Source: https://www.scribd.com/document/122476857/Parlamentele-nationale-post-lisabona
Timestamp: 2018-05-25 08:13:41
Document Index: 118120141

Matched Legal Cases: ['§1', '§2', '§3', '§4', '§5', '§7', '§6']

Parlamentele nationale post-lisabona | Treaty | European Union
Description: Analiza institutionala postLisabona
Analiza institutionala postLisabona
The Treaty of Lisbon, the National Parliaments and the Principle of Subsidiarity
All rights reserved. No parts of this paper may be reproduced in any form without the permission of the author(s) This paper can be downloaded without charge from the Social Science Research Network electronic library.
Electronic copy available at: http://ssrn.com/abstract=1417242
introDuction another european treaty is signed. and in the cosy context of the democratic nation-state. and again the role of national parliaments in the european union has been enhanced. the enhanced role of national parliaments was. and yet. it relies on the readiness of the citizen. european and comparative constitutional law. the use of national parliaments as a sugar coating for european medicine has wider implications. The naTIonal PaRlIaMenTs anD The PRInCIPle of sUbsIDIaRITy philipp Kiiver* §1.com/abstract=1417242 . what we also taste is the bitterness of domestic decisionmaking autonomy draining away in the course of supranational processes. §2. a cynic’S VieW of course. 15 MJ 1 (2008) 77 Electronic copy available at: http://ssrn. firstly. in an elected and recognizable deliberative forum.The TReaTy of lIsbon. The pill is of course the european integration process itself. here national parliaments offer the perfect solution: turning them from marginal and passive institutions into active players on the european scene reminds us of the sweetness of the days when laws were made by the people for the people. to believe in the desirability of european integration based on the added domestic parliamentary ingredient. under the treaty of lisbon. boosted the number of times national parliaments were mentioned in the eu treaty context. in the context of both the constitutional treaty and of lisbon. up from the current six weeks. and remains. Maastricht university. even a eurosceptic one. treaty provisions enhancing the role of national parliaments in eu decisionmaking are the sugary coating around a bitter pill. designed to help the patient – the european citizen – in ways too numerous to recite. lisbon’s immediate predecessor. Why all this professed enthusiasm for national parliaments? in many respects. national parliaments have eight weeks to scrutinize eu proposals before they are put on the council agenda. a major selling point to * Senior lecturer. and already the constitutional treaty.
introduced originally by the constitutional treaty and beefed up under lisbon. §3. when we subject the actual parliament-friendly treaty provisions to more rigorous scrutiny. not necessarily meaningless. in order to appreciate this. we need to reconsider the actual purpose of including national parliaments in european treaties. with substantial input from inter alia political scientists. however. we know that sugar coatings must under no circumstances interfere with the chemical properties of the prescribed substance itself: it is just to facilitate intake. namely in the hands of the eu institutions and the national governments. nor will parliamentary opposition even make the proposal more vulnerable by bringing down voting thresholds: both the european parliament and the council will still take their respective decision on the proposal by (qualified) majority. The european legislative process keeps running based on its tested institutional logic. at the same time. The granted ‘right’ for parliaments to send angry letters to the commission is not exactly a momentous constitutional rupture either. The big innovation introduced by lisbon as compared to the constitutional treaty is that if complaints constitute a majority of votes distributed to the national parliaments (two votes per parliament) and the commission nevertheless sticks to the original text without amendment. but again. only to provide others with ammunition. any analysis of the latter would have to be at least inter-disciplinary. it is not the national parliaments themselves that are able to stop the proposal. and ultimate decision-making prerogatives continue to lie where they were before. an analysis of the former is clearly a lawyer’s job. as far as national 78 15 MJ 1 (2008) Electronic copy available at: http://ssrn. the conferral of power to national parliaments in the first place. on the other. We need to make a distinction between. however. The former we might call the constitutive value of treaty provisions: how much authority is granted to national parliaments in eu decisionmaking procedures. however. we do in fact see that the coating really is just a coating. The power transfer from european institutions to national parliaments is marginal at best. on the one hand.com/abstract=1417242 . much of it is purely symbolic. the stimulation to use the power that national parliaments already have. not to change the composition of the pill proper. it is suggested. indeed. one example is the early Warning System for the principle of subsidiarity. the european parliament or the council may kill the proposal before the first reading. the sweetness of the process seems to be another matter altogether. a VieW leSS cynical The involvement of national parliaments in the eu via parliament-friendly treaty provisions is. the parliaments’ voice is only consultative. as proposals do not have to be withdrawn if they face opposition from national parliaments. The latter we might call the catalytic value of treaty provisions: to what extent can those treaty provisions put persuasive pressure on national parliamentarians to develop political initiative in the eu context themselves. The system is intended to provide national parliaments with an opportunity to react to eu legislative proposals before they are adopted.philipp Kiiver many governments in europe. and.
