MINUTES. 20 October 2016

Transcription

1 PE-8/CPG/PV/ EUROPEAN PARLIAMT CONFERCE OF PRESIDTS MINUTES of the ordinary meeting of Thursday 20 October 2016 Paul-Henry SPAAK, Room 06B01 Brussels PE /CPG

2 CONFERCE OF PRESIDTS MINUTES of the ordinary meeting of Thursday, 20 October 2016 from 10:30 to 12:00 hours Paul-Henry SPAAK, Room 06B01 Brussels CONTTS Page 1. Adoption of the draft agenda Approval of the draft Minutes of the meetings of 6 October Adoption of the final draft agenda for the October II part-session (from 24 to 27 October 2016) Scheduling of key debates in plenary Conference of Presidents meeting with the incoming Maltese Presidency of the Council Postponement of the 13th Regional meeting of the ACP-EU Joint Parliamentary Assembly (JPA) Preparation of the meeting of the European Council on 20 and 21 October Draft calendar of Parliament's part-sessions for the year Delegated and implementing acts - Screening of current files Overview of delegated acts and draft RPS measures currently under EP scrutiny First reading agreements - Overview and state of play Nomination of Parliament s representative to the Joint Parliamentary Scrutiny Group according to Europol Regulation Request from the Committee on Constitutional Affairs to send a delegation to Warsaw, Poland, from 16 to 18 November Request from the Committee on International Trade and the Delegation for relations with South Asia to increase the size of the EP delegation traveling to Sri Lanka from 31 October to 3 November Request from the S&D Group to hold a meeting in Prague, Czech Republic, from 2 to 3 December PE /CPG 2/28

3 14. Urgent matters and any other business Budgetary procedure - Nomination of the delegation representing Parliament at the Conciliation Committee under Article 314 (5) TFEU Parliament's support of the EU's mediation efforts in the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia Afghanistan Special Measure Internal correspondence Inter-institutional correspondence External correspondence Date and place of next meetings /28 PE /CPG

4 CONFERCE OF PRESIDTS MINUTES of the meeting of Thursday 20 October 2016 from 10:30 to 12:00 hours Brussels The meeting opened at 10:41 hours with Mr Martin SCHULZ, President of the European Parliament, in the chair Present Mr SCHULZ, President Political Group Chairs Mr GONZÁLEZ PONS (Acting) (EPP) Mr PITTELLA (S&D) Mr KAMALL (ECR) Mr VERHOFSTADT (ALDE) Ms ZIMMER (GUE/NGL) Mr LAMBERTS (Co-Chair) (Greens/EFA) Mr LUNDGR (Acting) (EFDD) Mr De GRAAFF (Co-Chair) (F) Ms DODDS 1 (NI) Also Present Mr Ms WELLE, Secretary-General RATTI, Deputy Secretary-General 1 Present pursuant to Rule 26 (2) of the Rules of Regulations of Procedure PE /CPG 4/28

5 Invited: The Commission 1 represented by Mr FORTI Mr LE GAL PV CPG Mr BUZEK, Chair of the Conference of Committee Chair The Vice-President of the Commission/High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy 1 represented by Mr GONZATO Mr VISTIN Mr SPANIER The Economic and Social Committee 1 represented by Mr DELEANU Office of the President Office of the Secretary-General Mr Ms Mr Mr Mr Mr Mr Ms Ms Ms KNUDS BLAU FASSINA DIRRIG SCHRANZ MANGOLD SORS FREDSGAARD FERNANDEZ PERLES KOSTIDOU Office of the Deputy Secretary-General Mr LANE Ms TARDIOLI-SCHIAVO 1 Mr NATSCHERADETZ 1 Secretariat DG Presidency (PRES) DG Internal Policies (IPOL) Mr WINKLER/Ms ROBSON /Ms GANDOLFO Mr RIBERA/Ms VANDBOSCH/Mr CHIOCCHETTI/ Ms FONTANILI 1 1 Present for items 1-3 5/28 PE /CPG

