Skip to content
Adopted text

Implementation of the Treaty provisions on national parliaments

TA-9-2024-0023 · P9_TA(2024)0023 · PE752.837

Official HTML ↗ PDF DOCX
✦ In shortFull text
✦ In short · AI summary of this text, generated 26 Sept 2026

Written by a language model from the full text only; every figure comes from the text. The paragraph links open the paragraph a statement rests on — check the text itself before relying on it.

Parliament's resolution reviews how the Treaty provisions on national parliaments are being implemented and calls for stronger scrutiny of national governments in EU affairs. It asks for more transparency in the Council, including public voting records and positions of member states, and for national parliaments to get enough time, resources and information. It proposes an annual European Week, a 'green card' procedure for one third of national parliaments, and a twelve-week period for reasoned opinions in the next Treaty revision. It also calls for involving regional parliaments with legislative powers, candidate countries' parliaments, and for better interparliamentary cooperation through IPEX, committee meetings and the CSDP conference.

Key points

  1. Considers that implementing the Lisbon Treaty rights of national parliaments has enhanced their role, pluralism and democratic legitimacy in the EU.
  2. Calls on member states to give national parliaments enough time, capacity, resources and access to information to scrutinise their governments acting at EU level.
  3. Calls for the voting records and positions of member states in the Council to be made public, and for national parliaments to adapt their internal rules to scrutinise EU affairs.
  4. Calls for national parliaments to have a stronger role in a national period for budgetary and economic policy dialogue and in the European Semester.
  5. Recommends that national parliamentary delegations reflect political diversity and that political minorities be able to express dissenting views in annexes to opinions.
  6. Calls for swift conclusion of the recast regulation on European political parties so they can support member parties in European election and referendum campaigns.
  7. Proposes an annual European Week where MEPs, Commissioners and Council presidency ministers discuss the European agenda before national and regional parliaments.
  8. Suggests involving national parliaments from candidate countries in the proposed European Week to support the EU enlargement strategy.
  9. Calls for a common understanding of subsidiarity and proportionality, and for a twelve-week period for reasoned opinions to be considered in the next Treaty revision.
  10. Calls for national parliaments to include reasoned opinions of regional parliaments with legislative powers when regional exclusive competences are affected.
  11. Suggests a 'green card' procedure where at least one third of national parliaments can request the Commission or Parliament to submit proposals, with discretion to respond.
  12. Calls for better interparliamentary cooperation through IPEX, committee meetings, the CSDP conference, and more resources for videoconferences, staff exchanges and pilot projects.

Who is affected

  • National parliaments: asked to scrutinise their governments more, use IPEX, and adapt internal rules.
  • Member states: called on to give national parliaments time, resources and information, and to make Council positions public.
  • Regional parliaments with legislative powers: to be involved and their opinions included when regional competences are affected.
  • European political parties: to be enabled to support member parties in EU election and referendum campaigns.
  • Candidate countries' national parliaments: suggested for involvement in the proposed European Week.

Figures and deadlines

  • eight-week period for reasoned opinions under Article 4 of Protocol No 1, described as inadequate.
  • twelve-week period proposed for reasoned opinions in the next Treaty revision.
  • at least one third of national parliaments needed to request proposals under a 'green card' procedure.

Legal basis: Article 12 TEU and Protocol No 1 on the role of national parliaments; Protocol No 2 on subsidiarity and proportionality.