Type: Acts of the Council of Europe: European Parliament Resolution on improving the functioning of the European Union building on the potential of the Lisbon Treaty

Authority: European Authorities - European Union: European Parliament

Date: 02/16/2017

Subject: The European Parliament notes that the European Union and its Member States are facing unprecedented challenges which need a collective response from the Union, based on respect for the principle of multi-tier governance; it points out that not all of the provisions of the Lisbon Treaty have yet been exploited to their full potential even though they contain some necessary tools that could have been applied to prevent some of the crises with which the Union is confronted, or could be used to cope with the current challenges without having to initiate a Treaty revision in the short term; it stresses that the Community method is best suited for the functioning of the Union and has a number of advantages over the intergovernmental method, as it is the only one that allows for greater transparency, efficiency, QMV in Council, and the equal right of co-legislation by the European Parliament and Council, as well as preventing a fragmentation of institutional responsibilities and the development of competing institutions; it is of the opinion that intergovernmental solutions should only be an instrument of ultima ratio subject to strict conditions, notably respect for Union law, the objective of deepening European integration, and openness for accession by non-participating Member States, and believes that they should be replaced by Union procedures as soon as possible, even in areas where not all the Member States fulfil the conditions for participation, so as to enable the Union to carry out its tasks within a single institutional framework; it considers it vital to strengthen institutional transparency and openness in the EU as well as the way in which political decision-making in the EU is communicated; urges that efforts be stepped up with a view to the revision of Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001 regarding public access to European Parliament, Council and Commission documents, and of Directive 93/109/EC, laying down detailed arrangements for the exercise of the right to vote and stand as a candidate in elections to the European Parliament for citizens of the Union residing in a Member State of which they are not nationals; it insists that Parliament’s legislative powers and control rights must be guaranteed, consolidated and strengthened, including by interinstitutional agreements and through the use of the corresponding legal base by the Commission; it regrets that the Council, by not using QMV, has too often referred legislative matters to the European Council; considers that the European Council’s practise of ‘tasking the Council’ goes beyond the strategic guidelines role attributed to it by the Treaties, and thus goes against the letter and the spirit of the Treaties; it proposes that the Council be transformed into a true legislative chamber by reducing the number of Council configurations by means of a European Council decision, thus creating a genuinely bicameral legislative system involving the Council and Parliament, with the Commission acting as the executive; it Is determined to strengthen the role of Parliament in the election of the Commission President by reinforcing the formal consultations of its political groups with the European Council President, as foreseen in Declaration 11 annexed to the Final Act of the Intergovernmental Conference which adopted the Treaty of Lisbon, in order to ensure that the European Council takes full account of the election results when presenting a candidate for Parliament to elect; it reiterates the need for all Commission proposals to be fully justified and accompanied by a detailed impact assessment, including a human rights assessment; moreover, the Parliament takes into consideration the following issues: extending and deepening the Economic and Monetary Union, single market and financial integration, social dimension, effectiveness and accountability of the Common Foreign and Security Policy, creation of a Common Defence Policy, Justice and Home Affairs

Classification: General theme

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