State of the Union: relations with national Parliaments

Visits to national parliaments is the next section in the State of the Union 2017 brochure (108 pages), consisting of a one page presentation of how the 657 visits to national parliaments since the beginning of the Commission’s mandate on 1 November 2014 have been distributed across the EU member states (page 95).

This is only the tip of the iceberg. We can go to the EU treaties and annual reports for insights into the relations between the European Commission and national parliaments, including the principles of subsidiarity and proportionality, not forgetting the cost of non-Europe.

Role of national parliaments   

We can go to the consolidated treaties (2016; link to all language versions; here in English) for Protocol (No 1) on the role of national parliaments in the European Union (page 203), annexed to the Treaty on European Union (TEU), to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU) and to the Treaty establishing the European Atomic Energy Community (Euratom Treaty).

The purpose is to encourage greater involvement of national parliaments in the activities of the European Union and to enhance their ability to express their views on draft legislative acts of the Union as well as on other matters which may be of particular interest to them.

In practice, national parliaments shall receive plans and proposals directly, at the same time as the European Parliament and the Council of the European Union. A national parliament can send to the presidents of the European Parliament, the Council and the Commission a reasoned opinion on whether a draft legislative act complies with the principle of subsidiarity. The national parliaments have eight weeks to react.  

Just in passing, Protocol (No 1) also contains provisions on interparliamentary cooperation between the European Parliament and national parliaments. There is a reference to the conference of Parliamentary Committees for Union Affairs COSAC.

Subsidiarity and proportionality

Article 5 TEU lays down the principles of attributed powers (conferral), subsidiarity and proportionality (page 18):

Article 5

(ex Article 5 TEC)

1. The limits of Union competences are governed by the principle of conferral. The use of Union competences is governed by the principles of subsidiarity and proportionality.

2. Under the principle of conferral, the Union shall act only within the limits of the competences conferred upon it by the Member States in the Treaties to attain the objectives set out therein. Competences not conferred upon the Union in the Treaties remain with the Member States.

3. Under the principle of subsidiarity, in areas which do not fall within its exclusive competence, the Union shall act only if and in so far as the objectives of the proposed action cannot be sufficiently achieved by the Member States, either at central level or at regional and local level, but can rather, by reason of the scale or effects of the proposed action, be better achieved at Union level.

The institutions of the Union shall apply the principle of subsidiarity as laid down in the Protocol on the application of the principles of subsidiarity and proportionality. National Parliaments ensure compliance with the principle of subsidiarity in accordance with the procedure set out in that Protocol.

4. Under the principle of proportionality, the content and form of Union action shall not exceed what is necessary to achieve the objectives of the Treaties.

The institutions of the Union shall apply the principle of proportionality as laid down in the Protocol on the application of the principles of subsidiarity and proportionality.

Protocol No 2 on the application of the principles of subsidiarity and proportionality establishes the conditions for the application of the principles of subsidiarity and proportionality, and outlines the system for monitoring the application of those principles (page 206).

Annual reports

Those who want to look at the practical side can turn to the annual reports, which illustrate some of the most hotly debated EU legislative issues in recent times:

Annual report 2016 on relations between the European Commission and national parliaments; Brussels, 30.6.2017 COM(2017) 601 final

Annexes to the Annual report 2016 on relations between the European Commission and national parliaments; Brussels, 30.6.2017 COM(2017) 601 final ANNEXES 1 to 3  

The annexes offer us the number of opinions and reasoned opinions from each national parliamentary chamber; the Commission documents causing these opinions (with the communication on the Commission Work Programme CWP 2016 on top), and; the number of opinions received per lead Commission service (with DG Migration and Home Affairs on top).

Mandatory according to Article 9 of Protocol (No 2), the more specific sister publication on subsidiarity and proportionality was published at the same time:

Annual Report 2016 on Subsidiarity and Proportionality; Brussels, 30.6.2017 COM(2017) 600 final

The Commission refers to its reinforced Better Regulation agenda (page 2):

...which includes strengthened guidance on how to assess subsidiarity and proportionality in the policymaking process and new opportunities for citizens and stakeholders to provide feedback. The Commission is also pursuing its practice of evaluating existing policy frameworks, before coming forward with legislative revisions. These evaluations include assessments of whether existing policy measures are still 'fit for purpose' and to what extent they comply with the principles of subsidiarity and proportionality. Better regulation principles and instruments, including subsidiarity and proportionality assessments, are applied at various stages of the decision-making process, taking account of relevant analysis and input provided by stakeholders.

