  also  article  23  (3)  GG).  This  opinion  forms  the  basis  for  negotiations  at  the 
European  level.  The  government  may  only  deviate  from  it  for  good  reasons  of  foreign  or 
integration  policy  (§9  (4)  EUZBBG).  In  case  of  deviation,  the  government  has  to  give 
justifications to the parliament. Up to now, this ex-post justification had not been necessary 
given that the majority of the BT avoided positions contradicting the government. 

83 See the latest judgments on the ESM and Euro-Plus Pact: 

http://www.bundesverfassungsgericht.de/entscheidungen/es20120619_2bve000411.html (last retrieved 3 July
 
2012).
 
84 http://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/englisch_gg/englisch_gg.html. 

85 http://www.bundestag.de/htdocs_e/bundestag/committees/a21/legalbasis/euzbbg.html (last retrieved: 26 June 

2012).
 
86 See: http://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/bundesrecht/intvg/gesamt.pdf (last retrieved: 3 July 2012).
 

52 


 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                                                            
 
 
  
 
 
 
 



 

 





 

 


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Annex 1 - Questionnaires On The 27 Member States 

In  some  cases  the  BT  is  required  to  pass  resolutions.  §10  EUZBBG  stipulates  that  there 
needs  to  be  agreement  between  the  BT  and  the  Federal  Government  before  accession 
negotiations are opened. 

Up  to  now  the  scrutiny  of  the  Euro  zone  summits  did  not  fall  under  the  EUZBBG  and  its 
clearly  defined  information  rights  of  §5.  The  government  argued  that  the  ESM  and  Euro-
Plus-Pact,  discussed  at  the  Euro  zone  summits,  are  not  EU  law  but  of  a  purely 
intergovernmental nature. A recent judgement of the Federal Constitutional Court from 19 
June 201287 specified that these measures are ‘EU matters’ (in the sense of article 23 GG) 
and  therefore  fall  under  the  scrutiny  procedures  of  the  EUZBBG.  Interview  evidence 
suggests  that  the  control  of  Euro  zone  summits  will  from  now  on  follow  the  same 
procedures as European Council meetings.88 

- If yes, do these rules make distinctions between the different types of meetings 
of the European Council (regular, extraordinary, Euro zone summit)? 

There  is  no  distinction  of  the  different  kinds  of  meetings  of  the  European  Council  in  the 
formal rules. 

2. Ex-ante control  
-  Do  national  parliaments  take  part  in  the  preparation  of  meetings  of  the 
European Council and Euro zone summits? 
They  increasingly  do,  especially  since  the  Lisbon  Treaty  and  the  Lisbon  judgment89  of  the 
German  Federal  Constitutional  Court  from  30  June  200990  raised  the  awareness  of  EU 
affairs significantly among parliamentarians. The Euro crisis added up to the salience of the 
European Council meetings and Eurozone summits and the necessity to better control their 
far-reaching decisions. 

The  BT  prepares  the  meetings  of  the  European  Council  through  debates  and,  less 
frequently, resolutions. 

- If  so,  which  bodies  are  responsible  for,  and  involved  in,  this  preparatory  work 
(for example, committees, plenary or other bodies)? 

The  plenary  and  various  committees  are  involved  in  the  preparation  of  the  European 
Council  summits.  The  European  Affairs  Committee  and  (increasingly)  the  Budgets 
Committee  discuss  almost  all  European  Council  meetings.  They  actively  demand 
information  which  the  federal  government  has  to  provide  according  to  the  EUZBBG  (see 
question 1 above: Formal rules).  

- Do Parliaments’ Rules of Procedure provide for priority debates? 

Concerning  the  plenary,  there  are  no  provisions  on  priority  debates  on  the  European 
Council meetings or Euro zone summits in the Parliament´s Rules of Procedure. 

- Which governmental authorities take part in the parliamentary debates? 

Despite a lack of formal rules, a certain pattern has evolved over the last couple of years: 
more often, the chancellor delivers government declarations in the plenary debates prior to 

87 See 2 BvE 4/11 vom 19.6.2012, Absatz-Nr. (1–172), accessible here:
 
http://www.bundesverfassungsgericht.de/entscheidungen/es20120619_2bve000411.html (last retrieved: 26 June 

2012).
 
88 Interview with Ms. Ruppert, Assitant to the Günther Krichbaum, Chairman of the European Affairs Committee in 

the BT, Interviewee: Katjana Gattermann, Berlin 20 June 2012.
 
89 The Lisbon judgment specified the participation rights and participation obligations of the German Bundestag.
 
90 BVerfG, 2 BvE 2/08 vom 30.6.2009, Absatz-Nr. (1 - 421),
 
http://www.bverfg.de/entscheidungen/es20090630_2bve000208en.html (last retrieved: 26 June 2012).
 

53 


 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                                                            
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
  

 



 



 

 

 

 


Policy Department C: Citizens' Rights and Constitutional Affairs 
____________________________________________________________________________________________   

regular  European  Council  meetings.  But  also  the  finance  minister  gave  a  government 
declaration on the results of a European Council meeting. 

Occasionally,  the  chancellor  participated  in  sessions  of  the  European  Affairs  Committee 
preparing European Council meetings.  

- Is  there  a  vote  for  a  parliamentary  resolution  before  the  European  Council 
meeting? 

In general, resolutions of the BT prior to Council meetings are rare. If parliament passes a 
resolution in preparation of a European Council meeting, it is often supporting the position 
of  the  government.  Of  the  four  plenary  debates  in  time  period  indicated  in  the  table  (see 
6.), the BT issued three resolutions prior to European Council meetings. This relatively high 
frequence is explained in section 7. Other comments. 

3. Ex-post control: institutional body 
Which  is  the  responsible body  within  the  Parliament  to  control  the  results  of  the 
European  Council  and  the  Euro  zone  summits  (the  plenary,  committees,  other 
bodies)? 
Generally, the parliamentary party groups decide a) whether they want to debate results of 
European  Council  meetings  and  Euro  zone  summits  (at  all)  and  b)  in  which  parliamentary 
bodies this debate takes place. No formal rules exist that such a control has to take place. 
The plenary is not too often involved in ex-post control, but committees play an important 
role (depending on the policy issue at hand). In the past year, it was the European Affairs 
and Budgets Committee which regularly debated the results of the summits. Parliamentary 
party groups and working-groups frequently discuss the results of the European Council as 
well. 

4. Ex-post control: debates in parliament 
-  What  is  the  organization  of  the  plenary  debates  after  the  European  Council 
meetings?  (NB:  if  there  are  no  debates  in  the  plenary  but  in  committees,  do 
indicate this fact and answer accordingly) 

Results  of  the  European  Council  can  be  debated  in  the  plenary  upon  request  which  so  far 
happened  rarely.  However,  this  should  not  obscure  the  fact  that  ex-post  debates  in  the 
plenary create huge media attention (as was seen by the plenary debate on the European 
Council summit on 29 June 2012). However, whereas the plenary is barely involved in the 
ex-post  scrutiny  of  European  Council  meetings  or  Euro  zone  summits,  the  committees 
regularly  debate  the  results  of  the  summits  and  receive  respective  reports  by  the 
government. 

- Which is the competent institutional body to decide on setting the agenda of the 
plenary  for  those  debates?  Who  takes  the  initiative  in  practice?  Can  the 
government avoid a debate? 

The  competent  body  to  decide  upon  the  agenda  of  the  plenary  is  the  Council  of  Elders 
(Ältestenrat).91 Prior to the decision by the Council of Elders, the parliamentary secretaries 
of the parliamentary groups discuss the selection of items for the plenary agenda.  

Next to this procedure all MPs have the possibility to submit proposals for agenda items to 
the  president  of  the  BT  until  6  p.m.  the  day  before  a  plenary  session  takes  place.  Their 
acceptance is decided upon at the beginning of the plenary session. 

91  This  body  is  constituted  of  the  president  of  the  BT,  his  five  vice-presidents  and  23  parliamentarians  from  all 
parliamentary party groups (weighed proportionally to the number of seats in parliament). 

54 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                                                            
 
 
 
 
 
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Annex 1 - Questionnaires On The 27 Member States 

Therefore, the government cannot avoid a debate on the European Council in the plenary, 
but it can also not be forced to give a government declaration after or prior to a European 
Council meeting or Euro zone summit. 

-  Which  governmental  authorities  take  part  in  the  parliamentary  debates?  Does 
the Head of Government/ Prime Minister take part? 

- How is the debate structured? Is there a vote after the debate? 

In  the  past  year,  there  was  one  plenary  debate  on  the  results  of  a  European  Council 
meeting  which  took  place  in  December  2011  (see  table  6.).  Similar  to  the  debates  in  the 
preparatory  phase,  it  was  opened  with  a  government  declaration  by  the  chancellor  and 
lasted  for  90  minutes.  The  list  of  speakers  consisted  mainly  of  the  chairpersons  of  the 
parliamentary groups and committee chairmen. 

Debates  in  committees  on  the  results  of  the  European  Council  and  Euro  zone  summits 
regularly  take  place.  In  the  European  Affairs  Council  the  Minister  of  State  to  the  Federal 
Chancellor  often explains the government position and the results of the negotiations. His 
oral report is followed by a round of questions from parliamentarians of all parties which he 
answers. 

5. Since Lisbon 
-  After  the  Treaty  of  Lisbon  came  into  force,  were  there  significant  changes 
regarding the parliamentary control of the European Council? 

The  Lisbon  Judgement  of  the  Federal  Constitutional  Court  on  30  June  2009  mainly 
strengthened  the  BT’s  participation  rights  in  EU  primary  law  as  well  as  its  information 
rights.  The  EUZBBG  has  to  be  revised  in  September  2009  before  the  Lisbon  Treaty  could 
enter into force. It specifies, among other things, which documents have to be submitted to 
the BT (also concerning European Council meetings) (see above question 1: Formal rules). 

-  Did  any  significant  events  or  changes  in  formal  rules  occur  after  Lisbon  in  the 
upper house? 

Before the Lisbon Treaty came into force, the Act on Cooperation between the Federal Level 
and  the  German  Länder  in  Matters  concerning  the  European  Union  (EUZBLG)  was  revised 
(September  2009).  However,  there  were  only  minor  changes  in  substance.  The  former 
Agreement  of  the  Federal  Government  and  the  Länder  Governments  on  Cooperation  in 
Matters Concerning the EU (Bund-Länder-Vereinbarung) is now incorporated to the EUZBLG 
as  an  annex  to  §9.  Obligations  of  the  federal  government  to  inform  on  European  Council  
meetings are regulated here. 

The Bundesrat did not change its Rules of Procedure to control European Council summits 
after the Lisbon Treaty. 

-  Since  December  1st  2009,  was  the  survival  of  a  government  influenced  in  one 
way or another by decisions made by the European Council? 

The government had difficulties to find support for diverse financial rescue packages, such 
as  the  reform  of  the  EFSF.  Due  to  the  support  of  two  opposition  parties  (SPD  and  the 
Greens) the government could achieve a comfortable majority, but failed several times by 
now to establish an own majority. 

The passing of the ESM and the fiscal compact had the potential to threaten the survival of 
the  federal  government.  However,  up  to  now,  the  government  could  always  rely  on  the  
support of the two opposition parties.  

55 


 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 


Policy Department C: Citizens' Rights and Constitutional Affairs 
____________________________________________________________________________________________   

6. Templates to be filled out regarding the lower chamber´s behaviour towards each of 
the 9 European Council meetings and Euro zone summits held between March 2011 and 
March 2012 
Please fill in “yes” or “no” in each box. 

C1 = extraordinary meeting of the European Council and  the meeting of the Heads of 
State or Governement of the Euro Area – 11 March 2011 
C2 = ordinary meeting of the European Council – 24 and 25 March 2011 
C3 = ordinary meeting of the European Council – 23 and 24 June 2011 
C4 = meeting of the Heads of State or Government of the Euro Area – 21 July 2011 
C5 = ordinary meeting of the European Council – 23 October 2011 
C6 = informal meeting of the European Council and meeting of the Heads of State or 
Government of the Euro Area – 26 October 2011 
C7 = ordinary meeting of the European Council – 8 and 9 December 2011 
C8 = informal meeting of the European Council – 30 January 2012 
C9 = ordinary meeting of the European Council – 1 and 2 March 2012 

C1 

C2 

C3 

C4  C5 

C6 

C7 

C8 

C9 

No 

Yes 

Yes 

Yes 

Yes 

Before the European Council meeting 
Debates in 
committee 
s92 
Debates 
on the 
floor94 
Formal 
declaratio 
n by the 
PM 
Vote of a 
motion 

No* 

No* 

Yes 

Yes 

No 

No 

No 

No 
93 

No  No 

No  No 

No  No 

Yes 

Yes 

Yes 

Yes 

Yes 

Yes 

Yes 

No 

Yes 

Yes 

Yes 

No 

Yes 

Yes 

No 

No 

Yes 

No 

No 

Yes 

Yes 

Yes 

After the European Council meeting 
Debates in 
committee 
s 
Debates 
on the 
floor 
Formal 
declaratio 
n by the 
PM 
Vote of a 
motion 

No 

No 

No 

No 

No 

No 

No 

No  Yes 

Yes 

Yes 

Yes 

Yes 

No  No 

No 

Yes 

No 

No 

No  No 

No 

Yes 

No 

No 

No  No 

No 

No 

No 

No 

* In preparation of the European Council meeting the chancellor joined the session of the European 
Affairs  Council  explaining  the  government  position.  However,  not  in  form  of  a  formal  government 
declaration. 

92 Websearch in agenda of the following committees : Europan Affairs, Budget, Finance, Law 

93 Parliament was in summer recess during this Euro zone summit. 

94  Websearch  in  minutes  of  plenary  proceedings  Feb  2011  to  April  2012.  Coded  only  when  European  Council  

explicitly mentioned in the agenda. 


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Annex 1 - Questionnaires On The 27 Member States 

7. Other comments 
- Are there other insitutions or bodies, outside of Parliament, which play a role 
in the control of these results? (i.e. Constitutional courts) 

The Federal Constitutional Court indirectly controls results of the European Council  and 
Euro zone summits. Any commitments resulting in concrete legislation (to be adopted by 
the BT) can be reviewed by the German Federal Constitutional Court. More importantly, 
it also assesses whether parliamentary prerogatives were respected. In the recent past, 
the participation rights of the BT had been subject to a ruling concerning the first Greece 
rescue package and the EFSF in September 201195. Also, further measures to extend or 
establish  new  rescue  packages  (or  Eurobonds)  can  be  part  of  a  Constitutional  Court´s 
legal  review.  However,  the  court  becomes  active,  only  if  a  legal  person  files  an  action 
against a specific EU measure. In general, the rulings of the court have strengthened the 
rights  of  the  parliament  vis-à-vis  the  government  in  matters  concerning  the  European 
Union. 

- Some of your own remarks (voluntary): 

On the template (see 6.) 

In the period of investigation (March 2011 to March 2012) all ordinary European Council 
meetings  –  except  for  the  two  in  24/  25  June  2011  and  23  October  2011  –   were 
debated  in  the  plenary  before  the  session  was  held  in  Brussels.  The  only  informal 
European  Council  meeting  which  was  debated  in  the  plenary  was  the  one  from  26  Oct 
2011.  Certain  decisions  of  the  European  Council  of  23  October  2011  had  to  be 
postponed  and  the  meeting  in  Brussels  be  rescheduled  due  to  the  fact  that  the  BT  did 
not  have  enough  time  to  scrutinize  Franco-German  proposals  on  the  extension  of  the 
EFSF which were still debated in the immediate forefront of the Council.96 

The relatively high number of three parliamentary resolutions before a European Council 
meeting in this year can be explained by the high relevance of the decisions concerning 
budgetary  powers  of  the  BT  or  parliament´s  legal  obligations  to  pass  a  resolution 
(change of art. 136 TFEU).  

This  change  of  EU  primary  law  required  the  approval  of  the  BT  in  the  forefront  of  the 
European  Council  meeting  on  24/  25  March  2011.97  The Act  on  the  Stability  Mechanim 
(author´s  translation  of  “Stabilisierungsmechanismusgesetz”,  StabMechG,  22.05.1098) 
prescribes  that  the  BT  must  give  written  consent  before  decisions  concerning  the  EFSF 
are taken at the European level (European Council meeting on 1/ 2 March 2012).99  As 
this activity by the BT  was legally  prescribed,  the resolution is not a  good indicator for 
political conflict with (or control of) the government. 

In content, all three resolutions were supporting the government position.  

In general 

The decisions of the European Council and Euro zone summits along the Euro crisis were 
prepared  in  informal  meetings  of  all  parliamentary  party  group  leaders  and  their 
chairpersons  with  the  chancellor.  The  legally  required  support  of  the  opposition  for  the 
fiscal compact as well as the participation rights of the BT were two major conflict lines. 

95 BVerfG, 2 BvR 987/10 vom 7.9.2011, Absatz-Nr. (1 - 142), 
http://www.bverfg.de/entscheidungen/rs20110907_2bvr098710.html (last retrieved: 26 June 2012). 
96 http://euobserver.com/19/114011 (last retrieved: 26 June 2012). 
97 http://dipbt.bundestag.de/dip21.web/searchDocuments/simple_search.do (last retrieved: 26 June 2012). 
98 http://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/stabmechg/BJNR062700010.html (last retrieved: 26 June 2012). 
99 http://dipbt.bundestag.de/dip21.web/searchDocuments/simple_search.do (last retrieved: 26 June 2012). 

57 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
   
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
                                                            
 
 
  
  
 
 
 
 
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The fiscal compact needed to be ratified by a 2/3 majority in the BT and the BR. Thus, 
the  government  depended  on  the  support  of  opposition  parties.  According  to  media 
coverage,  meetings  of  the  parliamentary  group  leaders  with  the  chancellor  took  place 
almost  weekly  in  the  last  months  to  negotiate  the  ratification  of  the  fiscal  compact  in 
Germany.  This  informal  body  was  highly  relevant  in  the  preparation  and  (informal) 
involvement of parliamentary bodies. 

This  report  primarily  focusses  on  the  formal  rules  and  use  of  formal  procedures  of  the 
parliament in relation to the European Council meetings and Euro zone summits. As the 
informal  meetings  of  parliamentary  group  leaders  with  the  chancellor  indicate,  many 
activities to control government actions take place through informal channels, especially 
as the coalition parties are cautious not to appear in public conflict with the government. 
We  assume  that  the  parliamentary  activities  through  formal  mechanisms  are  just  the 
“tip  of  the  iceberg”  of  actual  parliamentary  involvement  in  the  control  of  the  European 
Council meetings. 

Selected Literature 

Gröning-von Thüna, Sebastian (2010): Die neuen Begleitgesetze zum Vertrag von Lissabon 
aus Sicht des Deutschen Bundestages – offene Fragen und neue Herausforderungen, in: 
integration 4/10, pp. 312-333. 

Linn, Susanne / Sobolewski, Frank (2012): So arbeitet der deutsche Bundestag. 
Organisation und Arbeitsweise. Die Gesetzgebung des Bundes, Rheinbreitenbach. 

Kielmansegg, Sebastian Graf von (2011): German Constitutional Law and European 
Integration in the Wake of Lisbon, in: Vienna Journal on International Constitutional Law 
Vol 5 (4), pp. 550-571. 

Piris, Jean-Claude (2010): “The judgement of 30 June 2009 of the Federal Constitutional 
Court of Germany on the Lisbon Treaty”, in Piris, Jean-Claude: The Lisbon Treaty. A Legal 
and Political Analysis, Cambridge, pp. 341-362. 

58 


 
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 


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Annex 1 - Questionnaires On The 27 Member States 

Greece: Konstantin Iliopoulos / Anna Vallianatou, Greek 
Centre of European Studies & Research 
Name of your Member State: Greece 

1. The formal rules 
- Are there formal rules regarding the parliamentary scrutiny of European Council 
meetings and Euro zone summits? 
No. 
The  national  parliamentary  scrutiny  concerns  the  control  of  the  Governments  in  respect 
with  the  participation  in  the  EC  and  EZ  meetings.  Since  the  Greek  Constitution  does  not 
oblige the Government to consult Parliament before the discussions of the EC meetings and 
EZ summits, the Greek Government has the sole responsibility for the participation in these 
meetings. There are no determining formal procedures, which have to be followed for the 
scrutiny  of  the  above  meetings.  The  assessment  of  the  results  which  are  emanated  from 
the  specific  summits,  are  examined  in  governmental  level  and  are  disseminated100  to  the 
European Affairs Committee created in June 1990. After the Constitutional revision of 2001 
and  the  respective  amendments  made  to  the  Parliament’s  Standing  Orders,  Standing 
Committees  may  also  exercise  both  legislative  work  and  parliamentary  control.  As  it  is 
stipulated: “The Standing Orders may provide the exercise of parliamentary control also by 
the  Section  envisaged  in  article  71,  as  well  as  by  the  standing  parliamentary  committees 
established  and  functioning  during  the  session.”  The  European  Affairs  Committee  is  not  a 
standing  parliamentary  committee  but  a  Committee  with  the  status  of  Special  Standing. 
Therefore,  it  is  not  responsible  for  the  elaboration  of  law  proposals.  As  Article  44  of  the 
Parliament  Standing  Orders  stipulates,  the  Parliament  may  decide,  after  a  government 
proposal  to  constitute  a  committee  of  members  for  the  study  of  national  or  of  issues  of 
general  interest.  According  to  Article  45  (par.  2),  “the  committee  studies  the  relevant 
issues  defined  in  the  founding  decision  of  the  Parliament  and  elaborates  reports  in  which 
also the minority opinions are included. The report is submitted to the parliament and the 
government and has advisory status.”101 

In  its  sessions  Greek members  of  the European  Parliament  are  invited  and have  speaking 
rights. Apart from the Committee of European Affairs that is the main body responsible for 
ex  ante  control,  the  subcommittee  of  European  Economic  Governance  was  established  in 
February  2011  with  its  first  meeting  on  11April  2011.  Its  mission  is  to  produce  proposals 
and initiatives on European economic governance and not to actually control the Eurozone 
and the European Council meetings. 

In  addition,  “Parliamentary  control  shall  be  exercised  by  the  Plenum,  as  specified  by  the 
Standing Orders”. 102 In general, there are six types103 of formal rules for the 
Parliamentary control and, mainly four of them can be used for the parliamentary scrutiny 
of European Council meetings and Euro zone summits104, namely the Questions, the 

100 http://www.hellenicparliament.gr/UserFiles/f3c70a23-7696-49db-9148-f24dce6a27c8/ kanonismos-Thematiko­
syntagma%202010.pdf 
101  Op. Cit. 
102 Greek Constitution (after its third revision in 2008)  Chapter Four on the “Organization and functioning of the 
Parliament” and in Article 70, paragraph 6 at http://www.hellenicparliament.gr/UserFiles/f3c70a23-7696-49db­
9148-f24dce6a27c8/001-156%20aggliko.pdf 
103 http://www.hellenicparliament.gr/en/Koinovouleftikos-Elenchos/Mesa-Koinovouleutikou-Elegxou 
104 In addition, “Applications to Submit Documents” (Article 133 of the Standing Orders) cannot be used in the 
case of parliamentary scrutiny of European Council meetings and Euro zone summits since no documents relating 
to 

59 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                                                            
 
 
  
 
  
 
 
  
  
 
 
  
 
 


Policy Department C: Citizens' Rights and Constitutional Affairs 
____________________________________________________________________________________________   

Current Questions, the Interpellations and the Current Interpellations. The Members of the 
Parliament can submit  questions105 to Ministers regarding any matter of public importance 
in order to keep the Parliament informed. Ministers must reply in writing within twenty five 
days. In the same framework, the members of the Parliament can “raise an issue of current 
significance  and  address  a  question  to  the  Prime  Minister  or  the  Ministers  which  for  their 
part should give an oral response to”106. In addition, the mission of Interpellations (Articles 
134-137 of the Standing Orders) is to control the Government for actions or omissions. It 
should  pointed  out  that  MPs  that  have  submitted  questions  or  applied  for  the  supply  of 
specific  documents,  may  turn  them  into  interpellations  “should  they  deem  that  the 
minister’s  response  did  not  suffice”.  Finally,  Parliamentarians  have  the  right  to  submit 
current  interpellations  on  current  affairs  (article  138  of  the  Standing  Orders).  Current 
questions  (Articles  129-132Α  of  the  Standing  Orders)  and  current  interpellations  (Article 
138 of the Standing Orders) may be debated on Mondays in Plenary Sessions as well as in 
specified sittings of the Recess Section. 

2. Ex-ante control  
-  Do  national  parliaments  take  part  in  the  preparation  of  meetings  of  the 
European Council and Euro zone summits? 
No. 
The national parliament, through its internal Committees, is informed about the discussions 
which take place in the EC meetings and EZ summits. The parliamentary control, in regard 
to  European  issues  in  general,  takes  place  through  the  European  Affairs  Committee  (and 
the  Subcommittees)  or  via  the  above  mentioned  list  of  the  determined  procedures 
(question  1).  Also,  other  sectoral  Parliamentarian  Committees  (as  the  Committee  of 
Economic  Affairs)  can  contribute  in  a  specific  issue,  by  examining  it  in  parallel,  but 
differently.  These  Committees  examine,  case  by  case,  the  issues  of  each  EC’s  agenda, 
usually after the end of the above meetings.  Thus, it can be pointed out that there is no 
formal ex-ante control existing in the specific thematic area of the parliament. 

The  ex  ante  control  is  used  only  before  the  adaptation  of  an  EU  Directive  when  the  
parliament  can  issue  recommendation  or/and  opinion,  as  well  as  binding  decisions107  for 
the Government. The ex ante control is not implemented before the EC and EZ summits. As 
Mr. Mimis Androulakis, member of the European Affairs Committee, claimed during the last 
session  of  the  Parliamentary  Committee  on  28  March  2012  the  Greek  Parliament  did  not 
use all  its potential.108  It is argued109  that many times the reports of the committees are 
simply  not  taken  into  account  and  the  bills  are  debated  and  passed.  Generally,  the 
government does not feel threatened by the processes of parliamentary scrutiny. 

- Do Parliaments’ Rules of Procedure provide for priority debates? 

No. 
As regards the priority debates, article 52 of the Parliament regulation provides that in the 
agenda of the parliament are written, by priority, from the Parliament’s President, the 

105 Articles 126-128Β of the Standing Orders. 

106 Articles 126-128Β of the Standing Orders at http://www.hellenicparliament.gr/en/Koinovouleftikos­
Elenchos/Mesa-Koinovouleutikou-Elegxou 

107,4 Konitsioti E. “National Parliaments and Supernational Democracy: the challenge of the Lisbon Treaty” («Εθνικά
 
Κοινοβούλια  και Υπερ-Εθνική  Δημοκρατία: Η  πρόκληση  της  Συνθήκης  της  Λισσαβόνας») Working Paper 02/2011, 

KEDIA – Centre for European Governance, 2011. 

108  http://www.hellenicparliament.gr/Vouli-ton-Ellinon/ToKtirio/Fotografiko-Archeio/#099398ea-2dc8-4ea7-9d01­
441d14cda34f 


60 


 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                                                            
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 






____________________________________________________________________________________________   

Annex 1 - Questionnaires On The 27 Member States 

issues  that,  according  to  the  Constitution  or  the  Parliament  Regulation,  have  deadlines, 
within which the parliament has to take decisions or just to debate. The rest so-called “pre­
agenda”  debates,  which  is  a  special  procedure  aside  the  normal  parliamentary  routine 
strictly limited to party leaders to debate on public national issues, including EU issues and 
EC and EZ summits, without real decision-making function, only few items were discussed 
since 1990110. 

- Which governmental authorities take part in the parliamentary debates? 

There  are  no  standardized  procedures  for  the  participation  of  specific  governmental 
authorities in the parliamentary debates. However, according to article 38 of the Parliament 
Regulation only for serious law proposals, the Standing Committees can invite for hearings 
public  servants  or  employees,  representatives  of  the  unions  or  special  experts  who  have 
the capacity to assist in special or technical matters of the debates. Additionally, according 
to article 60, the President of the Parliament can allow, after a request from the competent 
Minister,  the  entrance  and  the  abidance  in  the  sessions’  rooms,  of  the  competent  officials 
(governmental services) and their partners. 

- Is  there  a  vote  for  a  parliamentary  resolution  before  the  European  Council 
meeting? 

No. 

The sole responsibility for the EC meeting belongs to the Prime Minister, who is not obliged
 
to follow a resolution of the Parliament. Therefore, are not conducted votes before the EC 

meetings111. 


3. Ex-post control: institutional body 
Which  is  the  responsible body  within  the  Parliament  to  control  the  results  of  the 
European  Council  and  the  Euro  zone  summits  (the  plenary,  committees,  other 
bodies)? 
The  competent  body,  within  the  Parliament,  which  is  authorized  to  follow  and  examine 
the results of the EC and the EZ summits, is the European Affairs Committee. According 
to  article  32A  of  the  Parliament  Regulation112,  President  of  the  Committee  is  one  of  the 
Vice-Presidents  of  the  Parliament  with  the  participation  of  30  MPs.  In  the  meetings  of  the 
EAC are also participating MEPs, with speaking rights. 

The duties of the specific Committee are dealing mainly with: (a) the institutional issues of 
EU,  (b)  the  cooperation  between  the  national  Parliament  and  other  EU  Parliaments,  (c) 
European  policy  issues  and  (d)  actions  of  the  EU  institutional  instruments  with  normative 
acts. So, the Committee does not have real responsibilities to ex-post control the results of 
the specific institutional instruments. The EAC has a mere consultative status and does not 
operate as a legislative body113. Government, on the other hand, is required to transmit all 
documents  and  legislative  proposals  of  the  EU  to  the  EAC  and  to  other  interested 
parliamentary  committees.  In  addition  the  Government  has  to  submit  an  annual  general 
report  on  its  EU  related  activities  regarding  European  Affair  issues.  So,  the  EAC’s  main 
mission is to evaluate EU’s affairs with particular attention to actions taken by the Greek 

authorities.  Additionally,  the  EAC  expresses  its  opinion  in  reports  which  are  submitted  to 
the Parliament and the Government.  

110 Mauer A., Wessels W., "National Parliaments on their ways to Europe: Losers or Latecomers?”, University of 

Cologne, Baden-Baden 2001( p. 158)
 
111 Director of the European Affairs Directorate of the Greek Parliament (Interview on 28-05-2012)
 
112 http://www.hellenicparliament.gr/Vouli-ton-Ellinon/Kanonismos-tis-Voulis/
 
113 Mauer A., Wessels W., “National Parliaments on their ways to Europe: Losers or Latecomers?”, University of 

Cologne, Baden-Baden 2001 


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Apart  from  the  European  Affairs  Committee  that  was  the  main  body  responsible  for  the 
follow up of the EC meetings and EZ summits (it was established since 1990), in February 
2011  the  Subcommittee  of  European  Economic  Governance  was  established  with  its  first 
meeting on 11 April 2011. Its mission is to produce proposals and initiatives on European 
economic  governance.  It  is  worth  mentioning  that  the  small  intervention  on  the  decision 
taken  in  the  EC  and  EZ  meetings  (21/7/2011  and  23-24/7/2011its  third  meeting 
(21/7/2011) made by Ms Rodoula Zissi114, was more a welcoming remark to the stance of 
the Greek government than a post –control mean. 

Conclusively,  the  ex-post  control  of  the  EC  meetings  and  EZ  summits  is  limited  to  the 
submission of questions of the MPs115 to the Ministers or/and the Government as a whole, 
each  time  is  going  to  be  adopted  a  new  Directive  or  to  be  discussed  a  vital  issue.  In  this 
process  the  EAC  records  the  results  of  the  discussions  concerning  any  decision  which was 
taken during the above meetings. 

4. Ex-post control: debates in parliament 
-  What  is  the  organization  of  the  plenary  debates  after  the  European  Council 
meetings?  (NB:  if  there  are  no  debates  in  the  plenary  but  in  committees,  do 
indicate this fact and answer accordingly) 
- Which is the competent institutional body to decide on setting the agenda of the 
plenary  for  those  debates?  Who  takes  the  initiative  in  practice?  Can  the 
government avoid a debate? 
- Which  governmental  authorities  take  part  in  the  parliamentary  debates?  Does 
the Head of Government/ Prime Minister take part? 
- How is the debate structured? Is there a vote after the debate? 

The  competent  institutional  body  to  decide  on  setting  the  agenda  of  the  debates  in  the 
plenary concerning ex post control after the EC and EZ summits is the General Directorate 
for  Legislative  Work  and  Parliamentary  Control.116  The  General  Directorate  for  Legislative 
Work  and  Parliamentary  Control  sets  the  agenda  based  on  the  motions  of  parliamentary 
scrutiny from the members of the parliament (questions, current questions, interpellations 
and  current  interpellations).  The  mission  of  this  Directorate  is  to  promote  and  facilitate 
legislative  work  by  coordinating  all  units  and  teams  of  which  it  is  in  charge,  as  well  as  to 
exercise  parliamentary  control  according  to  the  provisions  of  the  Parliament’s  Standing 
Orders. This General Directorate is subdivided to the Directorate for Parliamentary Control 
in  charge  of  all  means  of  parliamentary  control  and  especially  with  regard  to  the 
preparation  of  debates  beyond  the  order  of  the  day  (interpellations,  current  questions, 
general questions and petitions as well as Special Sessions). This Directorate consists of the 
following  four  departments:  a)  Department  for  Petitions,  b)  Department  for  Questions,  c) 
Department for Interpellations and d) Department on Applications to Submit Documents.  

In  fact,  the  most  competent  Departments  for  the  agenda  of  the  debates  in  the  plenary 
concerning ex post control after the EC and EZ summits are the Department for Questions 
and  for  Interpellations.  Questions  (and  petitions)  are  included  in  order  to  be  discussed  in 
the agenda of the sessions at the start of the week. Interpellations are debated in Plenary 
Sessions. If there are more than one interpellation on the same subject, the Parliament 

114 http://www.hellenicparliament.gr/KoinovouleftikesEpitropes/Synedriaseis?met_id=5e6b8842-3049-4bd7-999f­
25db20f28639 

115 Konitsioti E. “National Parliaments and Supernational Democracy: the challenge of the Lisbon Treaty” («Εθνικά
 
Κοινοβούλια  και Υπερ-Εθνική  Δημοκρατία: Η  πρόκληση  της  Συνθήκης  της  Λισσαβόνας») Working Paper 02/2011, 

KEDIA – Centre for European Governance, 2011. 

116 http://www.hellenicparliament.gr/en/Dioikitiki-Organosi/Ypiresies/Genikes-Diefthynseis/G-D-Nomothetikou­
Ergou-kai-Koinovouleftikou-Elenchou/Diefthynsi-Koinovouleftikou-Elenchou 


62 


 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                                                            
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 






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Annex 1 - Questionnaires On The 27 Member States 

may  decide  on  their  simultaneous  debate  or  even  proceed  into  a  general  discussion.  The 
means of parliamentary control are valid for the session they are submitted to. If they are 
not discussed during the regular session, they can be resubmitted. If the members of the 
Parliament  address  a  question  to  the  Prime  Minister  or  the  Ministers,  an  oral  response 
should  be  given  to  by  them.  Therefore,  the  participation  of  the  Prime  Minister  during  the 
discussion depends on the character of each parliamentary question. 

Concerning  the  Parliamentary  Committees,  and,  in  particular,  the  Committees  with  the 
status  of  Special  Standing,  as  the  Committe  for  European  Affairs,  their  main  task  is  to 
elaborate reports on the issues that belong in their thematic area “after the suggestion of 
the  Government  or  of  the  one  fifth  of  all  MPs  or  of  the  President  of  Parliamentary  Group 
Chairman, the report shall be included in  respective agenda for parliamentary scrutiny and 
be  discussed,  according  to  article  137,  without  any  voting  procedure.”117  In  addition, 
according  to  the  Parliamentary  Standing  Orders,  the  Standing  Committee  on  Economic 
Affairs  has  the  right  to  examine  and  elaborate  or  vote  Bills  and  Law  Proposals  (as  all 
Standing  Committees)  that  belong  to  the  competence  of  the  ministries  of  Finance  (and  of 
b) Infrastructure, Transport and Networks). Because of its thematic relevance, the Standing 
Committee on Economic Affairs also deals with EC meetings and EZ summits decisions. 

