Special working group on parliamentary reform
Encyclopedia
In 2007 the President of the European Parliament
, Hans-Gert Poettering, set up a special working group on parliamentary reform. It was chaired by Dagmar Roth-Behrendt
MEP (member for Germany
) and was to improve the efficiency and image of the European Parliament
. Some ideas included livening up the plenary sessions and a State of the Union
debate. It is due to produce a final report in July 2008, and put the recommendations into practice by the 2009 elections.
leader Graham Watson
MEP (member for South West England
) withdrew from the group.
MEPs did however back a proposal to use the European symbols
more often in the Parliament. This comes after the European Council's agreement for the Treaty of Lisbon dropped the provisions of the Constitution which would have given the symbols official status. Jo Leinen
MEP (member for Germany) suggested that the Parliament take the avant-garde
in using the flag and anthem, the latter being rarely used in Parliament. The Parliament first adopted the European flag in 1983, three years before it was formally adopted by the Communities as a whole.
; it also proposed being more selective about inviting guest speakers to the house, the group stated that the new practice of inviting numerous heads of state to speak at the Parliament interrupted the normal legislative work of the house; a further idea to cap the number of amendments to documents was voted down.
It is hoped the changes will make the Parliament more political, however Graham Watson, who earlier left the group, stated that he doubts the grand coalition between PES
and EPP-ED
can get it approved due to opposition from conservative members who voted down the earlier proposals. Other members such as the co-chair of ID
, Jens-Peter Bonde
MEP (member for Denmark
), wanted more radical proposals but Bonde did vote for the report stating that "it is psychologically important to show that we want to become a more political parliament."
MEP (PES member for Yorkshire and the Humber
) who aims to gear Parliament's work towards areas where it actually has legislative powers. As described above, time on legislative bills would be increased at the expense of own initiative reports. These reports would be amended and voted on in the Committees with the plenary having a single vote on the document (plus a single vote for any alternative presented by group, but not line for line amendment).
In an effort to liven up debates and make the work more visible, the rapporteur
for a legislative report would introduce, respond to and sum up a debate. There would also be new limits on written questions; at present, unlike other parliaments, there are no limits on the questions an MEP can ask the Commission during question time. The Commission has three weeks to respond to urgent questions and six for non-urgent questions but it often has to deal with a great number of questions that deal with issues outside its mandate (past examples include asking the Commission for information about the death of Osama bin Laden
and whether Marks & Spencer
uses weight distorting mirror
s), sometimes to disrupt the working of the Commission. The new rules would make a question inadmissible if it: fell outside the remit of the European Union, contained offensive language or related to personal matters. If a question was already asked, the author would be informed but they could still maintain their question. This proposal faces opposition from some MEPs who consider it impinging upon their rights. The new rules on questions were approved in July 2008.
President of the European Parliament
The President of the European Parliament presides over the debates and activities of the European Parliament. He or she also represents the Parliament within the EU and internationally. The President's signature is required for enacting most EU laws and the EU budget.Presidents serve...
, Hans-Gert Poettering, set up a special working group on parliamentary reform. It was chaired by Dagmar Roth-Behrendt
Dagmar Roth-Behrendt
Dagmar Roth-Behrendt is a German Member of the European Parliament, and a lawyer. She was elected on the SPD ticket and sits with the Party of European Socialists group....
MEP (member for Germany
Germany (European Parliament constituency)
In European elections, Germany is a constituency of the European Parliament, currently represented by ninety-nine members. It covers the member state of Germany.-Current MEPs:As of October 2007-1979:...
) and was to improve the efficiency and image of the European Parliament
European Parliament
The European Parliament is the directly elected parliamentary institution of the European Union . Together with the Council of the European Union and the Commission, it exercises the legislative function of the EU and it has been described as one of the most powerful legislatures in the world...
. Some ideas included livening up the plenary sessions and a State of the Union
State Of The Union
"State Of The Union" is the debut single from British singer-songwriter David Ford. It had previously been featured as a demo on his official website, before appearing as a track on a CD entitled "Apology Demos EP," only on sale at live shows....
debate. It is due to produce a final report in July 2008, and put the recommendations into practice by the 2009 elections.
First proposals
One of the group's key reform ideas, extra debates on topical issues, was rejected by MEPs (mainly from the centre-right) in July 2007 over fears it would disrupt committee work while attracting very few attendees. In response, ALDEAlliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe
The Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe is a transnational alliance between two European political parties: the European Liberal Democrat and Reform Party and the European Democratic Party. It has political groups in the European Parliament, the EU Committee of the Regions, the...
leader Graham Watson
Graham Watson
Sir Graham Robert Watson is a European politician from the United Kingdom. He has served as a Member of the European Parliament for South West England since 1994 and was leader of the liberal group in Parliament for seven years between 2002 and 2009.-Early life:Graham Watson was born in Rothesay...
MEP (member for South West England
South West England (European Parliament constituency)
South West England is a constituency of the European Parliament. For 2009 it elects 6 MEPs using the d'Hondt method of party-list proportional representation, reduced from 7 in 2004.-Boundaries:...
) withdrew from the group.
MEPs did however back a proposal to use the European symbols
European symbols
A number of symbols of Europe have emerged throughout history. Depending on the symbol, they can apply to Europe as a whole, European unity or merely to the European Union...
more often in the Parliament. This comes after the European Council's agreement for the Treaty of Lisbon dropped the provisions of the Constitution which would have given the symbols official status. Jo Leinen
Jo Leinen
Jo Leinen is a Member of the European Parliament. He was elected on the SPD ticket and acts as a representative within the Party of European Socialists group...