The report deals with principles and practical experiences relating to subsidiarity analysis, proportionality analysis, ex ante impact assessments, as well as ex post evaluations and fitness checks.

The number of reasoned opinions from national parliaments rose dramatically (page 7):

In 2016, the Commission received 65 reasoned opinions from national Parliaments on the principle of subsidiarity. This was 713% more than the eight reasoned opinions received in 2015. The number of reasoned opinions received in 2016 is the third highest in a calendar year since the subsidiarity control mechanism was introduced by the Lisbon Treaty in 2009 (after 84 in 2012 and 70 in 2013). The reasoned opinions received in 2016 also accounted for a higher proportion (10.5%) of the total number of opinions received by the Commission in that year under the political dialogue (620). It should be noted that the total number of opinions submitted by national Parliaments under the political dialogue also increased significantly in 2016.

The 65 reasoned opinions received in 2016 included 38 opinions related to four Commission proposals. The proposal giving rise to most reasoned opinions was the proposal for a review of the Directive on the posting of workers, which generated 14 reasoned opinions, thereby triggering the procedure under Article 7(2) of Protocol No 2 to the Treaties (the so-called "yellow card" procedure). The proposal for a review of the Dublin Regulation received eight reasoned opinions and the two proposals establishing the Common Consolidated Corporate Tax Base received eight reasoned opinions. Other proposals received between one and four reasoned opinions. The cases on which the Commission received the highest number of reasoned opinions are described in more detail in Chapter 3.

The report explains the role of the European Parliament and the Council with regard to the application of the principles of subsidiarity and proportionality (from page 8). However, we should not forget the work of the European Parliamentary Research Service EPRS on the European added value of new EU legislation and the cost of the absence of action at EU level (cost of non-Europe). On page 9:

In 2016, the European Parliament produced 36 Initial Appraisals, one Impact Assessment of substantive parliamentary amendments and 14 ex-post European Impact Assessments. In addition, seven reports on the cost of non-Europe and four European Added Value Assessments were completed. The European Parliamentary Research Service also scrutinises the implementation and effectiveness of existing EU legislation whenever the European Commission announces in its annual work programme that this legislation will be amended. In 2016, some 28 such "Implementation Appraisals" were produced.

The role of the Committee of the Regions and regional legislative assemblies is described from page 10, with the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) from page 12. The key Commission proposals leading to expressions of concerns were discussed from page 13 (the posting of workers; the Dublin Regulation review; the Common Consolidated Corporate Tax Base).   

The annex lists the Commission documents on which the Commission received reasoned opinions regarding compliance with the subsidiarity principle from national Parliaments in 2016:

Annex to the Annual Report 2016 on Subsidiarity and Proportionality; Brussels, 30.6.2017 COM(2017) 600 final ANNEX 1

State of the Union 2017

The European Commission’s State of the Union 2017 web page is still only in English and it has received no visible updates since yesterday morning.

Ralf Grahn

Juncker’s Future of Europe and SOTEU agenda

If we approach the 13 September 2017 State of the European Union (SOTEU) debate as seen by the European Parliament, we find the press release Let’s make the most of the momentum to shape an ambitious future, with a summary of the plenary debate, but enough links to keep us busy listening and reading for a long time.

In addition to reading the brief notes about the speeches, I used the links to videos to relisten to the interventions by the president of the European Parliament Antonio Tajani and the trilingual SOTEU address of Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker in five parts (and to read the full speech in text form, SPEECH/17/3165, now available in four unilingual versions: English, French, German and Estonian) plus Juncker’s later concluding remarks.

Juncker’s summary of the European Commission’s agenda for a more united, stronger and more democratic union - a better future of Europe - as well as the priorities for the Commission Work Programme (CWP) 2018, is found in the speech text:   

My hope is that on 30 March 2019, Europeans will wake up to a Union where we all stand by our values. Where all Member States firmly respect the rule of law. Where being a full member of the euro area, the Banking Union and the Schengen area has become the norm for all EU Member States. Where we have shored up the foundations of our Economic and Monetary Union so that we can defend our single currency in good times and bad, without having to call on external help. Where our single market will be fairer towards workers from the East and from the West. Where we managed to agree on a strong pillar of social standards. Where profits will be taxed where they were made. Where terrorists have no loopholes to exploit. Where we have agreed on a proper European Defence Union. Where a single President leads the work of the Commission and the European Council, having been elected after a democratic Europe-wide election campaign.

If our citizens wake up to this Union on 30 March 2019, then they should be able vote in the European Parliament elections a few weeks later with the firm conviction that our Union is a place that works for them.