6 DG External Policies (EXPO) Mr AGUIRIANO DG European Parliamentary Research Services (EPRS) Mr TEASDALE DG Communication (COMM) DG Infrastructures and Logistics DG Translation (TRAD) DG Finance (FINS) Ms LAHOUSSE/Mr DUCH GUILLOT Ms LINNUS Mr MAVRIČ Mr REIJNDERS DG Innovation and Technical Support (ITEC) Mr VILELLA Legal Service (SJ) Mr DREXLER/Ms MARTINEZ IGLESIAS Directorate for relations with political groups Mr SCHWETZ Secretariat of the Bureau Mr TZIORKAS Political groups Mr RYNGAERT/Ms LASKAVA/Ms SCRIBAN Mr MORO SANCHEZ/Mr BURU/Ms PEREIRA/Mr CARDELLA Mr BARRETT/Mr BOYD Mr BEELS/Ms COLERA-GARZÓN/Mr RASMUSS/McLAUGHLIN Ms D'ALIMONTE/Ms LEPOLA Ms TSETSI/Mr DKINGER/Mr LINAZASORO Mr VAUGIER/Ms ALBERTINI Mr CAMPOMOSI/Mr. GARUZZO Mr BORDEZ (EPP) (S&D) (ECR) (ALDE) (GUE/NGL) (Greens/EFA) (EFDD) (F) (NI) Mr ISAACS, Ms SCHADE, Ms BERTULESSI and Mr ROHLJE acted as secretaries to the meeting. PE /CPG 6/28

7 1. Adoption of the draft agenda The Conference of Presidents - noted and adopted the draft agenda (PE /CPG). 7/28 PE /CPG

8 2. Approval of the draft Minutes of the meetings of 6 October 2016 The Conference of Presidents - noted and approved the draft Minutes of the ordinary meeting of 6 October 2016 (PE /CPG and annex). PE /CPG 8/28

9 3. Adoption of the final draft agenda for the October II part-session (from 24 to 27 October 2016) Scheduling of key debates in plenary The Conference of Presidents - noted the following documents: the draft agenda for the October II part session (from 24 to 27 October 2016) in Strasbourg, as adopted by the Conference of Presidents on 6 October 2016 in Strasbourg; a provisional table dated 20 October 2016 summarising committee and delegation meetings planned for the October II part-session (from 24 to 27 October 2016) in Strasbourg (PE /CPG); - held an exchange of views with the participation of Mr GONZÁLEZ PONS, acting Chair of the EPP Group, Mr PITTELLA, Chair of the S&D Group, Mr VERHOFSTADT, Chair of the ALDE Group, Ms ZIMMER, Chair of the GUE/NGL Group, and Mr LAMBERTS, Co-Chair of the Greens/EFA Group, considered various proposals to amend the final draft agenda, and, following a vote on various items, adopted the final draft agenda for the October II 2016 partsession with the following modification: Wednesday, 26 October decided that the Statement by the Vice-President of the Commission/High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy on the situation in Northern Iraq/Mosul be taken with resolution; - heard the President propose that in case an agreement would be reached on the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement between the EU and Canada (CETA), the agenda could be changed to allow Mr TRUDEAU, Prime Minister of Canada, to address the plenary; - heard the President propose to write to Mr JUNCKER, President of the European Commission, and Mr FICO, President-in-Office of the Council, of Parliament s intention to 9/28 PE /CPG

10 allow for the negotiations on the 2017 EU budget and the revision of the Multiannual Financial Framework to take place simultaneously; - agreed with the President s proposals. PE /CPG 10/28

11 4. Communications by the President 4.1 Conference of Presidents meeting with the incoming Maltese Presidency of the Council The Conference of Presidents - heard the President announce that the Conference of Presidents meeting with the incoming Maltese Presidency of the Council in Malta would take place on Thursday 8 December 2016, noting that it was planned to travel to Malta on 7 December in the evening and to return to Brussels on 8 December Postponement of the 13th Regional meeting of the ACP-EU Joint Parliamentary Assembly (JPA) The Conference of Presidents - heard the President recall that at its meeting on 6 October 2016, in view of strong security concerns, the Conference of Presidents had opposed sending a European Parliament delegation to the 13th Regional meeting of the ACP-EU JPA in Bangui, Central African Republic, from 19 to 21 October 2016, and had also agreed that Parliament would not send any officials, including interpreters, to the Central African Republic at that juncture, nor would it provide any logistical or technical support; - heard the President report that, in the meantime, the 13th Regional meeting of the ACP-EU JPA had been postponed; - heard him report that he would suggest to ask Parliament s Legal Service on behalf of the Conference of Presidents to respond to a number of legal questions concerning the limitations to the ACP autonomy regarding the use of EP resources - both financing and staffing - in particular when the security of a mission cannot be guaranteed.; - agreed with the President s proposals. 11/28 PE /CPG