5. Since Lisbon 
-  After  the  Treaty  of  Lisbon  came  into  force,  were  there  significant  changes 
regarding the parliamentary control of the European Council? 
-  Did  any  significant  events  or  changes  in  formal  rules  occur  after  Lisbon  in  the 
upper house? 
-  Since  December  1st  2009,  was  the  survival  of  a  government  influenced  in  one 
way or another by decisions made by the European Council? 

There was no significant change after the implementation of the Treaty of Lisbon as far as 
the  Parliamentary  Regulation  is  concerned.  The  last  amendment  of  the  Constitution  that 
took  place  in  2008  did  not  contain  any  relevant  changes  in  Chapter  Four  on  the 
“Organization  and  functioning  of  the  Parliament”.  It  was  in  2001  that  Greece’s  Parliament 
involvement  in  the  scrutiny  of  European  legislative  acts  was  recognised  in  Article  70, 
paragraph 8). In fact, in of Article 70 (par. 2) stipulated that “The Standing Orders of the 
Parliament  shall  provide  for  the  exercise  of  the  legislative  work  specified  therein,  to  may 
also  be  conducted  by  the  standing  parliamentary  committees  which  are  established  and 
function  during  the  session,  as  specified  by  the  Standing  Orders  and  subject  to  the 
restrictions of article 72”118. 

In  Greece,  in  general,  the  question  of  the  debt  crisis  and  the  way  it  is  dealt  with  by  the 
Greek government dominated the domestic political debate. In fact, the political survival of 
the  governments  was  negatively  affected.  In  November  2011  the  then  Prime  Minister  of 
Greece George Papandreou announced a plan for organizing a referendum in December 

2011  on  a  euro  zone  bailout  package.  Even  close  partners  of  George  Papandreou  were 
opposed to the possibility of a referendum (besides Europe). In the middle of this political 
instability,  Prime  Minister  George  Papandreou  resigned  and  a  coalition  government  was 
formed  in  order  to  deal  with  the  political  turmoil  until  the  11th  of  April  2012,  when  the 
Greek parliament was dissoluted in view of the first elections on 6 of May 2012. The plan 
from the very beginning was that the elections will be held once the new government had 

117 Articles 126-128Β of the Standing Orders at http://www.hellenicparliament.gr/UserFiles/f3c70a23-7696-49db­
9148-f24dce6a27c8/ kanonismos-Thematiko-syntagma%202010.pdf 

118  Article  70-  Greek  Constitution  at  http://www.hellenicparliament.gr/UserFiles/f3c70a23-7696-49db-9148­
f24dce6a27c8/001-156%20aggliko.pdf 


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approved the new EU bailout package. Thus it can be argued that, indirectly, the decisions 
made  by  the  European  Council  have  influenced  the  survival  of  all  Greek  governments 
during the period under examination. 

6. Templates to be filled out regarding the lower chamber´s behaviour towards each of 
the 9 European Council meetings and Euro zone summits held between March 2011 and 
March 2012 
Please fill in “yes” or “no” in each box. 

C1 = extraordinary meeting of the European Council and  the meeting of the Heads of 
State or Governement of the Euro Area – 11 March 2011 
C2 = ordinary meeting of the European Council – 24 and 25 March 2011 
C3 = ordinary meeting of the European Council – 23 and 24 June 2011 
C4 = meeting of the Heads of State or Government of the Euro Area – 21 July 2011 
C5 = ordinary meeting of the European Council – 23 October 2011 
C6 = informal meeting of the European Council and meeting of the Heads of State or 
Government of the Euro Area – 26 October 2011 
C7 = ordinary meeting of the European Council – 8 and 9 December 2011 
C8 = informal meeting of the European Council – 30 January 2012 
C9 = ordinary meeting of the European Council – 1 and 2 March 2012

C1 

C2 

C3 

C4  C5 

C6 

C7 

C7 

C8 

C9 

Before the European Council meeting 

Debates in 
committees 
Debates on 
the floor 
Formal 
declaration 
by the PM 
Vote of a 
motion 

After the European Council meeting 

X 

X 

Debates in 
committees 
Debates on 
the floor 
Formal 
declaration 
by the PM 
Vote of a 
motion 

X 

X 

X 

X 

X 

7. Other comments 
- Are there other insitutions or bodies, outside of Parliament, which play a role in 
the control of these results? (i.e. Constitutional courts) 
No. 

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Annex 1 - Questionnaires On The 27 Member States 

Hungary: Gabriella Ilonszki, Corvinus University of 
Budapest 

1. The formal rules 
- Are there formal rules regarding the parliamentary scrutiny of European Council 
meetings and Euro zone summits? 
Formal  rules  do  exist,  but  as  specified  below  they  are  sometimes  vague  or  not  precisely 
defined. They exclusively refer to the European Council meetings while Euro zone summits 
are not mentioned.  

- If  yes,  what  are  their  legal  bases  (Constitution,  Legal  provisions,  Standing 
Orders, other)? 

A new Constitution was accepted by parliament on April 18, 2011 and came into force on 
at 
AT) 
January 
http://www.kozlonyok.hu/nkonline/MKPDF/hiteles/mk11043.pdf 

(Alaptörvény, 

(Basic 

found 

2012 

Law) 

be 

to 

1, 

In the AT the European Council is NOT mentioned specifically but Article 19 of the AT can 
be  regarded  as  one  that  does  refer  to  the  European  Council  meetings  as  well.  Article  19 
does not define obligations but rather possibilities in terms of parliamentary scrutiny. More 
particularly, it says: “The Parliament may request information from the Government on its 
standpoint to be represented at the decision-making procedure of those institutions of the 
European  Union  that  require  governmental  participation,  and  may  formulate  its  own 
standpoint  about  the  Government’s  standpoint.  The  Government  will  act  by  taking  the 
Parliament’s  standpoint  into  consideration.”  Please,  note  that  this  is  my  own  translation. 
The  translation  of  the  entire  AT  has  been  a  cause  of  controversy,  even  attracted 
international  attention.  As  of  now  the  official  translation  of  Article  19  of  the  AT  is  “The 
Parliament may request information from the Government on its standpoint represented at 
the  decision-making  procedure  of  those  institutions  of  the  European  Union  that  require 
governmental  participation.  The  Government  shall  act  on  the  basis  of  the  Parliament’s 
stand during the decision-making of the European Union.” A line is missing that is included 
in the Hungarian text and the last sentence sounds somewhat different. (The official English 
translation  can  be 
kapcsolatok/501-qthe-basic-law-of-hungary-a-first-commentary ) 

from  http://www.nki.gov.hu/nemzetkoezi­

found  and 

imported 

It  should  be  noted  that  the  former  Constitution  was  not  very  specific  either:  it  stipulated 
that  the  concrete  and  detailed  rules  concerning  Government  –  Parliament  connections  on 
EU related issues will be specified by law. This was Law LVIII/2004, see below.  

The connections between the Government and Parliament in EU affairs are (were) defined 
by two laws:Law LIII/2004 and more recently Law XXXVI/2012. With the acceptance of the 
latter  one,  the  former  has  lost  its  relevance,  although  some  important  elements  have 
continued to prevail (see the precise description below)  

The  Standing  Orders  stipulate  some  concrete  procedures,  called  “adjustment  procedure” 
relating to general EU related affairs – but not specifically on Council summits. 

- If yes, what are these rules about? What obligations does the government have? 

Law  LIII/2004  was  accepted  on  May  17,  2004  and  was  entitled  “On  the  cooperation 
between  Government  and  Parliament  concerning  European  Union  affairs”  –  clearly  a 
requirement for EU accession. Law XXXVI/2012, accepted on April 16, 2012 is entitled “On 
Parliament”, which indicates that this is an overarching law and only one section of it deals 
with parliament-government connections in EU affairs. (This is Section VI)  

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Policy Department C: Citizens' Rights and Constitutional Affairs 
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Despite continuity between the two laws some differences can be observed between them. 
The  2004  law  explicitly  states  that  the  Parliament  is  entitled  to  scrutiny,  adjustment  and 
information on EU affairs, which it might exercise through its committee(s) (1par.(1)) but 
this statement is missing from law 2012.  

Also,  formerly  it  was  stated  that  the  Government  should  send  all  of  its      standpoint 
proposals  in  EU  affairs  to  the  Parliament  (2par.(1)  while  as  of  now  the  Government 
“ensures access” to these documents for Parliament (63. par.(1)). From the new regulation 
the right of the Parliament to require a more detailed information about the Government’s 
standpoint proposal (3.par(4) LIII/2004)  has been left out.  

Both  laws  stipulate  that  the  Prime  Minister  before  the  European  Council  meetings  and 
before  “events  of  strategic  importance”  informs  the  special  body  of  Parliament. 
(7.par.(1)LIII/2004  and  69.par.  (2)  XXXVI/2012  respectively)  –  the  only  difference  being 
that  the  body  has  acquired  a  proper  name  in  the  meantime  and  as  of  now  it  is  called 
European  Consultation  Body  (ECB).  (Sometimes,  in  parliamentary  discourse  the  ECB  is 
“Grand  Committee”,  although  in  terms  of  its  functions  this  name  is 
referred  to  as 
unjustified  because  it  does  not  give  a  compulsory  mandate  to  the  Prime  Minister,  it  only 
listens  to  the  Prime  Minister’s  viewpoints  and  comments  it  without  any  obligations.).  The 
ECB is convened by the Speaker of the House and it is composed of PPG leaders, chairs and 
vice-chairs  of  the  European  Affairs  Standing  committee  and  the  committee  dealing  with 
constitutional issues and foreign affairs committee. Other persons might also be invited – at 
the discretion of the Speaker. These meetings are not public, they are absolutely closed.  

The Prime Minister provides information to the Parliament’s plenary session about and after 
the European Council meeting (69.par.(4)) and the Government submits a yearly report to 
the Parliament about the EU affairs (69. par.(5). 

- If  yes,  do  these  rules  make  distinctions  between  the  different  types  of 

meetings of the European Council (regular, extraordinary, Euro zone summit)? 

No, no differentiation.  

2. Ex-ante control  
-  Do  national  parliaments  take  part  in  the  preparation  of  meetings  of  the 
European Council and Euro zone summits? 
The  national  parliament  - understood  as  the  entire  House,  that  is  the  plenary  –  does  not 
take  part  in  the  preparation  process.  But  the  Prime  Minister  will  meet  the  European 
Consultation  Body  (see  above)  to  discuss  the  Hungarian  position  at  the  summits.  For 
historical  evidence  it  should  be  noted  that  originally  (around  the  accession  period)  this 
“Grand  Committee”  was  assumed  to  take  up  really  decisive  functions,  but  this  ideal  has 
evaporated in face of government dominance and a weakening parliament. 
- Do Parliaments’ Rules of Procedure provide for priority debates? 

Priority  debates  (and  decisions)  are  possible  but  they  are  not  related  to  EU  affairs 
particularly  –  although  they  could  be  applied  for  that  purpose.  At  the  moment  no  priority 
events could have been identified in the parliamentary database about Council summits. 

- If  so,  which  bodies  are  responsible  for,  and  involved  in,  this  preparatory  work 
(for example, committees, plenary or other bodies)?  

Priority  debates  are  required  by  the  initiator  of  the  motion  and  then  the  plenary  session 
would  vote  on  it  –  a  qualified  majority  is  required.  Since  however  there  was  no  priority 
procedure on any Council related event, this answer is irrelevant. 

- Which governmental authorities take part in the parliamentary debates? 

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Annex 1 - Questionnaires On The 27 Member States 

In  the  parliamentary  debates  the  ministers,  and  as  replacement  state  secretaries  are 
entitled to participate.  

- Is  there  a  vote  for  a  parliamentary  resolution  before  the  European  Council 
meeting? 

No. 

3. Ex-post control: institutional body 
Which  is  the  responsible body  within  the  Parliament  to  control  the  results  of  the 
European  Council  and  the  Euro  zone  summits  (the  plenary,  committees,  other 
bodies)? 
According  to  the  formal  rules  both  the  plenary  and  the  European  Affairs  Committee  do 
participate in the control mechanism but these forums are inconsequential. 

4. Ex-post control: debates in parliament 
-  What  is  the  organization  of  the  plenary  debates  after  the  European  Council 
meetings?  (NB:  if  there  are  no  debates  in  the  plenary  but  in  committees,  do 
indicate this fact and answer accordingly) 
According  to  the  legal  regulation  (see  point  1)  the  Prime  Minister  should  report  to  the 
parliament after the Council meetings. This takes the format of a speech before the agenda 
normally  at  the  first  plenary  session  after  the  Council  meeting.  After  the  Prime  Minister’s 
speech  each  PPG  leader  is  entitled  to  respond  to  the  speech  and  then  the  Prime  Minister 
can again react. No other plenary debate opportunities are provided.  

- Which is the competent institutional body to decide on setting the agenda of the 
plenary  for  those  debates?  Who  takes  the  initiative  in  practice?  Can  the 
government avoid a debate? 

It  is  the  House  Committee  that  decides  on  the  agenda  and  the  format.  Practice  is 
somewhat varied both in terms of time and sequence (see below). It should also be noted 
that  out  the  9  “potential”  occasions  the  Prime  Minister  fulfilled  his  legal  obligation  only  5 
times (see the table below). 

-  Which  governmental  authorities  take  part  in  the  parliamentary  debates?  Does 
the Head of Government/ Prime Minister take part? 

These  prime  ministerial  speeches  show  strikingly  different  faces.  While  the  2011  October 
and December meetings were followed by longer than one hour speeches in the Hungarian 
parliament,  the  two  2012  speeches  lasted  for  8  and  5  minutes  only  (the  latter  not  even 
followed  the  normal  format,  it  was  not  an  introductory  declaration,  rather  a  response  to 
PPG  leaders’  queries).  As  a  consequence  of  the  shorter  Prime  ministerial  talk  the  PPG 
leaders could speak also shorter (according to the decision of the House Committee, if the 
PM  speaks  shorter  than  20  minutes  the  PPG  leaders  can  talk  only  for  5  minutes).  The 
impression  one  gets  is  that  in  this  way  the  government  can  limit  the  opportunities  of  the 
opposition  to  present  their  views  –  and  the  Government  can  also  avoid  providing  detailed 
information. 

- How is the debate structured? Is there a vote after the debate? 

As  mentioned  above,  regularly  the  Prime  Minister  introduces  his  viewpoints  and  the  PPG 
leaders’ comment. Other MPs do not get involved. No vote or not any other accountability 
measure occurs. 

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5. Since Lisbon 
-  After  the  Treaty  of  Lisbon  came  into  force,  were  there  significant  changes 
regarding the parliamentary control of the European Council? 
None 

-  Did  any  significant  events  or  changes  in  formal  rules  occur  after  Lisbon  in  the 
upper house? 
-  Since  December  1st  2009,  was  the  survival  of  a  government  influenced  in  one 
way or another by decisions made by the European Council? 
None 

6. Templates to be filled out regarding the lower chamber´s behaviour towards each of 
the 9 European Council meetings and Euro zone summits held between March 2011 and 
March 2012 
Please fill in “yes” or “no” in each box. 

C1 = extraordinary meeting of the European Council and  the meeting of the Heads of 
State or Governement of the Euro Area – 11 March 2011 
C2 = ordinary meeting of the European Council – 24 and 25 March 2011 
C3 = ordinary meeting of the European Council – 23 and 24 June 2011 
C4 = meeting of the Heads of State or Government of the Euro Area – 21 July 2011 
C5 = ordinary meeting of the European Council – 23 October 2011 
C6 = informal meeting of the European Council and meeting of the Heads of State or 
Government of the Euro Area – 26 October 2011 
C7 = ordinary meeting of the European Council – 8 and 9 December 2011 
C8 = informal meeting of the European Council – 30 January 2012 
C9 = ordinary meeting of the European Council – 1 and 2 March 2012 

Before the European Council meeting 

C1  C2  C3  C4  C5  C6  C7  C8  C9 

Debates in committees  no  no  no  no  no  no  no  yes  yes 
Debates on the floor  no  no  no  no  no  no  no  no  yes 

Formal declaration by the PM  no  no  no  no  no  no  no 

no  no 
Vote of a motion  no  no  no  no  no  no  no  no  no 

After the European Council meeting 

Debates in committees  no  no  no  no  no  no  yes  yes  no 

Debates on the floor  no  no  yes  no  yes  no  yes  yes  yes 
Formal declaration by the PM  no  no  yes  no  yes  no  yes  yes  yes 

Vote of a motion  no  no  no  no  no  no  no  no  no 

7. Other comments 
- Are there other insitutions or bodies, outside of Parliament, which play a role in 
the control of these results? (i.e. Constitutional courts) 
Not anything substantial 

- Some of your own remarks (voluntary): 

The table template did not provide the opportunity to reflect on the activities and the role 
of  the  European  Consultation  Body  (ECB)  (or  Grand  Committee,  see  the  answers  to  Q1), 
which is consulted regularly before the European Council meetings. Out of the given 

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Annex 1 - Questionnaires On The 27 Member States 

dates/events the Prime Minister met the ECB at each occasion except one (the exception is 
the July 21 Council meeting). It should be noted that these consultations are not public. A 
later (promised) interview might provide more concrete information on the atmosphere of 
these consultations.  
It  is  clear  (minutes  of  the  European  Affairs  Committee  (EAC),  see  particularly 
http://www.parlament.hu/internet/plsql/ogy_biz.keret_frissit?p_szerv=&p_fomenu=31&p_ 
almenu=5&p_ckl=39&p_biz=A340&p_rec=&p_egys=&p_nyelv=HU)  that  there  is  a  kind  of 
rivalry between the European Affairs Committee and the European Consultation Body. The 
EAC  would  like  to  have  more  say  in  the  preparation  of  the  viewpoints  before  the  Council 
meetings. 
Some information in the table template are misleading if not put in context. For example, 
there were no votes of a motion in the plenary relating to Council meetings related affairs 
but it does not follow that were no initiatives to this end. For example the opposition Jobbik 
(extreme  right)  put  forward  motions  against  signing  the  agreement  on  the  European 
economic  and  monetary  union  on  March1  but  because  these  types  of  motions  are  filtered 
on the committee level and in committees the parliamentary party composition is reflected 
they will not reach the plenary vote stage. 
It  should  also  be  noted  that  the  plenary  has  dealt  with  these  summit  events  only  on  the 
days  when  the  Prime  Minister  gave  his  obligatory  talk.  The  plenary  agenda  around  the 
covered  events  (one  week  before  and  one  week  after  the  summit)  did  not  include  any 
plenary  debate  to  this  end.  It  seems  that  the  Hungarian  Parliament  is  very  quite  about 
these  important  events,  which  is  related  to  the  current  situation  when  the  majority  is  a 
dominant position. 

Literature 

Ágh, Attila (2010), ‘Regionalization as a driving force of EU widening: Recovering from the 

EU carrot crisis in the East’, Europe-Asia Studies, 62(8)
 
Jacoby, Wade (2010) ‘Managing globalization by managing Central and Eastern Euope’, 

Journal of European Public Policy, 17(3).
 

Aron Buzogány – Andrej Stuchlik (2009) Paved with intentions. Ambiguities of empowering 

parliaments after Lisbon. FÖV Discussion Papers, 66, Speyer  


69 


 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
 



 



 






Policy Department C: Citizens' Rights and Constitutional Affairs 
____________________________________________________________________________________________   

Ireland: Gavin Barrett, University College Dublin 
Name of your Member State: Ireland (lower house “Dáil”, upper house “Seanad”) 

1. The formal rules 
- Are there formal rules regarding the parliamentary scrutiny of European Council 
meetings and Euro zone summits?  

No. Parliamentary scrutiny of European Council meetings and Euro zone summits in the 
Oireachtas (parliament) is carried out on the basis of practice, rather than on the basis of 
any formal rules or obligations. No provision is made in the Constitution, statute or 
parliamentary standing orders in relation to such scrutiny. 

- If  yes,  what  are  their  legal  bases  (Constitution,  Legal  provisions,  Standing 
Orders, other)?  

See previous answer. 

- If yes, what are these rules about? What obligations does the government have? 

As  already  noted,  the  government  has  no  formal  obligations  in  relation  to  parliamentary 
scrutiny of European Council meetings and Euro zone summits. Its activities in this regard 
are a question of practice, not the outcome of the application of formal rules. 

Prior to the present parliamentary session (the 31st Dáil) practice had for long been that a 
statement would be made by the Taoiseach to the Dáil in the days following each European 
Council.  The  present  government  committed  itself  to  adding  to  this  a  statement  prior  to 
each European Council. Thus the current practice is that the Taoiseach (prime minister)(at 
present Enda Kenny of the Fine Gael party) provides a statement to the Dáil just prior to a 
European Council meeting. This is followed by a statement by all of the Opposition party (at 
present  Fianna  Fáil,  Labour,  Sinn  Féin  and  Technical  Group)  leaders.  Subsequent  to  each 
European  Council  meeting,  the  Taoiseach  provides  another    statement  to  the  Dáil.  This  is 
followed by statements by each of the Opposition party leaders (whose speaking time may 
occasionally  be  shared  with  party  spokespersons  on  European  affairs).  There  is  then  a 
series  of  questions  from  the  Opposition  (open  to  all  TDs  ('Teachtaí  Dála'  or  members  of 
parliament)).  Answers  to  these  questions  are  generally  taken  by  the  Minister  of  State  for 
European  Affairs  (at  present  Lucinda  Creighton  of  the  Fine  Gael  party)  rather  than  the 
Taoiseach. Neither ex ante nor ex post sessions are particularly well attended. 

- If yes, do these rules make distinctions between the different types of meetings 
of the European Council (regular, extraordinary, Euro zone summit)?  

European Council meetings are all treated equally, without any particular distinction being 
made. There is no special provision for Euro zone summits, although since these coincide in 
time with European Council meetings, the two tend in practice to be dealt with together in 
the  Dáil  briefings.  Indeed,  it  may  well  be  - depending  on  the  importance  of  the  themes 
being  dealt  with  by  European  Council  and  Euro  zone  summit  -  that  the  main  focus  of 
interest of both statements and questions will be the Euro zone summit rather than on the 
European  Council  meeting,  although  the  Taoiseach's  statements  in  particular  are  more 
wide-ranging. 

2. Ex-ante control  
-  Do  national  parliaments  take  part  in  the  preparation  of  meetings  of  the 
European Council and Euro zone summits? 
A  commitment  made  in  the  2011  programme  for  government  of  the  present  Fine  Gael-
Labour coalition provided that “the Taoiseach will be obliged to brief the Oireachtas prior to 

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Annex 1 - Questionnaires On The 27 Member States 

attending European Council meetings”. Such ex ante briefings had not previously been the 
practice,  but  have  taken  place  since  shortly  after  the  present  government  took  office. 
Although the programme refers to the Taoiseach being ‘obliged’ to brief the Oireachtas, the 
briefings are a matter of political practice only: the requirement to have such briefings has 
not  been  embedded  in  the  Constitution,  statute  or  standing  orders.  The  ex  ante  briefings 
are the only method by which parliament is involved in the process leading up to meetings 
in the European Councils, and involve statements both by the Taoiseach and by Opposition 
party  leaders.  No  opportunity  is  given  to  question  the  Taoiseach.  The  involvement  of 
parliament  does  not  involve  ‘preparing’  the  Government’s  position  in  European  Council 
meetings,  however,  but  rather  involves  merely  a  statement  from  the  Taoiseach,  who  in 
turn hears the statements of other party leaders.  
- Do Parliaments’ Rules of Procedure provide for priority debates? 

Debates over and upcoming Council meeting can be and in practice are given priority over 
other  topics,  debates  and  activities,.  Discussion  on  how  time  is  allotted  takes  place  in 
meetings  between  the  government  Chief  Whip  and  party  whips,  although,  in  practice,  the 
allotment  of  speaking  time  in  parliament  is  ultimately  in  the  hands  of  the  government 
because it controls a majority of votes in the house, and can therefore impose its will. 

- If so, which bodies are responsible for, and involved in, this preparatory work 
(for example, committees, plenary or other bodies)? 

Only the plenary session of the Dáil is involved in the above-described process. In practice, 
only  a  small  minority  of  the  membership  of  the  house  is  involved,  with  only  statements 
being  allowed  (rather  than  e.g.,  parliamentary  questions)  and  those  statements  normally 
being  confined  to  party  leaders  (occasionally  shared  with  parliamentary  spokespersons) 
rather than the membership more broadly). 

- Which governmental authorities take part in the parliamentary debates? 

In  the  ex  ante  debates,  the  Taoiseach  always  makes  the  initial  statement,  with  his 
statement being followed by that of other party leaders. 

- Is  there  a  vote  for  a  parliamentary  resolution  before  the  European  Council 
meeting? 

No vote of any kind is taken. The process consists merely of statements. 

3. Ex-post control: institutional body 
Which  is  the  responsible body  within  the  Parliament  to  control  the  results  of  the 
European  Council  and  the  Euro  zone  summits  (the  plenary,  committees,  other 
bodies)? 
The only body controlling the results of the European Council is the plenary session of the 
Dáil.  There  is  no  provision  either  formally  or  in  practice  for  controlling  the  result  of  Euro 
zone summits but because these coincide in time with European Councils in practice these 
are  also  controlled  by  the  plenary  session  of  the  Dáil  –  at  least  when  the  outcome  is 
sufficiently  politically  interesting  to  attract  the  interest  of  members  of  the  lower  house. 
Committees  consider  the  outcome  of  Council  meetings,  not  generally  European  Council 
meetings  (although  there  was  one  instance  in  late  2011  of  a  European  Union  Affairs 
Committee being briefed by a senior civil servant on the outcome of a European Council). It 
is  additionally  possible  for  the  upper  House,  the  Seanad  to  request  a  debate  on  any 
European  issue  that  it  wishes.  This  possibility  is  frequently  used,  with  the  result  that  the 
Minister  of  State  for  European  Affairs  (whose  office  is  a  sub-Cabinet  position  in  the 
Department of the Taoiseach) tends to spend more time in the Seanad than in the Dáil. The 
themes of such debates (which tend to be less political and more reflective than Dáil 

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Policy Department C: Citizens' Rights and Constitutional Affairs 
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debates)  may  possibly  overlap  with  the  subject  matter  of  European  Council  meetings 
although they are not formally directed at ensuring accountability in relation to them. 

4. Ex-post control: debates in parliament 
- What is the organization of the plenary debates after the European Council 
meetings? (NB: if there are no debates in the plenary but in committees, do 
indicate this fact and answer accordingly) 
As already noted, plenary debates after European Council meetings involve a statement by 
the  Taoiseach,  followed  by  statements  by  the  other  party  leaders.  These  are  followed  by 
questions (generally emanating from party spokespersons on European affairs) directed at 
the government in relation to European Council matters. In practice, however, this question 
and  answer  session  is  taken  by  the  Minister  of  State  for  European  Affairs,  and  the 
Taoiseach may have left the chamber at this point. 

- Which is the competent institutional body to decide on setting the agenda of the 
plenary  for  those  debates?  Who  takes  the  initiative  in  practice?  Can  the 
government avoid a debate? 

Nominally, a meeting of the Government Chief Whip and Opposition party whips may reach 
agreements  on  the  setting  of  the  agenda.  However,  in  practice  it  will  be  the  government, 
via the Chief Whip which will set the agenda as in case of any dispute, the government can 
use  its  majority  to  impose  its  will.  Thus  in  practice  the  agenda  is  set  by  the  government. 
However,  it  should  be  noted  that  the  agenda  for  ex  post  debates  on  Council  meetings 
follows a more or less fixed routine. In other words, there is not a lot of agenda-setting to 
be  done.  In  terms  of  the  topics  which  speakers  in  the  debate  wish  to  address,  this  is  a 
matter  for  themselves.  Thus  for  example  if  the  Taoiseach  wishes  to  focus  on  particular 
aspects of a European Council meeting or Euro zone summit then he is entirely free to do 
so  (although  in  practice  his  speech  tends  to  cover  the  various  issues/outcomes  of  the 
European Council). 

As  regards  whether  the  government  can  avoid  a  debate,  it  should  be  recalled  that  the 
government  has  no  formal  obligations  in  relation  to  parliamentary  scrutiny  of  European 
Council  meetings  and  Euro  zone  summits.  In  theory  therefore,  it  is  entirely  possible  to 
avoid  a  debate  on  a  European  Council  meeting.  However,  if  the  government  failed  to 
provide for parliamentary scrutiny via statements before – or at least certainly after - the 
European  Council,  it  could  certainly  expect  that  the  Opposition  would  seek  to  elicit 
information via parliamentary questions in the plenary session of the Dáil (even if it is true 
that it is entirely possible not to give very satisfactory answers to such questions). Thus in 
this  sense  the  requirement  for  the  government  to  account  is  ineluctable  and  the  current 
arrangements (certainly as regards ex post scrutiny at least) more a choice of form than of 
substance.  

- Which governmental authorities take part in the parliamentary debates? Does 
the Head of Government/ Prime Minister take part? 

The  Taoiseach  takes  part  in  the  parliamentary  debates  both  before  and  after  European 
Councils  although  he  does  not  take  the  questions  which  form  a  regular  part  of  the  latter 
debate, this being left in general to the Minister of State for European Affairs. 

- How is the debate structured? Is there a vote after the debate? 

The debate consists of statements being made by the Taoiseach followed by the other party 
leaders or spokespersons on European affairs. This is followed by a questions and answers 

72 


 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 


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Annex 1 - Questionnaires On The 27 Member States 

session  which,  as  just  noted,  tends  to  be  taken  by  the  Minister  of  State  for  European 
Affairs.  Any  member  of  the  lower  House  is  free  to  involve  him-  or  herself  in  the  debate 
when it comes to the asking of questions. In practice, this tends to be the preserve of the 
spokespersons on European affairs. No vote is ever taken after the debate.  

5. Since Lisbon 
-  After  the  Treaty  of  Lisbon  came  into  force,  were  there  significant  changes 
regarding the parliamentary control of the European Council? 
The  Treaty  of  Lisbon  itself  resulted  in  no  changes  being  made  regarding  parliamentary 
control  of  the  European  Council.  The  February  2011  election  resulted  in  a  new  Fine  Gael-
Labour  coalition  government  however,  which  committed  itself  to  an  obligation  on  the 
Taoiseach  to  brief  the  Oireachtas  prior  to  attending  European  Council  meetings:  the  only 
substantive change there has been to parliamentary control of the European Council since 
the  time  of  the  coming  into  force  of  the  Lisbon  Treaty.  (There  have  been,  it  should  be 
added,  changes  to  statute  and  Standing  Orders  to  accommodate  the  subsidiarity  control 
mechanism, but these changes do not have any relevance to European Councils.) 

-  Did  any  significant  events  or  changes  in  formal  rules  occur  after  Lisbon  in  the 
upper house? 

There  have  been  no  significant  events  or  changes  in  formal  rules  in  the  Seanad  since  the 
coming into force of the Lisbon Treaty. 

-  Since  December  1st  2009,  was  the  survival  of  a  government  influenced  in  one 
way or another by decisions made by the European Council? 

The  dissolution  of  the  (previous)  30th  Dáil  on  1  February  2011  was  intimately  linked  with 
the  collapse  in  popularity  of  the  Brian  Cowen-led  administration,  subsequent  to  a  banking 
and property crisis compelling Ireland to request formally financial support from the EFSF, 
the EFSM and the IMF in November 2010 in addition to a series of bilateral loans. While no 
individual decision by a European Council was a causal factor here, the bailout tended to be 
associated  in  the  public  mind  broadly  with  the  EU  generally,  and  with  various  European 
Council meetings. 

The  present  government  in  contrast  has  successfully  portrayed  itself  as  having  achieved 
success at European Councils:  (a) securing a  reduction in the interest rate on loans made 
to  it  by  the  EFSF  and  the  EFSM  ,  at  a  time  when  a  similar  reduction  was  provided  for 
Greece (European Council of 11 March 2011 and associated Euro zone summit) and (b) in 
having  secured  an  economically  vital  undertaking  by  the  Eurogroup  to  examine  the 
situation of the Irish financial sector with the view of further improving the sustainability of 
the  adjustment  programme,  and  to  treat  similar  cases  equally  at  a  time  when 
recapitalisation  of  Spanish  banks  was  being  assisted.  (European  Council  of  28-29  June 
2012  and  the  associated  Euro  zone  summit).  The  political  impact  of  these  events  was 
undoubtedly positive for the government, but it remains to be seen to what extent. 

6. Templates to be filled out regarding the lower chamber´s behaviour towards each of 
the 9 European Council meetings and Euro zone summits held between March 2011 and 
March 2012 
Please fill in “yes” or “no” in each box. 

C1 = extraordinary meeting of the European Council and  the meeting of the Heads of 
State or Government of the Euro Area – 11 March 2011 
C2 = ordinary meeting of the European Council – 24 and 25 March 2011 

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Policy Department C: Citizens' Rights and Constitutional Affairs 
____________________________________________________________________________________________   

C3 = ordinary meeting of the European Council – 23 and 24 June 2011 
C4 = meeting of the Heads of State or Government of the Euro Area – 21 July 2011 
C5 = ordinary meeting of the European Council – 23 October 2011 
C6 = informal meeting of the European Council and meeting of the Heads of State or 
Government of the Euro Area – 26 October 2011 
C7 = ordinary meeting of the European Council – 8 and 9 December 2011 
C8 = informal meeting of the European Council – 30 January 2012 
C9 = ordinary meeting of the European Council – 1 and 2 March 2012 

C1 

C3 
Before the European Council meeting 
Debates in 
committees 

C2 

No 

No 

No 

C4 

C5 

No 

No 

C6 

No 

Yes 

Yes 

Yes 

Yes 

Yes 

Yes 

Debates on 
the floor 

Formal 
declaration by 
the PM 

No (this 
was just 
after 
general 
election) 

No (this 
was just 
after the 
general 
election) 

Yes (but 
this was 
combine 
d with 
ex post 
debate 
on C1) 

Yes (but 
this was 
combine 
d with 
ex post 
debate 
on C1) 

Vote of a 
motion 

No 

No 

No 

No 

No 

Yes 
(but this 
was 
combine 
d with ex 
post 
debate 
on C5) 
Yes 
(but this 
was 
combine 
d with ex 
post 
debate 
on C5) 
No 

C7  C8  C9 

No 

No 

No 

Yes 

Yes 

Yes 

Yes 

Yes 

Yes 

No 

No 

No 

After the European Council meeting 
No 

No 

No 

Debates in 
committees 
Debates on 
the floor 

Yes 

Yes 

Yes 

Yes 

Yes 
(but 
combined 
with ex 
ante 
debate on 
C2) 

Yes 
(combined 
with ex 
ante 
debate on 
C2) 

Formal 
declaration by 
the PM 

Vote of a 
motion 

No 

No 

No 

No 

No 

No 

Yes 

No 

No 

Yes 

Yes 

Yes 

Yes 

Yes 

Yes 

Yes 

Yes 

Yes (but 
this was 
combined 
with ex 
ante 
debate on 
C6) 

Yes (but 
this was 
combined 
with ex 
ante 
debate on 
C6) 

No 

No 

No 

No 

No 

No 
(Dáil 
adjour 
ned 
for 
Summ 
er 
break 
July 
21st) 
No 
(Dáil 
adjour 
ned 
for 
Summ 
er 
break 
July 
21st) 
No 

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Annex 1 - Questionnaires On The 27 Member States 

7. Other comments 
- Are there other insitutions or bodies, outside of Parliament, which play a role 
in the control of these results? (i.e. Constitutional courts) 
No. 

