Special working group on parliamentary reform
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In 2007 the President of the European Parliament, Hans-Gert Poettering, set up a special working group on parliamentary reform. It was chaired by Dagmar Roth-Behrendt MEP and was to improve the efficiency and image of the European Parliament. Some ideas included livening up the plenary sessions and a State of the Union debate. It is due to produce a final report in 2008, and put the recommendations into practice by the 2009 elections.[1]
[edit] First proposals
One of the group's key reform ideas, extra debates on topical issues, was rejected by MEPs (mainly from the centre-right) in July 2007 over fears it would disrupt committee work while attracting very few attendees.[2] In response, liberal leader Graham Watson withdrew from the group.[3]
MEPs did however back a proposal to use the European symbols more often in the Parliament. This comes after the European Council's agreement for the Treaty of Lisbon dropped the provisions of the Constitution which would have given the symbols official status. Jo Leinen MEP suggested that the Parliament take the avant-garde in using the flag and anthem, the latter being rarely used in Parliament.[4] The Parliament first adopted the European flag in 1983, three years before it was formally adopted by the Communities as a whole.[5]
[edit] Interim report
An interim report of the reform group was presented in September 2007. It proposes a number of changes to the house, including: Cutting down the debating time for texts with no legislative effect. In 2006, 92 "own initiative" reports (commenting rather than legislating) were tables and 22% of debating time was spent debating such reports, while only 18% was spent on legislative bills; it also proposed being more selective about inviting guest speakers to the house, the group stated that the new practice of inviting numerous heads of state to speak at the Parliament interrupted the normal legislative work of the house; a further idea to cap the number of amendments to documents was voted down. It is hoped the changes will make the Parliament more political, however Graham Watson, who earlier left the group, stated that he doubts the grand coalition between PES and EPP-ED can get it approved due to opposition from conservative members who voted down the earlier proposals. Other members such as the co-chair of ID, Jens-Peter Bonde, wanted more radical proposals but Bonde did vote for the report stating that "it is psychologically important to show that we want to become a more political parliament."[3]
[edit] References
- ^ Improving the public perception and efficiency of the work of the European Parliament - mandate for a working group on reform of the Parliament. European Parliament (2007-02-15). Retrieved on 2007-06-28.
- ^ Kubosova, Lucia (2007-07-12). MEPs turn down modernising reform. EU Observer. Retrieved on 2007-07-12.
- ^ a b Kubosova, Lucia (2007-09-20). MEPs want to see fewer heads of state in plenary. EU Observer. Retrieved on 2007-07-12.
- ^ Beunderman, Mark (2007-07-11). MEPs defy member states on EU symbols. EU Observer. Retrieved on 2007-07-12.
- ^ The European Flag. Council of Europe. Retrieved on 2007-07-12.
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