12 5. Preparation of the meeting of the European Council on 20 and 21 October 2016 The Conference of Presidents, - took note of the following documents: a note dated 13 September 2016 from the General Secretariat of the Council on the annotated draft agenda of the European Council on 20 and 21 October 2016 (PE /CPG); - heard the President note that, in line with the European Council agenda, he would emphasise the following aspects in his speech: External relations Parliament s strong call for an end to the bloodshed and the war in Syria, in particular all attacks by Russia and the Syrian regime, targeting civilians and medical facilities, should stop immediately and credible and immediate steps for cessation of hostilities needed to be taken, allowing unhindered access for humanitarian aid agencies to reach all people in need; those guilty of committing war crimes and crimes against humanity were to be held responsible for; on Ukraine, only a strong European policy and the EU sanctions currently in place concerning actions against Ukraine's territorial integrity could make Russia respect its commitments under the 2015 Minsk agreement, while Ukraine also needed to play its part, in particular in reforming the country s constitution and the electoral law, and its laws on decentralisation; Trade following Canada s agreement to include the Investment Court System in CETA and addressing other EU concerns in the agreement, Parliament expected solutions to be found swiftly, so that the EU and Canada could sign CETA and the European Parliament could launch its own procedures for granting consent; PE /CPG 12/28

13 CETA in its current form had the potential to gather a majority within the European Parliament, however, it was imperative for Parliament that the EU kept up a sufficient level of trade defence to protect EU markets from dumping and other unfair practices; Parliament expected Council to make progress on the reform of Trade Defence Instruments, pending since 2014; Migration the current refugee and migration crisis required more solidarity at many levels, also with the countries hardest hit by the refugee crisis, Italy and Greece; Parliament refused any à la carte solidarity; despite having instruments for a more effective migration policy in place, the relocation scheme was not being implemented, causing humanitarian disaster; migration "compacts" could be instruments of migration policy, if properly concluded; held an exchange of views with the participation of Mr GONZÁLEZ PONS, acting Chair of the EPP Group, Mr PITTELLA, Chair of the S&D Group, Mr VERHOFSTADT, Chair of the ALDE Group, Ms ZIMMER, Chair of the GUE/NGL Group, Mr LAMBERTS, Co-Chair of the Greens/EFA Group, and Mr DE GRAAFF, Co-Chair of the F Group, during which Members broadly endorsed the President's approach, with one political group dissenting from the majority view on certain issues; UK plans on withdrawal from the EU - heard the President further note that it that Ms MAY, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, was expected to give a short presentation on the UK government s plans regarding a withdrawal from the EU, during the dinner at the meeting; - heard him recall Parliament s unanimous call for its involvement from the start of any negotiations related to the question of a UK withdrawal from the EU and heard him therefore 13/28 PE /CPG

14 propose to make a statement on behalf of Parliament at the end of his speech at the European Council, which would give the British Prime Minister an opportunity to respond, stating that the European Parliament welcomed greater clarity and the approximate timetable as regards the UK s intention to invoke Article 50 TEU, deeming it necessary for Article 50 TEU to be activated soon in view of the European elections in 2019; the principle of no negotiations without notification was to be applied until the moment of formal notification and any announcement by the British government that Article 50 would be triggered did not constitute the invocation of that Article; the European Parliament had a key role in terms of the EU s future relation with the UK following the activation of Article 50 TEU, given that the exit treaty and any EU trade agreement that followed on from a UK withdrawal required Parliament s approval. For this same reason, Parliament s full involvement was necessary; the early involvement of the European Parliament and its representatives in the negotiation process was all the more fundamental, given that the time, at which European Parliament s approval was required, could coincide with Members elections campaigns in the run-up to the European elections in 2019; if the UK was to leave the European Union, the country, even while an EU Member State, should not prevent the other EU Member States from reforming and cooperating more closely; - broadly endorsed the President's approach; - heard Mr VERHOFSTADT report at the meeting of the Conference of Committee Chairs (CCC) he had addressed on 18 October 2016, reiterating the question raised by the President in his letter to the Mr Buzek Chairman of the CCC: 1. What is the possible impact of a BREXIT on the legislative files currently under discussion of impending UK departure in each committee? PE /CPG 14/28

