EUU, Alm.del - 2015-16 - Bilag 374: Referat fra Trojka-møde og COSAC-formandsmøde i Haag

Europaudvalget 2015-16
EUU Alm.del Bilag 374
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MINUTES OF THE MEETING OF THE PRESIDENTIAL TROIKA OF COSAC

The Hague, the Netherlands, 7 February 2016

PRESENT AT THE MEETING

CO-CHAIRS: Mr Tuur ELZINGA, Chair of the Committee for European Affairs, Dutch

Eerste

Kamer,

Mr Malik AZMANI, Chair of Committee for European Affairs, Dutch

Tweede Kamer.

Mr Marc ANGEL, Chair of the Committee on Foreign and European Affairs, Defence, Cooperation

and Immigration, Luxembourg

Chambre des Députés,

Mr Andrej KOLESIK, Vice-Chair of the

Committee on European Affairs, Slovak

Národná rada;

and Mr Ramón Luis VALCÁRCEL SISO,

Vice-President, Ms Danuta HÜBNER, Chair of the Committee on Constitutional Affairs, 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 meeting of the Chairpersons of COSAC

3. Debate on the draft programme of the LV COSAC

4. Approval of the outline of the 25th Bi-annual Report of 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

Mr Tuur ELZINGA welcomed, also on behalf of Mr Malik AZMANI, the delegations of the

Presidential Troika of COSAC (hereinafter referred to as "the Troika"), especially the Slovak

delegation participating for the first time in a Troika meeting.

In the absence of any objection, the agenda of the meeting of the Troika was adopted without

amendment.

2. Approval of the draft programme of the meeting of the Chairpersons of COSAC

Mr ELZINGA informed the Troika members about the use during the meeting of the Chairpersons

of COSAC of innovative tools, i.e. of an application, where all necessary documents were to be

found, underlining that innovation was one of the objectives of the parliamentary meetings held

under the Dutch Presidency of the Council of the EU.

He then outlined the two sessions that would take place the following day. The first one would

tackle the organisation and cooperation of parliamentary scrutiny on the basis of a case study

focusing on EUROPOL and would be moderated by Mr Tom DE BRUIJN, former Ambassador of

the Netherlands to the EU from 2003 to 2011. Two members of national Parliaments, Ms Danielle

AUROI, French

Assemblée nationale,

and Mr Veli YÜKSEL, Belgian

Chambre des représentants,

EUU, Alm.del - 2015-16 - Bilag 374: Referat fra Trojka-møde og COSAC-formandsmøde i Haag

had been invited to contribute as panel members. The second one would focus on the European

priorities for 2016 and beyond. Two speakers had been invited; Ms Kristalina GEORGIEVA, Vice-

President of the European Commission for Budget and Human Resources, would address the

Commission Work Programme for 2016 and Mr Bert KOENDERS, Minister of Foreign Affairs of

the Netherlands, would address the priorities of the Dutch Presidency for 2016.

The draft programme of the meeting of the Chairpersons of COSAC was approved without

amendment.

3. Debate on the draft programme of the LV COSAC

Mr ELZINGA informed the Troika members that an invitation had already been extended to Mr

Mark RUTTE, Prime Minister of the Netherlands, who would give an overview of the work

accomplished by the Dutch Presidency. He then presented the draft programme of the LV COSAC

which included the following sessions: 1. Parliamentary scrutiny: an exchange of best practices

followed by a session on the state of play in relation to the instruments at the disposal of national

Parliaments ("yellow" and "green" cards); 2. The role of Parliaments in protecting the rule of law

within the EU; 3. Exchange of best practices and experiences in parliamentary diplomacy; 4.

European Court of Auditors; 5. Migration. He underlined the intention of the Presidency to make

good use of the findings of the Bi-annual Report of COSAC during the plenary meeting.