- Some of your own remarks (voluntary):  
While there has been a welcome increase in transparency surrounding European Council 
meetings  with  ex  ante  and  ex  post  facto  debates  now  occurring,  and  the  Taoiseach 
evidently  committed  to  continuing  this  tradition,  there  is  equally  no  doubt  that  the  Irish 
government remains very firmly in the driving seat in relation to its conduct of European 
Council  meetings.  Although  the  views  of  Opposition  party  leaders  (and  sometimes 
spokespersons)  are  now  heard  in  the  Dáil  prior  to  European  Councils,  the  power  of  the 
Dáil to influence the government to take a position the latter does not wish to is limited to 
non-existent.  

Short Bibliography 

G. Barrett, National Parliaments and the European Union: The Constitutional Challenge for 
the Oireachtas and Other Member State Legislatures (Clarus Press, Dublin, 2008) (509 pp. 
& xvi pp.) 

G. Barrett, The Evolving Role of the Oireachtas in European Affairs (Oireachtas, October, 
2012 (forthcoming) 

Report of the Joint Sub-Committee on the Review of the Role of the Oireachtas in European 
Affairs  Oireachtas, 7 July, 2010, available online at 

http://euaffairs.ie/publications/Sub-Committee-Report-Review-of-Role-of-Oireachtas-in
European-Affairs.pdf 

Ireland’s Future in the European Union: Challenges, Issues and Options, Oireachtas, 27 
November 2008 available online at 

http://www.oireachtas.ie/viewdoc.asp?fn=/documents/committees30thdail/j­
europeanaffairs/Sub_Cttee_EU__20081127.doc 

M. MacCarthaigh and M. Manning, The Houses of the Oireachtas: Parliament in Ireland 
(2010, Institute of Public Administration, Dublin) 

J. Coakley and M. Gallagher (eds.) Politics in the Republic of Ireland (fifth edition, 
Routledge/PSAI, London, 2010) 

75 


 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
   
 
 
 
 
 
 


­
Policy Department C: Citizens' Rights and Constitutional Affairs 
____________________________________________________________________________________________   

Italy: Michele Comelli, Istituto Affari Internazionali 
Name of your Member State: Italy119 

1. The formal rules 
- Are there formal rules regarding the parliamentary scrutiny of European Council 
meetings and Euro zone summits?  
Yes for European Council meetings, no for Euro zone summits. 

- If  yes,  what  are  their  legal  bases  (Constitution,  Legal  provisions,  Standing 
Orders, other)?  
The legal basis providing for the parliamentary scrutiny of European Council meetings was 
established by the Law 11/2005120 (in part. Art. 3), also known as the Stucchi-Buttiglione 
Law that replaced the Law 183/1987 (Fabbri Law) and Law 86/1989 (La Pergola Law) The 
Stucchi-Buttiglione Law consolidates and clarifies the general legal framework providing for 
the participation of Italy in EU decision-making121. 

- If yes, what are these rules about? What obligations does the government have? 
According to art. 3 of the Stucchi-Buttiglione Law, before each European Council the Italian 
Government  shall  provide  both  houses  of  the  Parliament  with  the  agenda  of  the  meeting 
and inform them on the positions it plans to adopt. Afterwards, the government shall report 
on the outcome of the European Council meetings within fifteen days after the meeting.  

- If yes, do these rules make distinctions between the different types of meetings 
of the European Council (regular, extraordinary, Euro zone summit)?  
No, they don’t make this distinction. 

2. Ex-ante control  
-  Do  national  parliaments  take  part  in  the  preparation  of  meetings  of  the 
European Council and Euro zone summits?  
The Italian Parliament has been increasingly more active in this regard, in particular since 
the outbreak of the crisis of the eurozone. The Parliament has 
intervened  before  the  European  Councils  and  the  Euro  zone  summits  with  the  following 
instruments: debates in committees, debates in plenary and votes of a motion.  

- Do Parliaments’ Rules of Procedure provide for priority debates?  
No, they don’t.  

- If  so,  which  bodies  are  responsible  for,  and  involved  in,  this  preparatory  work 
(for example, committees, plenary or other bodies)? 
- Which governmental authorities take part in the parliamentary debates? 
The practice was that an undersecretary for Foreign Affairs took part in the parliamentary 
debate before the European Council. Since the III Berlusconi government (2008-2011) the 
then Foreign Affairs Minister Franco Frattini established the practice of attending personally 

119 First of all, it should be specified that the Italian political system provides for a “perfect bicameralism”, that is 
the  Higher  and  Lower  House  of  the  Parliament,  respectively  named  “Senato  della  Repubblica”  and  “Camera  dei 
Deputati”  enjoy  exactly  the  same  legislative  powers  and  are  both  elective.  The  Government  must  obtain  the 
confidence of both Chambers. This is a unique feature within the European Union.  
120 For the official text of the law (in Italian language) see http://www.camera.it/parlam/leggi/05011l.htm 
I  am  grateful  to  Luigi  Gianniti,  chief  of  staff,  foreign  affairs  committee,  Italian  senate  for  providing  relevant 
informations for completing the present report. The interview took place in July 20th, 2012. 
121 F. Bindi, Italy and the European Union, Rome and Washigton: Scuola Superiore della Pubblica Amministrazione 
e Brookings Institution Press, 2011, p. 95 

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Annex 1 - Questionnaires On The 27 Member States 

these meetings, without delegating an Undersecretary. However, the role of the Minister of 
Foreign Affairs was downgraded after the entry into force of the Lisbon Treaty (December 
1st,  2009),  because  Foreign  Affairs  Ministers  were  no  longer  included  in  the  European 
Council.  Moreover,  with  the  entry  into  force  of  the  current  Monti  government  (in  power 
since November 16th, 2011) the parliamentary debates are usually attended by the Minister 
for European Affairs. On the one hand this post, which was traditionally assigned to a junior 
minister,  became  much  more  important  than  before,  because  European  affairs  became 
more salient due to the aggravation of the crisis both at the European and Italian level. For 
this reason, the Ministry for EU policies was renamed Ministry for European Affairs, tasked 
with more competences with before and assigned to Enzo Moavero, that used to be a close 
collaborator  of  Mario  Monti  in  Brussels  and  has  a  strong  personal  relation  with  him.  This 
upgrading  in  the  power  and  profile  of  the  European  Affairs  Minister  has  been  to  the 
detriment of the Foreign Affairs Minister, that was traditionally in charge of setting out the 
priorities for Italy’s EU policy, together with the President of the Council of the Minister. In 
a number of occasions the Prime Minister Mario Monti decided to make a declaration before 
the  Parliament,  in  consideration  of  the  high  political  importance  of  the  issues  to  be 
discussed by the upcoming European Council.  
- Is there a vote for a parliamentary resolution before the European Council meeting? The 
Parliament may adopt both resolution and votes of motion on the position to be adopted by 
the  Italian  government  at  the  upcoming  European  Council.  For  example,  in  its  plenary 
session of January 25th, 2012, the Parliament adopted three different motions, put forward 
by  different  political  groups,  providing  orientations  for  the  position  of  the  Italian 
government at the European Council in view of the important European Council of January 
30th,  2012,  that  concluded  the  negotiations  of  the  Fiscal  Compact,  the  Italian  Parliament 
approved122. In its plenary session of January 27th in view of the European Council of June 
28-29, the the Italian Parliament approved a resolution and a number of motions.  

3. Ex-post control: institutional body 
Which  is  the  responsible body  within  the  Parliament  to  control  the  results  of  the 
European  Council  and  the  Euro  zone  summits  (the  plenary,  committees,  other 
bodies)?  
The plenary and/or the committee. 

4. Ex-post control: debates in parliament 
-  What  is  the  organization  of  the  plenary  debates  after  the  European  Council 
meetings?  (NB:  if  there  are  no  debates  in  the  plenary  but  in  committees,  do 
indicate this fact and answer accordingly) 
The  President  of  the  Lower  House  chairs  the  meeting.  The  representative  of  the 
Government reports on the results of the European Council, then a debate follows.  

- Which is the competent institutional body to decide on setting the agenda of the 
plenary  for  those  debates?  Who  takes  the  initiative  in  practice?  Can  the 
government avoid a debate? 

The  agenda  is  set  by  the  Conference  of  the  Chairmen  of  the  Political  Groups  represented 
inside  the  Lower  House.  A  debate  follows  the  report  by  the  representative  of  the 
government,  the  members  of  the  Parliament  (MPS)  are  authorized  to  intervene  in  the 
debate  following  their  prior  registration.  The  representative  of  the  Government  is  not 
supposed to answer to the questions.  

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-  Which  governmental  authorities  take  part  in  the  parliamentary  debates?  Does 
the Head of Government/ Prime Minister take part? 
It  used  to  be  a  representative  of  the  government  at  the  level  of  Undersecretary.  The 
Foreign  Affairs  Minister  of  the  third  Berlusconi  government  (2008-2011),  Franco  Frattini, 
introduced  the  practice  of  attending  these  debates,  but  the  combined  effect  of  the  entry 
into force of the Lisbon Treaty and the advent of the Monti government and the upgrading 
of the role of the Minister for European Affairs triggered a change. Currently, debates in the 
Parliament  following  the  European  Councils  are  attended  either  by  the  Minister  for  the 
Foreign  Affairs  or  by  the  Prime  Minister  himself,  if  the  summit  is  considered  to  be  of 
particular political importance (see point 2). 

- How is the debate structured? Is there a vote after the debate?  
Parlamentarians that have previously registered can intervene and there is usually no vote 
after the debate.  

5. Since Lisbon 
-  After  the  Treaty  of  Lisbon  came  into  force,  were  there  significant  changes 
regarding the parliamentary control of the European Council? 
The main change concerns the downgrading of the role of the Minister for Foreign Minister 
that no longer participates in the European Council. Therefore, it is the Minister for Foreign 
Affairs  or  the  Prime  Minister  himself  that  informs  the  Parliament  about  the  European 
Council. 

-  Did  any  significant  events  or  changes  in  formal  rules  occur  after  Lisbon  in  the 
upper house? 
-  Since  December  1st  2009,  was  the  survival  of  a  government  influenced  in  one  way  or 
another  by  decisions  made  by  the  European  Council?  Yes,  the  fall  of  the  Berlusconi 
government was due to the combined pressure from the EU and its most important Member 
States  and  by  that  of  the  financial  markets.  Both  had  lost  confidence  in  the  ability  of  the 
Italian  executive  to  carry  out  reforms  and  to  put  public  accounts  back  in  order,  restoring 
the  credibility  of  the  country.  However,  this  was  not  due  to  the  change  in  formal  rules 
introduced by the Lisbon Treaty.  

6.  Templates  to  be  filled  out  regarding  the  lower  chamber´s  behaviour  towards  each  of 
the  9  European  Council  meetings  and  Euro  zone  summits  held  between  March  2011  and 
March 2012 
Please fill in “yes” or “no” in each box. 

C1  =  extraordinary  meeting  of  the  European  Council  and    the  meeting  of  the  Heads  of 
State or Governement of the Euro Area – 11 March 2011 
C2 = ordinary meeting of the European Council – 24 and 25 March 2011 
C3 = ordinary meeting of the European Council – 23 and 24 June 2011 
C4 = meeting of the Heads of State or Government of the Euro Area – 21 July 2011 
C5 = ordinary meeting of the European Council – 23 October 2011 
C6  =  informal  meeting  of  the  European  Council  and  meeting  of  the  Heads  of  State  or 
Government of the Euro Area – 26 October 2011 
C7 = ordinary meeting of the European Council – 8 and 9 December 2011 
C8 = informal meeting of the European Council – 30 January 2012 
C9 = ordinary meeting of the European Council – 1 and 2 March 2012 

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Annex 1 - Questionnaires On The 27 Member States 

Before the European Council meeting 
Debates in committees 
Debates on the floor 
Formal declaration by the PM 
Vote of a motion 
After the European Council meeting 
Debates in committees
Debates on the floor 
Formal declaration by the PM 
Vote of a motion 

C1  C2  C3  C4  C5  C6  C7  C8  C9 

X1  

X2  

X3

X 

X5
X 
X 

X6

X7

X4
X 

X1:  9  march  2011  - Committees:  3  and  14    (Senate)  and  III  and  XIV  (Chamber  of
 
Deputies)  

X2: 22 june 2011 - Committees: 3 and 14  (Senate) and III and XIV (Chamber of Deputies) 

X3: 19 october 2011 - Committees: 3, 5 and 14  (Senate) and III, V and XIV (Chamber of 

Deputies) 

X4: 14 december 2011 - Assembly Senate 

X5: 25 january 2012 - Assembly Senate 

X6: 23 february 2012 - Committees: 3, 5 and 14 (Senate) 

X7:  7  march  2012  - Committees:  3,  5  and  14    (Senate)  and  III,  V  and  XIV  (Chamber  of  

Deputies) 


7. Other comments 
- Are there other institutions or bodies, outside of Parliament, which play a role in 
the control of these results? (i.e. Constitutional courts) 
The  President  of  the  Republic  has  recently  acquired  an  ever  more  important  role  with 
regard to the position of the Italian government in the European Council. In fact, a practice 
has recently been established, according to which meetings between the Prime Minister and 
the President of the Republic have taken place before European Councils.  
- Some of your own remarks (voluntary): 

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Latvia: Zaneta Ozolin, University of Latvia 
Name of your Member State: Latvia 

1. The formal rules 
- Are there formal rules regarding the parliamentary scrutiny of European Council 

meetings and Euro zone summits? 

- If  yes,  what  are  their  legal  bases  (Constitution,  Legal  provisions,  Standing  

Orders, other)? 

- If yes, what are these rules about? What obligations does the government have? 

- If yes, do these rules make distinctions between the different types of meetings 

of the European Council (regular, extraordinary, Euro zone summit)? 

Yes, there are formal rules regarding the European Council meetings. 
First, as the legal bases, paragraph 185.1 (1) of the Rules of Procedure of Saeima is being 
applied.  It  states  that  “Saeima  engages  in  EU-related  matters  with  the  mediation  of  the 
European Affairs Committee (EAC) if Saeima has not ruled otherwise”. This means that the 
EAC  makes  decisions  instead  of  Saeima,  and  a  vote  on  the  respective  matters  is  not 
required during the plenary meeting. 
Second, Saeima employs paragraph 185.3 of the Rules of Procedure stating that “European 
Affairs Committee scrutinizes the official positions of Republic of Latvia, prepared according 
to the procedure prescribed by Government, and makes decisions on them before they are 
being announced to the institutions of the EU.” 

Third,  the  Provisions  of  Government  No.  96  (in  force  since  February  3,  2009),  „Order, 
according to which the national positions of the Republic of Latvia regarding the EU affairs 
are  elaborated,  harmonized,  confirmed  and  actualized”,  prescribe  even  a  more  specific 
procedure  of  elaboration  and  approval  of  national  positions.  These  Provisions  establish  in 
which  cases  national  positions  are  being  framed,  and  in  which  approved  by  the  EAC  of 
Saeima.  Paragraph  No.  34  of  these  Provisions  states  that  the  responsible  body,  following 
the  procedure  anticipated  within  the  Rules  of  Procedure  of  Saeima,  submits  the  national 
position to the EAC to be reviewed, before the subject is being discussed at the European 
Council  or  at  the  meeting  of  Council  of  Ministers;  before  the  subject  is  being  considered 
according  to  the  substance  of  the  matter  during  the  working  party  meeting  or  the 
Committee of Council of Ministers, or in other stages of consideration of the subject, if this 
substantially touches on the interests of the Republic of Latvia. The stance of the Saeima’s 
European Affairs Committee is binding. 

The  key  in  this  paragraph  is  other  stages  of  consideration  of  the  subject,  if  this 
substantially touches on the interests of the Republic of Latvia. Namely, the Rules prescribe 
that  the  mandate  from  the  EAC  must  be  obtained  before  the  European  Council  meetings, 
but  in  cases  substantially  touching  on  the  interests  of  Latvia  –  also  before  the  informal 
European Council meetings. 

Thus  the  national  positions  of  Latvia,  prepared  by  the  responsible  governmental  body  for 
the  respective  Council  of  Ministers  or  the  meeting  of  the  European  Council,  are  being 
approved at the EAC (for instance, in case of a planned meeting of Council of ministers of 
Environment, the positions prepared by the ministry of Environment are approved at EAC of 
Saeima). What concerns the European Council, the position is elaborated by the Ministry of 
Foreign Affairs after consultations with the sectoral ministries, depending on the respective 
agenda of the European Council. 

The norm stating that the stance EA is binding, has been legally fixed. In comparison, the 
majority of the Nordic countries, which have adopted the mandate system, have not legally 

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Annex 1 - Questionnaires On The 27 Member States 

established the stance of the Parliament as being binding. Instead of that, the notion of the 
„Political responsibility” is being employed. 

There  are  no  binding  rules  regarding  the  Euro  zone  summits  (as  Latvia  is  not  being 
represented there up to now). However, this might be an issue of interpretation. According 
to the new Treaty on Fiscal Discipline, such opportunity is provided also to those countries 
not  being  members  of  the  Euro-zone.  It  is  most  likely  that  Latvia  will  continue  working 
according to the rules of the Cabinet of Ministers regarding the issues substantially touching 
the interests of Latvia. 

2. Ex-ante control  

-  Do  national  parliaments  take  part  in  the  preparation  of  meetings  of  the  

European Council and Euro zone summits? 

- Do Parliaments’ Rules of Procedure provide for priority debates? 

- If  so,  which  bodies  are  responsible  for,  and  involved  in,  this  preparatory  work  

(for example, committees, plenary or other bodies)? 

- Which governmental authorities take part in the parliamentary debates? 

- Is  there  a  vote  for  a  parliamentary  resolution  before  the  European  Council  

meeting? 

Saeima  as  the  national  Parliament  of  the  Republic  of  Latvia  does  not  take  part  in 
preparation  of  the  meetings  of  the  European  Council  directly  (as  this  falls  under  the 
competency of Government). Nor does Saeima directly participate in preparing the summits 
of  Euro  zone.  However,  the  system  of  Government  mandating  for  each  formal  meeting  of 
the European Council has been set up in Latvia (as in majority of Nordic countries). 

As  noted  above,  discussions  preceding  the  European  Council  meetings,  take  place  at  the 
EAC.  There  is  a  theoretical  possibility  for  these  matters  to  be  directed  to  the  Plenary, 
however  there  are  several  reasons  why  it  is  not  being  practised.  First,  EAC  may  make 
decisions on behalf of Saeima, and the mandate of EAC regarding EU-related matters is as 
strong as the one provided by Saeima (at least, legally). Second, the positions are usually 
of a restricted accession, meaning that each Parliament member should individually attend 
the  Special  Records  Management  in  order  to  get  acquainted  with  the  content  of  the 
Position. Third, the legal devices available at the Plenary, are Decision or Law, thus it would 
not possible to approve the Position, as it is being applied, during a Plenary. Elaboration of 
a  Decision  Project  would  be  necessary,  which,  according  to  the  substance  of  the  matter, 
would not, most likely, be applicable at the European Council or any other meeting. 

3. Ex-post control: institutional body 
Which is the responsible body within the Parliament to control the results of the European 
Council and the Euro zone summits (the plenary, committees, other bodies)? 
What concerns the follow-up after the meetings of the European Council and the Euro zone 
summits,  a  formal  requirement  to  report  on  the  tenor  of  these  events  has  not  been 
established. However, if the issue is essential, during the first meeting of EAC, taking place 
after  the  respective  meeting  of  the  Council,  a  representative  of  the  responsible  ministry 
shortly  reports  on  the  course  of  the  Council.  These  reports  are  also  available  as  “Service 
reports”, and the information on the most crucial issues discussed at the Council, as well as 
decisions  made,  is  being  provided  during  the  meetings  of  Senior  Officials,  where  the 
servants of the EAC  also take part. 
As  mentioned  above,  in  certain  cases  the  responsible  ministry  may  be  asked  to  report  on 
the course of the Council, even though this is not formally required.  Also, the format where 
these results are being discussed, is the meetings of Senior Officials, although this may not 

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be  labeled  as  a  manifestation  of  control  procedures,  besides  they  do  not  apply  to  all  the 
issues being discussed at and decisions made by the Council. The same applies to the Euro 
zone summits. 

4. Ex-post control: debates in parliament 
-  What  is  the  organization  of  the  plenary  debates  after  the  European  Council 
meetings?  (NB:  if  there  are  no  debates  in  the  plenary  but  in  committees,  do 
indicate this fact and answer accordingly) 
- Which is the competent institutional body to decide on setting the agenda of the 
plenary  for  those  debates?  Who  takes  the  initiative  in  practice?  Can  the 
government avoid a debate? 
-  Which  governmental  authorities  take  part  in  the  parliamentary  debates?  Does 
the Head of Government/ Prime Minister take part? 
- How is the debate structured? Is there a vote after the debate? 
A  legally  precise  framework  has  not  been  elaborated  regarding  these  matters,  thus  the 
exchange  of  ideas  in  EAC  after  the  European  Council  meetings  takes  place  rarely.  Usually 
such discussions evolve after a concrete demand stated by a member of the committee. If 
such  discussion  takes  place,  it  rests  on  the  paragraph  25  of  the  Constitution,  stating: 
“Saeima  elects  the  committee,  prescribing  the  number  and  obligations  of  its  members. 
Committee  possesses  rights  to  demand  information  and  explanations,  necessary  for  its 
operation,  from  certain  ministers  and  the  self-government  bodies,  as  well  as  to  invite  the 
representatives  of  respective  ministries,  as  well  as  self-government  institutions  to  provide 
explanations  during  their  sittings.  Committee  may  also  operate  between  the  sessions.” 
Another  paragraph,  relevant  in  this  respect,  is  172.  (1)  in  of  the  Rules  of  Procedure  of 
Saeima,  containing  a  similar  content:  “Committee  has  rights,  without  the  mediation  of 
Presidium,  to  demand  the  information  and  explanations,  necessary  for  its  operation, 
directly from the respective minister and organs being subalterned to him/her, as as well as 
from self-governments, and to invite the respective officials to provide explanations”. 

5. Since Lisbon 
-  After  the  Treaty  of  Lisbon  came  into  force,  were  there  significant  changes 
regarding the parliamentary control of the European Council? 
-  Did  any  significant  events  or  changes  in  formal  rules  occur  after  Lisbon  in  the 
upper house? 
-  Since  December  1st  2009,  was  the  survival  of  a  government  influenced  in  one 
way or another by decisions made by the European Council? 
No  changes  in  control  procedure  concerning  the  European  Council  and  the  Euro  zone 
summits  have  been  made  as  a  direct  consequence  of  coming  into  force  of  the  Treaty  of 
Lisbon.  Formally,  some  changes  within  the  Rules  of  Procedure  of  Saeima  have  been 
implemented, however independently and not due to the Treaty of Lisbon. On October 28, 
2010  the  paragraph  No.  185.5  was  expunged  from  the  Rules  of  Procedure.  It  obliged  the 
Prime  minister  or  any  other  member  of  the  Cabinet,  authorized  by  the  Prime  minister,  at 
least once a half-year to report to the Saeima on what Government has accomplished, and 
what  the  planned  further  activities  regarding  the  EU-related  matters  are.  It  was  also 
anticipated that the submission of such report may be followed by a debate. This paragraph 
was  substituted  by  the  paragraph  No.  118.3  (1)  which  states:  “The  minister  of  Foreign 
Affairs, no later than on January 16, submits an annual report (conformed with the Prime 
Minister)  to  the  Saeima  on  the  accomplished  and  planned  further  actions  regarding  the 
Foreign Policy of the State. The information on accomplished and planned further actions 

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Annex 1 - Questionnaires On The 27 Member States 

regarding  the  EU-related  matters  is  also  included  in  report.  The  copies  of  this  report  are  
immediately distributed to the deputies.” 
The antecedent formulation was expunged from the Rules of Procedure due to the fact that 
during last six years Prime Ministers in fact did not report to the Saeima. The report to the 
EAC was provided instead by the representatives of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. 

The Survival of government has not been influenced significantly by the decisions made by 
the European Council since December 1st 2009.  

6. Templates to be filled out regarding the lower chamber´s behaviour towards each of 
the 9 European Council meetings and Euro zone summits held between March 2011 and 
March 2012 
Please fill in “yes” or “no” in each box. 

C1 = extraordinary meeting of the European Council and  the meeting of the Heads of 
State or Governement of the Euro Area – 11 March 2011 
C2 = ordinary meeting of the European Council – 24 and 25 March 2011 
C3 = ordinary meeting of the European Council – 23 and 24 June 2011 
C4 = meeting of the Heads of State or Government of the Euro Area – 21 July 2011 
C5 = ordinary meeting of the European Council – 23 October 2011 
C6 = informal meeting of the European Council and meeting of the Heads of State or 
Government of the Euro Area – 26 October 2011 
C7 = ordinary meeting of the European Council – 8 and 9 December 2011 
C8 = informal meeting of the European Council – 30 January 2012 
C9 = ordinary meeting of the European Council – 1 and 2 March 2012 

Before the European Council meeting 

C1  C2  C3  C4  C5  C6  C7  C8  C9 

Debates in committees  no  yes  yes  no  yes  no  yes  yes  yes 
Debates on the floor  no  no  no  no  no  no  no  no  no 
Formal declaration by the PM  no  no  no  no  no  no  no  no  no 
Vote of a motion  no  no  no  no  no  no  no  no  no 

After the European Council meeting 

Debates in committees  no  no  no  no  no  no  no  no  no 
Debates on the floor  no  no  no  no  no  no  no  no  no 
Formal declaration by the PM  no  no  no  no  no  no  no  no  no 
Vote of a motion  no  no  no  no  no  no  no  no  no 

7. Other comments 
- Are there other insitutions or bodies, outside of Parliament, which play a role in the 
control of these results? (i.e. Constitutional courts) 
- Some of your own remarks (voluntary): 
The CEA is the final instance regarding positions for the Councils of Ministers, as well as for 
the European Council. The prerogatives of Constitutional Court have been prescribed in a 
special  law,  and  these  are,  in  short,  checking  if  the  laws  and  normative  acts  adopted 
comply with the Constitution (in a judicial sense). 

It  should  be  noted,  among  other  things,  that  position  for  the  European  Council  is  being 
reviewed twice. There is a meeting of the Council of General Affairs before each meeting of 
the European Council. Agenda of the European Council is being considered there, and an 

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according  position  of  a  general  nature  is  being  elaborated  which  is  followed  by  a  more 
specified national position in one week (at the latest). 

Purely  hypothetically,  EAC  may  inquire  the  Prime  Minister  and  the  Minister  of  Foreign 
Affairs  about  the  departure  from  the  national  position,  and  it  can  steer  a  Decision  Project 
on  enouncing  mistrust  to  ministers  or  the  Prime  minister.  However,  such  scenario  is  less 
likely, as the composition of EAC is directly proportional to the number of places of parties 
in  Saeima,  and  it  is  hardly  conceivable  that  coalition  might  require  demission  of  the 
coalition ministers. 

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Lithuania: Ramunas Vilpisauskas, Vilnius University 
Name of your Member State: Lithuania 

1. The formal rules 
- Are there formal rules regarding the parliamentary scrutiny of European Council 
meetings and Euro zone summits? 
There  are  formal  procedures  regarding  parliamentary  scrutiny  of  various  Council 
formations, also European Council meetings, but they do not specifically mention Euro zone 
summits. 

- If  yes,  what  are  their  legal  bases  (Constitution,  Legal  provisions,  Standing 
Orders, other)? 

The  Statute  of  the  Parliament  (Seimas),  Resolution  of  the  Government  of  Lithuania  (GoL) 
on the Coordination of European Affairs (adopted on January 9, 2004, No 21). 

- If yes, what are these rules about? What obligations does the government have? 

The  Statute  of  the  Parliament  establishes  that  European  Affairs  Committee  and  Foreign 
Affairs Committee has a right to mandate national positions prepared by the Government, 
monitor the process of representation and negotiations. It is the duty of Prime Minister or 
particular  ministers  (in  the  case  of  the  European  Council  meetings  –  Minister  of  Foreign 
Affairs) to present the position of the GoL to the Parliamentary European Affairs Committee 
(or  Foreign  Affairs  Committee)  or  in  the  plenary  session  of  the  Parliament.  In  exceptional 
cases,  the  position  can  be  presented  by  viceministers.  It  should  be  noted  that  due  to  the 
Constitutional set up of Lithuania, i.e. the popularly elected President who is responsible for 
foreign policy matters, the issues debated in the European Council meetings are prepared 
in  coordination  with  President’s  office.  Although  it  is  not  clearly  specified  in  the  formal 
rules,  the  practice  is  that  European  Council  meetings  which  focus  on  foreign  policy  and 
security issues are attended by Lithuanian President, while meetings on economic matters 
are  attended  by  Prime  Minister  (though  it  is  the  President  who  decides  and  might  also 
attend  EU  Summits  which  deal  with  economic  issues  as  has  been  the  practice  recently). 
Although  the  President  is  informed  about  the  European  Affairs  Committee  and  Foreign 
Affairs Committee meetings, he/she does not participate and is represented by advisors. 

- If yes, do these rules make distinctions between the different types of meetings 
of the European Council (regular, extraordinary, Euro zone summit)? 

No. 

2. Ex-ante control  
-  Do  national  parliaments  take  part  in  the  preparation  of  meetings  of  the 
European Council and Euro zone summits? 

Yes,  the  position  prepared  by  the  Government  (in  coordination  with  President’s  office)  is 
presented by the Minister or vice minister of Foreign Affairs and mandated by the European 
Affairs Committee and Foreign Affairs Committee (usually in a joint meeting). 

- Do Parliaments’ Rules of Procedure provide for priority debates? 

No. 

- If  so,  which  bodies  are  responsible  for,  and  involved  in,  this  preparatory  work 
(for example, committees, plenary or other bodies)? 

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European  Affairs  Committee,  Foreign  Affairs  Committee,  sectoral  committee  can  be 
involved  depending  on  particular  issues.  On  the  most  important  matters  of  the  European 
Union, the Parliament can organize a parliamentary debate in a plenary session. 

- Which governmental authorities take part in the parliamentary debates? 

Ministers  responsible  for  particular  issues,  sometimes  vice  ministers.  Prime  minister  very 
rarely takes part. When European Council meetings are debated, it  is MFA which presents 
information and national position. 

- Is  there  a  vote  for  a  parliamentary  resolution  before  the  European  Council 
meeting? 

Usually,  there  is  a  mandate  given  by  the  European  Affairs  Committee  and  Foreign  Affairs 
Committee  which  often  have  joint  meetings  when  the  position  for  the  European  Council 
meeting is presented and mandated. The decision is usually adopted by consensus. Formal 
voting rarely takes place. 

3. Ex-post control: institutional body 
Which  is  the  responsible body  within  the  Parliament  to  control  the  results  of  the 
European  Council  and  the  Euro  zone  summits  (the  plenary,  committees,  other 
bodies)? 
European  Affairs  Committee,  Foreign  Affairs  Committee,  the  plenary  (though  they  usually 
take place in the Committees). 

4. Ex-post control: debates in parliament 
-  What  is  the  organization  of  the  plenary  debates  after  the  European  Council 
meetings?  (NB:  if  there  are  no  debates  in  the  plenary  but  in  committees,  do 
indicate this fact and answer accordingly) 

Debates after the European Council meetings take place in the European Affairs Committee 
(and  Foreign  Affairs  Committee,  usually  in  a  joint  session  of  both  committees).  They  can 
also take place in the plenary session.  

- Which is the competent institutional body to decide on setting the agenda of the 
plenary  for  those  debates?  Who  takes  the  initiative  in  practice?  Can  the 
government avoid a debate? 

The Chairs of the above indicated Committees. Government has an obligation to report to 
the European Affairs Committee, and Foreign Affairs Committee, or plenary session on the 
results  of  the  European  Council  meetings.  In  practice,  the  initiative  often  comes  from  the 
Government. 

-  Which  governmental  authorities  take  part  in  the  parliamentary  debates?  Does 
the Head of Government/ Prime Minister take part? 

Usually ministers (sometimes vice ministers). Prime Minister very rarely takes part in these 
debates. President is represented by his/her advisors. 

- How is the debate structured? Is there a vote after the debate? 

The representatives of the GoL present the results of the meeting, sometimes they are also 
commented  by  the  advisors  to  the  President,  then  members  of  the  Committee  can  ask 
questions. Usually there is no formal voting. 

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5. Since Lisbon 
-  After  the  Treaty  of  Lisbon  came  into  force,  were  there  significant  changes 
regarding the parliamentary control of the European Council? 

The  changes  introduced  into  the  Statute  of  the  Parliament  regarding  the  application  of 
principles  of  subsidiarity  and  proportionality  (in  October  13,  2011).  Most  instruments  of 
parliamentary control were introduced when Lithuania joined the EU in 2004. 

-  Did  any  significant  events  or  changes  in  formal  rules  occur  after  Lisbon  in  the 
upper house? 

No. There is no upper house in Lithuania. 

-  Since  December  1st  2009,  was  the  survival  of  a  government  influenced  in  one 
way or another by decisions made by the European Council? 

No. 

6. Templates to be filled out regarding the lower chamber´s behaviour towards each of 
the 9 European Council meetings and Euro zone summits held between March 2011 and 
March 2012 
Please fill in “yes” or “no” in each box. 

C1 = extraordinary meeting of the European Council and  the meeting of the Heads of 
State or Governement of the Euro Area – 11 March 2011 
C2 = ordinary meeting of the European Council – 24 and 25 March 2011 
C3 = ordinary meeting of the European Council – 23 and 24 June 2011 
C4 = meeting of the Heads of State or Government of the Euro Area – 21 July 2011 
C5 = ordinary meeting of the European Council – 23 October 2011 
C6 = informal meeting of the European Council and meeting of the Heads of State or 
Government of the Euro Area – 26 October 2011 
C7 = ordinary meeting of the European Council – 8 and 9 December 2011 
C8 = informal meeting of the European Council – 30 January 2012 
C9 = ordinary meeting of the European Council – 1 and 2 March 2012 

C2 
Before the European Council meeting 

C1 

C3 

C4  C5 

C6  C7 

C8 

C9 

Debates in committees  yes  yes  yes  no  yes  no  yes  yes  yes 
no 
no 
no 

Debates on the floor  no 
Formal declaration by the PM  no 
Vote of a motion  no 

no  no 
no  no 
no  no 

no  no 
no  no 
no  no 

no 
no 
no 

no 
no 
no 

no 
no 
no 

After the European Council meeting 

Debates in committees  no 
Debates on the floor  no 
Formal declaration by the PM  no 
Vote of a motion  no 

yes  no 
no 
no 
no 
no 
no 
no 

87 


no  yes  no  yes  yes  yes 
no  no 
no  no 
no  no 

no  no 
no  no 
no  no 

no 
no 
no 

no 
no 
no 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 


Policy Department C: Citizens' Rights and Constitutional Affairs 
____________________________________________________________________________________________   

7. Other comments 
- Are there other insitutions or bodies, outside of Parliament, which play a role in 
the control of these results? (i.e. Constitutional courts) 
No. 
- Some of your own remarks (voluntary): 
The  answers  to  the  question  no.  6  regarding  particular  European  Council  and  Euro  zone 
meetings  is  based  on  publicly  available  minutes  of  the  European  Affairs  Committee  and 
Foreign Affairs Committee. 

