1. Opening session

Ms Anna KINBERG BATRA, Chairperson of the Committee on European Union Affairs oftheRiksdag,welcomed all participants and declared the meeting opened.Ms KINBERG BATRA mentioned that since the last meeting of COSAC, two chairpersonshad been elected Members of the European Parliament: Ms Anne DELVAUX, Chairpersonof the Committee on European Affairs of the BelgianSénat,and Mr Andrzej GRZYB,Chairman of the Committee on European Affairs of the PolishSejm.In congratulating themfor having won their new posts, she thanked them for their work in COSAC, and wishedthem luck in their future tasks in the European Parliament.Ms KINBERG BATRA pointed out that the Swedish Presidency of the EU would cover aperiod in time when the Council, the newly elected European Parliament and the outgoing aswell as the next Commission would have to confront a number of uncertainties andchallenges. The Government had therefore chosen "Taking on the Challenge" as its motto forthe Swedish Presidency. The working programme for the Presidency had been publishedrecently, on 23 June 2009.She pointed out that this programme and the priorities of the Government enjoyed broadsupport in the Swedish Parliament, and indeed that the Minister for European Union Affairshad had monthly consultations with representatives of the Parliament on the Programme andother issues related to the Presidency.

2. Adoption of the agenda

Ms Anna KINBERG BATRA presented the draft agenda of the COSAC Chairpersons'meeting, as approved by the Troika meeting the previous day. The proposed agenda wasadopted.

3. COSAC procedural questions and miscellaneous matters

Ms Anna KINBERG BATRA then went on to present the draft agenda of the XLII COSACmeeting, to be held in Stockholm on 4-6 October 2009. She mentioned that, after havingconsulted the Troika, the Presidency would invite the Icelandic and Norwegian parliamentsas special guests to the meeting, since several points on the draft agenda of the meetingconcerned their countries as well. With regard to the letter from Mr Česlovas VytautasSTANKEVIČIUS, Chairman of the Committee on European Affairs of the LithuanianSeimas,she said that just a few days ago, the Chairman of the Committee on Foreign Affairsof theRiksdaghad sent out an invitation to a special meeting on 21 October in Stockholmthat would discuss the proposal of an EU-Neighbourhood East Parliamentary Assembly. Thatissue would therefore not need to be a separate point on the agenda of the XLII COSACmeeting.She also said that there would be a readiness to discuss issues related to the Lisbon Treaty, ifneeded. The COSAC meeting would be held at a time when there might be some newdevelopments related to the ratification procedure. Having said that, she invited the Irish andGerman delegations to inform the Chairpersons' meeting about the recent developments inthis regard in their respective countries.Mr Bernard DURKAN, Chairman of the Joint Committee on European Affairs of the IrishHouses of the Oireachtas,said that following the agreements made at the June meeting of theEuropean Council, the conditions for another referendum in Ireland were fulfilled. The datehad not yet been announced, but in all likelihood it would be held in early October 2009. MrDURKAN said that judging from the discussions during the spring and after the EuropeanCouncil, he believed that the referendum was winnable. If, on the other hand, the resultwould be another "no", which could not be excluded, he saw a major problem for Ireland inthe EU, but also for the EU as a whole.Concerning the decision of the German Constitutional Court, Mr Kurt BODEWIG, DeputyChairman of the Committee on European Union Affairs of theBundestag,stressed that theCourt had stated clearly that the Lisbon Treaty is compatible with the German Constitution.However, the Court had also stated that before the Treaty could be ratified by Germany, theBundestagandBundesratmust be given, by law, sufficient rights to participate in decisions,in particular decisions concerning changes of the Treaties. The German Parliament wouldwork during summer to be able to adopt such a law. The final decisions were planned to betaken by theBundestagon 8 September and by theBundesraton 18 September 2009.Following this information, the draft agenda of the XLII COSAC meeting was adopted. MsAnna KINBERG BATRA went on to introduce the outline of the 12th Bi-annual Report andthe update on subsidiarity checks for 2009. Concerning the draft outline, she pointed out thatthe Presidency wanted the report to be focused on two main issues, and also to limit the sizeof the report. She said that the matter of Parliaments' access to Council documents, which

