The committees of the European Parliament are designed to aid the European Commission in initiating legislation.
Standing committees are made up of Members of the European Parliament (MEPs), who are directly elected to the seats in the European Parliament by the electorate. Each committee has a chair and four vice-chairs, along with numerous committee members. Each committee also has substitute members.
Reports are usually compiled by a rapporteur, who is appointed by the chair of the committee, selected from amongst the members or permanent substitutes.
Appointment
The established system for the appointment of committee chairs follows the D'Hondt method.
Legislative reports
In the process of proposing and drafting legislation, the European Commission will consult the various standing committees during the codecision procedure, and these committees will advise the commission by producing reports, proposing amendments to the draft legislation, and providing, if necessary, a drafted legislative resolution.
In the event of at least one-tenth of the members objecting to any particular amendment, the amendment will be put to a vote at the committee's next meeting.
Similarly, unless at least one-tenth of committee members object, committees can also pass legislation back to the commission without amendments.
Non-legislative reports
Committees are also able to produce non-legislative reports. The appointed rapporteur is responsible for preparing the report, and presenting it to Parliament on the committee's behalf. These reports must include a motion for a resolution, an explanatory statement, and must also outline financial implications.
Own-initiative reports
Committees can also produce reports relevant to their competence, without having to be consulted. These are called "Own-Initiative Reports", and are used to submit a motion for a resolution.
Before drawing up any such report, a committee must obtain the permission of the Conference of Presidents. The Conference of Presidents has two months to make a decision, and any reasons for withholding permission must always be stated.
Cross-committee co-operation
When drawing up a report, a committee may ask the opinion of another committee on the matter, particularly if it is felt that a proposed amendment would fall into the interests of another committee. The committee asked for an opinion will be named as such in the final report. The chair and drafter of the secondary committee may be invited to take part in any committee discussions held by the primary committee, where the meeting deals with the matter that the secondary committee is advising on.
Amendments that are proposed by the secondary committee will be voted on by the committee responsible for producing the report.
If the Conference of Presidents decides that a requested report falls equally to two committees, both committees will agree upon a joint timetable, and shall work together in producing the report.
List of standing committees
This is a list of standing committees along with the respective chairperson as of July 2024.
Temporary committees
Under Rules 175 and 176 the European Parliament may at any time set up temporary committees for specific reports for an initial period of no longer than 12 months. They can be either a special committee or a committee of inquiry.
Special committees
Examples of such temporary committees have been:
- The temporary committee on the Echelon interception system
- The temporary committee on the alleged use of European countries by the CIA for the transport and illegal detention of prisoners.
On 25 April 2007 MEPs voted to set up a temporary committee on climate change. The committee will have a year to come up with proposals on the EU's future integrated climate-change policy, to co-ordinate the EP's position in this field, to assess the latest evidence on climate change and to evaluate the cost of action.
Following the 2009 elections, in light of the Late 2000s recession, Parliament set up a Special Committee on the Financial, Economic and Social Crisis.