Lithuanian  Prime  minister  took  part  personally  only  in  one  discussion  of  the  upcoming  EU  
Summit  of  2011.11.25,  but  his  input  concerned  the  negotiations  of  the  next  EU  financial 
perspective  for  2014-2020,  not  Euro  zone  issues.  In  other  joint  European  Affairs  and 
Foreign Affairs Committtees meetings minister of vice minister of foreign affairs presented 
Lithuanian  position  on  European  Council  meetings.  Besides,  I  also  got  additional 
confirmation  that  no  plenary  sessions  have  been  organized  in  the  Parliament  on  these 
summits,  they  have  been  only  debated  in  the  join  commmitttees  meetings.  In  general,  I 
wuld  say  that  because  the  President  took  over  from  Prime  minister  the  representation  of 
Lithuanian on euro zone issues as well which was not so much practiced before 2009 (as I 
wrote  in  my  contribution,  before  Ms.  Dalia  Grybauskaite  became  a  pResiden  in  2009, 
usually  the  President  either  used  to  go  to  the  EU  summits  together  with  PM  (before  th 
Lisbon), or used to go when foreign policy and security issues dominated the agenda, while 
Prime Minister used to represent Lithuanian when economic issues dominated. Since 2009 
it  has  changed  and  since  President  is  not  attending  Parliamentary  Committee  meetings, 
they  are not  debated  in  a usual  fashion.  And  the  most  important thing  -  since Lihuania  is 
not EMU members and euro is increasingly less popular among voters, besides, Lithuanian 
economy  has  been  growing  from  2010,  these  issues  have  not  been  very  high  on  the 
political agenda in general. Plus, EU issues in general are not very high on domestic agenda 
(with the exception of EU funding). 

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Annex 1 - Questionnaires On The 27 Member States 

Luxembourg: Astrid Speitzer, University of Luxembourg 
Name of your Member State: Luxembourg 

1. The formal rules 
- Are there formal rules regarding the parliamentary scrutiny of European Council 
meetings and Euro zone summits? 

- If  yes,  what  are  their  legal  bases  (Constitution,  Legal  provisions,  Standing 
Orders, other)? 

Yes, the Rules of procedures of the Chamber (in their version of March 2012) refer in article 
169 to Annex 2 “Agreement on the cooperation between the Chamber of Deputies and the 
government  in  European  Union  affairs”  («Aide-memoire  sur  la  cooperation  entre  la 
Chambre des Députés et le Gouvernement du Grand-Duché de Luxembourg en matière de 
politique européenne») 

- If yes, what are these rules about? What obligations does the government have? 

The Agreement states in point I.5 that the Chamber and its committees have the right to 
ask  members  of  government  who  take  part  in  meetings  of  the  European  Council  to  come 
explain  their  position  on  pending  files  before  they  take  part  in  those  meetings.  After  the 
European  Council  meeting,  the  Chamber  may  again  ask  the  respective  member  of 
government to render account of the negotiation results. 

Furthermore, the Agreement in point I.6 advises the government to forward all documents, 
reports,  communications  and  information,  which  are  part  of  the  agenda  of  European 
Council meetings, immediately after their reception, and except the Chamber receives them 
from European institutions directly. 

- If yes, do these rules make distinctions between the different types of meetings 
of the European Council (regular, extraordinary, Euro zone summit)? 

No. The Agreement mentions European Council and Council of Ministers meetings and the 
same rules apply for both of them. 

2. Ex-ante control  
-  Do  national  parliaments  take  part  in  the  preparation  of  meetings  of  the 
European Council and Euro zone summits? 

The Chamber may ask for a presentation of the government position before the Council. In 
practice,  this  happened  only  a  few  times  and  government  prepares  European  Council 
meetings and Eurozone summits without systematic parliamentary involvement. 

- If so, which bodies are responsible for, and involved in, this preparatory work 
(for example, committees, plenary or other bodies)? 

The Conference of Presidents normally decides upon an invitation of the Prime Minister to a 
plenary debate. Motions may be introduced by any deputy, with the support of four other 
members  of  parliament  (Art.  85  RoP),  inviting  the  government  to  take  an  initiative  or  to 
adopt a certain position. 

- Do Parliaments’ Rules of Procedure provide for priority debates? 

The Agreement in point IV fixes a yearly presentation of a government report on European 
affairs (to be introduced in the second semester) and one on the transposition of European 
directives and the application of Community law (to be introduced in the first semester). 

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The  Chamber  decides,  after  reception  of  a  respective  report,  upon  date  and  hour  of  a 
debate. Council meetings are not specifically mentioned under those provisions. 

Apart  from  those  foreseen  meetings,  urgent  debates  may  be  held  on  European  issues  as 
well  (Article  39  RoP)  and  deputies  may  and  do  pose  urgent  questions  (Article  81  RoP)  on 
European matters.  

- Which governmental authorities take part in the parliamentary debates? 

In  plenary,  the  Prime  Minister  gives  declarations  concerning  European  Council  meetings. 
Ministers  discuss  their  participation  in  a  respective  Council  formation.  In  his  role  as  the 
President of the Eurogroup, Luxembourgish Prime Minister Jean Claude Juncker also takes 
part  in  discussions  on  Euro  zone  summits.  In  Hours  of  Actuality,  any  member  of 
government  may  be  requested  to  appear  before  the  plenary.  The  organisation  of 
committees  corresponds  to  the  one  of  ministerial  departments,  and  the  respective 
corresponding minister is asked to appear before the committee.   

- Is  there  a  vote  for  a  parliamentary  resolution  before  the  European  Council 
meeting? 

Not obligatory but in case a motion was introduced.  

3. Ex-post control: institutional body 
- Which is the responsible body within the Parliament to control the results of the 
European  Council  and  the  Euro  zone  summits  (the  plenary,  committees,  other 
bodies)? 
Similar to the ex-ante control, the Chamber may invite the respective minister to debate in 
its plenary or committees after a Council meeting. 

4. Ex-post control: debates in parliament 
- What is the organization of the plenary debates after the European Council 
meetings? (NB: if there are no debates in the plenary but in committees, do 
indicate this fact and answer accordingly) 

The  minister  first  announces  a  declaration  on  European  and  international  affairs,  then 
representatives of all parliamentary groups intervene before other deputies may speak and 
finally the minister responds. 

- Which is the competent institutional body to decide on setting the agenda of the 
plenary for those debates? Who takes the initiative in practice? Can the 
government avoid a debate? 

The Conference of Presidents is the institutional body which decides on the agenda of the 
plenary  debates.  In  practice,  as  members  of  the  Conference  of  Presidents  “weight” 
depending the backing they have in the Chamber in terms of parliamentary seats, decisions 
can be taken by governing parties. If, for a specific issue, a majority cannot be found in the 
Conference of  Presidents,  a  parliamentary  group  may  still  draw  on  other  means  to  decide 
on the agenda of a plenary debate and from time to time opposition parties initiate Hours 
of  Actuality  to  European  topics.  Also  the  government  may  take  the  initiative  to  suggest  a 
discussion  of  a  European  Council  meeting/Euro  zone  summit,  in  case  it  is  deemed 
important. 

With the Agreement the government agreed to follow invitations of the Chamber to discuss 
European topics. In practice, decisions about debates are taken consensually and in any 

90 


 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
 


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Annex 1 - Questionnaires On The 27 Member States 

case government has the backing of the parliamentary majority. When national (economic) 
interest is at stake, the cooperation works well. 

- Which governmental authorities take part in the parliamentary debates? Does 
the Head of Government/ Prime Minister take part? 

As  no  clear  distinction  is  made  between  ex-ante  and  ex-post  control,  the  same provisions 
apply  as  above.  (In  plenary,  the  Prime  Minister  gives  declarations  concerning  European 
Council meetings. Ministers discuss their participation in a respective Council formation. In 
his  role  as  the  President  of  the  Eurogroup,  Luxembourgish  Prime  Minister  Jean  Claude 
Juncker  also  takes  part  in  discussions  on  Euro  zone  summits.  In  Hours  of  Actuality,  any 
member of  government may be  requested to appear before the plenary. The organisation 
of  committees  corresponds  to  the  one  of  ministerial  departments,  and  the  respective 
corresponding minister is asked to appear before the committee.)   

- How is the debate structured? Is there a vote after the debate? 

The  debate  normally  starts  with  a  declaration  of  the  Prime  Minister,  and  is  followed  by  a 
statement of the representatives of each party. Time is allotted depending on the number 
of  seats  a  group  holds  in  the  Chamber,  i.e.  10  min  for  Conservatives,  Socialists,  Liberals 
and  Greens,  5  min  for  ADR  (“Alternative  Democratic  Reform  party”)  and  2,5  min  for  The 
Left.  Then,  other  deputies  may  ask  to  intervene.  The  Prime  Minister  is  given  10  min  to 
respond in the end. 

No regular vote takes place after the debate, unless a Motion was brought up. 

5. Since Lisbon 
-  After  the  Treaty  of  Lisbon  came  into  force,  were  there  significant  changes 
regarding the parliamentary control of the European Council?  

Yes, in May 2009, Article 168 (today’s Article 169) of the Rules of Procedures was changed 
and  the  Agreement  between  CHD  and  government  was  introduced  as  an  annex.  It 
formalizes the possibility to discuss European Council meetings and obliges the government 
to keep the Chamber informed. 
Before the formal rules were introduced and before the Lisbon Treaty excluded ministers of 
foreign  affairs  from  European  Council  meetings,  it  was  the  latter  reporting  to  the 
Committee of external and European affairs, Defense, Cooperation and Immigration. Those 
meetings were held upon request in committee.  
-  Did  any  significant  events  or  changes  in  formal  rules  occur  after  Lisbon  in  the 
upper house? 
Not applicable. 
-  Since  December  1st  2009,  was  the  survival  of  a  government  influenced  in  one 
way or another by decisions made by the European Council? 
No. 

6. Templates to be filled out regarding the lower chamber´s behaviour towards each of 
the 9 European Council meetings and Euro zone summits held between March 2011 and 
March 2012 
Please fill in “yes” or “no” in each box. 

C1 = extraordinary meeting of the European Council and  the meeting of the Heads of 
State or Governement of the Euro Area – 11 March 2011 
C2 = ordinary meeting of the European Council – 24 and 25 March 2011 

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Policy Department C: Citizens' Rights and Constitutional Affairs 
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C3 = ordinary meeting of the European Council – 23 and 24 June 2011 
C4 = meeting of the Heads of State or Government of the Euro Area – 21 July 2011 
C5 = ordinary meeting of the European Council – 23 October 2011 
C6 = informal meeting of the European Council and meeting of the Heads of State or 
Government of the Euro Area – 26 October 2011 
C7 = ordinary meeting of the European Council – 8 and 9 December 2011 
C8 = informal meeting of the European Council – 30 January 2012 
C9 = ordinary meeting of the European Council – 1 and 2 March 2012 

C1 

C2 

C3  C4  C5  C6  C7 

C8 

C9 

Before the European Council meeting 
Debates in committees  Yes123 

Debates on the floor 
Formal declaration by the PM 
Vote of a motion 

No 
No 
No 
After the European Council meeting 
No 
No 
No 
No 

Debates in committees 
Debates on the floor 
Formal declaration by the PM 
Vote of a motion 

No 
No 
No 
No 

No  No  No  No 
No  No  No  No 
No  No  No  No 
No  No  No  No 

Yes125  No  No  No  No 
Yes  No  No  No  No 
No 
Yes  No  No  No  No 

No  No  No  No  Yes126 

No 
No 
No 
No 

No 
Yes 

Yes 

No 
No 
Yes  No 
Yes124  No 
Yes  No 

No 
No 
No 
No 

No 
No 
No 
No 

7. Other comments 
- Are there other insitutions or bodies, outside of Parliament, which play a role in 
the control of these results? (i.e. Constitutional courts) 
The Council of State checks the constitutionality of every bill proposal and amendment. If 
Council results have to be implemented by law, the Council of State has a suspensive veto 
of three months, as for all other bill proposals. 
- Some of your own remarks (voluntary):  
The  answers  to  this  questionnaire  are  mainly  based  upon  the  Rules  of  procedures  of  the 
Chamber (in their version of March 2012), records of parliamentary debates, and research 
in  the  Chamber’s  online  archive  on  www.chd.lu  but  also  on  a  short  interview  with 
Chamber’s administrative personnel.   
A  recently  concluded  Master  thesis  deals  with  the  Chamber  of  deputies  and  European 
integration: 
Thill, Jacques: L’intégration des parlements nationaux dans l’architecture institutionelle de 
l’Union  européenne.  Une  étude  de  cas:  la  Chambre  des  Députés  et  la  construction 
européenne. Master thesis, University of Luxembourg, June 2012.  

123  Réunion  de  la  Commission  des  Affaires  étrangères  et  européennes,  de  la  Défense,  de  la  Coopération  et  de 
l'Immigration du 15/12/2010 Information par M. le Ministre des Affaires étrangères sur la préparation du Conseil 
européen et du Conseil Affaires générales 
124 Déclaration sur la position du Gouvernement luxembourgeois à l’égard du Traité international sur la stabilité, la 
coordination et la gouvernance dans l’Union économique et monétaire (suivie d’un débat) 
125 Discussions were held in the framework of two bills implementing decisions taken at the European Council:  
-

Loi  du  3  juillet  2012  portant  approbation  de  la  décision  du  Conseil  européen  du  25  mars  2011  modifiant 
l'article  136  du  traité  sur  le  fonctionnement  de  l'Union  européenne  en  ce  qui  concerne  un  mécanisme  de
stabilité pour les États membres dont la monnaie est l'euro. (6334) 
Loi du 22 septembre 2011 modifiant la loi du 9 juillet 2010 relative à l'octroi de la garantie de l'Etat dans le 
cadre de l'instrument européen de stabilisation de la zone euro (6314) 
Réunion de la Commission des Finances et du Budget du 20/03/2012 and P-2011-O-FI-37-01  
Réunion de la Commission des Finances et du Budget du 22/06/201 

-
-
126 Déclaration de M. Jean-Claude Juncker,  Premier  Ministre, Ministre d’État, relative aux
européen des 8 et 9 décembre 2011, suivie d’un débat 

  conclusions  du Conseil 

-

92 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
                                                            
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 


____________________________________________________________________________________________   

Annex 1 - Questionnaires On The 27 Member States 

Malta: Roderick Pace, University of Malta 
Name of your Member State: Malta 

1. The formal rules 
The  Standing  Orders  of  the  House  of  Representatives  constitute  the  formal  rules  on 
parliamentary scrutiny of European Council and Euro-zone meetings. 
The  Constitution  of  Malta  lays  down  the  most  basic  Standing  Orders  of  the  House  which 
have  to  do  with  the  election  of  the  Speaker,  the  quorum,  voting,  language  of  the  laws, 
office of the Clerk etc. Section 67 of the Constitution states that “subject to the provisions 
of  this  Constitution,  the  House  of  Representatives  may  regulate  its  own  procedure.”  This 
provides  the  legal  basis  for  the  detailed  elaboration  of  Standing  Orders  to  regulate  House 
and  Committee  business  often  referred  to  simply  as  the  “Standing  Orders”  (Subsidiary 
Legislation, Standing Orders of the House of Representatives Order, Const.02). These have 
legal force  (Legal Notice 46/65). The Maltese Constitution twice makes direct reference to 
the “Standing Orders” in its text but not to how they must originate.  
Standing  Order  120F  specifes  the  composition  of  the  Standing  Committee  on  Foreign  and 
European Affairs (SCEUFA) and its main functions. The Committee made up of 9 members 
including the chair who is appointed from the government side, covers both EU policies and 
Foreign  policy  and  the  Minister  of  Foreign  Affairs  is  one  of  its  members  with  the  right  to 
vote.  Maltese  members  of  the  European  Parliament  have  the  right  to  participate  in  its 
meetings, but they cannot vote or move motions or amendments. The Committee has the 
power  to  setup  working  groups,  the  first  of  which  is  tasked  with  filtering  and  exercising 
preliminary scrutiny of EU douments. 
The House Business Committee can refer matters to it while EU legislative proposals can be 
referred  by  the  SCEUFA  to  other  House  Standing  Committees  such  as  the  one  on  Social 
Affairs.  
Standing  Order  120F  badly  needs  revising  in  the  light  of  recent  EU  Treaty  changes.  It 
empowers  the  SCEUFA  to  scrutinize  on  its  own  initiative  all  issues  and  measures  to  be 
“taken  by  the  Council  of  Ministers”  as  well  as  “any  document  which  is  published  for 
submission to the European Council, the Council or the European Central Bank”, proposed 
common  strategies,  common  positions  etc.  Hence  it  has  a  very  general  sweep  that 
practically  includes  all  meetings  without  distinction.  Main  pipeline  acquis  and  Malta’s 
positions prior to Council meetings are discussed but not specifically Euro-Zone summits or 
European  Council  meetings.  Foreign  minister  reports  on  General  Affairs/Foreign  Affairs 
Council meetings. 

2. Ex-ante control  
-  Do  national  parliaments  take  part  in  the  preparation  of  meetings  of  the 
European Council and Euro zone summits? 

The House does not debate in advance of meetings for the European Council and Euro-zone 
summits. 

- Do Parliaments’ Rules of Procedure provide for priority debates? 

Yes  Parliamentary  Rules  do  provide  for  emergency  debates  in  the  House  to  deal  with 
priorities, but if what is intended by “priority” in the question is “prior” then the answer is 
No.  No  statements  or  debates  occur  prior  to  European  Council,  ordinary  council  or  Euro­
zone summits. 

- Is  there  a  vote  for  a  parliamentary  resolution  before  the  European  Council 
meeting? 
No. 

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3. Ex-post control: institutional body 
Which  is  the  responsible body  within  the  Parliament  to  control  the  results  of  the 
European  Council  and  the  Euro  zone  summits  (the  plenary,  committees,  other 
bodies)? 
Technically, given the Standng Orders, this should fall within the remit of the SCEUFA but 
since the PM makes a statement to the House Plenary session which is accompanied by a 
question and answer session – and not a debate, a more detailed scrutiny of the results of 
the Council/Summits does not take place. It must be added, some of the main issues might 
surface  on  SCEUFA’s  agenda  at  later  stages.  It  is  thus  a  piece  meal  approach  not  an 
organic,  comprehensive  discussion  of  the  Council  or  Euro-summit  etc.  No  motion  on  the 
Council meetings is voted in parliament after the Council 

4. Ex-post control: debates in parliament 

-  What  is  the  organization  of  the  plenary  debates  after  the  European  Council 
meetings?  (NB:  if  there  are  no  debates  in  the  plenary  but  in  committees,  do 
indicate this fact and answer accordingly) 

The Prime Minister makes a statement in the House, time is allotted for this statement and 
questions which are answer by the PM.  

- Which is the competent institutional body to decide on setting the agenda of the 
plenary  for  those  debates?  Who  takes  the  initiative  in  practice?  Can  the 
government avoid a debate? 

The  House  Business  Committee  sets  up  the  debate  on  the  initiative  of  the  Government. 
Technically the Government can avoid a statement and also the Q&A if it does not make a 
statement but this is difficult to envisage given that a parliamentary tradition has now been 
established for the Prime Minister to make such a statement at the first sitting of the House 
following the summit/Council. When Parliament is in recess no statement is made. 

-  Which  governmental  authorities  take  part  in  the  parliamentary  debates?  Does 
the Head of Government/ Prime Minister take part? 

The PM leads the session (debate) starting by presenting the statement to the House and 
normally he answers the questions fielded by the opposition. 

- How is the debate structured? Is there a vote after the debate? 

There is no vote after the debate and no motion. 

5. Since Lisbon 
-  After  the  Treaty  of  Lisbon  came  into  force,  were  there  significant  changes 
regarding the parliamentary control of the European Council? 
No 
-  Did  any  significant  events  or  changes  in  formal  rules  occur  after  Lisbon  in  the 
upper house? 
Not applicable 
-  Since  December  1st  2009,  was  the  survival  of  a  government  influenced  in  one 
way or another by decisions made by the European Council? 
No 

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Annex 1 - Questionnaires On The 27 Member States 

6. Templates to be filled out regarding the lower chamber´s behaviour towards each of 
the 9 European Council meetings and Euro zone summits held between March 2011 and 
March 2012 
Please fill in “yes” or “no” in each box. 

C1 = extraordinary meeting of the European Council and  the meeting of the Heads of 
State or Governement of the Euro Area – 11 March 2011 
C2 = ordinary meeting of the European Council – 24 and 25 March 2011 
C3 = ordinary meeting of the European Council – 23 and 24 June 2011 
C4 = meeting of the Heads of State or Government of the Euro Area – 21 July 2011 
C5 = ordinary meeting of the European Council – 23 October 2011 
C6 = informal meeting of the European Council and meeting of the Heads of State or 
Government of the Euro Area – 26 October 2011 
C7 = ordinary meeting of the European Council – 8 and 9 December 2011 
C8 = informal meeting of the European Council – 30 January 2012 
C9 = ordinary meeting of the European Council – 1 and 2 March 2012 

Before the European Council meeting 

C1  C2  C3  C4  C5  C6  C7  C8  C9 

Debates in committees  No  No  No  No  No  No  No  No  No 
Debates on the floor  No  No  No  No  No  No  No  No  No 
Formal declaration by the PM  No  No  No  No  No  No  No  No  No 
Vote of a motion  No  No  No  No  No  No  No  No  No 

After the European Council meeting 

Debates in committees  No  No  No  No  No  No  No  No  No 
Debates on the floor  No  No  No  No  No  No  No  No  No 
Formal declaration by the PM  Yes  Yes  Yes  Yes  Yes  Yes  Yes  Yes  Yes 
Vote of a motion  No  No  No  No  No  No  No  No  No 

NB 
European Council meetings are not discussed in a Parliamentary Committee as an item per 
se. Neither did they ever form part of a Motion on which a vote was taken.  
With  regards  to  whether  specific  debates  on  the  floor  were  held  on  the  above  Ministerial 
statements,  Parliamentary  procedure  dictates  that  following  each  statement,  Members  of 
Parliament ask questions which are then answered by the Prime Minister and the Minister of 
Finance and the Economy. It is to be underlined that no vote is ever taken at the end of the 
discussion following such a Ministerial Statement. 
It  is  also  to  be  underlined  that  a  general  discussion  was  held  on  19  July  2011,  on  the 
situation in the Euro zone (Sitting 384 of 19.7.11). It was also agreed at the time that no 
vote was to be taken on this agenda item. 

7. Other comments 
- Are there other institutions or bodies, outside of Parliament, which play a role in 
the control of these results? (i.e. Constitutional courts) 
No Constitutional Court scrutiny or any other body. 

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- Some of your own remarks (voluntary):  
1.	  When the Euro zone countries were asked to contribute to the Bailout fund for Greece, a 
debate and a vote took place in Parliament because it involved a money bill. Bill No. 86 
-  Participation  and  Guarantees  under  the  European  Financial  Stability  Facility 
(Amendment)  Bill  -  Committee  Stage  (cont.)  -  3rd  Reading  approved  at  the  sitting  No 
390 of 10 October 2011. Unanimous Vote. 

2.	  Discussion  of  European  Union  issues  takes  place  mainly  within  the  SCEUFA,  a  recent 
example of which is the European Stability Mechanism (ESM) which was discussed both 
in  the  said  committee  as  well  as  in  plenary.  In  discussions  taking  place  in  the  ESM 
national  specialists  are  also  invited  to  reply  to  technical  questions.    On  6  July  2012,  a 
plenary  debate  was  held  on  all  articles  of the  ESM  Treaty  before  a  final  vote  taken  on 
the same date. 

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Netherlands: Iona Ebben / Adriaan Schout / Jan Marinus 
Wiersma, Institute for International Relations Clingendael 
Name  of  your  Member  State:  The  Netherlands  (lower  house:  Tweede  Kamer 
(Chamber) upper house: Eerste Kamer (Senate)) 

1. The formal rules 
- Are there formal rules regarding the parliamentary scrutiny of European Council 
meetings and Euro zone summits? 
The  formal  rules  regard  parliamentary  scrutiny  in  general,  and  not  specifically  that  of  the 
European Council meetings or Euro zone summits. 
- If  yes,  what  are  their  legal  bases  (Constitution,  Legal  provisions,  Standing 
Orders, other)?  

- If yes, what are these rules about? What obligations does the government have? 

The  legal  basis  for  parliamentary  scrutiny  is  the  Constitution.  Article  68  determines  that 
Ministers  or  State-Secretaries  have  to  provide  the  Chamber  with  information  when  it  so 
requests, unless such provision of information contradicts the interest of the state127. 

It is general practice that the Cabinet informs the Chamber on its position before European 
Council  meetings  and  Euro  zone  summits  take  place,  they  do  so  in  the  form  of  an  
annotated  agenda.  After  the  summits  the  Cabinet  informs  the  Chamber  on  the  outcome 
with a report. 

Once  every  year  the  standing  committee  on  European  Affairs  discusses  the  general 
provision  of  information  with  the  State-Secretary.  Such  discussions  are  concluded  with  a 
letter from the State-Secretary which states the agreements they have reached, and such a 
letter  thus  determines  the  rules  (they  are  semi-formal,  because  letters  from  the  Cabinet 
are promises to the Chamber, but they do not have the status of laws). For example in a 
letter  dated  14  February  2012  the  State-Secretary  agrees  the  Cabinet  will  in  principle 
provide the annotated agenda 1 week before  the Council-meeting takes place128, with the 
side-note that this is not possible for all Council-formations (for example ECOFIN) because 
the preparation in Brussels is done shortly beforehand. 

The Chamber may request extra information from the Cabinet, and concerning the Euro 
zone it has done so. In a resolution the standing committee on Financial Affairs demanded 
that as long as measures to combat the euro-crisis were discussed in the ECOFIN and 
Eurogroup meetings the Cabinet should inform the committee within 24 hours of all that 
has been discussed129. 

- If yes, do these rules make distinctions between the different types of meetings 
of the European Council (regular, extraordinary, Euro zone summit)? 

The rules do not make a distinction between different types of meetings. 

2. Ex-ante control  
-  Do  national  parliaments  take  part  in  the  preparation  of  meetings  of  the 
European Council and Euro zone summits? 

127  Dutch  Constitution,  http://wetten.overheid.nl/BWBR0001840/geldigheidsdatum_10-07-2012  (last  retrieved  9 
July 2012), please note that all documents are translated from Dutch to English by the author 
128 Dossier 22112, Chamber document (Kamerstuk) 1366 
129 Dossier 21501-07, Chamber document (Kamerstuk) 782  

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Yes,  the  parliament  prepares  meetings  through  its  standing  committees  in  a  so-called 
Algemeen  Overleg  (General  Discussion) which  usually  takes  place  a  couple  of  days  before 
the Council convenes in Brussels. 

- Do Parliaments’ Rules of Procedure provide for priority debates? 
Yes, rule 54a of the Rules of Procedure provides that Members can indicate the subject of 
the debate they wish to hold at the start of the meeting130. If 30 Members or more support 
the request for the debate it will be held on a day which is decided by the Speaker of the 
House. 
- If  so,  which  bodies  are  responsible  for,  and  involved  in,  this  preparatory  work 
(for example, committees, plenary or other bodies)? 
Normally  the  General  Discussion  takes  place  within  the  standing  committees,  several  of 
which can be present for the preparation of one European Council Meeting (for example the 
standing  committee  on  European  Affairs  as  well  as  the  standing  committee  on  Financial 
Affairs). For the European Council meetings it has been practice since end 2010 to hold all 
General Discussions in the plenary131, and this has also been the case for the preparation of 
the Euro zone summits. 
- Which governmental authorities take part in the parliamentary debates? 
For the preparation of the European Council it has been practice in the last couple of years 
that it is always the Prime-Minister that explains the position of the Cabinet132. Often he is 
accompanied  by  other  Ministers  such  as  the  Minister  of  Foreign  Affairs  or  the  State-
Secretary of European Affairs. Members of the Cabinet are often supported by some of their 
staff  from  the  Ministry,  especially  if  the  debate  concerns  highly  technical  matters.  For  the 
debates  on  the  Eurozone  the  Minister  of  Financial  Affairs  also  takes  part  in  the  debate. 
According  to  rule  55a  of  the  Reglement  van  Orde  (Rules  of  Procedure)  of  the  Second 
Chamber  it  is  possible  to  invite  Members  of  the  European  Parliament  to  the  debate133. 
MEP’s can give information and participate in the discussion. 

None  of  the  Cabinet-members  can  avoid  a  debate,  if  the  Chamber  has  requested  their 
presence they are expected to be there, and should the Prime-Minister or another Minister 
decide not to turn up the Members of the Chamber may simply halt their proceedings until 
the Cabinet-member they want to question is present. 

- Is  there  a  vote  for  a  parliamentary  resolution  before  the  European  Council 
meeting? 
The Chamber can adopt resolutions before the European Council and Euro zone meetings, 
but  such  resolutions  can  only  be  tabled  in  plenary  sessions.  As  noted  above  the  General 
Discussions preparing the European Council have been in the plenary since 2010, so this 
facilitates the adoption of resolutions134. If adopted by a majority of the Second Chamber, 
resolutions more or less force the Cabinet to change its position, but even in this case it is 
not a formal mandate. Materially however the outcomes of (Statements of) General 

130 Reglement van Orde, http://www.tweedekamer.nl/images/Reglement_van_Orde_versie_28_april_2011_118­
220034.pdf (last retrieved 9 July 2012) 

131 Bovenop Europa, p. 22 

132 Interview with a clerk from the European Affairs Committee, Tweede Kamer, 27 April 2012 

133 Reglement van Orde, http://www.tweedekamer.nl/images/Reglement_van_Orde_versie_28_april_2011_118­
220034.pdf (last retrieved 9 July 2012) 

134 For other  configurations of the Council  it  is practice that Members  may table a debate concerning a so-called 

‘Statement  General  Discussion’  if  they  wish  to  propose  a  motion.  In  accordance  with  Article  44a  of  the  Rules  of  

Procedure Members there will be no lengthy plenary debate in these cases (indeed the debate has already taken 

place in the General Discussion) and Members may only speak for 2 minutes. Such debates are therefore called ‘2­
minute debates’. 


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Annex 1 - Questionnaires On The 27 Member States 

Discussions  and  resolutions  are  binding  for  the  position  the  Cabinet  will  take  in  the 
Council135. There is no limitation on the number of resolutions that may be adopted by the 

Chamber in preparation of European Council and Euro zone meetings, sometimes there are 
quite many. 

3. Ex-post control: institutional body 
Which  is  the  responsible body  within  the  Parliament  to  control  the  results  of  the 
European  Council  and  the  Euro  zone  summits  (the  plenary,  committees,  other 
bodies)? 
As a starting point of the ex-post control the Cabinet always sends a report (Verslag) of the 
outcome  of  the  European  Council  or  Euro  zone  summit  in  the  form  of  a  letter  to  the 
Chamber. The letter is received by the Registry which forwards it to the relevant standing 
committee(s) (for example, European Affairs, Financial Affairs or both). All the Members of 
the standing committee receive the letter and in their procedural meeting they decide how 
to  proceed.  Usually  the  report  is  put  on  the  agenda  of  the  next  relevant  meeting  (for 
example the next General Discussion or plenary). 

4. Ex-post control: debates in parliament 
- What is the organization of the plenary debates after the European Council 
meetings? (NB: if there are no debates in the plenary but in committees, do 
indicate this fact and answer accordingly) 
As  a  result  of  the  shift  towards  the  preparatory  phase  Members  of  the  Chamber  do  not 
usually request a separate debate after receiving the outcome-report. Often the results are 
taken  up  as  arguments  for  the  next  preparatory  debate.  A  debate  afterwards  was 
requested only twice. The first time a debate was requested because the statements of the 
Prime-Minister  appeared  strongly  out  of  touch  with  the  statements  from  other  EU-leaders 
and  the  Chamber  wanted  clarifications.  The  second  time  a  debate was  requested  because 
the 2011 October 23 and 26 meetings had resulted in outcomes that the Chamber deemed 
too vague. 

- Which is the competent institutional body to decide on setting the agenda of the 
plenary  for  those  debates?  Who  takes  the  initiative  in  practice?  Can  the 
government avoid a debate? 
The relevant standing committee (European Affairs or Financial Affairs) can put the report 
of a European Council or Euro zone summit on the agenda of the plenary. When it is set on 
the agenda it is the Chamber itself which decides whether or not the topic will be debated, 
this is done in the so-called ‘regeling van werkzaamheden’ (scheme of proceedings). If the 
Chamber wishes to have a debate the Cabinet cannot avoid it, the Prime-Minister or other 
relevant Ministers can always be held accountable by the plenary. 

-  Which  governmental  authorities  take  part  in  the  parliamentary  debates?  Does 
the Head of Government/ Prime Minister take part? 
Similar to preparatory debates the Prime Minister or the relevant Minister takes part in the 
debate, and they can be supported by civil servants from their Ministry. 

- How is the debate structured? Is there a vote after the debate? 
The debate is structured in the same way as the preparatory debates, first the spokesmen 
of  the  different  political  parties  get  the  floor,  after  which  the  Prime-Minister  and/or  other 
members  of  the  Cabinet  have  the  chance  to  reply.  During  the  speaking  time  of  both  the 
party-spokesmen and the Cabinet-officials interruptions in the form of questions are 

135  Bovenop  Europa,  p.  13;  Kester  &  van  Keulen  (2011)  ‘De  Tweede  Kamermethode’:  versterkte  parlementaire 
invloed op Europese besluitvorming, RegelMaat, aflevering 6, p. 304 

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allowed.  The  debate  may  be  followed  by  votes  but  only  if  the  Members  of  the  Chamber 
have tabled resolutions. There is no practice of general votes after the debates. 

5. Since Lisbon 

-  After  the  Treaty  of  Lisbon  came  into  force,  were  there  significant  changes 
regarding the parliamentary control of the European Council? 
The  standing  committee  on  European  Affairs  decided  to  debate  its  General  Discussions  in 
the  plenary,  which  means  that  the  control  is  carried  more  broadly  and  with  the  entire 
Chamber.  As  noted  above  for  the  other  configurations  of  the  Council  the  procedure  is 
normally  that  the  General  Discussion  beforehand  takes  place  in  the  standing  committee. 
The control function has shifted almost entirely towards the preparatory phase as opposed 
to control in the phase after the meetings, and a system of mandates is developing more 
and more. 

-  Did  any  significant  events  or  changes  in  formal  rules  occur  after  Lisbon  in  the 
upper house? 
The  changes  in  the  formal  rules  are  of  a  more  general  nature  (not  specifically  related  to 
democratic control of the European Council). The subsidiarity-tests no longer take place in 
a joint committee (with Members of both Houses), since the entry into force of the Treaty 
of Lisbon both Houses perform their own subsidiarity-tests and also take separate decisions 
whether such a test will be undertaken. For example concerning the legislative proposal on 
the  right  to  strike  the  Chamber  decided  to  perform  a  subsidiarity-test  but  the  Senate 
decided  not  to  do  so.  There  is  still  coordination  between  both  Houses,  for  example 
concerning the topics that will undergo the test, for which arguments will be exchanged. 

-  Since  December  1st  2009,  was  the  survival  of  a  government  influenced  in  one 
way or another by decisions made by the European Council? 
Yes and no. Yes because there was a minority government in the Netherlands since 2010, 
and its survival was thus more precarious in general. Especially concerning European issues 
the  government  had  to  rely  on  opposition-parties  (because  its  ‘support-party’  was  anti-
European), and it was important for the government to achieve outcomes in the European 
Council  that  were  acceptable  to  a  majority  in  the  Chamber.  No  because  the  largest 
opposition-party (the Labour-party) had indicated it would not conduct strong opposition on 
European issues, and it thus never made an attempt to let the government fall or to make 
strong demands.  
So  the  sphere  of  the  debates  has  never  been  so  high-strung  that  the  Cabinet  had  severe 
fears of collapsing, but in a way the possibility was looming in the background. 

6. Templates to be filled out regarding the lower chamber´s behaviour towards each of 
the 9 European Council meetings and Euro zone summits held between March 2011 and 
March 2012 
Please fill in “yes” or “no” in each box. 

