Comitology: exercise of implementing powers conferred to the Commission

The committee adopted the report by Richard CORBETT (PES, UK) broadly approving the proposal under the consultation procedure, subject to a number of amendments aimed at shoring up Parliament's prerogatives and clarifying the text. In the legislative resolution, the report pointed out that current Article 202 of the TEC must be amended in the light of the proposal, in order to "enshrine full equality of rights between the European Parliament and the Council as regards the definition of legislative empowerment for the executive authority and supervision of the exercise of the powers conferred on it". In its amendments, the committee clarified the procedure to be followed in the event of disagreement between the co-legislators (Parliament and Council) and the Commission on any proposed implementing measures. Thus, the Commission should have three options: to present a legislative proposal under Article 251 of the Treaty (codecision), to adopt its draft measures with amendments which take account of the objections made by Parliament or the Council (this was not made clear in the initial wording of the proposal) or to withdraw its draft measures altogether (this new provision was introduced by the committee). MEPs also called for Parliament and Council to be given three months, rather than one month as proposed, in which to consider the proposed measures. Moreover, the committee wanted to provide for the possibility of extending by another month the one-month deadline laid down for Parliament and the Council to register objections under the urgency procedure. In another amendment the committee specified that the proposed public register of documents sent to the European Parliament in the context of the procedure for adopting implementing measures should be set up by the Commission in 2003 and should be available on the Internet. Lastly, the report stressed that the special commitments made by the Commission in the context of financial services legislation (the "Lamfalussy process", which assures Parliament a more favourable treatment) should continue to apply.