| European Union |
This article is part of the series: |
|
Policies and issues
|
The Conference of Community and European Affairs Committees of Parliaments of the European Union (COSAC) is a conference of Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) and national Members of Parliament (MPs) who are drawn from parliamentary committees responsible for European Union affairs.[1]
Contents |
COSAC was founded in 1989 on a proposal of Laurent Fabius, then President of the French National Assembly and at the same time an MEP on the European Parliament's Constitutional Affairs Committee. It meets twice a year in the member state that holds the rotating EU Presidency.[1] The conference is mainly intended for personal contacts between Members of National Parliaments and MEPs, and for exchanges of information. COSAC may however also adopt contributions addressed to the EU institutions.
COSAC has now gained the right to submit contributions and examine proposals on EU law relating to Justice and Home Affairs[1] and will see its role expand under the Treaty of Lisbon with provisions for increased involvement of national parliaments in EU affairs.[2]
COSAC is a French acronym for "Conférence des organes spécialisés dans les affaires communautaires et européennes des parlements de l'Union européenne". It is known by similar terms such as the Conference of European Community Affairs Committees[1] and under the Treaty of Lisbon COSAC's name is listed as the "conference of Parliamentary Committees for Union Affairs".[3]
| State | Committee |
|---|---|
| Belgium | Advisory Committee on European Affairs and Federal Advisory Committee on European Affairs (includes MEPs) |
| France | The Committee in Charge of European Affairs (lower house)[4] |
| Germany | Committee on the Affairs of the European Union (lower house)[5] and the Committee on European Union Questions (upper house)[6] (also, the Chamber for European Affairs in the upper house)[7] |
| Italy | Committee on European Union Policies (lower house)[8] and Committee on European Union Policies (upper house)[9] |
| Poland | European Union Affairs Committee (lower house)[10] European Union Affairs Committee (upper house)[11] |
| Romania | The Committee on European Affairs (lower house)[12] and European Affairs Committee (upper house)[13] |
| Spain | Joint Commission for the European Union[14] |
| Sweden | The Committee on EU Affairs[15] |
| United Kingdom | European Scrutiny Committee (lower house) and European Union Committee (upper house, includes sub-committees) |
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||