On the first topic, the debate was intended to focus on practical constraints, possibilities and tools

for effective scrutiny and for cooperation among national Parliaments and between national

Parliaments and the European Parliament. On the second topic, the debate would concentrate on the

role, methods, procedures and focus of national Parliaments and the European Parliament in dealing

with the rule of law domestically, in other EU Member States, candidate countries, the EU at large

and third countries. Addressing specific rule of law or human rights issues in specific countries was

not intended. An expert panel with representatives from, for example, the Venice Commission, the

FRA, a national Parliament and the European Parliament was envisaged. On the third topic, a panel

of members with experience, such as from the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly, the European

Parliament and a national Parliament was envisaged. On the fourth topic, it was intended to invite

representatives of the European Court of Auditors and to discuss the use that national Parliaments

and the European Parliament made of the reports of the Court. The fifth topic featured as a priority

in the Presidency’s

agenda and the intention was to incorporate it in several parliamentary meetings

during the coming months.

Ms HÜBNER asked whether the topic of energy union would be included in the programme of the

LV COSAC meeting and furthermore asked for clarification regarding the two optional sub-

sessions under session I on parliamentary scrutiny, an exchange of best practice, specifically on

combining parliamentary information for scrutiny and effective cooperation among Parliaments and

scrutiny beyond Ministerial meetings. On the session regarding the rule of law, she stressed that in

some cases national Parliaments acted together with the governments in violating the rule of law,

and for that reason neither the national Parliaments nor the European Parliament should be seen

necessarily as being on the good side as far as the respect of the rule of law was concerned. She

further added that, in her view, keeping both topics on the European Court of Auditors and

Migration would not allow sufficient time for discussion of migration. She mentioned that the

European Parliament was very willing to provide speakers for the sessions during the LV COSAC

meeting. Finally, she warned about the possibility of having to accommodate a discussion on the

"yellow" and "green" cards as the LV COSAC meeting would be preceding the possible UK

referendum.

EUU, Alm.del - 2015-16 - Bilag 374: Referat fra Trojka-møde og COSAC-formandsmøde i Haag

Mr ANGEL mentioned the work and the conclusions of the working group under the Luxembourg

Presidency on strengthening the political dialogue by introducing a "green card" and by improving

the "yellow card" procedure, requesting information as to whether the Dutch Presidency intended to

conclude or wrap up the discussion. He agreed with Ms HÜBNER on the point about allowing

enough time for discussing migration.

On energy union, the Chair responded that the topic of energy union would not be included in the

programme of the LV COSAC noting that it would be discussed during the interparliamentary

meeting of the Chairpersons on Energy, Innovation and Circular Economy under the Dutch

Presidency in April 2016. On the sub-sessions of session I, he informed that a final decision on how

to organise the session had not been taken yet. On the rule of law, he said that the Presidency could

discuss about speakers from the European Parliament, and added that the focus would be on how

the national Parliaments and the European Parliament dealt with the topic; the discussion would be

open-ended. On migration, he underlined the importance of holding such a discussion also in the

context of COSAC and expressed the intention of the Presidency to hear from experts on the topic.

On the possible UK referendum, he said that such a discussion was not foreseen, but that the

possibility of a side event or a discussion on the programme would be explored, if necessary. On the

conclusions of the working group in Luxembourg, he pointed to the Parliaments' limited responses

and lack of consensus, proposing the addition of a few relevant questions in the questionnaire for

the 25th Bi-annual Report of COSAC. Regarding the "yellow card", the Presidency was in

communication with the cabinet of Mr Frans TIMMERMANS, First Vice-President of the

European Commission for Better Regulation, Interinstitutional Relations, the Rule of Law and the

Charter of Fundamental Rights.

4. Approval of the outline of the 25th Bi-annual Report of COSAC

Mr ELZINGA expressed the

Presidency’s intention

to make good use of the 25th Bi-annual Report

of COSAC in preparing the LV COSAC meeting pointing out that the topics of the Report were

linked to the topics of the meeting. He then briefly presented the outline of the 25th Bi-annual

Report. He reported that the first chapter would tackle national scrutiny and interparliamentary

cooperation; the second would deal with the rule of law in the EU; finally, the third would deal with

parliamentary diplomacy in the framework of the European Neighbourhood Policy. The Chair

announced that the questionnaire for the 25th Bi-annual Report would be circulated on 29 February

2016 and that the deadline for receiving replies would be set on 29 March 2016.

