Committees in the European Parliament
The committees for the new parliamentary term are constituted in July.
HS – 07/2024
The 4th
July was the internal deadline for the formation of political groups in the
European Parliament. This is not a hard deadline; new formations and changes
are possible at any time. However, important posts such as the 14
Vice-Presidents and Presidents of the European Parliament as well as the
committee chairs will be distributed based on the size that the political
groups have communicated by this date. A committee chair brings power with it –
the chairs set the agenda and play a leading role in the trialogues, i.e. the
negotiations with the other European institutions as part of the legislative
process.
Allocation of committee chairs
Following
a provisional agreement, the parliamentary groups distributed the most
important offices between them on 9th July, one week before the constituent
meeting of the new parliament. With regard to the chairs of the committees, the
EPP was allocated a total of seven (full and sub-) committees under the D'Hondt
procedure and the S&D five. The liberal Renew group and the right-wing
conservative ECR drew three committees; the Greens, the Left and the new
far-right group "Patriots for Europe" drew two each. However, it can
be assumed that the chairmanships of the latter will be distributed among other
groups due to the maintenance of the so-called "cordon sanitaire".
Role of the Conference of Presidents
At its
meeting on 11th July, the Conference of Presidents – the President of
Parliament and the leaders of the political groups – sets the agenda for the
constituent sitting of Parliament from 16th to 19th July and formally adopts
the allocation of seats in the new Parliament. It also presents a proposal for
the committees and their numerical composition in the coming 10th parliamentary
term. The plenary will vote on this proposal on 17th July, marking the start of
the new legislative period. On 18th July, the parliamentary groups nominate the
members of the committees and on 19th July, the plenary votes on the names of
the members.
Constitution of the committees
The
committees are formed in the week following the plenary session. A committee is
deemed to be constituted when the members have elected the chair and the first vice
chair. Three further vice chairs can also be elected at a later date. The
positions are usually allocated among the various groups. In terms of committee
chairs, the aim of the parliamentary administration is for a woman to be either
chair or deputy chair of each committee. However, it is unclear whether this
wish can be honoured.
First meeting of the coordinators
The
coordinators, who are elected by the parliamentary groups for each committee,
are due to meet for the first time on 24th July. They have an important role to
play as they coordinate their group's position on dossiers dealt with in each committee,
lead the political work of their respective group members and organise the
committee's work together with the committee chairs. After the subsequent
summer break, the committees will meet again from 2 September.