MEP (member for Germany) suggested that the Parliament take the avant-garde
Avant-garde
Avant-garde means "advance guard" or "vanguard". The adjective form is used in English to refer to people or works that are experimental or innovative, particularly with respect to art, culture, and politics....
in using the flag and anthem, the latter being rarely used in Parliament. The Parliament first adopted the European flag in 1983, three years before it was formally adopted by the Communities as a whole.
Interim report
An interim report of the reform group was presented in September 2007. It proposes a number of changes to the house, including: Cutting down the debating time for texts with no legislative effect. In 2006, 92 "own initiative" reports (commenting rather than legislating) were tables and 22% of debating time was spent debating such reports, while only 18% was spent on legislative billsBill (proposed law)
A bill is a proposed law under consideration by a legislature. A bill does not become law until it is passed by the legislature and, in most cases, approved by the executive. Once a bill has been enacted into law, it is called an act or a statute....
; it also proposed being more selective about inviting guest speakers to the house, the group stated that the new practice of inviting numerous heads of state to speak at the Parliament interrupted the normal legislative work of the house; a further idea to cap the number of amendments to documents was voted down.
It is hoped the changes will make the Parliament more political, however Graham Watson, who earlier left the group, stated that he doubts the grand coalition between PES
Party of European Socialists
The Party of European Socialists is a European political party led by Sergei Stanishev, former Prime Minister of Bulgaria. The PES comprises social-democratic national-level political parties primarily from Member state of the European Union, as well as other nations of the European continent. The...
and EPP-ED
European People's Party–European Democrats
The Group of the European People's Party , abbreviated to EPP Group, is a centre-right political group of the European Parliament...
can get it approved due to opposition from conservative members who voted down the earlier proposals. Other members such as the co-chair of ID
Independence and Democracy
The Independence/Democracy Group in the European Parliament was a group of eurosceptic and eurorealist political parties in the 2004-2009 term of the European Parliament. It collapsed following the 2009 European elections after losing many of its MEPs....
, Jens-Peter Bonde
Jens-Peter Bonde
Jens-Peter Rossen Bonde is a former Member of the European Parliament with the June Movement. He resigned as an MEP in May 2008. Bonde was elected to the European Parliament in the first election in 1979 with the People's Movement against the EU. He has been re-elected 6 times consecutively...
MEP (member for Denmark
Denmark (European Parliament constituency)
Denmark is one single European Parliament constituency. Since the June 2009 Parliament election it has been represented by thirteen members of the European Parliament. It covers the EU member state of Denmark, but not the Faroe Islands and Greenland which are not part of the EU.Denmark uses the...
), wanted more radical proposals but Bonde did vote for the report stating that "it is psychologically important to show that we want to become a more political parliament."
Final report
The final report, due to be voted on in the second week of July 2008, is being put forward by Richard CorbettRichard Corbett
Richard Corbett was a Member of the European Parliament for the Labour Party for Yorkshire and the Humber, serving between 1996 and 2009...
MEP (PES member for Yorkshire and the Humber
Yorkshire and the Humber (European Parliament constituency)
Yorkshire and the Humber is a constituency of the European Parliament. It currently elects 6 MEPs using the d'Hondt method of party-list proportional representation.- Boundaries :...
) who aims to gear Parliament's work towards areas where it actually has legislative powers. As described above, time on legislative bills would be increased at the expense of own initiative reports. These reports would be amended and voted on in the Committees with the plenary having a single vote on the document (plus a single vote for any alternative presented by group, but not line for line amendment).
In an effort to liven up debates and make the work more visible, the rapporteur
Rapporteur
Rapporteur is used in international and European legal and political contexts to refer to a person appointed by a deliberative body to investigate an issue or a situation....
for a legislative report would introduce, respond to and sum up a debate. There would also be new limits on written questions; at present, unlike other parliaments, there are no limits on the questions an MEP can ask the Commission during question time. The Commission has three weeks to respond to urgent questions and six for non-urgent questions but it often has to deal with a great number of questions that deal with issues outside its mandate (past examples include asking the Commission for information about the death of Osama bin Laden
Death of Osama bin Laden
Osama bin Laden, then head of the Islamist militant group al-Qaeda, was killed in Pakistan on May 2, 2011, shortly after 1 a.m. local time by a United States special forces military unit....
and whether Marks & Spencer
Marks & Spencer
Marks and Spencer plc is a British retailer headquartered in the City of Westminster, London, with over 700 stores in the United Kingdom and over 300 stores spread across more than 40 countries. It specialises in the selling of clothing and luxury food products...
uses weight distorting mirror
Curved mirror
A curved mirror is a mirror with a curved reflective surface, which may be either convex or concave . Most curved mirrors have surfaces that are shaped like part of a sphere, but other shapes are sometimes used in optical devices...
s), sometimes to disrupt the working of the Commission. The new rules would make a question inadmissible if it: fell outside the remit of the European Union, contained offensive language or related to personal matters. If a question was already asked, the author would be informed but they could still maintain their question. This proposal faces opposition from some MEPs who consider it impinging upon their rights. The new rules on questions were approved in July 2008.