The outline of the 25th Bi-annual Report of COSAC was approved without amendment.

5. Letters received by the Presidency

The Chair referred to the following letters:



Letters from Ms Anniken HUITFELD, Chair of the Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs

and Defence of the Norwegian

Storting,

from Dr Kathy RIKLIN, National Councillor/

President of the EFTA/EU Delegation of the Swiss

Assemblée fédérale,

as well as from Mr

Levan BERDZENISHVILI, Chair of the Committee on European Integration of the

Parliament of Georgia, regarding participation at COSAC. After consultation with the

Troika, letters of invitation had been sent to these Parliaments.



A letter from Ms Izabela KLOC, Chair of the EU Affairs Committee, Polish

Sejm,

regarding

the participation of a third member in the meeting of the Chairpersons of COSAC. The

EUU, Alm.del - 2015-16 - Bilag 374: Referat fra Trojka-møde og COSAC-formandsmøde i Haag



Chair underlined that the Presidency had exceptionally authorised the

ad hoc

participation of

a third member.

A letter from Mr Jean BIZET, Chair of the Committee on European Affairs, French

Sénat,

with a request to include a topic on energy union on the programme of the LV COSAC

meeting.

The reply from the European Commission to the Contribution of the LIV COSAC meeting

accompanied by a letter from Vice-President Mr Frans TIMMERMANS, for Better

Regulation, Interinstitutional Relations, the Rule of Law and the Charter of Fundamental

Rights. The Chair said that it would be taken into account when finalising the programme of

the LV COSAC meeting.

A letter from

Ms Lolita ČIGĀNE, Chair of the European Affairs Committee, Latvian

Saeima,

regarding a statement adopted by the European Affairs Committee of the Latvian

Saeima

on the gas pipeline project Nord Stream II.

A letter from Mr Gediminas KIRKILAS, Chair of the Committee on European Affairs,

Lithuanian

Seimas,

regarding the adoption of a joint statement by the Chairs of the

Committees on European Affairs of the national Parliaments of Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania

and Poland.

In relation to the Icelandic

Alþingi,

the Chair suggested that, as Iceland was no longer a candidate

country, its Parliament should not be automatically invited to upcoming COSAC meetings anymore.

In conformity with the Rules of Procedure of COSAC, future Presidencies may invite its members

upon the Parliament's request, after consulting the Presidential Troika. He proposed informing the

Icelandic delegation about the proposed change. The proposal was accepted by the Troika members.

In addition, Mr ELZINGA mentioned a last minute request from the Parliament of Ukraine

regarding participation in the meeting of the Chairpersons of COSAC. After consultation with the

Troika, a letter of invitation had been sent. In response to comments by Mr ANGEL and Ms

HÜBNER regarding balance in the political representation of these delegations in COSAC, Mr

ELZINGA clarified that the Rules of Procedure of COSAC did not regulate the issue in question.

In relation to the letter from Mr BIZET, the Chair reiterated the position of the Presidency that the

topic of energy union would not be included in the programme of the LV COSAC. Mr KOLESIK

informed the participants that the topic in question would be tackled in COSAC under the Slovak

Presidency.

Finally, Mr ELZINGA referred to a letter addressed to Mr Rob WAINRIGHT, Director of

EUROPOL, inviting him to participate as observer to the meeting of the Chairpersons of the

following day.

6. Any other business

Ms HÜBNER referred to the proposal for a Council decision adopting the provisions amending the

Act concerning the election of the members of the European Parliament by direct universal

suffrage, and also to the European Parliament's resolution adopted in November 2015, to be

examined in the Council by the end of March 2016. She explained that the proposal required

unanimity in the Council and ratification by the Member States, and proposed to have a presentation

of the topic either during the LV COSAC meeting in June or later during the Slovak Presidency.

Mr ELZINGA said that Ms HÜBNER would be given the floor the following day to briefly present

her proposal to hold such a discussion.