Europaudvalget 2010-11 (1. samling)
EUU Alm.del Bilag 76
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MINUTES OF THE MEETING OF THE PRESIDENTIAL TROIKA OF COSACChambre des représentantsof the Federal Parliament of BelgiumBrussels, 24 October 2010PRESENT AT THE MEETING:CHAIR: Mr Philippe MAHOUX (theSénat,Belgium) and Mr Herman DE CROO (theChambredes représentants,Belgium)Mr Miguel ARIAS CAÑETE (theCortes Generales,Spain), Mr Lajos MILE (theOrszággyűlés,Hungary), Mr Miguel Ángel MARTÍNEZ MARTÍNEZ (the European Parliament) and Mr CarloCASINI (the European Parliament)AGENDA:1. Adoption of the agendas for the Presidential Troika meeting and for the XLIV COSACmeeting2. Fourteenth Bi-annual Report3. Draft Contribution and Conclusions of the XLIV COSAC4. Letters received by the Presidency5. Any other business
PROCEEDINGS:1. Adoption of the agendas for the Presidential Troika meeting and for the XLIV COSACmeetingThe meeting was chaired by Mr Philippe MAHOUX, Co-Chairman of the Federal AdvisoryCommittee for European Affairs of the Belgian Parliament, and Mr Herman DE CROO, Memberof Parliament and a former Speaker of the BelgianChambre des représentants.Both welcomedthe Members of the Presidential Troika and presented the draft agendas for the meeting of thePresidential Troika of COSAC and for the XLIV COSAC meeting.The agendas of the meeting of the Presidential Troika of COSAC and of the XLIV COSACmeeting were unanimously approved.2. Fourteenth Bi-annual ReportMr DE CROO submitted the Fourteenth Bi-annual Report drafted by the COSAC Secretariat tothe attention of the Presidential Troika.Mr Miguel Ángel MARTÍNEZ MARTÍNEZ, Vice-President of the European Parliament, wasdelighted that all 41 Chambers/Parliaments had replied to the questionnaire for the FourteenthBi-annual Report. He stressed that this constituted a new fact reflecting the political interest of1
the report. After this, he congratulated and thanked the COSAC Secretariat for the work done onthis report.The Presidential Troika endorsed the Fourteenth Bi-annual Report.3. Draft Contribution and Conclusions of the XLIV COSACMr MARTÍNEZ MARTÍNEZ commented on two suggested amendments of the EuropeanParliament on the draft text of the Conclusions. First, regarding paragraph 2 of the draft, theEuropean Parliament suggested that COSAC focused on the exchange of information and bestpractice, rather than on coordinated subsidiarity checks. Second, Mr MARTÍNEZ MARTÍNEZstated that the European Parliament felt embarrassed as a result of the questioning of the currentlanguage regime of COSAC in paragraph 6 of the draft Conclusions. He stressed that such ameasure would be quite unacceptable for the European Parliament. Indeed, changing thelanguage regime of COSAC would mean backtracking on a fundamental principle of democracyitself. Hence, not even the cost of the current language regime, which, by the way, must not beexaggerated, may constitute an argument to question it. Therefore, the European Parliamentsuggested deleting paragraph 6 of the draft Conclusions.Mr Miguel ARIAS CAÑETE supported the European Parliament. Moreover, he was of theopinion that COSAC had more important things to do than waging a battle over the languageregime.Mr Herman DE CROO suggested leaving this matter for the Chairpersons debate the followingday or for COSAC itself to take into consideration.As paragraph 4 of the draft Conclusions called on the Hungarian Presidency to open a debate onCOSAC’s Rules of Procedure, Mr Lajos MILE, Vice Chairman of the Committee on EuropeanAffairs of the HungarianOrszággyűlés,wanted to know the specific time table for this initiative.Mr DE CROO replied that, if the Hungarian Presidency agreed to have this debate during itsCOSAC meeting, this issue ought to be put on the agenda of the COSAC Chairpersons’ meetingof 10 and 11 February 2011 and that, of course, the ensuing procedure would have to be inaccordance with COSAC’s Rules of Procedure.4. Letters received by the PresidencyMr Herman DE CROO informed the Presidential Troika about the letters received by theBelgian Presidency of COSAC. First, he informed about the letter of 30 June 2010 in which MrVitalino CANAS, Chairman of the European Affairs Committee of the PortugueseAssembleiada República,brought forward a number of suggestions regarding establishing of precise ruleson adopting COSAC Contribution and Conclusions as well as regarding the functioning of theconference. Mr Miguel Ángel MARTÍNEZ MARTÍNEZ stated that the European Parliamentwould endorse the idea of establishing anad hocworking group that would draft the necessaryproposals.
