MINUTES OF THE MEETING OF THE PRESIDENTIAL TROIKA OF COSAC
Dublin, Ireland, 23 June 2013
PRESENT AT THE MEETING
CHAIR: Mr Dominic HANNIGAN T.D. (DáilÉireann,Ireland).Mr Paschal DONOHOE T.D. (DáilÉireann,Ireland), Mr Averof NEOFYTOU (Vouliton Antiprosopon,Cyprus), Ms Eva KJER HANSEN (Folketinget, Denmark), MrGediminas KIRKILAS and Mr PetrasAUŠTREVIČIUS(Seimas, Lithuania), MrMiguel Ángel MARTÍNEZ MARTÍNEZ and Mr Carlo CASINI (European Parliament).AGENDA
1. Adoption of the agenda of the Meeting of the Presidential Troika of COSAC
2. Approval of the draft programme of the XLIX COSAC
3. Presentation of the 19th Bi-annual Report of COSAC
4. Debate on the draft Contribution and Conclusions of the XLIX COSAC
5. Letters received by the Presidency
6. Any other business
PROCEEDINGS
1. Adoption of the agenda of the Meeting of the Presidential Troika of COSAC.
The meeting was chaired by Mr Dominic HANNIGAN, Chairman of the JointCommittee on European Union Affairs, IrishHouses of the Oireachtas,who welcomedthe delegations of the Presidential Troika of COSAC (hereinafter referred to as "theTroika").In the absence of any objection, the agenda of the meeting of the Troika was adoptedwithout amendment.2. Approval of the draft programme of the XLVIII COSAC
Mr HANNIGAN gave a brief outline of the plenary agenda. He noted with regret thatJacques Delors and Viviane Reding had cancelled their appearances at the COSACmeeting at short notice. Ms Reding had sent instead a video of her speech and theChairman asked if the Troika had any objection to this being played during the COSACmeeting. In the absence of any objection, the draft programme of the meeting of theXLIX COSAC was adopted without amendment.3. Presentation of the 19th Bi-annual Report of COSAC
Mr HANNIGAN invited the Permanent Member of the COSAC Secretariat, Ms LibbyKURIEN, to give a short presentation of the 19th Bi-annual Report of COSAC.Ms KURIEN presented the report, providing details on its four chapters tackling 1) agenuine Economic and Monetary Union, 2) the European Semester 2013, 3) EuropeanUnion Enlargement, and 4) Subsidiarity.4. Debate on the draft Contribution and Conclusions of the XLIX COSAC
Mr HANNIGAN said that the Presidency had received a number of amendments someof which had been incorporated into the second draft of the Contribution andConclusions. Further amendments would be accepted up until lunchtime the followingday. He wished to flag the amendment received from the EP which proposed to add anadditional paragraph to the Contribution. He said that the amendment undermined thecollective spirit of the Contribution and the ability of COSAC to speak with one voice.Mr MARTÍNEZ MARTÍNEZ said that the European Parliament could not associateitself with the desiderata for the future role of national Parliaments as included in thedraft Contribution. However, instead of producing 15 different amendments contestingtheir point of view, the European Parliament had chosen to table one amendment toexpress the European Parliament's view that some parts of the Contribution might gobeyond the Treaties. If the amendment was not admissible or was voted down the EPintended to abstain from the vote on the Contribution and wished to see a statement ofits views appear in the minutes. Mr NEOFYTOU said that the suggestions of MrMARTÍNEZ MARTÍNEZ could be accommodated and the Cyprus delegation couldaccept the European Parliament's proposals. Mr HANNIGAN suggested taking thispoint away from this meeting and proposing a compromise before the Chairpersons'meeting the following day.5. Letters received by the Presidency
Mr HANNIGAN informed the members of the Troika about three letters that thePresidency had received:A letter from the DutchEerste Kamerregarding the clash between the dates of theXLIX COSAC and the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE)and asked that this be avoided in future.A letter from the PolishSejmrequesting the use of more "citizen-friendly" languagein the COSAC Contribution.A letter from the CzechPolanecká snĕmovnaregarding the meeting of theparliamentary EU Affairs Committees of the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Poland andHungary.6. Any other business
Mr HANNIGAN announced that letters of intent for the co-financing agreement for thePermanent Member of the COSAC Secretariat had been received from 22 Parliaments.The next day he would ask for the remaining letters to be sent as soon as possible. Theterm of the current Permanent Member would expire at the end of 2012 and she wouldnot be seeking re-appointment. The next Permanent Member would be appointed at theL COSAC in Vilnius. Mr HANNIGAN thanked Ms KURIEN and wished her well inthe future.Mr MARTÍNEZ MARTÍNEZ noted that the Secretariat was hosted in the EP premises.He asked for further details of the timescale for the appointment of the new PermanentMember, saying that it was important to have transparency throughout the process. Hewas informed that the Lithuanian Presidency would call for candidates at the COSACChairpersons' meeting in Vilnius in July and would ask for nominations by mid-September, leaving time to set out procedures for the appointment before the L COSACin October.