C1 = extraordinary meeting of the European Council and  the meeting of the Heads of 
State or Governement of the Euro Area – 11 March 2011 
C2 = ordinary meeting of the European Council – 24 and 25 March 2011 
C3 = ordinary meeting of the European Council – 23 and 24 June 2011 
C4 = meeting of the Heads of State or Government of the Euro Area – 21 July 2011 
C5 = ordinary meeting of the European Council – 23 October 2011 
C6 = informal meeting of the European Council and meeting of the Heads of State or 
Government of the Euro Area – 26 October 2011 
C7 = ordinary meeting of the European Council – 8 and 9 December 2011 

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Annex 1 - Questionnaires On The 27 Member States 

C8 = informal meeting of the European Council – 30 January 2012 
C9 = ordinary meeting of the European Council – 1 and 2 March 2012 

Before the European Council meeting 

C1  C2  C3  C4  C5  C6  C7  C8  C9 

Debates in committees  N  N  N  N  N  N  N  N  N 
Debates on the floor136  Y 
Y 
Formal declaration by the PM137  Y 
Y 
Y 
Vote of a motion  Y 

Y 
Y 
Y 

Y 
Y 
Y 

Y 
Y 
Y 

Y 
Y 
Y 

Y 
Y 
Y 

Y 
Y 
Y 

Y 
Y 
Y 

After the European Council meeting 

Formal declaration by the PM139  Y 

Debates in committees  N  N  N  N  N  N  N  N  N 
Debates on the floor138  N  N  N  Y  N  Y  N  N  N 
Y 
Vote of a motion  N  N  N  Y  N  Y  N  N  N 

Y 

Y 

Y 

Y 

Y 

Y 

Y 

7. Other comments 
- Are there other insitutions or bodies, outside of Parliament, which play a role 
in the control of these results? (i.e. Constitutional courts) 
If  the  outcome  of  the  summits  involves  a  new  treaty  (such  as  with  the  ESM)  then 
another  body  which  has  an  advisory  function  also  becomes  involved.  This  body  is  the 
Council  of  State  (Raad  van  State)  and  its  function  is  to  give  advice  on  legislation  and  
treaties. Such advice can only be in a ‘yes or no’-manner because the Council of State 
has no power to make amendments or the like. 
- Some of your own remarks (voluntary): 

Selected Literature 

Kester, J. & van Keulen, M., ‘De Tweede Kamermethode’: versterkte parlementaire invloed 
op Europese besluitvorming, RegelMaat 2011 (26) 6 p. 303-314. 

De Bruijn, Th. J.A.M., De veranderende rol van nationale parlementen in de Europese Unie, 
RegelMaat 2011 (26) 6 p. 327-338 

Ten Broeke, J. H. & Schouw, A.G. Boven op Europa – Evaluatie van de versterkte EU
ondersteuning van de Tweede Kamer, 2007–2011, rapport der Tweede Kamer, 2011. 

Van Baalen, J.C., Op tijd is te laat, rapport der Tweede Kamer, 2002 

Gerards, M., Parlement aan zet – Voorstellen ter versterking van de parlementaire 
betrokkenheid bij Europa, rapport der Tweede Kamer, 2006 

136  As  noted  above,  the  standing  committee  on  European  Affairs  had  decided  to  change  its  way  of  working  and 
hold all preparatory debates in the plenary 
137 We have interpreted the ‘formal declaration’ so also include the statements that are sent to parliament before 
every European Council or Euro zone meeting. This is because in the Netherlands the debate is never opened by 
the  Prime-Minister,  the  order  is  that  the  Cabinet  sends  information  the  Chamber,  about  which  a  debate  is 
scheduled. In this debate Members of the Chamber comment on the information (in the case of European Council 
meetings  the  annotated  agenda)  and  ask  questions,  to  which  the  Prime-Minister  then  responds.  If  the  Members 
want to influence the position of the Cabinet they adopt resolutions in which they make their opinion clear. 
138 Only those occasions where a separate ebate was requested are marked here, but it must be noted that it  is 
general practice that Members taken into account the result of the previous summit when they prepare the next 
one. 
139  Here  again  we  have  interpreted  the  ‘formal  declaration’  so  also  include  the  statements  that  are  sent  to 
parliament after every European Council or Euro zone meeting. In the cases where a debate was held on the floor 
the Prime-Minister was also present to answer the questions and concerns of Members of the Chamber. 

101 


 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                                                            
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 


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Policy Department C: Citizens' Rights and Constitutional Affairs 
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Poland: Maria Karasinska-Fendler / Anna Jedrzejewska, 
European Institute in Lodz 
Name of your Member State: POLAND 

1. The formal rules 
- Are there formal rules regarding the parliamentary scrutiny of European Council 

meetings and Euro zone summits? 

- If  yes,  what  are  their  legal  bases  (Constitution,  Legal  provisions,  Standing  

Orders, other)? 

- If yes, what are these rules about? What obligations does the government have? 

- If yes, do these rules make distinctions between the different types of meetings 

of the European Council (regular, extraordinary, Euro zone summit)? 

The  Polish  Constitution  of  April  2,  1997140,  describing  particular  competencies  of  the 
Government,  the  President  and  of  both  houses  of  the  Polish  Parliament,  including  their 
roles  in  Poland’s  external  relations  and  international  agreements  (i.e.  ratification 
procedures)  does  not  provide  particular  reference  to  formal  rules  regarding  the 
parliamentary  scrutiny  neither  of  Poland’s  participation  in  EU  policies,  nor  of  European 
Council meetings. 

A relevant exception (Art. 90 of the Constitution)141 concerns cases of transfer of sovereign 
national  powers  to  international  organisations  (e.g  in  case  of  Treaty  changes  ratification), 
when a relevant law needs to be passed by both chambers of the Polish Parliament through 
ratification procedure (with 2/3 majority – in the presence of at least 50% of deputies).  

The  key  and  general  rule  of  co-operation  and  dialogue  between  the  Parliament  and  the 
Government in Poland is that the latter is obliged to answer deputies’ questions within 21 
days after lodging (Art. 115, 1-2)142. 

The current formal rules establishing the position of both houses of the Polish Parliament in 
EU  Affairs  are  regulated  by  the  Act  of  8  October  2010  r.  on  cooperation  of  the  Council  of 
Ministers  with  the  Sejm  and  the  Senate  in  matters  relating  to  the  Republic  of  Poland's 
membership of the European Union143, hereinafter referred to as the Co-operation Act (CA). 

This  Act  establishes  the  responsibilities  of  the  Council  of  Ministers  and  the  Prime  Minister 
(Art. 1), as well as the responsibilities and powers of the Sejm and the 

Senate or bodies of each chamber, competent under their rules of procedure144 and refers 
to  the  statutory  responsibilities  and  rights  of  the  President  of  the  Republic  of  Poland  with 
regard to decision taken thereof. 

In the Sejm, the competent body is the European Union Affairs Committee (EUAC, SUE - in 
Polish),  composed  of  a  maximum  of  46  deputies  –  representing,  on  a  proportional  basis, 
the Sejm party groupings and alliances consisting of at least 15 members.  At the formal 

140 Constitution of the Republic of Poland of 2nd April 1997 
http://www.sejm.gov.pl/prawo/konst/angielski/kon1.htm 
141  ibid. 
142  ibid. 
143http://libr.sejm.gov.pl/oide/en/images/files/dokumenty/polskie_akty_prawne/cooperation_act.pdf 

144 Rules of Procedure of the Polish Parliament, Law of July, 30 1992; Annex to The Annpuncement of the Marshal 
of the Republic of Poland of 17Jan .2012, item .32. 

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Annex 1 - Questionnaires On The 27 Member States 

legal  level  the  Parliament  and  especially  its  Committee  for  European  Union  Affairs  is 
equipped  with  strong  legal  tools  allowing  for  execution  of  efficient  control  over  European 
affairs  led  by  the  Polish  government.  But,  in  fact  and  in  real  terms,  there  are  some 
weaknesses of the existing legal framework, arising specifically from the lack of provisions 
for  Parliament’s  granting  to  the  government  the  binding  mandates  prior  to  the  European 
Council  meetings.  Neither  the  ex-post  procedures  provide  for  discharge  of  government’s 
activities  within  the  European  Council  apart  from  the  “confirmation  of  receipt  (or  hearing) 
the  information”.  Even  if  the  Cooperation  act  (Article  3,  pt  2)  and  Standing  orders  of  the 
Sejm provide for the possibility of requesting from the government any information related 
to  Poland’s  membership  in  the  European  Union,  still,  the  ex-ante  information  about  the 
forthcoming  European  Council  summits  is  limited  to  rather  laconic  presentation  of  the 
European  Council  meetings  agendas  and  very  limited  information  about  the  government’s 
position to be taken during summits. Moreover, apart from the formal possibilities pointed 
out  above,  the  European  Council  meetings  are  practically  not  present  in  Cooperation  Act, 
except for procedures referred to in Article 14 of CA. 

In general, the provisions of this Co-operation Act relating to the Sejm, cover: 

- right to receive information from the government on the Republic of Poland’s participation 
in  the  works  of  the  EU  (periodically  (at  least  every  6th  months)  or  on  demand  and  within 
the 21 days period) (Art. 3), including the exercise of the Presidency (Art. 21  CA) 

- right to receive information on work programmes of the Council, and evaluation of annual 
legislative  programmes  of  the  immediately  after  their  receipt  from  EU  Institutions  (Art.  5 
CA); 

- co-operation in the making of EU law (Art. 4 -16 CA); 

-  co-operation  in  the  revision  of  the  Treaties  (Art.  9),  which  obliges  the  Government  to 
immediate  transfer  to  the  Sejm  of  proposals  of  Member  Countries’  standspoints  for  the 
Council) within the ordinary procedure – seeking opinions prior to a decision not to convene 
the  Convention;  or  –  within  simplified  procedure  (“general  passerelle  clause”)  and  in  the 
cases treated on a par, in terms of effect, with that clause under Art. 14 and 15 of the Co­
operation Act. 

- co-operation in implementing EU law into the Polish legal system (Art. 18 CA); 

- co-operation in the lodging of complaints by the Sejm with the European Court of Justice 
(Art. 17 CA); 

- co-operation in expressing opinions on candidates for certain posts in the EU (Art 19 -20 
CA); 

A special clause was put into the Co-operation Act’s text in view of the Polish Presidency of 
the EU Council (Art. 21 – 22 CA), imposing additional information obligations on the Council 
of Ministers in relation to the EU Affairs Committee (EUAC). No later than one month before 
the  beginning  of  the  Presidency,  the  Council  of  Ministers  was  required  to  present  to  this 
body  its  information  on  the  priorities  of  Presidency,  and,  during  the  Presidency,  the 
government was obliged to keep the EUAC informed about the progress in the exercise of 
the Presidency, as well as to provide an evaluation of the achievement of the priorities, and 
to attach the evaluation of the Presidency priorities to the general report (submitted under 
Article 3 (1) of the Act), covering the Presidency period.  

The  obligation  of  transmission  of  draft  positions  of  the  Republic  of  Poland,  information  on 
the Poland’s positions and of seeking opinions of EUAC embrace: 

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Policy Department C: Citizens' Rights and Constitutional Affairs 
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- transmission of a draft position of Poland on EU draft legislative acts and draft legal acts 
adopted  under  Article  352  (1)  of  the  TfEU  - following  the  submission  of  a  draft  act  by  an 
authorised EU institution, within the time limits prescribed by the Act (Article 7 (1) and (2) 
CA); 

- transmission of a draft position of Poland on a draft other than legislative act on request 
of the EUAC (Article 8 CA); 

- (with some decisions on Polish position restricted to the discretion of the President of the 
Republic of  Poland145) the government is seeking opinions of the competent body of Sejm 
and Senate (prior to the consideration in the Council of a draft legislative act or draft legal 
act  under  Article  352  (1)  of  the  TfUE;  or  prior  to  the  presentation  in  the  Council  or  the 
European Council of a position on matters mentioned in Article 12 (1) and (2)146 of CA as 
well as  prior to the European Council’s decision not to convene the Convention referred to 
in Article 48 (3) of the Treaty on European Union (Art. 16 CA).147 

Thus, the European Affairs Committee may also express its opinion on the Poland’s position 
to be taken or presented in the Council or in the European Council within the Committee’s 
debate on the basis of general rules established by the CA. 

However,  the  Cooperation  Act  refers  to  the  European  Council  directly  twice  in  the 
document,  namely  in  the  Art  12  (2)  CA  referring  to  Art.  86  (4)  TFEU  and  providing 
obligation put on the government to seek opinion of the Parliament and to provide written 
information containing a substantiation of the position of the Republic of Poland148 or in Art 
14  of  CA  referring  to  selected  Articles  of  the  Treaties149  and  providing  for  particular 
instructions for the representative of Poland in the European Council. 

145 a draft legal act of the European Union referred to in Article 31 (3), Article 42 (2) or Article 48 (7) of the Treaty 
on European Union or in Article 312 (2), second subparagraph, of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European 
Union or in Protocol (No. 9) on the decision of the Council relating to the implementation of Article 16 (4) of the 
Treaty on European Union and Article 238 (2) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union between 1 
November  2014  and  31  March  2017  on  the  one  hand,  and  as  from  1  April  2017  on  the  other,  annexed  to  the 
Treaty on European Union,  the Treaty on  the Functioning of the European Union and  the Treaty establishing  the 
European Atomic Energy Community (Art 14 CA) and draft legal act of the Euro-pean Union referred to in Article 
81 (3), Article 153 (2), fourth subparagraph, Article 192 (2), second subparagraph, Article 333 (1) or Article 333 
(2) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (Art 15 CA). 
146 under Article 3 (2) of Protocol (No. 36) on transitional provisions annexed to the Treaty on European Union, the 
Treaty  on  the  Functioning  of  the  European  Union  and  the  Treaty  establishing  the  European  Atomic  Energy 
Community, Article 1 or Article 4 of the decision of the Council relating to the implementation of Article 16 (4) of 
the Treaty on European Union and Article 238 (2) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union between 
1 November 2014 and 31 March 2017 on the one hand,  and as from 1 April 2017 on the other, an  on the draft 
legal act of the European Union referred to in Article 82 (2) (d) or Article 83 (1), third subparagraph, of the Treaty 
on the Functioning of the European Union. 
147 Thus, the European Council summits do not fall into any other category of interaction between the government 
and  the  Parliament  than  “information”  and  practically  the  European  Councils  are  not  present  in  the  debates 
(neither ex-post, nor ex-ante), unlike in case of the procedures regarding the EU legal acts and positions taken by 
Poland in the Council as well as in case of Article 48 point 3 TEU (where opinion (not binding) is sought) as well as 
the  procedures  referring  to  implementation  of  EU  law  (where  parliamentary  adoption  of  the  Polish  legal  act  is 
required).   
The new powers given to the Sejm in the light of the EU Treaties concern the right of veto, referring to one of the 
following procedures: the passerelle clause under the Art. 48 of the TEU other articles referred to in Article 14 of 
the  Cooperation  Act  (also  under  article  15  of  Cooperation  Act   as  well  as  ratification  procedures  (under  relevant  
national laws) altered by introduction of Article 23 of the Cooperation Act). 
148  Art  12  (2)  CA:  Prior  to  the  presentation  of  a  position  of  the  Republic  of  Poland  in  the  European  Council  on  a 
draft legal act of the European Union referred to in Article 86 (4) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European 
Union, the Council of Ministers shall seek  the opinion of the competent body under the rules of procedure of the 
Sejm  and  the  competent  body  under  the  rules  of  procedure  of  the  Senate,  presenting  written  information 
containing a substantiation of the position of the Republic of Poland. 
149 Article 14 (CA). 

1. A decision on the position of the Republic of Poland on a draft legal act of the European Union referred to in 
Article 31 (3), Article 42 (2) or Article 48 (7) of the Treaty on European Union or in Article 312 (2), second 
subparagraph, of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union or in Protocol (No. 9) on the decision 
of the Council relating to the implementation of Article 16 (4) of the Treaty on Euro-pean Union and  Article 

104 


 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                                                            
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 


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Annex 1 - Questionnaires On The 27 Member States 

An opinion expressed by the EUAC should provide a basis for Poland’s position. If a position 
taken  or  presented  by  the  government  in  the  Council  or  in  the  European  Council  has  not 
taken  into  account  the  EUAC’s  opinion,  a  Member  of  the  Council  of  Ministers  or  a 
representative  of  the  Council  of  Ministers  are  required  to  explain  reasons  for  such  a 
discrepancy to the SUE. 

As  it  concerns  the  issue  of  Treaties’  change,  the  Prime  Minister  is  required  to  seek  the 
opinion of the Sejm prior to the European Council’s decision (Art. 12, 1-2 of Co-operation 
Act). 

As  for  the  time  being,  there  are  no  specific  formal  rules  introducing  distinction  between 
various types of European Council meetings. 

2. Ex-ante control  
-  Do  national  parliaments  take  part  in  the  preparation  of  meetings  of  the 
European Council and Euro zone summits?  
Despite the existing potential of Polish legal framework, and deputies’ and political parties 
right  to  put  questions  or  demands  for  a  debate  on  particular  issues,  the  Sejm  as  the  full 
house in practice does not take part in preparation of the European Council summits.  
However,  the  Sejm  got  involved  in  preparation  of  the  Polish  Presidency  priorities,  having 
had a debate on Information of the Polish Government’s Priorities on the 28th of June 2011 
(presented by the State Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Mikolaj Dowgielewicz). 

- Do Parliaments’ Rules of Procedure provide for priority debates?  
No, they  don’t. According to the Rules of Procedure of the Polish Parliament  the single 
persons responsible for the Parliament’s Lower and Higher Houses debates programmes are 
Marshals (the Speakers) of those Chambers after the provision of opinions by the 
Conventions of Seniors150 of both houses. 

- If so, which bodies are responsible for, and involved in, this preparatory work 
(for example, committees, plenary or other bodies)?  

None. 

- Which governmental authorities take part in the parliamentary debates? 

In most of cases these are Secretaries or Undersecretaries of State appointed/introduced 
by the Prime Minister. 

- Is  there  a  vote  for  a  parliamentary  resolution  before  the  European  Council 
meeting?  

238  (2)  of  the  Treaty  on  the  Functioning  of  the  European  Union  between  1  November  2014  and  31  March 
2017 on the one hand, and as from 1 April 2017 on the other, annexed to the Treaty on European Union, the 
Treaty  on  the  Functioning  of  the  European  Union  and  the  Treaty  establishing  the  European  Atomic  Energy 
Community, shall be taken by the President of the Republic of Po-land on proposal of the Council of Ministers, 
with consent granted by statute. 

2.  The  Council  of  Ministers’  proposal  referred  to  in  paragraph  1  shall  provide  that  a  representative  of  the 

Republic of Poland in the European Council is obliged to:  


1) support the adoption of a legal act of the European Union, or  

2) abstain.
 

3.  The  proposal  referred  to  in  paragraph  1  shall  be  submitted  to  the  President  of  the  Republic  of  Poland  after 

consent is granted by statute.  

4. The representative of the Republic of Poland shall support the rejection of a legal act of the European Union if 
the President of the Republic of Poland has not taken the decision referred to in paragraph 1. 

150  A  Sejm  and  Senate  internal  bodies  providing  for  cooperation  of  parliamentary  political  groupings/club  in 
matters related to the activites and functioning of the houses. Composed of the Marshal (Speaker) Vice-Marshals 
and Heads of officially recognised party clubs and party groupings in the Sejm and the Senate. 

105 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
   
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
                                                                                                                                                                                              
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
  
 
 
 
   
 
 
 
 





 
 


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No, in fact there was no such a vote.  

The  single 
acknowledgment of receipt”151. 

formal  procedure  of  discharge  of  Government’s 

information 

is  “the 

3. Ex-post control: institutional body 
Which  is  the  responsible body  within  the  Parliament  to  control  the  results  of  the 
European  Council  and  the  Euro  zone  summits  (the  plenary,  committees,  other 
bodies)? 
The mentioned above SUE is the single body, which is regularly informed on EU matters (it 
is worth of mention that the activities of this Parliament Committee during the researched 
period were concentrated mainly on the EU Law implementation and on reports of progress 
in the execution of Polish Presidency priorities). 

4. Ex-post control: debates in parliament 

-  What  is  the  organization  of  the  plenary  debates  after  the  European  Council 
meetings?  (NB:  if  there  are  no  debates  in  the  plenary  but  in  committees,  do 
indicate this fact and answer accordingly) 

In  fact,  the  single  plenary  debate,  which  was  indirectly  linked  to  the  European  Council  of 
December,  8-9,  2011,  took  place  on  the  15th  of  December,  2011.  The  Prime  Minister 
Donald  Tusk  introduced  Min.  Radoslaw  Sikorski,  who  presented  an  “  Information  of  the 
Future of the European Union”. This debate constituted an answer to deputies of Law and 
Justice,  disappointed  with  the  public  lecture  of  Min.  Sikorski  in  Berlin.  This  debate 
embraced  the  vote  of  no-confidence  for    Min.  Radoslaw  Sikorski  (the  State  Secretary  for 
External  Affairs)  and  –  only  indirectly  - referred  to  the  December  European  Council 
outcomes. 

- Which is the competent institutional body to decide on setting the agenda of the 
plenary for those debates? Who takes the initiative in practice? Can the 
government avoid a debate? 

The Speaker of the Sejm is able to put any issue into the programme of debates of the 
Polish Parliament sitting, on the initiative coming out of the political parties’ clubs, of the 15 
individual deputies or on demand of at least 100 000 citizens152 . The Government can 
avoid such a debate in co-operation of the Speaker of the Sejm. 

- Which governmental authorities take part in the parliamentary debates? Does 
the Head of Government/ Prime Minister take part? 

In the period covered with this research there were some rare cases when the Prime 
Minister himself took the floor on the EU matters. All EU issues were rather debated in the 
SUE, where the Government’s representatives were Secretaries or Under-Secretaries of  
State. Within the SUE practice the competent Member of the Government provided 
necessary information. 

- How is the debate structured? Is there a vote after the debate? 

There were no votes after debates. The single procedure was the “acknowledgment of 
receipt”. 

151 ibid 

152  ibid, Art.: 32-50.
 
152 Citizens of other countries claiming Polish origins and maintaining links with Poland 


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Annex 1 - Questionnaires On The 27 Member States 

5. Since Lisbon 
-  After  the  Treaty  of  Lisbon  came  into  force,  were  there  significant  changes 
regarding the parliamentary control of the European Council? 
No, there were not. The introduced changes in Rules of Procedure of the Polish Parliament 
concerned: 
- the six months’ Polish Presidency, 
- the practical arrangements concerning the subsidiarity check, 
- a strengthened right to receive information, 
- monitoring of the area of freedom, security and justice and 
- participation in expanded parliamentary co-operation. 

b.  Did  any  significant  events or  changes in  formal  rules  occur  after  Lisbon  in  the 
upper house? 

No, they did not. 

c.  Since  December  1st  2009,  was  the  survival  of  a  government  influenced  in  one 
way or another by decisions made by the European Council? 

No, it was not a case. 

6. Templates to be filled out regarding the lower chamber´s behaviour towards each of 
the 9 European Council meetings and Euro zone summits held between March 2011 and 
March 2012 
Please fill in “yes” or “no” in each box. 

C1 = extraordinary meeting of the European Council and  the meeting of the Heads of 
State or Governement of the Euro Area – 11 March 2011  
C2 = ordinary meeting of the European Council – 24 and 25 March 2011 
C3 = ordinary meeting of the European Council – 23 and 24 June 2011 
C4 = meeting of the Heads of State or Government of the Euro Area – 21 July 2011 
C5 = ordinary meeting of the European Council – 23 October 2011 
C6 = informal meeting of the European Council and meeting of the Heads of State or 
Government of the Euro Area – 26 October 2011 
C7 = ordinary meeting of the European Council – 8 and 9 December 2011 
C8 = informal meeting of the European Council – 30 January 2012 
C9 = ordinary meeting of the European Council – 1 and 2 March 2012 

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Policy Department C: Citizens' Rights and Constitutional Affairs 
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Before the European Council meeting  

Debates in committees  No  Yesa  Yesa  No  Yesa  No  Yesa  No  Yesa 

C1  C2 

C3 

C4  C5 

C6  C7 

C8  C9 

Debates on the floor –  No  No 

Yesc  No  No 

No  No 

No  No 

Formal declaration by the PM –  No  No 

No 

No  No 

No  No 

No  No 

Vote of a motion –  No  No 

No 

No  No 

No  No 

No  No 

After the European Council meeting  

Debates in committees –  No  Yesb  No 

Noi  Noi 

Noi  Yesd  No  No 

Debates on the floor –  No  Yesb  No 

No  No 

No  Yese  No  No 

Formal declaration by the PM –  No  No 

No 

No  No 

No  Yesf  No  No 

Vote of a motion –  No  Yesb  No 

No  No 

No  Yesg  No  No 

a  –  information  only,  voting  only  on  “confirmation  of  receipt  of  the  government  information”  not 
counted as substantive matter vote 
b – the ex-post activity of parliament concerns the adoption of the national law ratifying the European 
Council decision on the change of the Article 136 of the TFEU, the relevant Polish law passed on  11 
May 2012 and countersigned by the President of the Republic on 26 May 2012. This information was 
not  present  in  the  interviews  (probably  because  of  the  “ratification  the  adoption  of  the  law  exceeds 
greatly  the  time-span  on  the  researched  period),  put  in  the  table  on  the  basis  of  the  official  Sejm 
documentation. 
c  –  discussion  in  the  plenary  mainly  focusing  on  the  presentation  of  the  Polish  Presidency  Priorities, 
yet per se indirectly embracing the European Councils to take place under Polish Presidency 
d  –  the  sitting  was  mainly  devoted  to  the  presentation  of  the  Ministers  of  Foreign  Affairs,  Radoslaw 
Sikorski’s information on Poland’s position and achievements of December 2011 European Council but 
also Minister’s exposé in Berlin constituted a substantive part of the debate in the Committee. 
e  –  the  plenary  debate  dominated  by  the  vote  of  non-confidence  against  Minister  of  Foreign  Affairs, 
Radoslaw Sikorski, although the Prime Minister’s information of the future of the European Union was 
also discussed. 
f  –  Prime  Minister’s  statement  devoted  to  the  future  of  the  European  Union  in  the  context  of  the 
concluding Poland’s presidency 
g – vote (failed) on rejection of the PM’s information on the future of the European Union 
i  – reports on the presidency over Council formations, no reference to European Council as such 

7. Other comments 
a.  Are  there  other  insitutions  or  bodies,  outside  of  Parliament,  which  play  a  role  in  the 
control of these results? (i.e. Constitutional courts) 
b. Some of your own remarks (voluntary): 

The  Constitutional  Court  was  involved  in  a  debate  concerning  the  introduction  of  the  Co­
operation Act referring to the lawer Chamber of the Polish Parliament only. The conclusion 
has  not  been  made  yet  and  the  procedure  is  still  on  the  floor.  According  to  the  Polish 
Constitution  the  competencies  of  running  external  affaires  does  not  include  Senate’s  role 
(exception being made for contacts with Polish “Polonia”153 in the world only). 

108 


 
 
 
 
  
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
   
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                                                            
 


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Annex 1 - Questionnaires On The 27 Member States 

Recommendation for further readings  

Lena Kolarska-Bobińska: „Co warto, co należy zmienić? Poprawa jakości demokracji w 
Polsce” [What is Worth changing, what should be changed. Improving the quality of 
democracy in Poland], Institute of Public Affairs, Warsaw, 2008; 

Piotr Czarny: „Opinia prawna na temat wybranych rozwiązań projektu ustawy o współpracy 
Rady Ministrów z Sejmem i Senatem w sprawach związanych z członkostwem 
Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej w Unii Europejskiej [Opinion on selected solutions of the draft law 
on cooperation of the Council of Ministers with the Sejm and the Senate in matters relating 
to the Republic of Poland's membership of the European Union] (ref. to Sejm working 
document no 3000), 4 June 2010; 

Andrzej Szmyt: „Opinia prawna na temat wybranych rozwiązań projektu ustawy o 
współpracy Rady Ministrów z Sejmem i Senatem w sprawach związanych z członkostwem 
Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej w Unii Europejskiej” [Opinion on selected solutions of the draft 
law on cooperation of the Council of Ministers with the Sejm and the Senate in matters 
relating to the Republic of Poland's membership of the European Union] (ref. to Sejm 
working  document no 3000), 4 June 2010; 

Aleksander  Fuksiewicz:  „Sejm  i  Senat  rok  po  wejściu  w  życie  Traktatu  lizbońskiego  – 
dostosowanie do reformy instytucjonalnej”  [Sejm and Senate a year after entry into force 
of the Lisbon Treaty], Institute of Public Affairs, Warsaw, 2011. 

109 


 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 


Policy Department C: Citizens' Rights and Constitutional Affairs 
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Portugal: Davor Jancic, Utrecht University 
Name of your Member State: Portugal 

1. The formal rules 
The general legal framework for the relations between Portugal and the European Union is 
laid down in the Constitution of 1976. The adoption of this document marked the beginning 
of  democratic  government  in  Portugal.  It  was  adopted  after  the  peaceful  Revolution  of 
Carnations  (Revolução  dos  Cravos)  of  25  April  1974,  which  ended  several  decades  of 
dictatorship under the rule of António de Oliveira Salazar. 

1.1. Constitutional regulation of Portugal’s relations with the European Union 

The  Constitution  warrants  Portugal’s  entry  into  “agreements  for  the  exercise  jointly,  in 
cooperation  with  or  by  the  Union’s  institutions,  of  the  powers  needed  to  construct  and 
deepen  the  European  Union”.154  Since  the  Constitution  defines  sovereignty  as  single  and 
indivisible,155 there is no mention of a transfer of sovereignty to the EU. It has been argued 
that the focus on the joint exercise of powers between Portugal and the European Union is 
conducive  to  their  “interdependent  cooperation”  and  the  “normative  and  institutional 
dialogism” between their respective legal orders.156 

It  is  important  to  emphasise  that  democratic  principles  occupy  a  pivotal  place  in  the 
regulation  of  Portugal’s  relations  with  the  European  Union.  Namely,  three  conditions  must 
be fulfilled for Portugal to become a Member State of the EU: (a) reciprocity, (b) respect for 
the fundamental principles of the democratic state based on the rule of law and (c) respect 
for the principle of subsidiarity.157 

1.2. Scrutiny of European Council meetings 

The legal rules regulating the parliamentary scrutiny of European Council meetings are laid 
down  in  the  Act  no.  43/2006  on  the  Monitoring,  Assessment  and  Pronouncement  by  the 
Assembly  of  the  Republic  Within  the  Scope  of  the  Process  of  Constructing  the  European 
Union (hereinafter: European Scrutiny Act), which was adopted on 25 August 2006.158 This 
Act  was  amended  on  17  May  2012.159  No  other  legal  document  establishes  provisions  on 
the control of European Council meetings. 

There  is  no  explicit  legal  obligation  for  the  Government  to  inform  MPs  specifically  about 
European Council meetings. This is implied, however, in both ex ante and ex post meetings 
in plenary or in committee as described below under the relevant headings. Furthermore, it 
should  be  emphasised  that  the  Constitution  places  a  general  duty  on  the  Government  to 
supply the Assembly with information on the construction of the European Union in good 

time.160  The  European  Scrutiny  Act  and  the  Assembly’s  Rules  of  Procedure  (Regimento), 
the latter of which was last amended in October 2010, also militate the establishment of a 

154 Article 7(6) of the Constitution. 

155 Article 3(1) of the Constitution. 

156  Pires,  Francisco  Lucas.  “A  experiência  comunitária  do  sistema  de  governo  da  Constituição  portuguesa,”  in
 
Perspectivas constitucionais: nos 20 anos da Constituição de 1976 – Volume II, by Jorge Miranda (ed.), Coimbra:
 
Coimbra Editora, 1997: 837-838.
 
157  Article  7(6)  of  the  Constitution.  This  provision  was  first  introduced  by  Lei  constitucional  no.  1/92  of  25
 
November  1992  as  a  consequence  of  the  Maastricht  Treaty.  See  more  in:  Miranda,  Jorge.  “La  Constitution
 
portugaise et le traité de Maastricht,” Revue Française de Droit Constitutionnel, No. 12, 1992: 679-688.
 
158  Lei  no.  43/2006  Acompanhamento,  apreciação  e  pronúncia  pela  Assembleia  da  República  no  âmbito  do
 
processo de construção da União Europeia, Diário da República, 1a série, No. 164, 25 August 2006, p. 6201.
 
159  Lei  no.  21/2012  Primeira  alteração  à  Lei  no.  43/2006  relativa  ao  acompanhamento,  apreciação  e  pronúncia  

pela  Assembleia  da  República  no  âmbito  do  processo  de  construção  da  União  Europeia,  Diário  da  República,  1a
 
série, No. 96, 17 May 2012, p. 2582.
 
160 Article 197(1)(i) of the Constitution. This provision was introduced by the constitutional amendment of 1992.
 

110 


 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                                                            
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 





 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



 

 

 


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Annex 1 - Questionnaires On The 27 Member States 

regular  process  of  consultation  between  the  Assembly  and  the  Government.161  In  similar 
fashion,  the  European  Scrutiny  Act  obliges  the  Government  to  provide  the  Assembly  with 
information about the “matters and positions to be debated in European institutions”, which 
thus encompasses information on European Council meetings.162 The only European Council 
documents  that  are  explicitly  mentioned  as  compulsory  for  the  Government  to  submit  to 
the  Assembly  are  European  Council  authorisations  to  apply  the  general  bridging  clauses 
(so-called passerelles), which permit the Council of Ministers to decide by qualified majority 
instead of by unanimity and to adopt decisions in accordance with the ordinary legislative 
procedure instead of in accordance with a special legislative procedure.163 

1.3. Scrutiny of Eurozone summits 

There  is  no  legal  regulation  of  this  matter  in  Portugal.  In  practice,  Eurozone  summits  are 
occasionally  referred  to  during  committee  and  plenary  sessions  devoted  either  to  the 
scrutiny of European Council meetings or to other matters altogether. Yet this is not done 
systematically but rather as an issue accompanying the central topic of the debate. Thus, in 
parliamentary meetings related to the scrutiny of EU affairs, Eurozone summits are hardly 
ever  an  independent  agenda  point.  When  these  summits  are  indeed  debated,  this  occurs 
mainly in the form of MPs’ questions to the Government, the subject and contents of which 
MPs can freely choose. 

Nonetheless,  the  European  Scrutiny  Act  envisages  the  organisation  of  plenary  debates 
about  various  instruments  for  the  economic  governance  of  the  EU,  which  include  the 
European Semester and the Stability and Growth Programme (Programa de Estabilidade e 
Crescimento)  in  particular.164  The  Government  participates  in  this  type  of  plenary  debate, 
but it is not specified at which level. 

2. Ex-ante control  

2.1. Rules and procedures 

Since the 2012 amendment of the European Scrutiny Act, the Assembly will hold a plenary 
debate before each meeting of the European Council.165 The Government is present during 
this  plenary  debate  and  is  represented  at  the  level  of  Prime  Minister,  thus  providing  an 
opportunity  for  MPs  to  engage  in  high  profile  discussions  with  the  Government.  The  first 
such  plenary  debate  took  place  on  27  June  2012,  before  the  ordinary  European  Council 
meeting of 28/29 June 2012. 

There  is  no  distinction  between  ordinary,  extraordinary  and  informal  meetings  of  the 
European  Council.  It  is  therefore  unclear  whether  the  reference  in  the  European  Scrutiny 
Act to holding a plenary debate before each European Council meeting means that plenary 
sessions  will  also  be  organised  for  extraordinary  and  informal  European  Council  meetings. 
It appears more likely that a plenary session will only be held before ordinary European 

161 Article 1(2) of the European Scrutiny Act and Article 261(2) of the Rules of Procedure. 

162 Article 5(1)(b) thereof. 

163 Article 5(2)(c)-(d) of the European Scrutiny Act. See Article 48(7) TEU for the general bridging clauses.
 
164  Article  4(1)(d)  thereof.  The  Stability  and  Growth  Programme  is  a  document  prepared  by  the  Portuguese
 
Government within the framework of the European Semester and, thus, it does not refer to the EU’s Stability and
 
Growth Pact. 