The responses by the leaders of the political groups to the SOTEU address, as well as the press releases of the groups, can be accessed through the press release from the European Parliament.

***

We have just scratched the surface. President Juncker’s agenda is going to keep the EU institutions busy until the next elections to the European Parliament, in 2019.

Ralf Grahn

European Parliament: Future of Europe and SOTEU

Since there is just a little time, before the plenary debate about the future of Europe #FutureOfEurope and the state of the European Union #SOTEU address begins in the European Parliament, I am going to direct your attention to earlier blog articles on Eurooppaoikeus (FI), Grahnblawg (SV) and Grahnlaw (EN). In the Grahnblawg post Hopkok om EU:s framtid you can find direct or indirect references to 31 blog articles in Finnish, Swedish or English about the publications and the discussion, and in Europaparlamentet om tillståndet i EU 2017 we already approached the European Parliament as the host of the debate.

SOTEU press release   

The European Parliament has published an informative press release with useful links about the future and the state of the union debate, especially the references under Shaping Europe’s future.

Still, it is astonishing that the press release did not mention the European Commission’s so called white paper (so called, because it contained no concrete proposals):

White Paper on the Future of Europe - Reflections and scenarios for the EU27 by 2015; Brussels, 1.3.2017 COM(2017) 2025 final

Annexed to the press release is a four-page presentation of Eurobarometer results on selected topics, with EU citizens generally ahead of the heads of state or government.

EPRS briefings

In June the European Parliamentary Research Service EPRS published a short note Mapping the ‘Future of the EU’ debate, which summarised four resolutions from the European Parliament about the future of EU27. The second page described the invitation by the Juncker Commission to a debate about the future of the European Union, notably the general white paper and the five subsequent thematic reflection papers, but also recorded the process of the EU27 leaders from the Brexit vote to the Rome declaration.

A few days ago, the post The 2017 State Of The Union Debate In The European Parliament on the European Parliamentary Research Service Blog reminded readers about the role of the SOTEU debate for the adoption of the annual Commission Work Programme (CWP). The article highlighted a fresh blog post Next Steps In The Debate On The Future Of Europe, which recalled the white paper and the five reflection papers, and it linked to an updated briefing note about the future: The 2017 State of the Union Debate in the European Parliament (September 2017; 6 pages).

The briefing relates the discussion based on the white paper and reflection papers, but also contains reminders of the birth of the State of the European Union  debate, SOTEU’s role in the annual legislative programming, its constitutional significance and an outlook on the role of the president of the European Commission.

Ralf Grahn

Energy Union: Commission work programme for 2017

The blog entry Second Report on the State of the Energy Union offered a glance at the state of play until 1 February 2017.

Energy Union strategy

First, a reminder of the points of departure for the Energy Union.

In the publication A New Start for Europe you find a resilient energy union with a forward-looking climate change policy outlined as the third of the ten priorities of the Juncker Commission.

Soon enough, the new Commission launched its Energy Union Package, featuring most prominently the framework strategy communication and the annexed roadmap, with tens of promised actions and legislative proposals:

A Framework Strategy for a Resilient Energy Union with a Forward-Looking Climate Change Policy; Brussels, 25.2.2015 COM(2015) 80 final

Roadmap for the Energy Union; Brussels, 25.2.2015 COM(2015) 80 final ANNEX 1

The Grahnlaw blog post State of the EU Energy Union mentioned the earlier entries in Finnish and Swedish, then compiled most of the press materials and official documents needed to bring us almost up to date.

In this blog article we turn our eyes to the near future, through the Commission work programme (CWP).

Commission work programme for 2017

Last autumn the European Commission published its annual communication:

Commission Work Programme 2017 - Delivering a Europe that protects, empowers and defends; Strasbourg, 25.10.2016 COM(2016) 710 final

On page 7 we find enough for a general orientation about promised 2017 actions regarding energy and climate change:

3. A Resilient Energy Union with a Forward-Looking Climate Change Policy

A Europe that takes responsibility for delivery on promises made. The swift ratification of the Paris Agreement has shown that Member States can find common ground when it is clear that acting together the Union's impact is bigger than the mere sum of its parts. Moreover, it has confirmed the EU's global leading role on climate change. Delivery on our commitments is now needed to make the modernisation of our economy a reality whilst ensuring a socially fair transition. The implementation of the Paris Agreement and of the international agreement on emissions from aircraft (International Civil Aviation Organisation) is a priority here.

