The Council has adopted its position at first reading with a view to the adoption of a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council amending certain regulations relating to the common commercial policy as regards the granting of delegated powers and implementing powers for the adoption of certain measures ("Trade Omnibus Act II").
The proposed regulation should establish the more effective use of delegated powers and implementation by the Commission in the conduct of trade policy and ensure consistency with the provisions introduced by the Treaty of Lisbon.
The position of the Council at first reading reflects the compromise reached by the Council and the Parliament during the negotiations, with the help of the Commission.
The main points for amendment were the following:
- the use of the urgency procedure;
- the adaptations to annexes;
- the scope of the regulations;
- the period of validity and extension of the delegated acts; the delay for formulating objectives to delegated acts;
- the granting of delegated authority for the adoption of safeguard measures.
A significant number of issues contained in the proposal also figure in the Trade Omnibus Act I. In order to achieve a consistent result, it was decided to conduct the negotiations on the two files in parallel.
The Chair of the European Parliament's International Trade Committee has indicated in a letter to the COREPER Chair that, should the Council transmit formally to the Parliament its position in the form as it stands in the annex to that letter, he would recommend to the Plenary that the Council's position be accepted without amendment, subject to legal-linguistic verification, at the Parliament's second reading.