165 Article 4(1)(a) of the European Scrutiny Act. 


111 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                                                            
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 





 

 

 






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Council meetings and that all other types of European Council meetings will be scrutinised 
in committee. In spite of this, holding a plenary debate remains a possibility, because the 
European Scrutiny Act entitles both the Assembly and the Government to initiate a debate 
about any matter discussed in EU institutions that falls under the Assembly’s competence in 
general.166 

Prior to the 2012 amendment, a plenary debate was only organised after the last European 
Council  meeting  of  each  EU  Presidency  and  it  was  not  required  that  the  Government  be 
represented  by  the  Prime  Minister.  This  means  that  there  has  been  both  a  move  from  ex 
post  towards  ex  ante  scrutiny  of  European  Council  meetings  and  an  elevation  of  the 
Government’s accountability duties. This change affords greater leeway for MPs to influence 
the position that the Government intends to defend in the European Council. 

According  to  the  Assembly’s  Rules  of  Procedure,  the  agenda  for  plenary  debates  is  set  by 
the  President  of  the  Assembly  after  hearing,  in  a  consultative  manner,  the  Conference  of 
Leaders,  which  is  a  body  that  gathers  the  leaders  of  the  political  groups  represented  in 
Parliament.167  The  Rules  of  Procedure  assign  relative  priority  to  the  assessment  of 
Portugal’s  participation  in  the  process  of  constructing  the  European  Union.168  Absolute 
priority  is  given  to  matters  such  as  declaring  war  or  state  of  emergency,  assessing  the 
Government’s  programme  and  motions  of  confidence  and  censure.169  Yet  the  Government 
and  parliamentary  groups  may  request  that  priority  debates  be  held  about  issues  of 
national  interest  that  ought  to  be  addressed  urgently.170  This  provision  may  therefore  be 
used to initiate a plenary debate about matters discussed or scheduled for discussion in the 
European Council that are of paramount importance for Portugal. 
Furthermore,  unless  a  plenary  debate  has  been  scheduled,  the  European  Scrutiny  Act 
foresees  meetings  between  the  European  Affairs  Committee  and  a  member  of  the 
Government in the weeks before and after European Council meetings.171 This has been the 
case both before and after the 2012 amendment. In this event, the Government provides 
the  European  Affairs  Committee  with  the  agenda  of  the  forthcoming  European  Council 
meeting. If the European Council is scheduled to adopt a declaration or another initiative, 
then  the  European  Affairs  Committee  needs  to  ask  the  Government  to  furnish  such 
information  too,  because  it  is  not  sent  automatically.  In  practice,  the  Government  is  as  a 
rule  represented  by  the  Secretary  of  State  for  European  Affairs.  As  mentioned  above,  it 
could be argued that these committee meetings will also be devoted to extraordinary and 
informal European Council meetings. 

2.2. Pronouncement 
In  general  terms,  the  Constitution  entrenches  the  Assembly’s  ex  ante  involvement  in  EU 
decision making by obliging it to pronounce itself on matters pending before EU institutions 
in the sphere of its exclusive legislative competence.172 This duty is affirmed in the 

166 Article 4(4) thereof. 

167 Article 59(1)-(2) thereof. 

168 Article 62(3)(c) thereof. 

169 Article 62(2) thereof. 

170 Article 63(1) thereof. 

171 Article 4(1)(f) thereof. 

172  Article  161(n)  of  the  Constitution.  This  provision  was  first  introduced  by  Lei  constitucional  no.  1/97  of  20
 
September  1997.  According  to  one  opinion,  this  constitutional  provision  shows  that  there  had  been  a  “clear
 
erosion” of the Assembly’s legislative powers in the EU context, because the Government had acquired “exclusive
 
decision-making  protagonism”  in  areas  falling  within  the  Assembly’s  exclusive  legislative  competence.  Otero,
 
Paulo. “A revisão constitucional de 1997: sistema de actos legislativos: opinião,” Legislação: Cadernos de Ciência
 
de Legislação, No. 19-20, 1997: 143. Under Article 164 of the Constitution, the following 21 areas fall under the 

Assembly’s  exclusive 
legislative  competence:  national,  regional  and  local  elections;  referendums;  the
 
Constitutional Court; defence and the armed forces; states of siege and emergency; citizenship; territorial waters; 

political associations and parties; basic elements of the education system; the status and role of holders of offices
 
established under the Constitution; local authorities; restrictions on the exercise of rights by  the military, police,
 
and  security  services;  appointment  of  Portuguese  members  of  EU  bodies,  with  the  exception  of  the  European
 

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Assembly’s Rules of Procedure.173 The European Scrutiny Act develops this duty insofar as 
it  requires  the  European  Affairs  Committee  to  adopt  a  formal  written  opinion  (parecer)  in 
consultation  with  the  competent  specialised  committee.  The  written  opinion  is  then 
submitted to the plenary and may be passed in the form of a resolution (resolução).174 Yet 
it should be underlined that this procedure mostly, albeit not exclusively, pertains to draft 
EU  proposals  and  initiatives,  thus  those  adopted  by  the  European  Parliament  and  the 
Council of Ministers. 
Nevertheless, the 2012 amendment of the European Scrutiny Act inserted a provision that 
enables  the  adoption  of  a  written  opinion  also  regarding  “other  initiatives  of  European 
institutions”.175  The  Assembly  may  hence  also  pronounce  itself  on  European  Council 
decisions  mentioned  in  the  Treaties,176  and,  as  the  template  below  shows,  the  Assembly 
indeed does so in practice. 
Finally,  no  parliamentary  pronouncement  has  the  effect  of  giving  the  Government  a 
mandate to be defended at the EU level, as is the case, for instance, in Denmark. Since the 
Government  is  not  legally  bound,  the  effect  of  the  Assembly’s  pronouncement  is 
comparable to that of an opinion or recommendation.  

3. Ex-post control: institutional body 
The  Portuguese  Assembly  possesses  the  constitutional  prerogative  to  supervise  and 
consider  Portugal’s  participation  in  the  process  of  constructing  the  European  Union.177  Ex 
post  control  over  European  Council  meetings  is  carried  out  by  the  European  Affairs 
Committee  in  the  form  of  meetings  with  the  Secretary  of  State  for  European  Affairs,  who 
presents  an  oral  report  to  MPs  on  the  issued  debated  in  the  European  Council  and  the 
positions  assumed  by  Portugal.178  Though  no  longer  mentioned  in  the  European  Scrutiny 
Act, ex post plenary debates are another means of scrutinising the activities and decisions 
of  the  European  Council,  which  MPs  may  and  do  sometimes  utilise  in  parliamentary 
practice. 
As  mentioned  above  (see  sub-heading  1.3.),  Eurozone  summits  are  not  systematically 
monitored either ex ante or ex post, although in practice MPs at times assess their results 
or  refer  to  them  in  parliamentary  debates.  More  recently,  and  especially  in  the  context  of 
the  sovereign  debt  crisis  in  the  Eurozone,  the  Assembly’s  Budget,  Finance  and  Public 
Administration  Committee  has  begun  following  matters  discussed  at  European  Council 
meetings in greater depth, albeit still infrequently. 

4. Ex-post control: debates in parliament 
There is no legal requirement for debates to be held in the plenary after European Council 
meetings.  Yet,  just  as  in  the  case  of  Eurozone  summits,  issues  discussed  at  European 
Council  meetings  are  in  practice  debated  in  the  plenary  thanks  to  MPs’  questions  to  the 
Government. 
Only  hearings  with  a  Government  representative  in  the  European  Affairs  Committee  are 
legally required. The agenda for these meetings is decided by the Chairman of the 

Commission;  the  intelligence  system  and  state  secrets;  state,  regional,  and  local  budgets;  national  symbols;
 
finances  of  the  autonomous  regions;  police  forces  and  security  services;  and  autonomy  of  the  President  of  the
 
Republic’s support services.
 
173 Articles 35 and 261(1) thereof.
 
174 Article 2 thereof. 

175 Article 1-A thereof. 

176  These  include,  for  instance,  European  Council  decisions  concerning  Common  Foreign  and  Security  Policy
 
[Articles  22(1),  26(1),  27(1)  and  31  TEU],  the  possible  establishment  of  common  defence  [Article  42(2)  TEU],  

simplified  and  ordinary  Treaty  revision  procedures  [Articles  48(6)  and  48(2)-(5)  TEU  respectively],  emergency
 
brakes in the fields of social security [Article 48(2) TFEU] and criminal justice [Articles 82(3) and 83(3) TFEU], and
 
broad guidelines of the economic policies of the Member States [Article 121(2) TFEU]. 

177 Article 163(f) of the Constitution. This provision was introduced by the constitutional amendment of 1992.
 
178 Article 4(1)(f) of the European Scrutiny Act. 


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European  Affairs  Committee  upon  receiving  advice  from  the  Committee’s  advisers.  Their 
advice  is  not  mandatory,  although  the  Chairman  usually  accepts  their  suggestions  about 
points  to  be  included  on  the  agenda.  The  Government  can  avoid  neither  ex  ante  plenary 
debates nor ex post meetings in the European Affairs Committee, although postponements 
are possible if justified reasons for it exist (e.g. absence of the Prime Minister in the case of 
plenary debates). 

5. Since Lisbon 
The entry into force of the Treaty of Lisbon provoked two significant changes.179 On the one 
hand, the European Affairs Committee informally decided to reform its scrutiny procedures 
and  introduce  the  so-called  ‘enhanced’  and  ‘urgent’  scrutiny  procedures  in  addition  to  the 
ordinary  scrutiny  procedure.180  However,  this  change  refers  to  the  monitoring  of  pre-
legislative  and  legislative  initiatives  of  the  EU.  On  the  other  hand,  the  European  Scrutiny 
Act was amended as described above under Heading 2.1. 
In  the  post-Lisbon  Treaty  period,  the  Portuguese  Government’s  term  of  office  ended 
prematurely once. This happened on 23 March 2011 when the Socialist Prime Minister José 
Socrates  tendered  resignation  to  the  President  of  the  Republic.  A  parliamentary  election 
ensued on 5 June 2011 and the Social Democrats won. The direct cause of the resignation 
was  the  refusal  of  the  Assembly  to  approve  the  Government’s  austerity  measures  as 
proposed  in  its  Stability  and  Growth  Programme  for  the  period  2011-2014  (Programa  de 
Estabilidade e Crescimento).181 It is of note that some parliamentary groups had expressed 
dissatisfaction  with  the  Government’s  conduct  even  prior  to  the  latter’s  resignation. 
Namely,  on  10  March  2011,  slightly  less  than  a  fortnight  before  the  resignation,  the  Left 
Bloc  (Bloco  de  Esquerda,  BE)  submitted  a  motion  of  censure  against  the  Government 
requesting  from  it  inter  alia  to  declare  what  measures  it  intended  to  negotiate  during  the 
extraordinary European Council meeting and the Eurozone summit that were to take place 
the following day.182 The motion was unsuccessful because it did not garner the support of 
an absolute majority of the MPs. It was voted down by the then still  ruling Socialist Party 
(Partido Socialista, PS), while the then main opposition party the Social Democrats (Partido 
Social  Democrata,  PSD)  and  the  Democratic  and  Social  Centre  –  People’s  Party  (Centro 
Democrático  e  Social  –  Partido  Popular,  CDS-PP)  abstained.  Besides  the  Left  Bloc,  which 
initiated the motion, only the smaller opposition parties voted in favour of the motion: the 
Communists  (Partido  Comunista  Português,  PCP)  and  the  Greens  (Partido  Ecologista  ‘Os 
Verdes’, PEV).183 
However,  even  though  the  Government’s  resignation  was  rooted  in  the  failure  of  its 
austerity  programme,  it  is  possible  to  argue  that  there  is  an  indirect  and  remote  link 
between  the  resignation  and  the  European  Council,  insofar  as  the  Government’s  Stability 
and  Growth  Programme  was  drafted  in  the  broader  context  of  the  so-called  ‘European 
Semester’, which is an initiative of the European Council agreed in June 2010 and launched 
in 2011. This initiative is a six-month period lasting from January to June each year, during 
which  the  European  Council  prepares  recommendations  and  guidelines  for  the  Member 
States to implement in their medium-term budgetary strategies before adopting their final 
annual budgets. 

179  See  further  in:  Resende,  Madalena  Meyer  and  Paulo,  Maria  Teresa.  “Implementing  the  Treaty  of  Lisbon:  the 
Portuguese  Parliament  as  an  actor  in  the  European  legislative  arena,”  in  The  Europeanisation  of  Portuguese 
Democracy, by Nuno S. Teixeira and António Costa Pinto (eds), New York: Columbia University Press, 2012: 85­
109.
 
180  See  more  on  this  reform  in:  Jančić,  Davor.  “The  Portuguese  Parliament:  blazing  the  trail  to  the  European
 
scrutiny trophy?,” Interdisciplinary Political Studies, Vol. 1, No. 1, 2011: 93-108.
 
181  Diário da República, Reunião plenária de 23 de março de 2011, 1a série, No. 67, 24 March 2011, pp. 77-79.
 
182  See  the  interventions  by  Francisco  de  Assis  (PS)  and  Luís  Fazenda  (BE)  in:  Diário  da  República,  Reunião
 
plenária de 10 de março de 2011, 1a série, No. 62, 11 March 2011, pp. 39 and 56.
 
183  Diário da República, Reunião plenária de 10 de março de 2011, 1a série, No. 62, 11 March 2011, p. 66.
 

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6. Templates to be filled out regarding the lower chamber’s behaviour towards each of the 
9 European Council meetings and Euro zone summits held between March 2011 and March 
2012. Please fill in “yes” or “no” in each box. 

C1 = extraordinary meeting of the European Council and the meeting of the Heads of State 
or Government of the Euro Area – 11 March 2011 
C2 = ordinary meeting of the European Council – 24 and 25 March 2011 
C3 = ordinary meeting of the European Council – 23 and 24 June 2011 
C4 = meeting of the Heads of State or Government of the Euro Area – 21 July 2011 
C5 = ordinary meeting of the European Council – 23 October 2011 
C6 = informal meeting of the European Council and meeting of the Heads of State or 
Government of the Euro Area – 26 October 2011 
C7 = ordinary meeting of the European Council – 8 and 9 December 2011 
C8 = informal meeting of the European Council – 30 January 2012 
C9 = ordinary meeting of the European Council – 1 and 2 March 2012 

Before the European Council meeting 

C1  C2  C3  C4  C5  C6  C7  C8  C9 

Debates in committees  yes  yes  no  no 

yes  yes  yes  yes  yes 
yes  no  no 
Formal declaration by the PM  no  no  no  no  no  no  no  no  no 
Vote of a motion  no  no  no  no  no  no  no  no  no 

Debates on the floor  no  no  no  no  no  no 

After the European Council meeting 

Debates in committees  yes  yes  no  yes  yes  yes  no 

Debates on the floor  no 

yes  no  yes  no  no 
Formal declaration by the PM  no  no  no  no  no  no 
yes  no  no  no  no 

Vote of a motion  no 

yes  yes 
yes  yes  yes 
yes  no  no 
yes  no  no 

Explanation of the template 
a) Committee scrutiny activities: 

 

In  line  with  the  legal  rules  presented  above,  all  committee  meetings  were  held  in  the 
European  Affairs  Committee,  except  in  the  case  of  C7,  which  was  held  in  the  plenary 
because according to the rules in force prior to the 2012 amendment of the European 
  Scrutiny  Act,  parliamentary  control  over  the  last  European  Council  of  each  Presidency 

 

had to be carried out in plenary rather 
than  in  committee.  In  this  particular  case,  the  Government  was  represented  by  the 
Minister of State and Foreign Affairs. 

  There were no commitee or plenary debates regarding C3 due to the dissolution of the 

Assembly, which was provoked by the resignation of the Socrates Government. 

  Only  the  committee  meeting  with  respect  to  C5  was  held  in  the  presence  of  a  more 
highly ranked Government representative than is the usual practice. To wit, the meeting 
was held with the Minister of State and Foreign Affairs rather than with the Secretary of 
State for Foreign Affairs. The reason was the salience and urgency of the EU’s response 
to the crisis in Syria. 

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Policy Department C: Citizens' Rights and Constitutional Affairs 
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(b) Plenary scrutiny activities: 

	  C2  – The  European  Council  Decision  2011/199/EU  of  25  March  2011  amending  Article 
136  of  the  Treaty  on  the  Functioning  of  the  European  Union  with  regard  to  a  stability 
mechanism  for  Member  States  whose  currency  is  the  euro184  was  debated  in  the 
plenary on 7 December 2011. On this occasion, two resolutions were proposed: one by 
the Government185 and the other by the Left Bloc.186 The former resolution was adopted 
and  the  latter  rejected  at  the  plenary  session  of  9  December  2011.187  The  Portuguese 
Assembly thereby approved this European Council Decision. 

	  C4  –  On  the  same  day  when  the  Eurozone  summit  took  place  in  Brussels  (21  July 
2011),  there  was  a  plenary  session  in  the  Portuguese  Assembly,  during  which  Carlos 
Zorrinho  (PS)  made  a  political  declaration  (declaração  politica)  criticising  the 
Government’s treatment of EU affairs. The ensuing debate did not address the Eurozone 
summit as such, although it was mentioned in passing by several MPs. A week later, on 
28  July  2011,  there  was  another  plenary  session  at  which  António  Rodrigues  (PSD) 
made  a  political  declaration  welcoming  the  conclusions  of  the  Eurozone  summit.  The 
following  day,  on  29  July  2011,  one  part  of  the  plenary  session  was  devoted  to  the 
debate with the Prime Minister, Pedro Passos Coelho (PSD).188 During this debate, one 
question  on  the  outcome  of  the  Eurozone  summit  was  put  to  him  by  Luís  Montenegro 
(PSD)  and  the  Prime  Minister  provided  an  answer.  Thus,  although  the  Prime  Minister 
gave  no  formal  declaration  on  this  Eurozone  summit  as  an  independent  agenda  point, 
there were ex post scrutiny activities in the plenary. 

	  C7  –  During  the  plenary  session  of  7  December  2011,  one  day  before  the  European 
Council meeting, António Braga (PS) initiated a debate about its the agenda by means 
of  a  political  declaration.189  After  the  European  Council  meeting,  four  plenary  debates 
addressed the results thereof. The first plenary debate took place on 15 December 2011 
in  the  presence  of  the  Minister  of  State  and  Foreign  Affairs  and  it  was  initiated  by  the 
Left  Bloc  within  the  framework  of  the  so-called  ‘actuality  debates’.190  The  second 
plenary  debate  was  held  on  16  December  2011 in  the  presence  of  the  Prime  Minister, 
who  gave  a  formal  declaration  about  the  European  Council  meeting.  This  plenary  was 
carried out within the framework of the pre-2012 amendment of the European Scrutiny 
Act, which required a plenary debate to be held after the last European Council meeting 
of  each  EU  Presidency  (see  the  first  bullet  under  ‘Committee  scrutiny  activities’).  The 
third  plenary  debate,  which  occurred  on  8  February  2012,  saw  the  submission  of  two 
draft resolutions. One of them was moved by the Left Bloc and sought the rejection of 
the  Fiscal  Treaty  (Tratado  Orçamental)191  and  the  other  was  moved  by  the  Socialist 
Party  and  recommended  the  Government,  EU  institutions  and  Member  States  to  focus 
their efforts on the promotion of economic growth and creation of jobs.192 

184  OJ L91/1 of 6.4.2011.
 
185  Proposta de resolução no. 7/XII seeking approval of the said European Council Decision. 

186  Projeto de resolução no. 135/XII seeking rejection of the said European Council Decision. 

187  See  Resolução  no.  9/2012  –  Aprova  a  Decisão  do  Conselho  Europeu  de  25  de  março  de  2011  que  altera  o
 
artigo  136.º  do  Tratado  sobre  o  Funcionamento  da  União  Europeia  no  que  respeita  a  um  mecanismo  de
 
estabilidade para os Estados membros cuja moeda seja o euro, Diário da República, 1a série, No. 24, 2 February
 
2012, p. 568.
 
188 See Article 224 of the Rules of Procedure of the Assembly.
 
189 For the purpose of clarity, it should be emphasised that at this same plenary session, as mentioned above (see 

comments for C2), two resolutions were moved about the decision of the European Council of 25 March 2011, of 

which the one approving this decision was adopted on 9 December 2011. This resolution therefore refers to a 

previous European Council meeting, even though it was adopted in the period surrounding a later European 

Council meeting. 

190 Article 72 of the Rules of Procedure of the Assembly. 

191  Projeto de resolução no. 205/XII. 

192  Projeto de resolução no. 209/XII. 


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The fourth and the last plenary session, that of 10 February 2012, rejected the former and 
adopted the latter resolution.193 

	  C8  –  Three  plenary  sessions  addressed  this  European  Council  meeting.  First,  at  the 
plenary session of 1 February 2012, two days after the meeting, the conclusions thereof 
were  assessed  by  MPs  in  the  context  of  the  political  declaration  made  by  Carlos 
Zorrinho (PS), who criticised the Government’s economic policy. Second, on 3 February 
2012  another  plenary  session  gave  rise  to  a  debate  with  the  Prime  Minister,  during 
which  questions  were  posed  inter  alia  about  the  European  Council  meeting  and  the 
Prime  Minister  gave  an  extensive  reply.  Yet  this  reply  does  not  qualify  as  a  formal 
declaration, because the Prime Minister would not have been obliged to account for the 
Government’s participation in the informal European Council meeting had the questions 
not been asked. Third, at the plenary session of 22 February 2012 a political declaration 
was made by  João Semedo (BE) contesting the response to the Greek crisis agreed by 
the  European  Council  and  advocating  the  renegotiation  of  the  amount  and  terms  of 
payment of Portugal’s debt. 

	  C9  –  After  the  European  Council  meeting,  at  the  plenary  session  of  7  March  2012  a 
question was put to the Prime Minister by Luís Montenegro (PSD) about the outcome of 
this meeting and the Prime Minister gave a reply. 

7. Other comments 
7.1. Other bodies and the scrutiny of European Council meetings 
No  other  body  outside  Parliament  plays  a  role  in  scrutinising  the  results  of  European 
Council  meetings  and  Eurozone  summits.  Although  since  the  amendment  of  2005194  the 
Constitution guarantees the possibility of holding a referendum on the European Union, this 
refers only to instances where a treaty aimed at constructing or deepening the Union needs 
to be approved and not to decisions of the European Council.195 

7.2. Concluding remarks 
While  the  Portuguese  Assembly  practices  both  ex  ante  and  ex  post  scrutiny  of  European 
Council  meetings,  the  accent  has  since  2012  been  placed  on  ex  ante  accountability 
mechanisms. 
It is also crucial to note that the policing of the meetings of the Council of Ministers after 
the  2012  amendment  is  no  longer  performed  automatically  but  only  “when  considered 
necessary”.196  This  is  due  to  the  MPs’  realisation  that  it  is  essential  not  to  scrutinise  each 
and  every  EU  document  but  to  prioritise  and  select  among  them  a  handful  for  in-depth 
follow up. This change may leave MPs more room to discuss European Council activities. 
Regarding  the  control  over  European  Council  meetings,  the  Assembly  combines  plenary 
sessions and committee meetings, the former of which will gain prominence in the following 
period thanks to the legislative amendments to that effect. Similarly, the document-based 
system of scrutiny, established in 2006 with the adoption of the European Scrutiny Act, is 
complemented  by  the  Government’s  oral  statements  during  hearings  in  the  European 
Affairs Committee, which are held after European Council meetings. 

193  See  Resolução  no.  24/2012  –  Recomenda  ao  Governo,  às  instituições  europeias  e  aos  Estados  membros  da  

União  Europeia  que  concentrem  os  seus  esforços  na  promoção  do  crescimento  económico  e  na  criação  de
 
emprego, Diário da República, 1a  série, No. 39, 23 February 2012, p. 874.
 
194  Lei Constitucional no. 1/2005 of 12 August 2005.
 
195 Article 295 of the Constitution.
 
196 Article 4(1)(g) of the European Scrutiny Act. 


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Policy Department C: Citizens' Rights and Constitutional Affairs 
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Romania: Angela Tacea, Sciences Po Paris 
Name of your Member State: Romania 

1. The formal rules 
- Are there formal rules regarding the parliamentary scrutiny of European Council 
meetings and Euro zone summits?  

No. The formal rules on parliamentary scrutiny in the Camera Deputatilor (Lower Chamber) 
and  in  the  Senat  (Upper  Chamber)  do  not  specifically  address  European  Council  or  Euro 
zone  summits,  but  they  contain  a  general  framework  for  parliamentary  scrutiny  over 
European issues.  Moreover, on the 25th  of June 2012, the Romanian Parliament adopted a 
law  regarding  the  cooperation  between  the  Parliament  and  the  Government  on  European 
issues.  The  Liberal  Democratic  Party  (PDL)  group  from  the  Senate  appealed  to  the 
Constitutional Court. The appeal mainly questions the articles 18th and 19th of the law, both 
of  them  making  reference,  among  others,  to  the  parliamentary  scrutiny  procedure  of  the 
European Council meetings.  The Court should state on the constitutionality of the law on 
September 19, 2012. 

- If  yes,  what  are  their  legal  bases  (Constitution,  Legal  provisions,  Standing 
Orders, other)? 

Constitution:  The  Romanian  Constitution  makes  no  reference  to  the  scrutiny  procedure  of 
the  EU  draft  legislation,  but  only  to  the  obligation  of  the  Government  to  inform  the 
Parliament about binding EU acts (article 148- paragraph 5 of the Constitution197). 

Legal  provisions:  “Decision  n°11  of  the  Camera  Deputatilor  from  the  April  19,  2011  on 
working  procedure  and  decision  making  mechanism  for  the  exercise  of  parliamentary 
scrutiny over the draft EU legislative acts, under the provisions of the Treaty of Lisbon on 
the  role  of  national  Parliaments”198  sets  up  the  parliamentary  scrutiny  procedures  for  EU 
documents,  but  makes  reference  only  to  the  European  Commission,  the  Council  of  the 
European Union and the European Parliament. 

“Government  Decision  N°  115/2008  on  the  establishment  of  national  coordination 
mechanism of EU affairs for Romania's participation in the decision-making process of the 
institutions of the European Union”199 specifies the obligation of the 

European Affairs Council (a governmental body) to inform the Romanian Parliament about 
its conclusions. 

“Law  on  the  cooperation  between  the  Parliament  and  the  Government  in  EU  Affairs”200 
(adopted  by  the  Parliament,  but  not  promulgated  yet  and  under  the  examination  of  the 
Constitutional  Court)  obliges  the  Government  to  inform  the  Parliament  about  the 
conclusions of the European Council meetings, sets the rules of the Romanian  

197 Article 148- paragraph 5 of the Romanian Constitution 

http://www.cdep.ro/pls/dic/site.page?den=act2_1&par1=6#t6c0s0a148 (last retrieved on the 16th of July 2012) . 

198 Decision n°11 from the 19th of April 2011,  http://www.cdep.ro/pls/dic/site.page?id=910&idl=2 (last retrieved 

on the 16th of July 2012) 

199 Government Decision N° 115/2008, http://www.maeur.ro/articol/hotarare-privind-instituirea-sistemului­
national-de-coordonare-a-afacerilor-europene-in-vederea-participarii-romaniei-la-procesul-decizional-al
institutiilor-uniunii-europene-hg-1152008-, (last retrieved on the 24th of July 2012). 

200  Draft  bill  on 
http://www.dae.gov.ro/articol/2656/proiect-lege-privind-cooperarea-intre-parlament-si-guvern-in-domeniul­
afacerilor-europene  (last retrieved on the 25th of July 2012) 


the  cooperation  between 

the  Parliament  and 

the  Government 

in  EU  Affairs 

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representation  to  the  European  Council  meetings  and  the  procedures  concerning  the 
Romanian position defended in the European Council meetings. 

Parliament  Declaration  n°  1/2012  on  the  current  issues  on  the  agenda  of  the  European 
Union and the incumbent obligations of Romania, published in the Monitorul Oficial (Official 
Jounal), Part I, n° 392, of June 12, 2012201 etablishes the obligation of the government to 
inform  ex-ante  the  Parliament  about  the  agenda  of  the  European  Council.  The  Parliament 
has to deliver a non-binding mandate concering Romania’s positions. In the same time the 
declaration  obliges  the  government  to  inform  ex-post  the  Parliament  about  the  adopted 
decisions in the European Council.  

- If yes, what are these rules about? What obligations does the government have? 

The rules make reference to the working procedure and decision-making mechanism for the 
exercise of parliamentary scrutiny over the draft EU legislative acts, under the provisions of 
the  Treaty  of  Lisbon  on  the  role  of  national  Parliaments.  These  rules  mainly  oblige  the 
government to keep parliament informed, before the European Council as well as after the 
European  Council.  This  is  currently  done  though  the  European  Affaires  Council  (a 
governmental body), which identifies Romania’s priorities regarding the evolutions decided 
within the European Council. 

Moreover, the “Law on the cooperation between the Parliament and the Government in EU 
Affairs” (adopted by the Parliament, but not promulgated yet and under the examination of 
the  Constitutional  Court)  obliges  the  government  to  periodically  send  briefings  on  the 
results  of  the  participation  in  European  Council  meetings  to  both  chambers  of  the 
Parliament. 

The 18th article  (1) of the law states that Romania is represented at the European Council 
meetings  either  by  the  president  or  by  the  prime-minister.  (2)  The  establishment  of  the 
Romanian  delegation  leader  at  the  European  Council  meetings  is  done  by  agreement 
between  the  Romanian  Government  and  the  Presidential  Institution,  at  least  20  working 
days  before  the  meeting  date.  (3)  In  case  the  agreement  shall  not  be  concluded  in  time, 
the  Parliament  in  joint  session,  appoints  the  head  of  the  Romanian  delegation  to  the  
European Council meeting. 

The  19th  artcile    (1)  Within  at  least  7  working  days  before  the  European  Council  meeting, 
the Government sends to the two chambers of Parliament the mandate that the Romanian 
Delegation intends to present. (2) The Parliament adopts the mandate before the European 
Council  meeting  (3)  and  whether  the  head  of  the  Romanian  delegation  to  the  European 
Council  meetings  presents  other  position  than  that  received  by  mandate,  the  government 
have to justify its position.  

- If yes, do these rules make distinctions between the different types of meetings 
of the European Council (regular, extraordinary, Euro zone summit)?  

No, the rules do not make any distinction between the different types of meetings of the 
European Council. 

201 Parliament’s Declaration n° 1/2012 on the current issues on the agenda of the European Union and the 
incumbent obligations of Romania http://www.avocatnet.ro/content/articles/id_29307/Declaratia-Parlamentului­
Romaniei-nr-1-2012-problemele-actuale-aflate-pe-agenda-Uniunii-Europene-si-obligatiile-ce-revin-Romaniei-in­
baza-acestora.html (last retrieved on the 25th of July 2012). 

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2. Ex-ante control  
-  Do  national  parliaments  take  part  in  the  preparation  of  meetings  of  the 
European Council and Euro zone summits? 
No.  Only  the  European  Affairs  Council  and  the  Coordination  Committee  for  European 
Affairs,  both  of  them  governmental  bodies,  prepare  Romania’s  position  to  the  European 
Council  and  Euro  zone  summits.  The  Parliament  is  only  informed  about  it  without  any 
further  scrutiny  power.  However,  the  Parliament  can  organize  hearings  with  the  prime 
minister before the European Council meetings.  It was done only once before the ordinary 
meetings  of  the  European  Council  of  23-24  June  2011  and  twice  in  2007  and  2008. 
However, the “Law on the cooperation between the Parliament and the Government in EU 
Affairs” (adopted by the Parliament, but not promulgated yet and under the examination of 
the  Constitutional  Court)  and  Parliament  Declaration  n°  1/2012  on  the  current  issues  on 
the agenda of the European Union and the incumbent obligations of Romania provides the 
Parliament  the  possibility  to  take  part  in  the  preparation  of  meetings  of  the  European 
Council (see section 1), by adoption the non-binding mandate.  

- Do Parliaments’ Rules of Procedure provide for priority debates? 

Parliament’s  Rules  of  Procedure  do  not  specifically  provide  priority  for  debates  of  the 
European Council or Euro zone summits in the plenary. No debate in the plenary has been 
organized so far before a meeting of the European Council. 

- If so, which bodies are responsible for, and involved in, this preparatory work 
(for example, committees, plenary or other bodies)? 

Nor the plenary of the Camera Deputatilor, neither that of the Senat have been involved 
ex-ante during the period 2011-2012 in the discussion of the European Council or Euro 
zone summits. 

Sometimes, the European Affairs Committee can debate the European Council meetings 
and can organize hearings with the prime minister or the minister for European Affairs.  

In the Camera Deputatilor, the Department for Parliamentary Studies and European Law 
(Departamentul pentru studii parlamentare si drept comunitar) is involved in the scrutiny of 
European legislation and preparation of the European Council meetings. 

- Which governmental authorities take part in the parliamentary debates? 
Even though, there are no formal rules. Usually, the minister for European Affairs is invited 
by  the  European  Affairs  Committees  to  take  part  in  the  Senat  and  Camera  Deputatilor 
debates. The Prime Minister never made a declaration before a European Council meeting. 

- Is there a vote for a parliamentary resolution before the European Council 

meeting? 

No resolution is voted before the European Council meetings. The “Law on the cooperation 
between the Parliament and the Government in EU Affairs” (adopted by the Parliament, but 
not promulgated yet and under the examination of the Constitutional Court) and Parliament 
Declaration n° 1/2012 on the current issues on the agenda of the European Union and the 
incumbent  obligations  of  Romania,  obliges  the  government  to  obtain  a  mandate  from  the 
Parliament  before  the  European  Council  meetings.    The  mandate  is  drafted  by  the 
government and adopted by the Parliament. Even though the mandate is not binding, if the 
head of the Romanian delegation to the European Council meetings presents other position 
than that received by mandate, the government should justify its position. 

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3. Ex-post control: institutional body 
Which  is  the  responsible body  within  the  Parliament  to  control  the  results  of  the 
European  Council  and  the  Euro  zone  summits  (the  plenary,  committees,  other 
bodies)? 
Although no procedure is formalized, the European Affairs Committee of both chambers can 
control the results of the European Council and the Euro zone summits. For the timeframe 
2011/2012, it was the case of the Senat on the 20th of December 2011, after the European 
Council meeting of 8-9 December, when the Minister for European Affairs was invited.   
The  plenary  was  involved  for  the  first  time  after  the  European  Council  meetings  of  28-29 
June 2012, when the prime minister presented the report on the decisions adopted at the 
European Council before the joint extraordinary plenary session of the Camera Deputatilor 
and the Senat. 

4. Ex-post control: debates in parliament 
-  What  is  the  organization  of  the  plenary  debates  after  the  European  Council 
meetings?  (NB:  if  there  are  no  debates  in  the  plenary  but  in  committees,  do 
indicate this fact and answer accordingly) 
The  organization  of  the  joint  extraordinary  plenary  session  of  the  Camera  Deputatilor  and 
the  Senat  and  the  presentation  of  the  report  on  the  decisions  adopted  at  the  European 
Council  of  28-29  June  2012  by  the  prime  minister  is  not  only  not  a  formalized  and 
institutionalized rule, but is also due to the political scandal between the prime minister and 
the  president  on  the  issue  of  Romania’s  representation  in  the  European  Council.  Citizens 
have  requested  the  approval  to  take  part  in  the  plenary,  but  the  proposal  was  rejected. 
Due  to  this  rejection,  the  Liberal  Democratic  Party  (PDL)  group  quitted  the  debate.  The 
debate was highly mediatised.  

- Which is the competent institutional body to decide on setting the agenda of the 
plenary for those debates? Who takes the initiative in practice? Can the 
government avoid a debate? 