As already announced, we will continue to deliver on our Energy Union Strategy and present, by the end of this year, a comprehensive package aimed at managing the modernisation of the economy by placing energy efficiency first, pursuing the ambition to become world number one in renewable energies and providing a fair deal to consumers. This will encompass legislative action on energy efficiency, renewable energy including bioenergy sustainability, the design of the electricity market and the governance rules for the Energy Union. An initiative to Accelerate Clean Energy Innovation will support the research and market uptake of technological innovation needed for energy efficiency and renewables to meet the decarbonisation goals set by the Paris Agreement and our 2030 targets. All the Energy Union related legislative proposals presented by the Commission in 2015 and 2016 need to be addressed as a priority by the Parliament and Council. These include the above-mentioned package, the security of gas supply package24, the EU emissions trading system25 and related rules on effort-sharing26 and landuse and forestry27 .

We will also follow up on our Strategy on low-emission mobility presented in July. The aim will be to increase the efficiency of transport by responding to the mobility needs of people and goods and promoting lower emissions, including a gradual shift to zero emission vehicles, which will also enhance the competitiveness of the industry. To achieve this, as a first step we will present REFIT revisions of the car and light commercial vehicles Regulations, presenting strategies establishing zero- and low-emission standards post-2020, and the clean vehicles Directive to improve procurement incentives and rules. Applying the user-pay and polluter-pay principle, we intend to propose improvements for those Member States who choose to use road charging, including for the interoperability of electronic tolling services.

__________

24 COM(2016)52 final and COM(2016)53 final/2.

25 COM(2015)337 final/2.

26 COM(2016)482 final/2.

27 COM(2016)479 final.

New energy initiatives  

The first CWP annex with new initiatives COM(2016) 710 final ANNEX 1 promises:

A Resilient Energy Union with a Forward-Looking Climate Change Policy

5. Implementation of the Energy Union Strategy: low-emission travel and mobility

REFIT revisions of several key pieces of legislation highlighted in the low-emission mobility action plan: post-2020 strategies on cars/vans and on lorries, buses and coaches (legislative, incl. impact assessment; Q2/2017); the Clean Vehicles Directive (incl. impact assessment; Art. 192 TFEU; Q2/2017); and the Eurovignette and European Electronic Toll Service (EETS) Directives (incl. impact assessment; Art. 91 TFEU; Q2/2017). This initiative includes the implementation of the international agreement on emissions from aircraft (ICAO) (legislative, incl. impact assessment; Art. 192 TFEU; Q1/2017) .

Energy REFIT

In the policy area of energy the second CWP annex COM(2016) 710 final ANNEX 2 with REFIT initiatives offers:

4. Combined Transport  

Revision of Directive 92/106/EEC on the establishment of common rules for certain types of combined transport of goods between Member States aimed at improving efficiency and effectiveness and ensuring further promotion of intermodal transport in EU (incl. impact assessment; Q4/2017). This revision follows-up on an evaluation concluded in 2016.

Pending energy proposals

The third CWP annex COM(2016) 710 final ANNEX 3 lists the priority pending proposals, with the following ones related to energy and climate change:

13. EU Emissions Trading System

Proposal for a DIRECTIVE OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL amending Directive 2003/87/EC to enhance cost-effective emission reductions and low carbon investments

COM/2015/0337 final/2 - 2015/0148 (COD) 03/09/2015

14. Efforts Sharing Decision

Proposal for a REGULATION OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL on binding annual greenhouse gas emission reductions by Member States from 2021 to 2030 for a resilient Energy Union and to meet commitments under the Paris Agreement and amending Regulation No 525/2013 of the European Parliament and the Council on a mechanism for monitoring and reporting greenhouse gas emissions and other information relevant to climate change

COM/2016/0482 final/2 - 2016/0231 (COD) 20/07/2016

15. Security of Gas Supply Package

Proposal for a REGULATION OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL concerning measures to safeguard the security of gas supply and repealing Regulation (EU) No 994/2010

COM/2016/052 final - 2016/030 (COD) 16/02/2016

Proposal for a DECISION OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL on establishing an information exchange mechanism with regard to intergovernmental agreements and non-binding instruments between Member States and third countries in the field of energy and repealing Decision No 994/2012/EU

COM/2016/053 final/2 - 2016/031 (COD) 02/06/2016

Ralf Grahn

The EU digital single market strategy

The future president Jean-Claude Juncker presented his political guidelines for the new Commission, before it took office on 1 November 2014. We find the ten priorities in the publication A New Start for Europe.

