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DRAFT REPORT (2024/2000(REG))

On amendments to Parliament’s Rules of Procedure implementing the parliamentary reform “Parliament 2024”

AFCO-PR-758847

Committee on Constitutional Affairs · Rapporteur: Salvatore De Meo

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This is the rapporteur's draft report on amendments to Parliament's Rules of Procedure implementing the parliamentary reform "Parliament 2024". It proposes a package of changes to how Parliament organises legislation, scrutiny, budgets, plenary debates and external relations. The amendments would enter into force on 16 July 2024, while those empowering the Conference of Presidents and the Bureau to adopt implementing measures would apply from the date of adoption. The draft rewrites rules on committee competence, referrals, opinions, co-rapporteurship, joint committees, trilogues, urgent decisions, Question Time, special scrutiny hearings and the confirmation hearings of Commissioners-designate. It deletes Rule 42 on verification of financial compatibility, Rule 57 on the associated committee procedure and Rule 211 on questions of competence, moving their content into other rules.

Committee position. The rapporteur proposes that Parliament amend its Rules of Procedure as set out in the draft, with the amendments entering into force on 16 July 2024 and the empowering provisions applying from adoption.

Key points

  1. The Bureau becomes responsible for authorising expenditure for hearings, and the Conference of Presidents for proposing the setting up of ad hoc temporary committees with legislative competences under Rule 207a.
  2. The Conference of Presidents becomes responsible for authorising missions away from the usual places of work and interparliamentary meetings.
  3. Rule 42 on verification of financial compatibility is deleted; Parliament's resolution must indicate the appropriate legal basis and consider the financial implications of any proposal.
  4. The President may refer a proposal to the committee responsible for legal affairs for an opinion on the appropriateness of the legal basis; if not referred, the subject-matter committee must request such an opinion.
  5. The committee responsible for budgetary issues may give an opinion on the financial implications of a proposal; Parliament's resolution must be accompanied by recommendations on the content of the requested proposal and sent to the Council and Commission.
  6. If the Commission does not reply within three months, it may be asked to make a statement in plenary; otherwise the subject-matter committee invites the Commissioner to a meeting, and the Conference of Committee Chairs monitors and reports on compliance.
  7. Referrals of proposals to committees may be challenged within one week by a committee or political group, with the Conference of Committee Chairs recommending and the Conference of Presidents deciding; committees may also request authorisation to draw up an opinion.
  8. Accelerated legislative procedures are carried out on the basis of a report from the committee responsible, and the committee may appoint a rapporteur to follow a proposal's preparatory phase.
  9. The Conference of Presidents may authorise up to three co-rapporteurs, except for joint committee reports, opinions and own-initiative reports other than budgetary or institutional ones.
  10. Opinion-giving committees must respect deadlines set by the committee responsible, which cannot conclude before they expire; their opinions are annexed to the report, and their Chairs and rapporteurs are invited to advisory meetings and trilogues.
  11. A budgetary assessment on proposals with budgetary implications is introduced, examining whether sufficient financial resources are provided and the impact on other Union programmes.
  12. The draft creates rules on ad hoc special scrutiny hearings, Question Time with Commissioners, statements on the use of Article 122 TFEU, and confirmation hearings for Commissioners-designate including declarations of interests.

Who is affected

  • Parliament's committees and their Chairs, who gain new roles in referrals, opinions, co-rapporteurship and budgetary assessment.
  • The Conference of Presidents and the Conference of Committee Chairs, given new decision-making and authorising powers.
  • The Commission, which may be asked to make statements and provide information on follow-up to Parliament's requests.
  • Commissioners-designate, subject to confirmation hearings, written questions and scrutiny of declarations of interests.
  • Members and political groups, affected by new thresholds for tabling amendments, challenging referrals and requesting quorum checks.

Figures and deadlines

  • Amendments enter into force on 16 July 2024.
  • Commission must reply to requests for proposals within three months.
  • A committee or political group may challenge a referral within one week.
  • The Conference of Presidents decides on competence within six weeks after transmission of the recommendation.
  • Question Time lasts up to about 90 minutes.
  • Speakers on a committee's decision to enter negotiations may speak for no more than one minute.
  • Documents for trilogues must be circulated at least 48 hours, or 24 hours in urgent cases, in advance.
  • Confirmation hearings are scheduled to last three hours, or up to three and a half hours for large or complex portfolios.