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Mr DE CROO also presented the replies from Mr Maroš ŠEFČOVIČ, Vice-President of theEuropean Commission, and from Mr Jerzy BUZEK, President of the European Parliament, onthe Contribution of XLIII COSAC, as well as the letters from Mr Marko MIHKELSON,Chairman of the European Union Affairs Committee of the EstonianRiigikogu,and from theChairpersons of the Standing Committees on European Affairs of the DutchEersteandTweedeKamer.The Presidential Troika took note of the above-mentioned letters.Mr Herman DE CROO informed the Presidential Troika of another letter from Mr CANASdated 21 September 2010 on the definition of “legislative act in the Treaty of Lisbon”. Mr DECROO stressed its particular importance regarding the consequences of this definition on thescope of the involvement of national Parliaments in the assessment of the principle ofsubsidiarity.Regarding the letter received from Mr Česlovas Vytautas STANKEVIČIUS, Deputy Speaker ofthe LithuanianSeimasand Chairman of its Committee on European Affairs, Mr DE CROOreferred to the request of the President of the Assembly of Western European Union (henceforth“WEU”) as well as to the debate on the common foreign and security policy and the commonsecurity and defense policy during the XLIV COSAC meeting.Finally, Mr Herman DE CROO presented the letter received from Mr Erkki TUOMIOJA,Chairman of the Grand Committee of the FinnishEduskunta,on the proposed FrameworkAgreement between the European Parliament and the Commission. After an exchange ofstandpoints, it was decided to refer the debate on this matter to the Chairpersons debate thefollowing day and the XLIV COSAC meeting.5. Any other businessThe request of the President of the Assembly of WEUMr MAHOUX informed the Presidential Troika of the request from Mr Robert WALTER,President of the Assembly of WEU, to address the XLIV COSAC meeting.Mr Miguel Ángel MARTÍNEZ MARTÍNEZ informed that he would not oppose this request aslong as the intervention would not exceed three minutes. Mr Miguel ARIAS CAÑETE was ofthe opinion that an affirmative reply was not possible under the current Rules of Procedure ofCOSAC and that, moreover, this would set a precedent allowing anybody to ask for the floorduring a COSAC meeting. Mr MILE stated that the incoming Hungarian Presidency did notobject to this request. Mr MAHOUX said that - without this being seen as a precedent - he wasready to consider Mr WALTER’s intervention as a second expert introduction to the item onparliamentary control of the common foreign and security policy and the common security anddefense policy. Mr ARIAS CAÑETE suggested giving the floor to the representative of theWEU after the intervention of Prof. Dr. WOUTERS for not more than five minutes.
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The Presidential Troika agreed to give the floor to President WALTER after the intervention ofProf. Dr. WOUTERS for not more than five minutes without this being considered as aprecedent.Suggestions of the Presidential Troika to the incoming Hungarian PresidencyMr Herman DE CROO suggested organizing a debate on Comitology (delegated acts). MrCASINI expressed the wish to have a debate on the election procedures to the EuropeanParliament, on the one hand, and on the citizens’ initiative, on the other.Mr MILE replied that the Hungarian Presidency program had not been decided yet but that theincoming Presidency would be happy to take the above-mentioned suggestions intoconsideration.
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