The second priority mentioned was a connected digital single market. The aims are worth repeating:

I believe that we must make much better use of the great opportunities offered by digital technologies, which know no borders. To do so, we will need to have the courage to break down national silos in telecoms regulation, in copyright and data protection legislation, in the management of radio waves and in the application of competition law.

If we do this, we can ensure that European citizens will soon be able to use their mobile phones across Europe without having to pay roaming charges. We can ensure that consumers can access services, music, movies and sports events on their electronic devices wherever they are in Europe and regardless of borders. We can create a fair level playing field where all companies offering their goods or services in the European Union are subject to the same data protection and consumer rules, regardless of where their server is based. By creating a connected digital single market, we can generate up to € 250 billion of additional growth in Europe in the course of the mandate of the next Commission, thereby creating hundreds of thousands of new jobs, notably for younger job-seekers, and a vibrant knowledge-based society.

To achieve this, I intend to take, within the first six months of my mandate, ambitious legislative steps towards a connected digital single market, notably by swiftly concluding negotiations on common European data protection rules; by adding more ambition to the ongoing reform of our telecoms rules; by modernising copyright rules in the light of the digital revolution and changed consumer behaviour; and by modernising and simplifying consumer rules for online and digital purchases. This should go hand-in-hand with efforts to boost digital skills and learning across society and to facilitate the creation of innovative start-ups. Enhancing the use of digital technologies and online services should become a horizontal policy, covering all sectors of the economy and of the public sector.

Commission Work Programme

Since the new European Commission started late in 2014, it had time for little more than planning for its first year of real activity, 2015. We turn to:

Commission Work Programme 2015 - A New Start; Strasbourg, 16.12.2014 COM(2014) 910 final  

The Commission Work Programme (CWP) presented the following aims towards a digital single market (DSM), in particular the promised strategy and some main ingredients (page 6):

2. A Connected Digital Single Market

The Digital Single Market holds one of the main keys to a new dynamic across the European economy as a whole, fostering jobs, growth, innovation and social progress. All areas of the economy and society are becoming digital. Europe needs to be at the forefront of this digital revolution for its citizens and its businesses. Barriers to digital are barriers to jobs, prosperity and progress.

The Commission is preparing a Strategy which will identify the major challenges to complete a secure, trustworthy and dynamic Digital Single Market. The Strategy will focus on six strands: building trust and confidence, removing restrictions, ensuring access and connectivity, building the Digital economy, promoting e-society and investing in world-class ICT research and innovation.

In 2015, as part of the Digital Single Market Strategy, the Commission will aim to conclude ongoing inter-institutional negotiations on proposals such as the common European data protection reform and the Regulation on a Connected Continent. It will also propose new initiatives, legislative and non-legislative, to bring the Digital Single Market to the level of ambition needed to respond to the existing challenges. In this context, the Commission will notably complement the regulatory telecommunications environment, modernise EU legislation on copyright and on audiovisual media services, simplify the rules for consumers making online and digital purchases, facilitate e-commerce, enhance cyber-security and mainstream digitisation across policy areas.   

We find the DSM strategy in the annex with new initiatives COM(2014) 910 final ANNEX 1 (page 2):

A Connected Digital Single Market

Digital Single Market (DSM) Package

The aim is to ensure that consumers enjoy cross-border access to digital services, create a level-playing field for companies and create the conditions for a vibrant digital economy and society. The package will include, among other legislative proposals, the modernisation of copyright.

DSM strategy and evidence  

In May, the Commission duly produced two official documents, first of all the communication in the official EU languages:

A Digital Single Market Strategy for Europe; Brussels, 6.5.2015 COM(2015) 192 final (20 pages)

The second document was the accompanying the more hefty staff working document (SWD), published in English only, but with evidence to underpin the proposed actions:

A Digital Single Market Strategy for Europe - Analysis and Evidence; Brussels, 6.5.2015 SWD(2015) 100 final (109 pages)

The communication started by offering the quote from the political guidelines you already saw above.

Referring to the supporting staff working document, the communication (p. 3) from the Commission presented a new estimate of the potential gains in economic growth:

Europe has the capabilities to lead in the global digital economy but we are currently not making the most of them. Fragmentation and barriers that do not exist in the physical Single Market are holding the EU back. Bringing down these barriers within Europe could contribute an additional EUR 415 billion to European GDP.  

Breaking down all obstacles and unleashing the full digital potential of Europe fast enough would make a huge difference for the citizens of the union.

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If you are interested, I compiled links to recent DSM articles in Finnish and Swedish in the blog entry Bloggartiklar kring strategin för en digital inre marknad.

Ralf Grahn