Europaudvalget 2010-11 (1. samling)
EUU Alm.del Bilag 450
Offentligt
MINUTES OF THE MEETING OF THE PRESIDENTIAL TROIKA OF COSAC
Budapest, 29 May 2011
PRESENT AT THE MEETING:IN THE CHAIR: Mr Richárd HÖRCSIK (Országgyűlés, Hungary)Mr Lajos MILE (Országgyűlés, Hungary), Mr Stanisław RAKOCZY (Sejm, Poland), MrAndrzej GAŁAŻEWSKI (Sejm, Poland), Mr Edward SIARKA (Sejm, Poland), Mr EdmundWITTBRODT (Senat, Poland), Mr Miguel Ángel MARTÍNEZ MARTÍNEZ (EuropeanParliament), Mr Carlo CASINI (European Parliament)
AGENDA:
1. Adoption of the agenda for the meeting of the Presidential Troika of COSAC
2. Approval of the draft programme of the XLV COSAC
3. Fifteenth Bi-annual Report of COSAC
4. Amendments to the Rules of Procedure of COSAC
5. Draft Contribution and Conclusions of the XLV COSAC
6. Letters received by the Presidency
7. Any other business
1. Adoption of the agenda of the meeting of the Presidential Troika of COSAC
The meeting was chaired by Mr Richárd HÖRCSIK, Chairman of the Committee onEuropean Affairs of the HungarianOrszággyűlés,who welcomed the Members of thePresidential Troika of COSAC (hereinafter referred to as "the Troika") and expressed thehope that the meeting would be fruitful. He presented the draft agenda of the meeting of theTroika, which was adopted unanimously.2. Approval of the draft programme of the XLV COSAC
Mr Richárd HÖRCSIK informed the Troika that Mr André FLAHAUT, Speaker of theBelgianChambre des représentants,cancelled his participation on the planned briefingconcerning the outcome of the Conference of Speakers of the Parliaments of the EuropeanUnion (hereinafter referred to as "the Speakers' Conference") which took place in Brussels on4-5 April 2011. The Chairman informed the participants of the meeting that Mr AndréFLAHAUT would not come to Budapest and that there was no one to replace him on thispoint of the agenda of the XLV COSAC meeting. Mr Richárd HÖRCSIK suggested that he1
himself would give a brief summary on the outcome of the Speakers' Conference and wouldthen open the debate on the subject as foreseen in the draft programme.Mr Miguel Ángel MARTÍNEZ MARTÍNEZ noted that there was a problem concerningdifferences between the French and English versions of the Presidency Conclusions of theSpeakers' Conference. The French text, according to Mr MARTÍNEZ MARTÍNEZ, statedthat the meeting was unable to find a consensus on the establishment of an interparliamentaryconference for common foreign and security policy and common security and defence policy,while the English text stipulated that Speakers had not reached an agreement on all aspects ofthe establishment of such a conference. Mr MARTÍNEZ MARTÍNEZ underlined that,according to his understanding, there was no consensus on the establishment of that body.Mr Richárd HÖRCSIK informed that the Belgian Presidency adjusted the two languageversions which had been available on the IPEX website. The Chairman reassured MrMARTÍNEZ MARTÍNEZ that the next day he would emphasize that there had been nooverall consensus on this topic.Mr Stanisław RAKOCZY mentioned that he had participated in the Speakers' Conference. Heremembered well that there had been some intention to set up the aforementioned conference,but finally no consensus was reached. Speakers in Brussels agreed that they would do theirbest to obtain consensus during the Polish Presidency. Mr Stanisław RAKOCZY added thatduring the COSAC debate the following day, the participants' opinions could contribute to thework done in the framework of the Speakers' Conference in order to reach an agreement onthe parliamentary scrutiny of common foreign and security policy and common security anddefence policy.Mr Richárd HÖRCSIK noted that the COSAC debate was to facilitate the efforts of the PolishPresidency of the Speakers' Conference to come closer to the final agreement.Mr Edmund WITTBRODT confirmed the usefulness of the upcoming COSAC debate.Next Mr Richárd HÖRCSIK informed about a letter of Mr William CASH, Chairman of theEuropean Scrutiny Committee of the UKHouse of Commons,in which Mr CASH suggestedplacing a debate on the Proposal for a Council directive on a Common ConsolidatedCorporate Tax Base (CCCTB), COM(2011) 121 on the agenda of the XLV COSAC meeting.Mr Richárd HÖRCSIK asked whether it was acceptable to the Troika to include this in point 2of the agenda on economic governance, the Europe 2020 Strategy and the European Semester.Mr Richárd HÖRCSIK confirmed that Prime Minister Mr Viktor ORBÁN would report onthe State of play of the Hungarian Presidency of the Council of the EU.Finally, Mr Richárd HÖRCSIK referred to the first ever debate on the State of the Unionwithin the framework of COSAC and thanked Mr Carlo CASINI for the idea to include thispoint in the agenda.With these amendments the draft programme of the XLV COSAC was approved.
3. Fifteenth Bi-annual Report of COSAC
Mr Richárd HÖRCSIK was pleased that almost all national Parliaments (except the IrishHouses of the Oireachtasdue to recent general elections) and the European Parliament had2sent their replies to the questionnaire for the 15th Bi-annual Report. He was convinced thatthis report would add value to the debate of COSAC.