had been raised in a letter from Mr. Svend AUKEN, Chairman of the Committee onEuropean Affairs of the DanishFolketing,would be taken into account by adapting thequestionnaire which would form the basis of the Report. As for the subsidiarity checks,COSAC had earlier decided to carry out checks on two proposals to be presented by theCommission. One of those proposals, for aRegulation of the European Parliament and of theCouncil on the applicable law, jurisdiction, recognition of decisions and administrativemeasures in the area of successions and wills,was planned to be adopted in mid-October,and would therefore clearly have to be debated during the following Presidency. The otherone, concerning aFramework Decision on procedural rights in criminal proceedings,was tobe adopted by the Commission on 8 July 2009. The question, also discussed by the Troikathe previous day, was whether to stick to the eight-week deadline or, given that the month ofAugust would be part of that period, to consider a deadline of eight plus four weeks. In thelatter case, however, it would not be possible to discuss the results of the subsidiarity checkat the COSAC meeting during the Swedish Presidency. She preferred an eight-weekdeadline, if possible, but would like to hear the opinion of other delegations.During the ensuing debate a few suggestions for additional items to be discussed by COSACwere put forward. One was the low turn-out in the European elections, which could beconsidered to be a democratic lacuna. COSAC should discuss how parliaments could co-operate to remedy this problem, or perhaps a JPM should be devoted to this. In relation to thedraft out-line of the Bi-annual Report, it was suggested that the issue of auditing theimplementation in the member states of the EU budget could be dealt with, since this wasalso a matter of transparency. A number of speakers expressed themselves in favour of theeight-week deadline for the subsidiarity check of the Proposal on Procedural Rights.Following this round of debate, the outline of the Bi-annual Report was adopted. MsKINBERG BATRA said that there seemed to be a sufficient number of parliaments thatwould be able to carry on the subsidiarity check within an eight-week period. The Secretariatshould seek to take into account any answers coming in after the deadline, so that ascomplete information as possible would be available at the COSAC meeting on 4-6 October.The eight-week deadline was agreed.During the debate some speakers had expressed their support for the proposal, presented bythe Swedish Presidency, concerning "co-financing of the permanent member of the COSACSecretariat and the costs of running the office and website of COSAC and the appointment ofthe permanent member". Ms KINBERG BATRA mentioned that the COSAC Chairpersons'meeting in Prague 9-10 February 2009 had identified the need to find an agreement duringthe Swedish Presidency on how to continue the co-financing scheme, and presented thedifferent elements of the proposal of the Presidency, which had also been supported by theTroika at its meeting the previous day. After a few more interventions, expressing support forthe proposal, it was adopted.Mr Miguel ARIASCAÑETE,Chairman of the Joint Committee on European Affairs of theSpanish Parliament, announced that during the Spanish Presidency the COSAC Chairpersons'Meeting will be held on 4-5 February and the XLIII COSAC Meeting on 30 May - 1 June2010.

4. Priorities and challenges of the Swedish EU Presidency

Guest Speaker: Ms Cecilia MALMSTRÖM, Minister for European Union Affairs of SwedenMs Cecilia MALMSTRÖM opened the debate by presenting the priorities of the SwedishPresidency. She stated that the Swedish Government is prepared to take on the challenges ofthe Presidency. She mentioned such major challenges as the economic and financial crisis,including growing unemployment, and the climate change. In her opinion, the EU mustemerge from the economic crisis in a stronger position. The Presidency will take allnecessary steps to mitigate the consequences of the current economic and financial situation,being aware that the unemployment rate is expected to rise. The minister also pointed out thatthe current economic crisis presents a danger for the Internal Market, which was in heropinion not always brought up in the debates. Next, she mentioned the climate change, whichshe thought is very much related to the economic situation. Both challenges are importantand unavoidable. At the same time they open opportunities for the European Union tostrengthen its competitiveness and increase its contribution to a better environment. Theminister also underlined the importance of cooperating with other countries in the world tosucceed in adopting a new climate agreement in Copenhagen in December 2009.Ms MALMSTRÖM also mentioned security, the Stockholm Programme, the Baltic SeaStrategy, the Eastern Partnership and the enlargement as important issues to be dealt withduring the Swedish Presidency. She underlined that the Baltic Sea Strategy was not meant tobe institutionalized; it was more of a method to reinforce cooperation in specific programs.She also welcomed the increased role of national parliaments in the Treaty of Lisbon. Theminister concluded her speech by mentioning the increasing support towards the EU inSweden. She thought that such tendency related to the understanding of the Swedish peoplethat common problems, as the climate change, must have common solutions.The speech was followed by a lively debate. Members asked questions related to thefinancial and economic crisis, for instance the parliamentary responsibility as regard thecrises, more joint projects between new and old Member States, and the importance of asupervisory body for the financial markets. Ms Cecilia MALMSTRÖM answered thatnational parliaments could, and should, have a greater role in EU matters, including findingsolutions for the financial crisis. It was very important that a European mechanism for thefinancial markets will come into place during the autumn.Some Members spoke about the Baltic Sea Strategy, asking to amplify the strategy as a“method”, supporting the strategy for this very dynamic region, and highlighting a need for amore extensive dialog with Russia. Ms Cecilia MALMSTRÖM responded that she hopedthat the Baltic Sea Strategy will be a tool to improve regional cooperation and that its addedvalue will be to link EU initiatives, policy instruments and resources.Concerning the climate change, a number of Members stated the value of cooperation withimportant countries outside the EU and of speaking in one voice, especially concerning thenegotiations on the new agreement for climate change. Some Members also mentioned theenergy security and energy efficiency. The minister answered that in her opinion efficiencygoes hand in hand with security and therefore she sees the efficiency of energy supply as avery important part of energy policy.