it is not the only context in which national parliaments are addressed. 13.The treaty of lisbon. 1. a six-week time period between the publication of an eu legislative proposal and the setting of the item on the council agenda is in force.5 but where the day-to-day legislative process is concerned.1 and the encouragement of interparliamentary co-operation. 2007). article iV-444 of the constitutional treaty and article 1(56) of the treaty of lisbon regarding article 48 eu in the post-lisbon numbering. the national parliaMentS in the european treatieS The most prominent feature of the treaty of lisbon. nor is this the first time that they are directly addressed. Ziller (eds. in a. how much ‘old’ power. how much new power is given to national parliaments. as regards the recognition of coSac. 9) inserted by the treaty of amsterdam (‘the amsterdam protocol’). a range of specific provisions in both the constitutional treaty and in the treaty of lisbon stipulates the notification of national parliaments of certain events. which includes parliamentarians from the member states in the drafting of treaty amendments). the national parliaments and the principle of Subsidiarity parliaments and subsidiarity are concerned. albi & J. under lisbon. protocol no. so as to allow national parliaments some time to scrutinize it ex ante. Secondly. the early Warning System remains the main feature of note. is or can be activated and put to new use in practice. such as the intended use of the flexibility clause under article 308 ec.2 Since the treaty of amsterdam. firstly. to base our reflections in this matter on such a distinction. 1 2 3 4 5 See Maastricht final act declaration no. see title ii of the amsterdam protocol and its equivalents under the constitutional treaty and the treaty of lisbon. as far as national parliaments are concerned. article 3 of the amsterdam protocol.3 in addition. retained under constitutional treaty protocol no. Kiiver. that is prerogatives that national parliaments enjoy already by virtue of their domestic constitutional law. the national parliamentary veto is expanded to 15 MJ 1 (2008) 79 . in addition. a. that is power that they did not have before. The System as such had already featured in the constitutional treaty. 1 to the constitutional treaty and its equivalent under the treaty of lisbon. 12. See Maastricht final act declaration no. including co-operation with the european parliament.4 and in the simplified treaty revision procedure better known as the passerelle (each individual national parliament may veto a european council decision to change a european legislative procedure). both the constitutional treaty and the treaty of lisbon provided for an involvement of national parliamentarians in the ordinary treaty revision procedure (via the convention method. ph. The European Constitution and National Constitutions: Ratification and Beyond (Kluwer law international. ‘The european constitution and the role of national parliaments’. is indeed the early Warning System whereby national parliaments are to check and enforce compliance with the principle of subsidiarity in eu legislative proposals. article iV-443 of the constitutional treaty and article 1(56) of the treaty of lisbon regarding article 48 eu in the post-lisbon numbering.). Most treaty-level instruments so far concerned the right of national parliaments to be informed of eu developments. the conference of european affairs committees of the national parliaments plus a delegation from the european parliament. title i of the protocol on the role of the national parliaments in the european union (consolidated protocol no. See also.
2 to the constitutional treaty. a distinction was made between unicameral parliaments and parliaments that are not unicameral. indeed. security and justice matters. the German-speaking community parliament.). in ph. for example. the commission would have to justify the proposal again. though not necessarily to withdraw it. articles 6 and 7 of the lisbon protocol on the application of the principles of subsidiarity and proportionality (‘the lisbon Subsidiarity protocol’). ‘The belgian “national parliament” from the perspective of the eu constitutional treaty’. which could. two votes are distributed per parliament. and.e. article 8 of the lisbon Subsidiarity protocol. a note for belgian readers: an early version of the constitutional treaty spoke of either unicameral or bicameral parliaments. The existence of the category ‘non-unicameral’ seems to support the notion that not only the bicameral federal parliament but also the sub-national parliaments should be able to cast a vote in the early Warning System.’ This means that in bicameral parliaments both chambers must have an equal say (even if chambers are not co-equal under domestic law). National and Regional Parliaments in the European Constitutional Order (europa law publishing. regional and community assemblies (the federal Senate.philipp Kiiver b. objections (called ‘reasoned opinions’) formally force the initiator of the draft act to reconsider the act or to provide new reasons. since the system is not bicameral but multicameral so that the ‘bicameral clause’ does not apply to belgium.) should be considered as forming part of one composite multicameral parliament. in a final act declaration. W. hyper-federal belgium had insisted that all its federal. shared out on the basis of the national parliamentary system. be eight unicameral parliaments plus two lower chambers plus one upper chamber) or one-quarter (i. both the council cover the passerelle in the area of family law as well. if the proposal is not changed. See for the solutions devised under the constitutional treaty. apparently implying that a parliament can have more than just either one or two chambers. where incoming votes reach one-third of the total votes distributed (i. for belgium.7 The system is complemented by the possibility of governments to file annulment actions against already adopted legislation on subsidiarity grounds with the european court of Justice (ecJ). 