4. Amendments to the Rules of Procedure of COSAC
Mr Richárd HÖRCSIK firstly reminded that during this COSAC meeting the HungarianPresidency would like to debate and find a consensus only on technical amendments to theRules of Procedure of COSAC. Secondly, he presented the procedure. The Presidency sent itsfirst proposal on 2 May 2011, requesting comments of COSAC delegations until 15 May2011. After this deadline, on 26 May 2011, a consolidated version of the Rules of Procedurewas sent to all Parliaments. However, some of the tabled suggestions included not onlytechnical but also substantive amendments to the Rules of Procedure. All proposals wereforwarded to the participants of COSAC and published on the COSAC website. TheChairman proposed that the Budapest COSAC would consider the consolidated version withexclusively technical amendments and that the remaining amendments would be dealt with bythe incoming Polish Presidency of COSAC.Mr Miguel Ángel MARTÍNEZ MARTÍNEZ expressed his gratitude for the efforts of theHungarian Presidency as it was not a simple task to distinguish between technical andpolitical amendments. The Vice-President then stated that the work done by the HungarianPresidency was very much acceptable. Indeed, the consolidated version represented aconsensus and the European Parliament was quite satisfied with it.Mr Edmund WITTBRODT supported the proposal to adopt the consolidated text in Budapestand emphasized the need to continue the debate on further amendments during the PolishPresidency.Mr Andrzej GAŁAŻEWSKI agreed that only the amendments included in the consolidatedversion should be discussed, while other substantive amendments, including those of theDanishFolketing,were to be considered at a later date, during the Polish Presidency.Mr Richárd HÖRCSIK replied that the consolidated version contained technical amendmentstabled by various Parliaments and that the remaining amendments were contained in aseparate table.The Troika agreed with the procedure proposed by the Presidency.5. Draft Contribution and Conclusions of the XLV COSAC
Mr Richárd HÖRCSIK reminded that on 17 May 2011 the Hungarian Presidency sent a drafttext of the Contribution and Conclusions of the XLV COSAC to COSAC delegations, invitingthem to table amendments to the two drafts until 24 May 2011. On 26 May 2011, thePresidency informed COSAC delegations about the received amendments which it hadgrouped in a table presented in English and French. Additional proposals to amend the draftContribution and Conclusions of the XLV COSAC were received after the 24 May 2011deadline.The Chairman then asked the participants of the Troika meeting to share their comments andamendments.3Mr Miguel Ángel MARTÍNEZ MARTÍNEZ informed that the draft Contribution andConclusions as proposed by the Hungarian Presidency were in general acceptable to theEuropean Parliament. In order to save time, he advised against treating every amendmentseparately.Mr Richárd HÖRCSIK informed that the Hungarian Presidency would prepare an updateddraft of the Contribution and Conclusions following the Chairpersons' meeting. He noted thatthe amendments of the PolishSejmand the European Parliament were acceptable to theHungarian Presidency. Moreover, he stated that every amendment would have to beconsidered separately.Mr Edmund WITTBRODT noted that some amendments were contradictory and enquiredwhether the Troika would somehow highlight its preferences.Mr Richárd HÖRCSIK replied that the amendments would be debated and voted at theChairpersons' meeting the following day.
6. Letters received by the Presidency
Mr Richárd HÖRCSIK informed that the Hungarian Presidency had received a number ofletters and that all of them were available on the COSAC website. The Chairman suggestednot to discuss the letters dealing with the amendments to the Rules of Procedure of COSAC,as they already had already been considered in point 4. He then informed the Troika about thefollowing letters:oLetter from Ms Ine M. ERIKSEN SØREIDE, Chair of the EuropeanConsultative Committee of the NorwegianStortinget,who asked forparticipation in COSAC as an observer - the Troika reiterated its support forthe request;oLetter from Mr William CASH, Chairman of the European ScrutinyCommittee of the UKHouse of Commons,on adding a point on CCCTB on theagenda of the XLV COSAC - see point 2;oLetter from the Chairmen of the PolishSejmandSenaton the conclusions ofthe meeting of the representatives of the Estonian, Latvian, Lithuanian andPolish Parliaments on 17-18 April 2011 in Warsaw - the Troika took note ofthe letter;oLetter from the Chairmen of the Committees on European Affairs of the CzechPoslanecká sněmovnaandSenátas well as the SlovakNárodná radaon thepractical aspects on the involvement of national Parliaments in the simplifiedmethod of amendments to the primary law of the EU - Mr Richárd HÖRCSIKsuggested that this subject would be dealt with in the future in the frameworkof COSAC;oLetter from Ms Rossana BOLDI, Chairwoman of the Committee on EUPolicies of the ItalianSenato della Repubblica,on delegated acts. Mr RichárdHÖRCSIK asked the Polish colleagues whether they would deal with thissubject during the Polish Presidency. Mr Stanisław RAKOCZY and Mr4
Edmund WITTBRODT agreed as the Polish Presidency wanted to focus indetail on the functioning of the Treaty of Lisbon.
7. Any other business
Mr Richárd HÖRCSIK informed that the mandate of the Permanent Member of the COSACSecretariat and the co-financing of the Permanent Member and the costs of running the officeand website of COSAC expire at the end of 2011. The Chairman appreciated the quickresponse from national Parliaments which resulted in 35 letters of intent to participate in theco-financing for 2012-2013 received by the Presidency. The Polish Presidency will see to itthat a new Permanent Member of the COSAC Secretariat for 2012-2013 is appointed.5