A number of Members mentioned the Stockholm Programme, in particular, immigration, andhuman trafficking, and the current and the incoming Lisbon Strategy. The minister referredto a number of seminars on the Lisbon Strategy during the next six months, and stated that inher opinion the Lisbon Strategy improved after the mid-term review in 2005, but not enough.She thought that there still was a lack of ownership concerning the Strategy. The futurenegotiations will show what the Members States expect from the new Strategy. The ministerconcluded by saying that personally she thought that the future Lisbon Strategy should bemore focused on fewer important aspects.

5. A greater voice to parliaments - 5 years' progress in European co-operation

Guest Speaker: Ms Margot WALLSTRÖM, Vice President of the European Commission incharge of Institutional Relations and Communication StrategyMs Margot WALLSTRÖM began her speech by recalling her first address to the COSACChairpersons on 9 February 2005 in Luxembourg where she presented the Commission’snew policy for relations with national parliaments. This address in Stockholm, according tothe Vice President, was therefore "the opportunity to balance the books" and to assess theCommission’s long-term goal of connecting with people and their elected representatives. MsWALLSTRÖM highlighted the remarkable progress achieved in the last five years inrelations between the Commission and national parliaments and stressed the importance ofharmonizing this progress with such upcoming challenges as economic and financial crisisand fight against climate change.According to Ms WALLSTRÖM, the current financial and economic crisis constitutes anopportunity not only to reform the financial system, but also to invest in green economy andto develop a sustainable way to stimulate the economy and create new jobs. MsWALLSTRÖM underlined,inter alia,the importance of achieving the ambitious objective oftransforming Europe into a highly energy-efficient, low-emission economy through the so-called "20-20-20" targets. To this end, the Swedish Presidency will lead the EU innegotiations for reaching a post-2012 climate agreement in Copenhagen. Nationalparliaments have a significant role to play in achieving these results.Turning from political substance to form, Ms WALLSTRÖM singled out two factsillustrating the accomplishments that contributed to improvement of the process of the EUpolicy formulation, as expressed in the Citizens' Agenda in May 2006. First, in less then 3years national parliaments sent to the Commission almost 400 opinions on its proposals.According to the Vice President, this mechanism, started as a modest experiment, nowrepresents a great advantage for the Commission when drafting the proposals and laternegotiating with the Union legislators. Secondly, since May 2006 there had been about 500meetings between Commissioners and national parliaments. These facts may be construed asdemonstrating that national parliaments have "a bit more appetite" for European issues. Nowthey get more and better information at an early stage and effectively have better possibilitiesto debate EU matters and scrutinize their governments. Thus, in the recent years, a greatervoice to parliaments turned to be a greater voice to Europe’s citizens. Ms WALLSTRÖMassured the participants that the dialogue mechanism between the Commission and nationalparliaments would be maintained, as this remains a firm commitment on the part of theCommission. In addition, if the Treaty of Lisbon comes into force, the Commission wouldquickly implement the new Treaty provisions, including the yellow and orange card

procedures. Nevertheless, the Vice-President stressed that it was important to further improveinformation exchange and to promote contacts and openness.Ms WALLSTRÖM recalled the great responsibility of national parliaments as they meet withcitizens, inform them about the European affairs, and effectively anchor the EU matters intheir national political debates and in everyday life.The Vice-President of the Commission finished her speech by recalling that the bigchallenges could only be tackled by working together and making the EU a "solution united".In the ensuing debate, the participants expressed their appreciation for the initiatives of theCommission and the personal efforts of Vice President WALLSTRÖM aimed at enhancingthe role of national parliaments in the EU. The Commission’s political dialogue with nationalparliaments was assessed as positive, very important and useful. However, attention wasdrawn to the quality of the replies of the Commission to the opinions of national parliamentswhich sometimes had not been elaborated in sufficient detail. Moreover, it was appreciatedthat the dialogue allows national parliaments to present their comments and voice theirconcerns not only on the compliance of legislative proposals with the principle ofsubsidiarity, but also on substance of all Commission's initiatives. In this respect, participantsexpressed a need for developing a new EU parliamentary landscape. Several participantshighlighted the problem of low turnout at the European elections last June and called forimmediate action aimed at increasing the participation of citizens in the next elections to theEuropean Parliament. It was underlined that such efforts call for collective action by both theEU Institutions and national parliaments.

MINUTES OF THE COSAC CHAIRPERSONS' MEETING

Stockholm, 6 July 2009

AGENDA:

1. Opening session

2. Adoption of the agenda

3. COSAC procedural questions and miscellaneous matters

4. Priorities and challenges of the Swedish EU Presidency,

5. A greater voice to parliaments - 5 years' progress in European co-operation,

PROCEEDINGS:

1. Opening session

2. Adoption of the agenda

3. COSAC procedural questions and miscellaneous matters

4. Priorities and challenges of the Swedish EU Presidency

5. A greater voice to parliaments - 5 years' progress in European co-operation