2 to the constitutional treaty. with both being retained by unicameral ones and being shared out between chambers where the parliament is bicameral.6 each objection would thus be worth one or two votes depending on the national constitutional arrangement. Kiiver (ed.8 lisbon now strengthens this early Warning System for subsidiarity by stipulating that where a ‘simple majority’ of votes allocated to national parliaments constitute objections. 14 votes) in freedom. as well as protocol no. and that two votes could be shared out among more than two chambers.e. the flemish parliament. 2006). however. each of the two chambers shall have one vote. the early WarninG SySteM The early Warning System is based on the interception by national parliaments of eu legislative initiatives. etc. as well as protocol no. belgium reiterated its earlier declaration regarding the composition of its national parliament. it means that it should be possible to keep the sub-national parliaments involved: one could argue that the two votes may still be ‘shared out’ among many chambers. on the opportunity for them to file objections on grounds of perceived violations of the principle of subsidiarity. lisbon now provides for ‘two votes. and the counting and weighing of incoming complaints. either by themselves or on behalf of their national parliaments or chambers thereof. 6 7 8 80 15 MJ 1 (2008) . pas. in the case of a bicameral parliamentary system. article 2 (66) of the treaty of lisbon regarding article 65 ec (treaty on the functioning of the eu). 19 out of 54 in the eu-27. in the constitutional treaty’s final version. also under lisbon.
We should not be too uncritical on this point. approval of a proposal would have been highly unlikely in any case. little conStitutiVe Value … in line with the priorities already formulated at nice. but how much more bite do parliaments have now? firstly. it is a prerogative that parliamentarians have anyway. typically the commission. or from pressing their cabinet into bringing a member state action as a privileged applicant.10 §4. with or without an early Warning System. not blocking minorities. Where such a critical mass is achievable. Secondly. lisbon does add some strength to the subsidiarity enforcement system. allowing the former to enforce the latter.The treaty of lisbon. the european parliament a majority of votes cast. indeed.9 The time given to national parliaments for their ex ante review of eu proposals has been extended from the previous six weeks to eight. both the procedure applied to national parliaments as well as the procedure applied to the european parliament and the council is based on the objections by (qualified) majorities. however. perhaps the only exception is the rationalized parliament of france. in that where national parliamentary complaints represent a ‘simple majority of the votes’ distributed to them. no-one can prevent parliamentarians from getting in touch with the commission.11 The same applies to the ‘right’ of parliamentarians to ask their government to bring an annulment action before the ecJ. legislative procedural 9 10 11 article 7 (3) of the lisbon Subsidiarity protocol. this majority is still calculated as a share of the total votes distributed rather than as a share of the votes actually cast. the original early Warning System had been criticized for merely being a ‘yellow card’ procedure with no teeth. The council requires a majority of 55% of its members to object. which then may or may not lead to a reassessment of the act. in fact. while the treaty of lisbon somewhat confusingly speaks of a ‘simple majority’ as the threshold for the new additional procedure. rather than a minority of one-third or one-quarter. in both cases. an absolute majority requirement: 28 votes out of 54 distributed in the eu-27. The ‘right’ of national parliaments to send complaints to the initiator of eu legislation. where even the right of parliament to adopt objections to commission proposals first had to be inserted into the french constitution. the early Warning System combines the union’s declared attachment to both the national parliaments and the principle of subsidiarity. it is now easier for either the european parliament or the council to kill the bill before the first reading. and it would never have made it through the co-decision procedure: it would have been shelved anyway. 15 MJ 1 (2008) 81 . is after all not a new right. the national parliaments and the principle of Subsidiarity (by 55% of its members) and the european parliament (by majority of votes cast) could terminate the consideration of the proposal if either of them finds that subsidiarity has been breached. article 6 of the lisbon Subsidiarity protocol and article 4 of the lisbon protocol on the role of national parliaments in the european union. That means that the so-called ‘simple’ majority requirement is.