According to Parliament Declaration n° 1/2012 on the current issues on the agenda of the 
European  Union  and  the  incumbent  obligations  of  Romania,  the  government  is  obliged  to 
inform  the  Parliament  both  ex-ante  and  ex-post.  However,  on  one  side,  this  rule  is  not 
institutionalized  and  on  the  other  informing  the  Parliament  does  not  necessary  imply  a 
debate  in  the  plenary.  As  the  debate  in  the  plenary  was  organized  for  the  first  time  after 
the  European  Council  meetings  of  28-29  June  2012,  it  can’t  be  generalized.  The  Joint 
Offices of the Chambers organized the meeting at the request of prime minister. (Birourile 
Reunite ale Camerelor)202. 

- Which governmental authorities take part in the parliamentary debates? Does 
the Head of Government/ Prime Minister take part? 

As, only two debates were organized after a European Council meeting (one in Senat in the 
EAC and the other one in plenary joint session), it is difficult to establish even an informal 
rule that the Parliament follows. In the EAC meeting in the Senat, the Minister for European 
Affairs was invited to take part at the debates. In the joint session the prime minister made 
an  official  statement  and  presented  a  report  on  the  decisions  adopted  at  the  European 
Council. 

- How is the debate structured? Is there a vote after the debate? 

The joint session of the Camera Deputatilor and the Senat was organized as follows: 
- Official statement by the prime minister 

202 Rules and procedures of http://senat.ro/Start.aspx 

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- Statements by a representative of each parliamentary party group (10 minutes for 
affiliated MPs and 5 minutes for non-affiliated and independent MPs) 
- Rapid answer of the prime minister and of an MP.  

No vote is organized ex-post. The parliamentary scrutiny is mainly done ex-ante. Once the 
Romanian position has been presented in the Council, the Parliament does not want to go 
against  the  position  taken  by  the  President/Prime  Minister.  The  idea  of  scrutiny  and 
accountability  is  not  very  present  ex-post.  The  main  role  of  the  Parliament  ex-post  is  to 
publically  expose  the  Romanian  position  in  the  European  Council  and  not  to  control  the 
government.  Moreover,  the  “Law  on  the  cooperation  between  the  Parliament  and  the 
Government in EU Affairs” (adopted by the Parliament, not promulgated yet and under the 
examination  of  the  Constitutional  Court)  provides  the  framework  for  the  adoption  of  a 
mandate,  on  the  bases  of  which  Romanian  position  in  the  European  Council  meeting  is 
taken. In this case, a vote ex-post wouldn’t make sense. 

5. Since Lisbon 

-  After  the  Treaty  of  Lisbon  came  into  force,  were  there  significant  changes 
regarding the parliamentary control of the European Council? 

Yes. Considering that the existing legislation (article 111 and the following, 148–paragraph 
5 of the Constitution, Government Decision N° 115/2008 on the establishment of national 
coordination  mechanism  of  EU  affairs  for  Romania's  participation  in  the  decision-making 
process  of  the  institutions  of  the  European  Union  and  the  rules  and  procedures  of  the 
Cambers)  were  insufficient  and  that  they  were  not  assuring  a  suitable  and  continuous 
participation of the Parliament in EU affairs as stated in the Lisbon Treaty, the Parliament 
adopted  the  “Law  on  the  cooperation  between  the  Parliament  and  the  Government  in  EU 
Affairs”.  As  mentioned  in  section  1  the  law  is  not  promulgated  and  is  currently  under  the 
examination of the Constitutional Court. 

-  Did  any  significant  events  or  changes  in  formal  rules  occur  after  Lisbon  in  the 
upper house? 

No.  Since  the  Lisbon  Treaty,  the  Formal  rules  of  the  Senat  have  not  been  modified.  The 
only  occurred  change  is  that  the  European  Affairs  Committee,  previously  a  common 
commitee  for  both  Senat  and  Camera  Deputatiolor  (2007-2011),  was  divided  into  two 
committees,  each  chamber  having  now  its  own  EAC.  The  formal  rules  of  the  EAC  of  the 
Senat  reflect  the  changes  bought  by  the  Lisbon  Treaty,  however  they  do  not  make  any 
implicit reference to European Council Meetings and their control. 

-  Since  December  1st  2009,  was  the  survival  of  a  government  influenced  in  one 
way or another by decisions made by the European Council? 

No. 

6. Templates to be filled out regarding the lower chamber´s behaviour towards each of 
the 9 European Council meetings and Euro zone summits held between March 2011 and 
March 2012 
Please fill in “yes” or “no” in each box. 

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C1 = extraordinary meeting of the European Council and  the meeting of the Heads of 
State or Government of the Euro Area – 11 March 2011 
C2 = ordinary meeting of the European Council – 24 and 25 March 2011 
C3 = ordinary meeting of the European Council – 23 and 24 June 2011 
C4 = meeting of the Heads of State or Government of the Euro Area – 21 July 2011 
C5 = ordinary meeting of the European Council – 23 October 2011 
C6 = informal meeting of the European Council and meeting of the Heads of State or 
Government of the Euro Area – 26 October 2011 
C7 = ordinary meeting of the European Council – 8 and 9 December 2011 
C8 = informal meeting of the European Council – 30 January 2012 
C9 = ordinary meeting of the European Council – 1 and 2 March 2012 

Before the European Council meeting 

C1  C2  C3  C4  C5  C6  C7  C8  C9 

Debates in committees  No  No  No  No  No  No  No  No  No 
Debates on the floor  No  No  No  No  No  No  No  No  No 
Formal declaration by the PM  No  No  No  No  No  No  No  No  No 
Vote of a motion  No  No  No  No  No  No  No  No  No 

After the European Council meeting 

Debates in committees  No  No  No  No  No  No  No  No  No 
Debates on the floor  No  No  No  No  No  No  No  No  No 
Formal declaration by the PM  No  No  No  No  No  No  No  No  No 
Vote of a motion  No  No  No  No  No  No  No  No  No 

7. Other comments 
- Are there other insitutions or bodies, outside of Parliament, which play a role 
in the control of these results? (i.e. Constitutional courts) 
No. The Constitutional Court can control adopted texts before parliamentary ratification 
when they are asked to. It can play an important role regarding “Law on the cooperation 
between the Parliament and the Government in EU Affairs”. 

- Some of your own remarks (voluntary): 
The concept of parliamentary control of the European Council is rather a young concept 
for Romanian Parliament. Accordingly, there is no formalization of it, nor ex-ante, 
neither ex-post and the activities of both Chambers are rather on an issue basis than a 
general rule, be it formal or informal. Sometimes standing Committees or the EAC are 
involved, other times the plenary. Even though Lisbon Treaty has provided the 
framework for parliamentary scrutiny, for the time being it is not implemented. However 
2012 seems to change both the legislation and the informal practices in the Romanian 
parliament. 

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Policy Department C: Citizens' Rights and Constitutional Affairs 
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Slovakia: Andrea Figulova, Institute of European Studies 
and International Relations at Comenius University 
Name of your Member State: Slovak Republic 

1. The formal rules 
- Are there formal rules regarding the parliamentary scrutiny of European Council 

meetings and Euro zone summits? 

- If  yes,  what  are  their  legal  bases  (Constitution,  Legal  provisions,  Standing  

Orders, other)? 

- If yes, what are these rules about? What obligations does the government have? 

- If yes, do these rules make distinctions between the different types of meetings 

of the European Council (regular, extraordinary, Euro zone summit)? 

The Slovak Government has established the responsibility for its European policy and EU 
issues towards the National Council of the Slovak Republic (hereinafter referred to as NC 
SR or Parliament) and its control power in the field of European affairs through: 
- Constitutional Act No.397/2004 Coll on the Cooperation of the National Council of the 
Slovak Republic and the Government of the Slovak Republic in European Union Affairs  
- Act No. 350/1996 Coll on the Rules of Procedure of the National Council of the Slovak 
Republic. 

The  Constitutional  Act  is  basic  framework  for  adaptation  of  the  relationship  among 
legislative and executive branches in the field of EU affairs. This cooperation is in two levels 
-  the  obligation  of  the  Slovak  government  to  submit  materials  and  information  to  the 
Parliament and competence of the NC SR (or the European Affairs Committee; hereinafter 
referred  to  as  EAC)  to  approve/disapprove  or  change  the  position/mandate  of  the  Slovak 
Republic. 

(This Act was proposed by a group of deputies from all parliamentary political parties with 
the exception of the SDKU-DS (party of Prime Minister Mikuláš Dzurinda at that time) and 
adopted  on  June  24,  2004.  It was  the time  of  turbulence,  distrust  in  the  government  and 
between coalition parties. The political situation had a real  impact on the character of the 
Act.  The  coalition  parties  wanted  to  ensure  the  control  over  individual  ministers  while 
dealing  in  the  EU  and  the  opposition  perceived  the  Act  as  a  tool  of  weakening  the 
government´s  position.  (The  Danish  model  of strong  parliament  with  decisive  powers  and 
with  a  room  for  maneuver  for  the  government  at  the  EU  negotiations  was  used  as  an 
example.) 

If  the  Committee  approves  a  draft  position/opinion  of  the  Slovak  Republic,  it  shall  be 
binding for a member of the government representing the Slovak Republic at the session of 
a  respective  Council  of  the  European  Union  or  at  the  European  Council  meeting.  If  the 
Committee  fails  to  express  its  opinion  on  the  draft  position  of  the  Slovak  Republic  within 
two  weeks  of  its  submission,  an  authorized  member  of  the  government  shall  act  on  the 
draft position of the Slovak Republic (so called silent procedure).  

This procedure enables NC SR or the Chairman of the European Affairs Committee to give 
tacit  agreement  with  the  governmental  draft  position.  Also,  constructive  disapproval 
principle  can  be  adopted  –  the  EAC  does  not  approve  its  own  position  -  the  government 
proposal  is  an  official  position  of  the  country.  The  reasons  behind  could  be  explained  by 
MP´s composition of the Committee (which is the copy of the government majority in the 
NC  SR)  or  by  late  engagement  of  the  Committee  before  the  Council  meeting  (due  to  late 
information process). 

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An authorized member of the government may divert from the position only in unavoidable 
case and with due consideration for the interest of the Slovak Republic, but shall without 

delay inform European Affairs Committee (hereinafter referred to as EAC)/the Chairman of 
the EAC and explain the reason of it. 

The  Act  No.  350/1996  Coll  (hereinafter  referred  to  as  Rules  of  Procedure),  regulates  the 
composition  and  scope  of  the  EAC  in  the  Parliament,  as  well  as  participation  by  MEPs  at 
meetings of the EAC etc. 

Other legal documents governing this area are: the Status of the Ministerial Council of the 
Government  for  EU  Affairs  (Government  Resolution  No.981/2005)  and  so  called  Revised 
Mechanism of Preparation of Positions on the Acts approved by the EU Council in the Slovak 
Republic  (  Government  Resolution  No.  884/2007)  that  describe  the  way  how  to  submit 
proposals  of  the  positions  of  the  ministers  of  the  Slovak  government  on  legislative 
proposals  of  the  European  Commission  to  the  EAC  of  the  NC  SR  and  how  to  apply 
approved  positions  at  the  EU  Council  meetings  as  well  as  f.e.  creation  of  Departmental 
Coordination Committees on the EU affairs in the ministries and their information flow. 

There are no distinctions between the different types of meetings of the European Council. 

2. Ex-ante control  
-  Do  national  parliaments  take  part  in  the  preparation  of  meetings  of  the 
European Council and Euro zone summits? 
The  National  Council  of  the  Slovak  Republic  delegates  this  power  via  law  on  the  on 
European  Affairs  Committee,  which  is,  on  behalf  of  the  NC  SR,  authorized  to  exercise 
scrutiny  competence  across  all  EU  policies.  NC  SR  is  involved  in  the  preparation  of  the 
meetings  in  the  form  of  consultation  and  preparation  of  draft  positions  in  the  NC  SR  via 
EAC. Expert background of the EAC is Department for the European Affairs of the Office of 
the NC SR. 
The  Prime  Minister  and  the  Member  of  the  Government  shall  appear  before  the  EAC  with 
prepared  position  of  the  Slovak  Republic  and  calls  for  its  approval.  Advisors  of  the 
Department (the Department changed name in February 2011 to Division of the EU agenda 
of  the  Department  of  the  Foreign  Affairs  and  EU  agenda)  provide  analysis,  confrontation 
and  questioning  on  the  proposed  preliminary  positions  in  written with  emphasis  on  recent 
developments in the proposal in terms of the Slovak interests, the state of negotiations, the 
position  of  other  Member  States  or  situation  in  international  politics.  The  opinion  also 
suggests  additional  questions  and  provide  recommendation  to  the  members  of  the  EAC 
(Advisors  of  the  EAC  can  ask  for  help  Parliamentary  Institute  of  the  NC  SR  to  provide 
additional  information).  The  advisors  are  focusing  mainly  on  so  called  the  priority 
proposals. The priority proposals are determined by the government and adopted by the NC 
SR every year on the basis of the European Commission’s Legislative and Work Programme 
and on the basis of its impact assessment on the interests of Slovak Republic. 

- Do Parliaments’ Rules of Procedure provide for priority debates? 

According  to  the  Article  17/  2  of  the  Rules  of  Procedure  –  “The  Speaker  of  the  National 
Council  shall  also  convene  a  session  when  so  requested  by  not  less  than  one  fifth  of  the 
Members.  In  their  request,  the  Members  shall  propose  the  agenda.  In  such  a  case,  the 
Speaker  of  the  National  Council  shall  convene  the  session  of  the  National  Council  within 
seven day. “ 

These  so  called  “extraordinary”  or  “priority”  session  are  use  f.e.    in  case  of  debate  on  a 
motion of no-confidence in the government, or any of its members; in the case of a fast- 

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track  legislative  procedure  or  in  the  case  of  various  important  issues  of  the  domestic  or 
foreign policy(as f.e. when a resolution of the United Nations Security Council on actions 
safeguarding the international peace and security adopted under Section 41 of the Charter 
of the United Nations). 
- If so, which bodies are responsible for, and involved in, this preparatory work 
(for example, committees, plenary or other bodies)? 

In this case it's a classic way the legislative process of the NC SR session. (Depending on 
the application must pass through the designated committee (s) and recommendation to 
the plenary NC SR).  

- Which governmental authorities take part in the parliamentary debates? 

Allowed  attendance  at  sessions  under  the  Constitution  are:  the  President  of  the  Republic, 
the  Prime  Minister,  and  Ministers  of  the  Government,  the  President  of  the  Constitutional 
Court  of  the  Slovak  Republic,  the  Chairman  of  the  Supreme  Audit  Office  of  the  Slovak 
Republic  and  the  Attorney-General,  the  Governor  of  the  National  Bank  of  Slovakia.  They 
shall have the right to attend the sessions of the National Council, and may not be excluded 
from these sessions. In case of request by the NC SR, a member  of the government or  a 
head of other state administration body is obliged to attend a session. 

- Is  there  a  vote  for  a  parliamentary  resolution  before  the  European  Council 
meeting? 

Not as such. (see Question 1) 

A novelization of the Rule of Procedure meant that EAC is authorized to approve the draft 
position/opinion of the members of the government in the European institutions. There are 
two paragraphs in which NC SR reserved the right to negotiate in plenary.  

In  the  case  of  the  deliberations  on  proposals  of  legally  binding  acts  of  the  European 
Communities and the EU and other acts of EU, that will be discussed by representatives of 
the  governments  of  EU  member  states.  And  in  case  of  adoption  of  the  positions  of  the 
Slovak  Republic  on  proposed  legally  binding  acts  and  other  acts  of  the  EU,  that  will  be 
discussed by representatives of the governments of EU member states. 

This was used only four times in the plenary of NC SR (three times only on the resolution of 
the EC/EU): 

First  time,  in  the  case  of  opening of  the  accession negotiations  with  Turkey in  October 
2004.  The  EAC  wanted  to  change  of  Slovak  position,  because  original  proposal  did  not 
mention the open – ended character of the accession negotiations (by this time the Rules of 
Procedure  were  not  updated  and  this  was  only  one  case  when  the  plenary  officially 
approved position of the Slovak Republic). 

Even  though  it  was  not  a  part  of  EU  decision,  in  2006  the  opposition  referred  the  case  of 
harmonization  of  taxes  to  the  plenary  and  proposed  a  Declaration  on  the  Tax 
Sovereignty that was not approved. (It can be considered as priority debate even before EC 
proposed a resolution). 

Third case was Kosovo, in March 2007 when politicized case of approving Ahtisaary plan in 
the  EAC,  while  plenary  adopted  non  binding  declaration  denying  full  independency  of 
Kosovo (However, it is the base for official Slovak position, still). 

And the latest case regarding to Euro-zone loan to Greece in June 2010, while the plenary 
did not approved this topic for discussion at the beginning and the session was stopped. So 
this  was  a  case  when  the  EAC  did  not  approve  a  proposal  and  the  governmental  position 
became the official one. 

126 


 
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 


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Annex 1 - Questionnaires On The 27 Member States 

3. Ex-post control: institutional body 
Which  is  the  responsible body  within  the  Parliament  to  control  the  results  of  the 
European  Council  and  the  Euro  zone  summits  (the  plenary,  committees,  other 
bodies)? 
The EAC is responsible body, where all of the mandate/positions are controlled. It is up to 
the MP´s in the EAC to decide whether they want to be informed about the results of the 
EC  or  other  negotiations  in  the  EU.  In  2010/2011  it  was  not  a  case.  (excluding  ex    post 
meetings). 
In some cases of GAERC/GAC decisions the position was approved ex post. In these cases 
there was no involvement of the Parliament in the decision making process – de facto silent 
procedure approval applies automatically. At these meetings Slovak Republic is represented 
by Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Slovak Republic. 
However, according Rule of Procedure the government provides regular notification for the 
EAC  by  members  of  the  Government  on  all  topical  issues  discussed  in  the  bodies  of  the 
European Communities and European Union, of which they are members. They are sent via 
email to the EAC members. 
Unless resolved otherwise by the NC SR, by the end of March of each year the Government 
submits  to  the  NC  SR  a  report  on  matters  related  to  Slovakia’s  membership  in  the 
European Communities and the European Union for the preceding calendar year.  

4. Ex-post control: debates in parliament 
- What is the organization of the plenary debates after the European Council 
meetings? (NB: if there are no debates in the plenary but in committees, do 
indicate this fact and answer accordingly) 
- Which is the competent institutional body to decide on setting the agenda of the 

plenary for those debates? Who takes the initiative in practice? Can the 

government avoid a debate? 

- Which governmental authorities take part in the parliamentary debates? Does 

the Head of Government/ Prime Minister take part? 

- How is the debate structured? Is there a vote after the debate? 

There are no plenary debates, not debates at the EAC. 


5. Since Lisbon 
- After  the  Treaty  of  Lisbon  came  into  force,  were  there  significant  changes 
regarding the parliamentary control of the European Council? 
No. 
-  Did  any  significant  events  or  changes  in  formal  rules  occur  after  Lisbon  in  the 
upper house? 
The  EAC  approved  two  bills  that  allow  the  parliament  to  use  powers  under  the  Treaty  of 
Lisbon. 
The  amendment  of  the  Rules  of  Procedure  modify  the  obsolete  terminology  (EC  vs.  EU), 
expansion of the EAC competencies on conformity assessment on draft legislation with the 
EU  subsidiarity  principle  and  anchoring  a  provision  concerning  discussion  on  action  for 
breach of this principle by legislative acts of the EU and also the extension of deadline for 
submission  of  preliminary  position  of  the  government  to  the  proposal  of  EU  bills  from 
current 3 to 4 weeks. 

The  amendment  of  the  Constitutional  Law  No.397/2004  Coll  on  cooperation  of  the 
Government  and  NC  SR  in  the  European  affairs,    beyond  the  above  proposed  changes 
proposed  to  implement  the  use  of  so-called  transition  clause  (passarela)  for  changing  the 
approval procedure at EU level. In Slovak conditions was proposed to implement a regime 

127 


 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 


Policy Department C: Citizens' Rights and Constitutional Affairs 
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of  veto  change  of  approved  procedure  at  the European  level  ex  ante.  In  order  words,  the 
Prime  Minister  is  obliged  to  submit  to  the  NC  SR  a  proposal  to  use  the  transition  clause. 
Since the application of passarella at the European Council requires unanimity, the NC SR 
shall  oblige  the  Prime  Minister  to  follow  certain  opinion/position  in  this  area  (yes  /  no  for 
the  proposal).  During  the  third  reading  in  June,  2011,  this  bill  was  not  approved  (needed 
constitutional majority was not reached). 

As  the  necessity  of  ensuring  fulfillment  of  the  tasks  of  the  Office  of  NC  SR  under  the 
amendment  of  the  Rules  of  Procedure  (implementation  of  conformity  assessment  of  the 
draft of the EU legislative act with the subsidiarity principle at the EAC), there was adopted 
a  Mechanism  of  drafting  positions  of  the  reasoned  opinion  in  the  Office  of  NC  SR.  It 
determines  who  can  be  the  initiator  for  an  investigation  of  compliance  of  mentioned 
proposal. 

In  the  EAC  there  were  three  reasoned  opinions  approved.  On  May  12,  2011the  EAC 
approved  reasoned  opinion  on  the  proposal  for  a  Council  Directive  on  a  Common 
Consolidated Corporate Tax Base (CCCTB) in the European Union. On November 10, 2011 
was  approved  reasoned  opinion  on  Proposal  for  a  Regulation  of  the  European  Parliament 
and of the Council amending Regulation (EC) No 562/2006 in order to provide for common 
rules  on  the  temporary  reintroduction  of  border  control  at  internal  borders  in  exceptional 
circumstances, And the last one, on February 2, 2012 the EAC approved reasoned opinion 
on proposal for a regulation of the European parliament and of the Council COM(2011)779 
on  specific  requirements  regarding  statutory  audit  of  public-interest  entities.  In  any  of 
these  examples  was  not  achieved  needed  a  quorum  for  the  activation  of  yellow  cards  on 
European level.* 

* In the case of CCCTB there were 14 votes; required for use of the mechanism of yellow 
card required is 18. The question is whether it was enough sufficient indicator to show that 
national parliaments in this legislation are not satisfied. 

-  Since  December  1st  2009,  was  the  survival  of  a  government  influenced  in  one 
way or another by decisions made by the European Council? 

Yes,  indeed.  While  approving  ESFS  in  NC  SR  in  October  2011,  the  vote  was  linked  to  the 
vote  of  confidence  in  the  Government  of  PM,  Iveta  Radičová.  The  vote  failed  because 
coalition partner refused to support ESFS 2.0. Parliament approved the expanded “bailout” 
in a repeat vote in few days after the opposition voted in exchange for early elections. 

6. Templates to be filled out regarding the lower chamber´s behaviour towards each of 
the 9 European Council meetings and Euro zone summits held between March 2011 and 
March 2012 
Please fill in “yes” or “no” in each box. 

C1 = extraordinary meeting of the European Council and  the meeting of the Heads of 
State or Government of the Euro Area – 11 March 2011 
C2 = ordinary meeting of the European Council – 24 and 25 March 2011 
C3 = ordinary meeting of the European Council – 23 and 24 June 2011 
C4 = meeting of the Heads of State or Government of the Euro Area – 21 July 2011 
C5 = ordinary meeting of the European Council – 23 October 2011 
C6 = informal meeting of the European Council and meeting of the Heads of State or 
Government of the Euro Area – 26 October 2011 
C7 = ordinary meeting of the European Council – 8 and 9 December 2011 
C8 = informal meeting of the European Council – 30 January 2012 
C9 = ordinary meeting of the European Council – 1 and 2 March 2012 

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Annex 1 - Questionnaires On The 27 Member States 

C1  C2  C3 

C4 

C5  C6  C7  C8  C9 

Before the European Council meeting 

Debates in committees  no  yes  yes 
Debates on the floor  no  no  no 

no 
no 

yes  yes  yes  yes  yes 
no  no  no  no  no 

Formal declaration by the PM  no  yes  yes*  no**  yes  yes  yes  yes  yes 

Vote of a motion  no  no  no 

no 

no  no  no  no  no 

After the European Council meeting 

Debates in committees  yes  no  no 
Debates on the floor  no  no  no 
Formal declaration by the PM  yes  no  no 
Vote of a motion  no  no  no 

no 
no 
no 
no 

no  no  no  no  no 
no  no  no  no  no 
no  no  no  no  no 
no  no  no  no  no 

* The vote on the resolution No. 129 of the EAC -  5/0/6 (for / against / abstentions). The EAC did 
approve  a  resolution,  as  the  presented  draft  opinion  did  not  receive  the  necessary  support  for  an 
absolute  majority  of  the  members  of  the  EAC  present  pursuant  to  Article  4  §  52    of  the  Rules  of 
Procedure. 
**NC  SR  (or  the  EAC) is not  expressly  by  law  provided  with  the  obligation  to  meet  about  every  EU 
Council. Not even it does not need to approve or modify the opinion of the SR before each meeting of 
the EU Council. The EAC has the power to deal with matters which are considers a priority. 

7. Other comments 

- Are there other institutions or bodies, outside of Parliament, which play a role 

in the control of these results? (i.e. Constitutional courts) 

- Some of your own remarks (voluntary):  

5. Since Lisbon – According to the EAC and the staff, after the Lisbon Treaty came into 
power, EAC became a “model” for other candidate countries. In 2010 the EAC presented 
the Slovak legislation towards European affairs in Croatia and in 2012 in Serbia. 

129 


 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 


Policy Department C: Citizens' Rights and Constitutional Affairs 
____________________________________________________________________________________________   

Slovenia: Ana Marija Kristovic / Vid Tomic / Zlatko Sabic, 
Faculty of Social Sciences in Ljubljana 
Name of your Member State: Republic of Slovenia 

1. The formal rules 
- Are there formal rules regarding the parliamentary scrutiny of European Council 
meetings and Euro zone summits? 

The  formal  rules  do  not  specifically  address  European  Council  or  Euro  zone  summits,  but 
they  contain  a  general  framework  for  parliamentary  scrutiny  of  European  issues.  This 
framework  can  be  used  and  is  used  for  the  control  of  European  Council  and  Euro  zone 
summits. 

- If  yes,  what  are  their  legal  bases  (Constitution,  Legal  provisions,  Standing 
Orders, other)? 

1. Constitution of the Republic of Slovenia (Article 3a, since 2003)203; 

2.  Act  on  cooperation  between  the  National  Assembly  and  the  Government  on  matters 
related to the European Union204; 

3. Act on Foreign Affairs205; 

4. Rules of Procedure of the National Assembly (Article 154)206. Explained further below. 

- If yes, what are these rules about? What obligations does the government have? 

Article 3a of the Constitution of the Republic of Slovenia states that “In procedures for the 
adoption  of  legal  acts  and  decisions  in  international  organisations  to  which  Slovenia  has 
transferred  the  exercise  of  part  of  its  sovereign  rights,  the  Government  shall  promptly 
inform the National Assembly of proposals for such acts and decisions as well as of its own 
activities. The National Assembly may adopt positions thereon, which the Government shall 
take into consideration in its activities.« 

According  to  the  Act  on  cooperation  between  the  National  Assembly  and  the  Government 
on  matters  related  to  the  European  Union,  the  Government  is  independent  on  the  issues 
related  to  the  European  Union  however  with  certain  limitations.  The  National  Assembly 
cooperates  on  the  formulation  of  the  positions  of  the  Republic  of  Slovenia  to  the  matters 
related  with  the  EU.  The  National  Assembly  discusses  these  matters  within  the  set 
timeframe  or  formulates  its  will  to  discuss  these  matters  otherwise  the  position  of  the 
Republic  of  Slovenia  is  officially  confirmed.  When  and  if  the  Government  during  the 
negotiations in the European Council realizes that these positions cannot be achieved or 

can  hamper  national  interest  it  can  ignore  this  positions  and  immediately  inform  the 
National Assembly about this decision.207 

203 Constitution of the Republic of Slovenia. Accessible at: http://www.us-rs.si/o-sodiscu/pravna-podlaga/ustava/
 
(last retrieved July 13 2012). Please note that all official documents are in Slovenian language and translated by 

the authors.  

204 Act on cooperation between the National Assembly and the Government on matters related to the European 

Union. Accessible at: http://www.dz-rs.si/wps/portal/Home/deloDZ/zakonodaja/izbranZakonAkt?uid=F90 

885BD56145045C1257815002E0749&db=urad_prec_bes&mandat=VI (last retrieved 13 July 2012).
 
205 Act on Foreign Affairs. Accessible at: http://www.dz-rs.si/wps/portal/Home/deloDZ/zakonodaja/izbran 

ZakonAkt?uid=84D03B205AD7990DC12578D4002CC5D9&db=urad_prec_bes&mandat=VI  (last retrieved 13 July
 
2012).
 
206 Rules of Procedure of the National Assembly. Accessible at: http://www.dz-rs.si/wps/portal/Home/
 
deloDZ/zakonodaja/izbranZakonAkt?uid=936306C4566C4011C12578230031D27E&db=urad_prec_bes&mandat=V
 
I (last retrieved 13 July 2012).
 
207 Although this is formally possible this has never been the case in practice. Interview with a clerk of the 

Committee on Foreign Policy, Slovenian National Assembly, 17, July 2012.   


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The  National  Assembly  does  however  have  the  precedence  over  the  Government  on  the 
issues  related  to  the  international  agreement  that  are  the  foundations  of  the  EU.  Once  a 
year, there is a general debate in the National Assembly on the matters related to the EU 
on  the  basis  of  the  introductory  speech  from  the  Prime  Minister.  The  National  Assembly 
then also designs a position on political orientations regarding the working of the Republic 
of Slovenia in the EU. 
- If yes, do these rules make distinctions between the different types of meetings 
of the European Council (regular, extraordinary, Euro zone summit)? 
No. The only distinction is between the matters related to the foreign and security policy (in 
the domain of the Committee on Foreign Policy) and other EU matters (in the domain of the 
Committee on EU Affairs) or if there is a proposal from Council of EU related to the articles 
81(3) or 48(7) of the Treaty on the EU.  
Although  these  rules  make  no  distinction  it  is  a  common  practice  to  differentiate  between 
meetings that can lead to changing national legislature and other types of meetings.208 

2. Ex-ante control  
-  Do  national  parliaments  take  part  in  the  preparation  of  meetings  of  the 
European Council and Euro zone summits? 

Yes,  but  mainly  through  subordinate  bodies.  Since  2004  there  was  only  one  plenary 
meeting  in  relation  to  the  meeting  of  the  European  Council,  otherwise  this  preparation  is 
always done through responsible committees.  

- Do Parliaments’ Rules of Procedure provide for priority debates? 

Yes, however there is no further explanation on which issues or cases.209 

- If  so,  which  bodies  are  responsible  for,  and  involved  in,  this  preparatory  work 
(for example, committees, plenary or other bodies)? 

A Committee that is in charge of the matters related with the foreign and security policy is 
Committee on Foreign Policy, while all other matters related to the EU is under the domain 
of Committee on EU affairs. Other bodies with competence on specific areas can cooperate 
as well. A representative of National Council (sort of upper house of the parliament) is also 
present on meetings of every Committee in order to stay informed about developing on the 
relevant topic.210 

There  is  a  difference  when  it  comes  to  meetings  that  can  lead  to  changes  in  national  
legislature. In these cases the primary work is done by the relevant Committee and later on 
by one of the two aforementioned Committees.   

- Which governmental authorities take part in the parliamentary debates? 

Prime  minister  and  other  ministers  (if  the  topic  falls  within  their  authority)  as  well  as  the 
Heads of Government Offices (applies in the same manner as for other ministers). 

- Is  there  a  vote  for  a  parliamentary  resolution  before  the  European  Council 
meeting? 
Yes, however this resolution refers only to the binding position of the Republic of Slovenia. 

208 Interview with a clerk of the Committee on Foreign Policy, Slovenian National Assembly, 17 July 2012.
 
209 Rules of Procedure of the National Assembly (Article 154d). Accessible at: http://www.dz­
rs.si/wps/portal/Home/deloDZ/zakonodaja/izbranZakonAkt?uid=936306C4566C4011C12578230031D27E&db=ura
 
d_prec_bes&mandat=VI (last retrieved 13 July 2012).
 
210  Ibid. 

131 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
                                                            
 
 
  
 
 
 
 

 

 

 




Policy Department C: Citizens' Rights and Constitutional Affairs 
____________________________________________________________________________________________   

3. Ex-post control: institutional body 
Which  is  the  responsible body  within  the  Parliament  to  control  the  results  of  the 
European  Council  and  the  Euro  zone  summits  (the  plenary,  committees,  other 
bodies)? 
Both  of  the  aforementioned  bodies:  Committee  on  Foreign  Policy  and  Committee  on  EU 
affairs respectively. 

4. Ex-post control: debates in parliament 

- What is the organization of the plenary debates after the European Council 
meetings? (NB: if there are no debates in the plenary but in committees, do indicate this 
fact and answer accordingly)  

Usually there are no plenary or other types of debates after European Council meetings; 
however the Parliament can make a demand for a debate.211 The Government does 
however report to the aforementioned bodies on regular basis in written form. When/if the 
Government does not realize the positions set up in advance by the competent 
parliamentary bodies the Government must report and explain the circumstances and 
reasons for such decision.212 

- Which is the competent institutional body to decide on setting the agenda of the 
plenary for those debates? Who takes the initiative in practice? Can the 
government avoid a debate? 

There are no plenary debates. 

- Which governmental authorities take part in the parliamentary debates? Does 
the Head of Government/ Prime Minister take part? 

There are none, but if the Parliament would have decided to entertain one then the same 
governmental authorities would take part as in the case of ex-ante control. 

- How is the debate structured? Is there a vote after the debate? 

There is no specified structure due to fact there were no debates so far.213 

5. Since Lisbon 
- After  the  Treaty  of  Lisbon  came  into  force,  were  there  significant  changes 
regarding the parliamentary control of the European Council? 
There  were  only  minor  changes  related  to  the  occurrences  that  are  result  of  violations  of 
the principle of subsidiarity. 
-  Did  any  significant  events  or  changes  in  formal  rules  occur  after  Lisbon  in  the 
upper house? 
The  Rules  of  Procedure  of  the  Parliament  were  significantly  modified  regarding  the 
procedural matters related to the EU. 
-  Since  December  1st  2009,  was  the  survival  of  a  government  influenced  in  one 
way or another by decisions made by the European Council? 
No.  The  issue  of  contributing  to  EU’s  financial  aid  package  to  Greece  was  thoroughly 
debated  in  the  Parliament  and  the  public  as  well  and  the  same  applies  for  the  new  fiscal 
rule accepted by the European Council.   

211 Interview with a clerk of the Committee on Foreign Policy, Slovenian National Assembly, 17 June 2012.
 
212  Act  on  cooperation  between  the  National  Assembly  and  the  Government  on  matters  related  to  the  European
 
Union. 
http://www.dz-rs.si/wps/portal/Home/deloDZ/zakonodaja/izbranZakonAkt?uid=F90
 
885BD56145045C1257815002E0749&db=urad_prec_bes&mandat=VI (last retrieved 13 July 2012).
 
213 Interview with a clerk of the Committee on Foreign Policy, Slovenian National Assembly, 17 June 2012.
 

Accessible 

at: 

132 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                                                            
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  

 

 

 

 

 
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Annex 1 - Questionnaires On The 27 Member States 

6. Templates to be filled out regarding the lower chamber´s behaviour towards each of 
the 9 European Council meetings and Euro zone summits held between March 2011 and 
March 2012 
Please fill in “yes” or “no” in each box. 