Committees of Inquiry
The European Parliament created nine committees of inquiry in the period between the introduction of direct elections in 1979 and the inclusion of a legal basis for inquiry committees in the Maastricht Treaty in 1995. They were:
| Year | Committee |
|---|---|
| 1983 | The Seveso disaster |
| 1984 | The rise of fascism and racism. The committee's work led to the 'Joint Declaration against racism and xenophobia'. |
| 1985 | The drugs problem |
| 1986 | Agricultural stocks |
| 1988 | The Transnuklear scandal |
| 1988 | Hormones in meat |
| 1991 | Racism and Xenophobia (The application of the Joint Declaration against racism and xenophobia) |
| 1991 | Trans-frontier crime linked to drug trafficking. |
The European Parliament was granted the right to create temporary committees of inquiry under Article 226 of the 1993 Maastricht Treaty. Inquiry Committees since 1995 have been:
| EP | Year | Abbrev | Committee of inquiry | Chairperson | Rapporteur |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fourth | 1996-1997 | TRANSIT | Temporary Committee of Inquiry into the Community Transit System | John Tomlinson | Edward Kellett-Bowman |
| Fourth | 1996-1997 | ESB I | Temporary Committee of Inquiry into BSE (Bovine spongiform encephalopathy) | Reimer Böge | Manuel Medina Ortega |
| Sixth | 2006-2007 | EQUI | Temporary Committee of Inquiry into the Crisis of the Equitable Life Assurance Society | Mairead McGuinness | Diana Wallis |
| Eighth | 2015 | EMIS | on the measurement of emissions in the automotive sector, established on 17 December 2015, whose work was finalised on 4 April 2017. See Dieselgate. | Kathleen Van Brempt | Pablo Zalba Bidegain, Gerben-Jan Gerbrandy |
| Eighth | 2016 | PANA | on money laundering, tax avoidance and tax fraud, established on 8 June 2016, whose work was finalised on 13 December 2017. See Panama Papers. | Werner Langen | Jeppe Kofod, Petr Ježek |
| Ninth | 2020 | ANIT | on the Protection of animals during transport, established on 19 June 2020. | Tilly Metz | Daniel Buda, Isabel Carvalhais |
| Ninth | 2022 | PEGA | On the use of Pegasus and equivalent surveillance spyware, established on 10 March 2022. See Pegasus Project (investigation). | Jeroen Lenaers | Sophie in 't Veld |
Delegations
MEPs also compose delegations to various Parliaments outside of the European Union. Joint parliamentary committees are set up with candidate countries. There are also delegations to the ACP–EU Joint Parliamentary Assembly, the Euro-Latin American Parliamentary Assembly the Euronest Parliamentary Assembly and the Euro-Mediterranean Parliamentary Assembly.
- North Macedonia
- Turkey
- Mexico
- Chile
- Switzerland, Iceland and Norway and European Economic Area
- Russia
- South-East Europe
- Ukraine
- Moldova
- Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Mongolia
- Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia
- Belarus
- Israel
- Palestinian Legislative Council
- Maghreb
- Mashreq
- Arabian Peninsula
- Iran
- United States
- Canada
- Central America
- Andean Community
- Mercosur
- Japan
- People's Republic of China
- Southeast Asia, ASEAN
- Korean peninsula
- Australia and New Zealand
- South Africa
- NATO
- South Asia
- India
- Afghanistan
- Pan-African Parliament
- Caribbean Forum
Conference of Committee Chairs and Conference of Delegation Chairs
Two major bodies in the Parliament are the Conference of Committee Chairs (CCC) and the Conference of Delegation Chairs (CDC). The Conference of Committee Chairs is the political body in Parliament that works for better cooperation between the committees and consists of the chairs of all the standing and special committees. The Conference of Delegation Chairs is the political body in Parliament that periodically considers all matters concerning the smooth running of interparliamentary delegations and delegations to the joint parliamentary committees. They may make recommendations to the Conference of Presidents and can be instructed to carry out particular tasks by the Bureau or Conference of Presidents.
References
- "Greens back Farage in row over EU Parliament chairman". Euractiv. 4 July 2014.
The appointment of committee chairs follows the D'Hondt system – named after the Belgian mathematician who designed the method – which allocates positions on the basis of political groups' size. However, the precise allocation of seats may shift until the last minute, as political horse-trading continues between the main political groups.
- "List of Committees". europarl.europa.eu. European Parliament. Retrieved 24 July 2024.
- "Parliament confirms the list and size of its committees and delegations". europarl.europa.eu. EP. 17 July 2024. Retrieved 24 July 2024.
- "Committee Chairs and Vice-Chairs elected". EP. 23 July 2024. Retrieved 24 July 2024.
- Temporary Committee on Climate Change
- REPORT on the investigation of alleged contraventions and maladministration in the application of Union law in relation to the protection of animals during transport within and outside the Union
- Euro-Latin American Parliamentary Assembly
- Delegations
- Conference of Committee Chairs
- Conference of Delegation Chairs Archived 31 May 2009 at the Wayback Machine
External links
- Official Website
- Lists of MEPs by committee membership
- Rules of Procedure of the European Parliament
- List of delegations on EP website
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