but not so excessive as to disrupt the tested interplay between supranational and national interests in accordance with the Monnet method.e. ‘The composite case for national parliaments in the european union: Who profits from enhanced involvement?’.philipp Kiiver prerogatives therefore remain largely in the hands of the national governments and the eu institutions. like the sweet coating on a bitter pill. or the fact that it may be frustrating to forge a national consensus on an eu matter which may yet be modified. for example. ‘europe in parliament: towards targeted politicization’. or dignify the status quo without actually changing anything. and as provisions that enable governments to mobilize their parliaments. This can be done by keeping national parliamentary involvement in eu matters on the agenda to the point that it becomes embarrassing for parliamentarians not to use the tools they have to engage in the supranational process. i. The limitation is that national parliamentary involvement should be credible enough. petrify. Kiiver. their own parliamentary majorities. is to stimulate and provoke politicization of eu matters where that is feasible.swp-berlin. as soft and open-ended provisions whose practical use depends on the will of parliaments themselves. Const. 12 13 See ph. L.12 The appealing promise of having such provisions is that. We may recall.nl/content. 82 15 MJ 1 (2008) . and triggered by the will of safe majorities rather than minorities in both the member states and the eu institutions. both to the parliaments themselves and to voters. it should therefore not be surprising that european treaties are more gesture than substance when it comes to national parliaments: the early Warning System as envisaged by lisbon amounts to an indirect involvement of parliaments. … but SoMe catalySt potential of course one may dismiss the parliament-friendly treaty provisions in lisbon and its predecessors as being provisions that merely acknowledge. Scientific Council for Government Policy (WRR) online paper no. then. Rev. based on notification and consultation.org. as a democratically-flavoured proxy for pure executive action. 23 (2007) at www. outvoted or overruled once compromises are reached in brussels. See ph. §5. a parliamentfriendly clause will make primary and secondary european law easier to ‘sell’ in the member states.13 The key. a lack of incentive: low voter interest.wrr. Kiiver. 2 Eur. that what makes parliamentarians reluctant to invest time and resources in the scrutiny of european affairs is. for a near-comprehensive overview over the literature in this field see the portal created by the Stiftung Wissenschaft und politik at www. both acting by majorities.jsp?objectid=4040. 227 (2006). to a large extent. however.
to conduct pilot projects on the collective and coordinated use of the procedure. in fact. sectoral committees of the national parliament about potentially relevant proposals from brussels. 3). follow up on these requests for an opinion with scrutiny of their own which goes beyond mere subsidiarity clearance. but the sweet coating on the pill may yet prove to have a medical value of its own. The exact degree to which this actually happens should of course be the subject of further research. although it does not have to do so. the original early Warning System provisions from the constitutional treaty have prompted the commission to notify national parliaments directly of its proposals. The commission has agreed to accept and consider letters from national parliaments on the basis of the early Warning System as if that system were in force already. etc. along with the already existing european affairs committees proper. The new committee proudly reports that since it has started reviewing commission proposals.14 §7. presented to the speakers of both chambers on 16 april 2007 (Kamerstukken i/ii 2006–2007. Where parliamentarians become convinced that scrutiny is necessary and that subsidiarity must now be checked because a treaty says so. The committee furthermore reports that the sectoral parliamentary committees (on economic affairs. agriculture. the national parliaments and the principle of Subsidiarity §6. 30953 c and no. it is now seen as a mechanism to ‘warn’. The more information that is made available. and to upgrade its ipeX inter-parliamentary database as a tool for mutual digital information. 14 evaluatierapport tijdelijke commissie Subsidiariteitstoets. or to alert. the SySteM liVeS even without having entered into force. the more legal tools the european treaties provide. an interparliamentary conference.The treaty of lisbon. The provisions have led the Dutch parliament to even set up a special committee for the review of eu drafts for their compliance with the principle of subsidiarity. and the more prominent the veto mechanisms are – even if these mechanisms are mediated and more symbolic than genuinely empowering – the more vulnerable parliamentarians in government and opposition alike should become to charges from the media and the general public that they fail to influence eu decisionmaking even though they evidently could. the greater the chance that it may become embarrassing for parliamentarians to ignore them. even when that treaty confers little or no actual power to the parliaments. the exercise may already have served a purpose. The provisions have led coSac. the Dutch cabinet is supplying its preliminary opinions on these drafts more quickly than it used to. hollow treaty provisions could become a catalyst for real parliamentary action.) that are asked to give an expert opinion. the internal use of the term ‘early Warning System’ has changed: designed to ‘warn’ the european commission of possible subsidiarity breaches. puttinG preSSure on the parliaMentS Thus. 15 MJ 1 (2008) 83 .
Documents Similar To Parlamentele nationale post-lisabona
Structure of the European Union - Written Report