C1 = extraordinary meeting of the European Council and  the meeting of the Heads of 
State or Government of the Euro Area – 11 March 2011 
C2 = ordinary meeting of the European Council – 24 and 25 March 2011 
C3 = ordinary meeting of the European Council – 23 and 24 June 2011 
C4 = meeting of the Heads of State or Government of the Euro Area – 21 July 2011 
C5 = ordinary meeting of the European Council – 23 October 2011 
C6 = informal meeting of the European Council and meeting of the Heads of State or 
Government of the Euro Area – 26 October 2011 
C7 = ordinary meeting of the European Council – 8 and 9 December 2011 
C8 = informal meeting of the European Council – 30 January 2012 
C9 = ordinary meeting of the European Council – 1 and 2 March 2012 

C1  C2  C3  C4  C5  C6  C7  C8  C9 

Before the European Council meeting 

Debates in committees  No  Yes  Yes  No  Yes  Yes  No  Yes  Yes 
Debates on the floor  No  No  No  No  No  No  No  No  No 

Formal declaration by the PM214  No 
Vote of a motion  No 

Yes  Yes  No  No  No  No  No  Yes215 
Yes  Yes  No  No 

Yes  No  Yes  Yes 

After the European Council meeting 

Debates in committees  Yes  No  No  No  No  No  No  No  No 
Debates on the floor  No  No  No  No  No  No  No  No  No 
Yes  Yes  Yes  Yes 
Yes  No  Yes  No 
Vote of a motion  Yes  No  No  No  No  No  No  No  No 

Formal declaration by the PM  No 

7. Other comments 
- Are there other institutions or bodies, outside of Parliament, which play a role in 
the control of these results? (i.e. Constitutional courts)  
Constitutional  court  can  review  legislature  or  international  treaties  after  they  have  been 
adopted  or  ratified  in  the  case  of  latter,  therefore  it  can  have  a  potential  ex-post  control 
over 
results. 
National  Council  which  serves  as  a  sui  generis  upper  house  in  Slovenian  parliamentary 
system  can  have  indirect  control  over  these  results.  More  in  depth,  it  can  adopt  a 
suspension veto in the process of adopting a new legislature (therefore an ex-post control), 
which means that the National Parliament has to address the initial issue one more time. 
‐ Some of your own remarks (voluntary): 

these 

214 Cabinet of the former prime minister of the Republic of Slovenia Borut Pahor. Accessible at: 

http://www.nekdanji-pv.gov.si/2008-2012/nc/si/medijsko_sredisce/sporocila_za_javnost/ (last retrieved July 15
 
2012).
 
215 Cabinet of the prime minister of the Republic of Slovenia Janez Janša. Accessible at: http://www.kpv.gov.si/
 
(last retrieved July 15 2012).
 

133 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                                                            
 
  
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 



 

 

 

 
Policy Department C: Citizens' Rights and Constitutional Affairs 
____________________________________________________________________________________________   

Spain: Manuel Sánchez de Dios , Universidad Complutense 
de Madrid 
Name of your Member State: Spain 

1. The formal rules 

- Are there formal rules regarding the parliamentary scrutiny of European Council 
meetings and Euro zone summits? 

Yes, there are specific rules addressing parliamentary scrutiny of European Council or Euro 
zone Summits. 

In addition, the executive is submitted to the general rules of parliamentary accountability 
established in the Constitution and the Standing Orders of both chambers. 

- If  yes,  what  are  their  legal  bases  (Constitution,  Legal  provisions,  Standing 
Orders, other)? 

There  is  the  Law  8/1994  from  May  19  that  rules  the  Joint  Committee  on  European  Union 
Affairs216 (JCEUA) 

- If yes, what are these rules about? What obligations does the government have? 

Art.  3  establishes  that  the  Government  is  compelled  to  inform  to  the  JCEUA  on  its  main 
lines of policy 

Art.  3  also  establishes  that  the  Government  must  send  to  both  chambers  of  parliament  a 
written  report  on  the  developments  that  happened  during  the  outgoing  presidency  before 
the ordinary meeting of the European Council217 

Art. 4 establishes that there must be a hearing in a plenary session of the Congreso de los 
Diputados  after  every  European  Council  meeting.  In  this  hearing  the  Government  should 
inform of what has been decided and must have a debate with parliamentary parties. 

- If yes, do these rules make distinctions between the different types of meetings 
of the European Council (regular, extraordinary, Euro zone summit)? 

No 

2. Ex-ante control  

-  Do  national  parliaments  take  part  in  the  preparation  of  meetings  of  the 
European Council and Euro zone summits? 

In  a  very  limited  way.  There  is  no  obligation  for  the  Government  to  inform  in  a  plenary  
session prior to a European Council meeting. Usually there are informal meetings between 

216 http://www.senado.es/otrasdis/legislac/normas/LEY894.html. The JCEUA has 44 members of both houses (19 
from the Senate) and is chaired by the President of the Congress that delegates to a member of the committee.   
217 Up to now the government has never made such a reports. 

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Annex 1 - Questionnaires On The 27 Member States 

the  Prime  Minister  and  the  leader  of  the  opposition  prior  to  EC  meetings  and  summits218. 
Moreovoer there is a practice of having government hearings in committe219 

- Do Parliaments’ Rules of Procedure provide for priority debates? 

The Standing Orders220 give the Government priority to include any topic in the agenda. At 
the  same  time  the  Board  of  Spokesmen  of  the  Congress  may  resolve,  for  reasons  of 
urgency and subject to unanimity, to include certain business on the agenda that has not 
yet fulfilled the due process221. 

- If  so,  which  bodies  are  responsible  for,  and  involved  in,  this  preparatory  work 
(for example, committees, plenary or other bodies)? 

A general practice is to have a hearing of a representative of the Government in the JCEUA 
before every summit222. 

- Which governmental authorities take part in the parliamentary debates? 

The Minister of Foreign Affairs and the Secretary of State on the European Union223. 

Usually  the  representatives  of  the  major  opposition  party  demand  the  hearing  of  the 
Foreign Minister, instead of the Secretary of the State in the JCEUA. 

- Is  there  a  vote  for  a  parliamentary  resolution  before  the  European  Council 
meeting? 

No.  The  hearings  have  only  informative  interest  for  MPs  and  the  public  opinion224.  The 
representative  of  the  Government  informs  about  all  the  subjects  that  are  going  to  be 
treated  in  the  European  Council.  At  most,  the  Government  is  able  to  know  the  points  of 
concern or the worries of the parliament225. 

After the hearing, sometimes parties propose and vote a “non law proposition” after the  

3. Ex-post control: institutional body 

Which  is  the  responsible body  within  the  Parliament  to  control  the  results  of  the 
European  Council  and  the  Euro  zone  summits  (the  plenary,  committees,  other 
bodies)? 
The plenary of the Congreso de los Diputados226. 

In  addition,  permanent  committees  of  both  chambers  and  the  JCEUA  have  hearings  of
 
government members when decisions are transformed into legislative proposals. 


4. Ex-post control: debates in parliament 
- What is the organization of the plenary debates after the European Council 
meetings? 

218 Manifested by the leader of the opposition Perez Rubalcaba in a plenary session of the Congress of march 14 in 
2012 http://www.congreso.es/portal/page/portal/Congreso/Congreso/Iniciativas 
219 However Law 38/2010 establishes that a hearing of a Government member must be held before every meeting 
of the Council in the JCEUA. 
220 Art. 67 of the Congress and art. 71 of the Senate 
221 Usually when there is a debate in the JCEUA, it is the day before the European Council meeting. 
222 When there are “oral questions in committee” about European Council matters the Bureau of the chambers 
send them to the JCEUA to be answered 
223 Occasionally other members of the government participate in the preparatory work.  
224 The session is open to the media and it is publicized by internet via the parliamentary channel. According to the 
Clerk of the JCEUA, D. Manuel Delgado, sometimes representatives of foreign governments are present. 
225 The members of the opposition usually criticize that the representative of the Government only explains the 
content of the agenda without pointing out the Spanish political options. 
226 The debate usually takes place in an ordinary plenary session 

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They are considered by Standing Orders as acts of ”specific information by the 
Government” (art. 203). Members of the Cabinet at their own request or by resolution of 
the Bureau of Congress and the Board of Spokesmen appear before the full house to report 
on a European Council meeting. The initiative for the adoption of such resolution rests with 
two parliamentary groups or one-fifth of Members of the House. 

- Which is the competent institutional body to decide on setting the agenda of the 
plenary for those debates? Who takes the initiative in practice? Can the 
government avoid a debate? 
The agenda of the plenary sittings is drawn up by the Speaker in agreement with the Board 

of Spokesmen. 

Usually the initiative is taken by the members of the Government.  

The Government cannot formally avoid a plenary debate after an EC meeting in the 

chamber, but it happens in practice227. 


- Which governmental authorities take part in the parliamentary debates? Does 
the Head of Government/ Prime Minister take part? 
Ministers and the Prime Minister can take part in plenary debates. In practice it is the PM 
who goes to the House to inform about European summits  

- How is the debate structured? Is there a vote after the debate? 
First is the oral intervention of the Cabinet member, then the representatives of  each 
parliamentary group may speak for ten minutes to make their positions known, put 
questions or make remarks, which shall be answered by the Government. 
The debate ends after the Speaker, in agreement with the Bureau and after having 
consulting the Board of Spokesmen, allocates time for MPs to put succinct questions or 
request clarifications on the information furnished. To this end, the Speaker shall fix a 
maximum number or duration of speeches. 
There is no vote after the debate. It is just a plenary session for deliberation228. 

5. Since Lisbon 
-  After  the  Treaty  of  Lisbon  came  into  force,  were  there  significant  changes 
regarding the parliamentary control of the European Council? 
There  were  limited  changes  because  the  JCEUA  was  established  in  1985  and since  then  it 
has developed ex ante and ex post control229.  The ex post control via plenary debate after 
every  EC  meeting  was  a  practice  introduced  in  1989230  and  was  formalized  in  the 
constitutive law of the JCEUA (Law 8/1994). 
However  after  the  Treaty  of Lisbon  come  into play  there  have  been  significant  changes  in 
relation to: a) ex ante control of Council meetings by Law 38/2010 (see note 4) and b) the 
control of subsidiarity principle by Law 38/2010. Both laws reformed the Law 8/1994 
-  Did  any  significant  events  or  changes  in  formal  rules  occur  after  Lisbon  in  the 
upper house? 

No 

227 The plenary debate after every European Council meeting  is considered the most important debate  on the EU 
affairs 

228 Usually leaders of the oposicion parties make recommendations. After the debate, and as a different procedure, 
parliamentary  parties  can  ask  oral  questions,  ask  for  reports,  propose  interpellations  and  motions,  non  law 
propositions or resolutions to have a vote. It can be used to criticize or to give orientation to the government. 
229  See  M.  Sanchez  de  Dios:“Executive  parliamentary  control”  in  A.  Almarcha  (Ed.):  Spain  and  EC  Membership 
evaluated, Pinter/ St. Martin’s Press, 1993: 219-228 
230 At the end of the first Spanish presidency 

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Annex 1 - Questionnaires On The 27 Member States 

-  Since  December  1st  2009,  was  the  survival  of  a  government  influenced  in  one 
way or another by decisions made by the European Council? 

Not directly but indirectly. The Zapatero government, that was a minority government, had 
to  call  early  elections  one  year  after  he  was  forced  to  implement  some  restrictive  fiscal 
policies agreed upon at the extraordinary Euro zone summit of 7th of May 2010. 

6. Templates to be filled out regarding the lower chamber´s behaviour towards each of 
the 9 European Council meetings and Euro zone summits held between March 2011 and 
March 2012. 
Please fill in “yes” or “no” in each box. 

C1 = extraordinary meeting of the European Council and  the meeting of the Heads of 
State or Governement of the Euro Area – 11 March 2011 
C2 = ordinary meeting of the European Council – 24 and 25 March 2011 
C3 = ordinary meeting of the European Council – 23 and 24 June 2011 
C4 = meeting of the Heads of State or Government of the Euro Area – 21 July 2011 
C5 = ordinary meeting of the European Council – 23 October 2011 
C6 = informal meeting of the European Council and meeting of the Heads of State or 
Government of the Euro Area – 26 October 2011 
C7 = ordinary meeting of the European Council – 8 and 9 December 2011 
C8 = informal meeting of the European Council – 30 January 2012 
C9 = ordinary meeting of the European Council – 1 and 2 March 2012 

Before the European Council meeting 

C1 

C2 

C3 

C4  C5  C6  C7  C8 

C9 

Debates in committees  no 
Debates on the floor  no 
Formal declaration by the PM  no 

Vote of a motion 

After the European Council meeting 

YES 
YES*  YES* 
No 
No 

YES**  no  no  no  no  no 
no  no  no  no  no 
no  no  no  no  no 
no  no  no  no  no 

no 
no 

no 
no 
no 
no 

Debates in committees  no 
Debates on the floor  no 
Formal declaration by the PM  no 
Vote of a motion  no 

No 
No 
No 
No 

YES 
YES 
YES 
no 

no  no  no  no  no  No 
no  no  no  no  YES  YES 
no  no  no  no  YES  YES 
no  no  no  no  no 

no 

*By  means  of  an  oral  question  in  a  plenary  sessions.  An  oral  question  in  a  plenary  session  opens  a 
small debate of 5 minutes between an MP and a Cabinet member. 
** By means  of a hearing in the JCEUA of the State Secretary of Economy to prepare the Council of 
Economy and Finances (ECOFIN) for the meeting of June 14 

7. Other comments 
- Are there other insitutions or bodies, outside of Parliament, which play a role 
in the control of these results? (i.e. Constitutional courts) 
Spain has a federal system. The 17 Autonomous Communities share the legislative 
function with the State and they are very zealous of their power. They do not have a 
special or direct participation in controlling the executive in relation to European Councils 
and Euro summits but their Regional Parliaments are very active in the control of the 
subsidiarity principle.

 The Constitutional Court is a relevant actor in the Spanish system and its Declaration 
1/2004 is the most important decision adopted  concerning the EU. It explains the 
meaning and  the scope confered to Art. 93 of the Constitution that is considered the 

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material grounds to allow participation of Spain in the EU.The Declaration did not define 
any specific constitutional obligations regarding the participation of National Parliament 
in the EU-related matters.  

The Constitutional Court has only indirect  reactive power to control European Council 
decisions. The CC can only act if there is concrete legislation  and the legitimized actors 
ask for a constitutional review.  

- Some of your own remarks (voluntary): 

The Spanish Cortes were disolved in september 27 of 2011 and the new parliament was 
formed in december 13 of 2011. The new Prime Minister was named in december 22 of 
2011. As a result in the Council meetings C5, C6 and C7 participated a caretaker Prime 
Minister. At the time of the C8 the new JCEUA was not set up yet. 

Selected literature 

J.A. Camisón Yagüe: La participación directa e indirecta de los parlamentos nacionales en 
los asuntos de la Unión Europea, Servicio de Publicaciones del Senado, Madrid, 2010 

J. Laso Pérez: “Spain: Parliamentary control of European Union affairs: from a slow  
adapter to a national player?” in G. C. Rodriguez Iglesias and L. Ortiz Blanco (Eds.): The 
role of National Parliaments in the European Union, Servicio de Publicaciones de la Facultad 
de Derecho de la Universidad Complutense de Madrid, 2010, 427-476 

F.J. Matia Portilla: “Democracia y representación en la Unión Europea: el lugar de los 
parlamentos nacionales en el marco de la Unión Europea”, in A.M .Carmona Contreras 
(Ed.): La Unión Europea en perspectiva constitucional, Ed. Aranzadi, Navarra, 2008, 127­
148 

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Annex 1 - Questionnaires On The 27 Member States 

Sweden: Hans Hegeland, Parliament of Sweden 
Name of your Member State: Sweden 

1. The formal rules 
- Are there formal rules regarding the parliamentary scrutiny of European Council 

meetings and Euro zone summits? 

- If  yes,  what  are  their  legal  bases  (Constitution,  Legal  provisions,  Standing  

Orders, other)? 

- If yes, what are these rules about? What obligations does the government have? 

- If yes, do these rules make distinctions between the different types of meetings 

of the European Council (regular, extraordinary, Euro zone summit)? 

Yes, there are formal rules regarding the parliamentary scrutiny. The rules are found in the 
Riksdag Act, which regulates the organisation and working procedures of the Riksdag. The 
Riksdag Act occupies an intermediate position between fundamental law (the Constitution) 
and  ordinary  law.  The  Riksdag  act  can  be  amended  either  by  means  of  a  single  decision 
with qualified majority or using the same procedure as in the case of fundamental law (two 
decisions before and after a general election, with single majority).  
The Riksdag Act (chapter 10, article 10, third paragraph) states that the Government shall 
consult  the  Riksdag’s  Committee  on  EU  Affairs  prior  to  meetings  of  the  European  Council. 
This is the central rule. The rules do not make any distinctions between the different types 
of meetings of the European Council, both regular and extraordinary meetings are included. 
Sweden is not a member of the Euro zone. 

2. Ex-ante control  

-  Do  national  parliaments  take  part  in  the  preparation  of  meetings  of  the  

European Council and Euro zone summits? 

- Do Parliaments’ Rules of Procedure provide for priority debates? 

- If  so,  which  bodies  are  responsible  for,  and  involved  in,  this  preparatory  work  

(for example, committees, plenary or other bodies)? 

- Which governmental authorities take part in the parliamentary debates? 

- Is  there  a  vote  for  a  parliamentary  resolution  before  the  European  Council  

meeting? 

The  Riksdag  takes  part  in  the  national  preparation  of  meetings  of  the  European  Council 
through the Riksdag’s Committee on EU Affairs. The formal rules are described in question 
1 The formal rules. In practice, the Prime minister consults the Committee on EU Affairs in 
public meetings. First, the Prime minister presents the issues that will be dealt with at the 
European  Council,  and  his  and  the  government’s  views.  Then  the  members  of  the 
Committee on EU Affairs ask questions and state their opinion. The Prime minister answers, 
and the chairman of the Committee on EU Affairs summarizes whether there is a majority 
for the views of the government (the Prime minister) or not. 
The meetings are public and televised at the website of the Riksdag; often the meetings are 
also broadcast by 
national  television.  Media  follows  the  meetings.  A  verbatim  record  is  kept  (as  from 
all deliberations in the Committee on EU Affairs) and published a the website. A shorthand 
record is also kept. The dissenting views of the minority in the Committee are thus public 
through  the  verbatim  record,  and  in  the  shorthand  record  it  is  noted  which  party  groups 
that have a dissenting view. Typically, the meeting lasts one hour. 

One  could  say  that  the  statements  of  the  Prime  minister,  especially  his  first  statement 
(which he typically reads aloud from a written text), constitutes a Formal declaration by the 
PM. One could also say that the dissenting views of the minority function as a Vote on that  

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Policy Department C: Citizens' Rights and Constitutional Affairs 
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statement. But in formal terms the deliberations in the Committee on EU Affairs are not 
Formal declarations or Votes for a parliamentary resolution. 

When it comes to the preparation of meetings in the European Council that takes place in 
the Council of ministers the Government is obliged to inform the Committee on EU Affairs 
of matters which are to be decided by the Council of ministers. The government shall also 
consult  the  Committee  on  EU  Affairs  regarding  the  conduct  of  negotiations  in  the  Council 
prior to decisions in the Council. Thus, the Government deliberates with the Committee on 
EU Affairs regarding the preparatory work in the different configurations of the Council. 

The Standing Committees also follow EU affairs within their subject areas. The Government 
shall,  according  to  the  Riksdag  Act,  deliberate  with  the  committees  in  matters  concerning 
EU  business  decided  by  the  committees.  Ministers  or  state  secretaries  (the  person  who 
works most closely to the minister) deliberate with the standing committees. Matters which 
later  are  discussed  at  meetings  of  the  European  Council  may  have  been  subject  to 
deliberations in a Standing Committee.  

Regarding  priority  debates,  the  Speaker  of  the  Riksdag  may  determine,  after  conferring 
with representatives of the party groups, that a debate shall take place at a meeting of the 
Chamber on matters unconnected with other business under consideration. But this form is 
in practice not used for debates before meetings in the European Council. 

There is no vote for a parliamentary resolution before the European Council meeting, but as 
stated above the chairman of the Committee on EU Affairs summarizes whether there is a 
majority for the views of the government or not. 

3. Ex-post control: institutional body 
Which  is  the  responsible body  within  the  Parliament  to  control  the  results  of  the 
European  Council  and  the  Euro  zone  summits  (the  plenary,  committees,  other 
bodies)? 
After each meeting, in the European Council, the Prime minister reports to the plenary (or 
the  Committee  on  EU  Affairs  if  the  plenary  is  not  gathered,  as  the  week  following  the 
European Council meeting in March 2012, C9 in question 6 below). 

4. Ex-post control: debates in parliament 
-  What  is  the  organization  of  the  plenary  debates  after  the  European  Council 
meetings?  (NB:  if  there  are  no  debates  in  the  plenary  but  in  committees,  do 
indicate this fact and answer accordingly) 
- Which is the competent institutional body to decide on setting the agenda of the 
plenary  for  those  debates?  Who  takes  the  initiative  in  practice?  Can  the 
government avoid a debate? 
-  Which  governmental  authorities  take  part  in  the  parliamentary  debates?  Does 
the Head of Government/ Prime Minister take part? 
- How is the debate structured? Is there a vote after the debate? 
In  the  beginning  of  the  plenary  debate,  the  Prime  Minister  reports  on  the  results  of  the 
European  Council  meeting.  Then,  members  of  parliament  ask  questions  to  the  Prime 
Minister.  
It is the Speaker of the Riksdag who sets the agenda. Formally, the report after European 
Council  meetings  is  a  kind  of  Information  from  the  Government.  In  practice,  the  Riksdag 
and  the  Government  agree  (since  sometime  around  1998)  that  the  Prime  Minister  should 
report to plenary after the European Council meetings. Formally, the government could 

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Annex 1 - Questionnaires On The 27 Member States 

avoid this kind of debate, but if so other means would be available for the Riksdag, such as
 
questions and interpellations. 

When  the  Prime  Minister  has  reported,  the  floor  is  open  for  questions  from  members  of
 
parliament to the Prime Minister. Typically this session takes some 45 minutes.  

There is no vote after the debate. 


5. Since Lisbon 
-  After  the  Treaty  of  Lisbon  came  into  force,  were  there  significant  changes 
regarding the parliamentary control of the European Council? 
-  Did  any  significant  events  or  changes  in  formal  rules  occur  after  Lisbon  in  the 
upper house? 
-  Since  December  1st  2009,  was  the  survival  of  a  government  influenced  in  one 
way or another by decisions made by the European Council? 
There  were  no  significant  changes  regarding  the  parliamentary  control  of  the  European 
Council  after  the  Treaty  of  Lisbon  came  into  force.  The  regulation  in  the  Riksdag  Act  that 
the Government shall consult the Committee on EU Affairs prior to meeting of the European 
Council came into force 1 st January 2007, before the Treaty of Lisbon came into force. The 
regulation  was  considered  to  be  a  formalization  of  practice,  and  did  not  change  actual 
behaviour. It did not have anything to do with the Lisbon Treaty. 
The Riksdag has only one chamber. 
The survival of a government has not been influenced in one way or another by decisions 
made by the European Council since December 1st 2009. 

6. Templates to be filled out regarding the lower chamber´s behaviour towards each of 
the 9 European Council meetings and Euro zone summits held between March 2011 and 
March 2012 
Please fill in “yes” or “no” in each box. 

C1 = extraordinary meeting of the European Council and  the meeting of the Heads of 
State or Governement of the Euro Area – 11 March 2011 
C2 = ordinary meeting of the European Council – 24 and 25 March 2011 
C3 = ordinary meeting of the European Council – 23 and 24 June 2011 
C4 = meeting of the Heads of State or Government of the Euro Area – 21 July 2011 
C5 = ordinary meeting of the European Council – 23 October 2011 
C6 = informal meeting of the European Council and meeting of the Heads of State or 
Government of the Euro Area – 26 October 2011 
C7 = ordinary meeting of the European Council – 8 and 9 December 2011 
C8 = informal meeting of the European Council – 30 January 2012 
C9 = ordinary meeting of the European Council – 1 and 2 March 2012 

Before the European Council meeting 

C1  C2  C3  C4  C5  C6  C7  C8  C9 

Debates in committees  Yes  Yes  Yes  No  Yes  Yes  Yes  Yes  Yes 
Debates on the floor  No  No  No  No  No  No  No  No  No 
Formal declaration by the PM  No  No  No  No  No  No  No  No  No 
Vote of a motion  No  No  No  No  No  No  No  No  No 

After the European Council meeting 

Debates in committees  No  No  No  No  No  No  No  No  Yes 
Debates on the floor  Yes  Yes  Yes  No  Yes  Yes  Yes  Yes  No 
Formal declaration by the PM  No  No  No  No  No  No  No  No  No 
Vote of a motion  No  No  No  No  No  No  No  No  No 

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7. Other comments 
- Are there other insitutions or bodies, outside of Parliament, which play a role 
in the control of these results? (i.e. Constitutional courts) 
- Some of your own remarks (voluntary): 
No other institution or body play a role in the control of European Council meetings. 
After the Lisbon treaty came into force, an internal investigation concerning how the 
Riksdag handles EU Affairs discussed the formal regulation of the consultation in the 
Committee on EU Affairs of European Council (the main task for the internal 
investigation concerned other aspects of the handling of EU business in the Riksdag). As 
mentioned above, the Riksdag Act states that the Government shall consult the 
Committee on EU Affairs prior to meetings of the European Council. It is now proposed 
(but has not been decided yet) that the Government shall consult the Committee prior 
not only to meetings but also prior to decisions of the European Council. The reason is 
that the European Council according to the Lisbon Treaty may also make formal 
decisions (according to 29 articles in the EU Treaties). In practice, the Government has 
already consulted the Committee for this kind of decisions. 
It is important for the Prime Minister to have support in the Riksdag before meetings in 
the  European  Council.  The  present  government  is  a  non-socialist  minority  government. 
During  the  years  1994–2006  Sweden  had  a  Social  democratic  minority  government, 
which in many domestic issues was supported by the Green Party and the Left Party. In 
EU  affairs,  however,  the  Social  democratic  government  sought  support  from  the  non-
socialist  parties.  Often,  the  present  non-socialist  minority  government  seeks  support 
from the Social democrats in important EU issues. 

Two  examples  show  that  the  government  wants  to  have  support  in  the  Riksdag  for  its 
actions in the European Council, and if the government does not gain a majority in the 
Riksdag the government follows the views of the majority (i.e. the opposition).  

First, in the deliberations in the Committee on EU Affairs before the European Council 24 
and  25  March  2011,  the  Prime  minister  said  that  Sweden  would  not  join  the  Euro  Plus 
Pact since there was not support in the Riksdag for that. 

Second,  at  the  Statement  of  the  Members  of  the  European  Council  30  January  2012 
(Towards Growth-friendly Consolidation and Job-friendly Growth) there is a note at page 
1 saying: 

“For  parliamentary  reasons,  the  Swedish  Prime  Minister  was  not  in  a  position  to 
subscribe to this statement.” 
(http://www.consilium.europa.eu/uedocs/cms_data/docs/pressdata/en/ec/127599.pdf). 
Thus, Prime Minister declared in the European Council that there was not parliamentary 
support  for  this  statement.  In  the  account  in  the  Chamber  in  the  Riksdag  after  the 
European  Council  meeting  the  Prime  Minister  said  that  he  took  the  advice  of  the  
Committee on EU Affairs seriously, and therefore could not support the statement. The 
Prime  Minister  said  that  he  thought  the  statement  of  the  Members  of  the  European 
Council was good, but since the Social democrats said no the Prime Minister said that he 
and Sweden could not support the statement. 

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Annex 1 - Questionnaires On The 27 Member States 

United Kingdom: Ariella Huff / Julie Smith, Cambridge 
University 
Name  of  your  Member  State:  United  Kingdom  (Lower  Chamber:  House  of 
Commons) 

1. The formal rules 
- Are there formal rules regarding the parliamentary scrutiny of European Council 

meetings and Euro zone summits? 

- If  yes,  what  are  their  legal  bases  (Constitution,  Legal  provisions,  Standing  

Orders, other)? 

- If yes, what are these rules about? What obligations does the government have? 

- If yes, do these rules make distinctions between the different types of meetings 

of the European Council (regular, extraordinary, Euro zone summit)? 

There  are  no  formal  rules  for  the  scrutiny  of  European  Council  meetings  in  the  House  of 
Commons.  The European Scrutiny Committee (ESC) considers this to be part of its role in 
practice, but as the European scrutiny system is largely document-based there is no explicit 
reference to European Councils in the Standing Orders establishing the ESC’s remit. 

However, the Scrutiny Reserve (based on a 1988 Resolution of the House, not the Standing 
Orders)  does,  in  theory,  oblige  the  government  to  refrain  from  making  any  decisions  on 
legislative proposals in the Council while the proposal is still ‘under scrutiny’ in Parliament – 
i.e. documents that the ESC has not cleared from scrutiny or which are awaiting debate in 
committee  or  in  the  plenary.  This  reserve  is  automatic.  If  minsters  breach  the  scrutiny 
reserve, they must explain their decision at the first possible opportunity to the Committee 
(when the reserve is breached, this is usually as a result of the need to make an unusually 
urgent decision in the Council).  

Since the UK is outside the Eurozone its ministers do not participate in EZ summits. 

2. Ex-ante control  
-  Do  national  parliaments  take  part  in  the  preparation  of  meetings  of  the 
European Council and Euro zone summits? 
- Do Parliaments’ Rules of Procedure provide for priority debates? 
- If so, which bodies are responsible for, and involved in, this preparatory work 
(for example, committees, plenary or other bodies)? 
- Which governmental authorities take part in the parliamentary debates? 
- Is  there  a  vote  for  a  parliamentary  resolution  before  the  European  Council 
meeting? 
Parliament  does  not  play  an  active  role  in  preparing  for  European  Council  summits, 
although by convention the European Scrutiny Committee and its counterpart in the House 
of  Lords  are  sent  letters  by  the  government  in  advance  of  the  meetings  explaining  the 
major issues on the agenda and the UK position on each of them. Furthermore, the scrutiny 
reserve  provisions  outlined  above  mean  that  any  legislative  proposals  on  the  Council’s 
agenda are usually cleared by the Committee in advance of the Council meeting. There are 
no provisions for Priority Debates or for equivalent debates to be held ex ante; Parliament 
also cannot issue mandates to ministers before meetings.  However, in February 2012 the 
chair  of  the  ESC,  William  Cash  MP,  secured  an  Emergency  Debate  on  the  Treaty  on 
Stability, Co-ordination and Governance in EMU ahead of the European Council held on 1-2 
March.  [Note:  under  the  Labour  Government  statements  were  sometimes  made  prior  to 
European  Council  meetings;  the  practice  has  not  been  used  by  the  Coalition  Government 
that took office in May 2010] 

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Policy Department C: Citizens' Rights and Constitutional Affairs 
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3. Ex-post control: institutional body 
Which  is  the  responsible body  within  the  Parliament  to  control  the  results  of  the 
European  Council  and  the  Euro  zone  summits  (the  plenary,  committees,  other 
bodies)? 
For European Council meetings, the Prime Minister usually makes a statement to a plenary 
session  of  the  House  of  Commons  a  few  days  after  the  meeting.  Note  that  this  is  not  the 
case  for  other  Council  meetings,  which  are  usually  only  reported  on  in  writing.  The 
statements and debates are all available publicly in Hansard. 
The  ESC  can  decide  to  summon  ministers  to  give  further  oral  or  written  evidence  after  a 
Council  meeting.  In  practice  this  tends  to  happen  only  after  European  Council  meetings. 
Although  ESC  deliberations  are  not  public,  all  evidence  given  by  ministers  is  publicly 
available online. 

4. Ex-post control: debates in parliament 
- What is the organization of the plenary debates after the European Council 
meetings? (NB: if there are no debates in the plenary but in committees, do 
indicate this fact and answer accordingly) 
- Which is the competent institutional body to decide on setting the agenda of the 
plenary for those debates? Who takes the initiative in practice? Can the 
government avoid a debate? 
- Which governmental authorities take part in the parliamentary debates? Does 
the Head of Government/ Prime Minister take part? 
- How is the debate structured? Is there a vote after the debate? 
The Prime Minister’s post-Council statement (outlined above) is followed by a short debate. 
The  PM  must  make  this  statement,  which  means  that  it  cannot  easily  avoid  debate,  but 
ultimately it is the government which sets the day’s agenda for the plenary, not parliament. 
The PM usually takes part in the debate, which is not followed by a vote. 

5. Since Lisbon 
-  After  the  Treaty  of  Lisbon  came  into  force,  were  there  significant  changes 
regarding the parliamentary control of the European Council? 
-  Did  any  significant  events  or  changes  in  formal  rules  occur  after  Lisbon  in  the 
upper house? 
-  Since  December  1st  2009,  was  the  survival  of  a  government  influenced  in  one 
way or another by decisions made by the European Council? 
The Treaty of Lisbon did not result in any significant changes to parliamentary control (or 
otherwise) of the European Council or the UK Government’s participation in it.  At the time 
of writing, the House of Commons European Scrutiny Committee was conducting an inquiry 
into  its  procedures  but  this  was  not  prompted  by  the  Lisbon  Treaty.  In  fact,  the  staff 
numbers  in  both  Houses  have  been  slightly  reduced;  in  the  Commons  due  to  budgetary 
pressures and in the Lords as a result of changes made to the sub-committee structure in 
light of the chamber’s increased size arising from domestic reasons.  

The  Government’s  survival  has  not  been  threatened  since  December  2009.    However,  the 
Prime  Minister  did  face  criticisms  for  his  so-called  ‘veto’  at  the  8-9  December  2011 
European Council, when he tried to block a new treaty.  His actions were the subject of a 
long ex post debate and considerable media scrutiny. He also faced the opprobrium of his 
Liberal Democrat Deputy, while winning support from Eurosceptics in his own Conservative 
Party.  Britain’s  relationship  with  the  EU  (and  discussion  of  a  potential  referendum  to 
determine future membership) is far more politically salient in the UK. 

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____________________________________________________________________________________________   

Annex 1 - Questionnaires On The 27 Member States 

6. Templates to be filled out regarding the lower chamber´s behaviour towards each of 
the 9 European Council meetings and Euro zone summits held between March 2011 and 
March 2012 
Please fill in “yes” or “no” in each box. 

C1 = extraordinary meeting of the European Council and  the meeting of the Heads of 
State or Governement of the Euro Area – 11 March 2011 
C2 = ordinary meeting of the European Council – 24 and 25 March 2011 
C3 = ordinary meeting of the European Council – 23 and 24 June 2011 
C4 = meeting of the Heads of State or Government of the Euro Area – 21 July 2011 
C5 = ordinary meeting of the European Council – 23 October 2011 
C6 = informal meeting of the European Council and meeting of the Heads of State or 
Government of the Euro Area – 26 October 2011 
C7 = ordinary meeting of the European Council – 8 and 9 December 2011 
C8 = informal meeting of the European Council – 30 January 2012 
C9 = ordinary meeting of the European Council – 1 and 2 March 2012 

Before the European Council meeting 

C1  C2  C3  C4  C5  C6  C7 

C8  C9 

Debates in committees  No  No  No  No  No  No  No 

Debates on the floor  No  No  No  No  No  No 

Formal declaration by the PM**  Yes  Yes  Yes  Yes  Yes  Yes  Yes 
Vote of a motion  No  No  No  No  No  No  No 

No  No 
Yes*  No  No 
Yes  Yes 
No  No 

After the European Council meeting 

Debates in committees***  No  Yes  No  No  No  No  No 
Debates on the floor  No  Yes  Yes  No  Yes  Yes  Yes 
Formal declaration by the PM  No  Yes  Yes  No  Yes  Yes  Yes 
Vote of a motion  No  No  No  No  No  No  No 

No  No 
Yes  Yes 
Yes  Yes 
No  No 

* This was a Westminster Hall debate, which can be initiated by any member of the House, rather
 
than a plenary.  

** Submitted in writing, not given orally.
 
*** The formal minutes of the ESC meetings (which are private) are not clear as to whether debates 

were held or not. I have only indicated ‘yes’ in one instance where the European Council was clearly 

references in the minutes. 


7. Other comments 
- Are there other insitutions or bodies, outside of Parliament, which play a role 
in the control of these results? (i.e. Constitutional courts) 
No, parliament is sovereign. 

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