The European Parliament wants to promptly finalise negotiations with the European Commission.

Even before the 2024 European elections, the European Parliament decided to reform its Rules of Procedure in order to strengthen its institutional role and ability to act (see News 04/2024). While the new rules officially came into force at the start of the new legislative period in July 2024, the changes to interinstitutional cooperation with the European Commission contained therein can only be implemented if the current framework agreement from 2010 between the European Parliament and the Commission is also renegotiated.

Strengthening the institutional role of the European Parliament

One focus of the European Parliament is on strengthening its role in the legislative process. Against this backdrop, the revised Rules of Procedure provide for a new mechanism that makes the European Commission and the Member States meeting in the Council of the European Union (EU) more accountable. This applies with regard to Article 122 Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU), according to which the European Commission can submit proposals for decisions to the Council to deal with serious difficulties in the Member States, for example in the event of natural disasters or an interruption in the supply of certain goods.

Increased use of the contingency article by the Commission

Although this Article 122 TFEU was originally intended to be applied only in certain exceptional situations, the European Commission is increasingly citing it. In recent years, the Commission and Council have increasingly adopted measures on this basis, such as joint vaccine procurement during the COVID-19 pandemic as well as financial aid as part of "NextGenerationEU" and the SURE short-time work unemployment benefit instrument. Unlike in the usual legislative process, the Parliament is largely excluded from decisions under Article 122 TFEU, which is why it wants to lay down rules in the new framework agreement that allow it greater control over the application of the article.

Measures against excessive EU bureaucracy

Measures to reduce bureaucracy were controversial in the European Parliament with regard to the revision of the framework agreement. The Parliament has no right to initiate, so it cannot initiate, amend or abolish laws on its own initiative. This task lies solely with the European Commission. Against this backdrop, the European People's Party (EPP), which had already made the issue of reducing EU bureaucracy its subject in the European election campaign, has campaigned for a strengthening of the Regulatory Scrutiny Board as part of the revision of the framework agreement. This Board is an independent body within the Commission and provides support for impact assessments at an early stage of the legislative process.

Too much interference in the Commission's executive powers?

The Social Democrats (S&D) have spoken out against the call to strengthen the Board, as this would have been seen as a strong encroachment on the Commission's executive powers and could have been challenged before the European Court of Justice. Instead, the new framework agreement should contain a kind of voluntary commitment by the Commission, according to which it must justify its adherence to each one of the existing legal acts. Reducing bureaucracy is also a matter of concern for the Commission. In his Mission Letter, the President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen instructed the Commissioner-designate for Economic Affairs Valdis Dombrovskis to review the existing EU acquis and waive unnecessary reporting obligations.

Outlook

For the European Parliament, the Chairman of the Conference of Committee Chairs, Bernd Lange (S&D, DE), and the Chairman of the Committee on Constitutional Affairs, Sven Simon (EPP, DE), will lead the negotiations on the new framework agreement. On the European Commission side, Executive Vice-President Maroš Šefčovič is responsible for interinstitutional relations. According to the Parliament, the negotiations on a new framework agreement should be finalised before the new Commission takes office. This is currently scheduled for 1 December 2024.