15 2. What is the likely impact on these legislative files if they are not concluded pre-brexit and therefore only concluded post-brexit? 3. Are there policies or EU legislation in force [which part of the EU acquis is] likely to feature as part of the EU-UK withdrawal agreement, and if so in what way? 4. Are there policies or EU legislation in force likely to feature as part of the future EU- UK relationship agreement, and if so in what way? - heard him further report that Mr BARNIER, chief negotiator in charge of leading the Commission taskforce for the preparation and conduct of the negotiations with the United Kingdom under Article 50 TEU, would be invited to a future meeting of the CCC and that Mr VERHOFSTADT would be willing to attend further CCC meetings, as necessary; - heard him stress that it was for the Conference of Presidents to decide how and at what stage Parliament should react; - heard the President thank Mr VERHOFSTADT for his work and propose that Mr BARNIER be invited to a future Conference of Presidents meeting before the planned exchange with the CCC; - agreed with the President s proposal. 15/28 PE /CPG

16 6. Draft calendar of Parliament's part-sessions for the year 2018 This item was postponed. PE /CPG 16/28

17 7. Delegated and implementing acts - Screening of current files The Conference of Presidents, without debate - recalled its decision of 19 April 2012 to request the competent services to carry out an ongoing screening procedure of upcoming legislative proposals in order to avoid placing on the plenary agenda any vote(s) leading to a first-reading agreement on dossiers where such decisions could be legally questionable; - recalled its decision of 27 November 2014 to request a monthly overview of the delegated acts (and draft RPS measures) under scrutiny, indicating also any possible action taken by committees; - took note of the letter of 5 October 2016 from Mr BUZEK, Chair of the Conference of Committee Chairs, forwarding the results of screening files in view of the October II 2016 part-session; and noted that no legal concerns were raised in relation to any of the dossiers scheduled for vote during this part-session (PE /CPG). 17/28 PE /CPG

18 8. Overview of delegated acts and draft RPS measures currently under EP scrutiny The Conference of Presidents, without debate - took note of the note dated 14 October 2016 from the Secretary-General, providing an overview of the state of play on delegated and implementing acts at 13 October 2016 (PE /CPG and annex); - recalled the horizontal guidance it had adopted on 19 April 2012 on the inclusion of delegated acts in the basic legislative act; consequently, maintained its request to the Conference of Committee Chairs to carry out a monthly screening of the agreements reached; - recalled its decision of 27 November 2014 to request a monthly overview of the delegated acts (and draft RPS measures) under scrutiny, indicating also any possible action taken by committees. PE /CPG 18/28

19 9. First reading agreements - Overview and state of play The Conference of Presidents, without debate - took note of the letter of 13 October 2016 from Mr BUZEK, Chair of the Conference of Committee Chairs, forwarding an overview of recent mandates adopted by committees for first reading negotiations (PE /CPG and annex); - recalled its decision of 12 March 2015 to request the competent services to ensure the greatest degree of transparency in the legislative process possible and to request that an overview of negotiating mandates for first reading agreements be made available to it on a regular basis; - noted that the Conference of Committee Chairs would continue to provide systematic information to the Conference of Presidents on all legislative files under negotiation in first, early second and second reading, in accordance with the decision of the Conference of Presidents of 10 March /28 PE /CPG

20 10. Nomination of Parliament s representative to the Joint Parliamentary Scrutiny Group according to Europol Regulation The Conference of Presidents, without debate - took note of a letter dated 11 October 2016 from Mr MORAES, Chair of the Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs (LIBE), concerning the nomination of a Parliament representative to the Working Group on the setting up of the Joint Parliamentary Scrutiny Group (JPSG) under the new Europol Regulation (PE /CPG); - took note of the letter dated 22 September 2016 from Mr DANKO, Speaker of the National Council of the Slovak Republic, proposing that Parliament appoint a political representative to the Working Group on the setting up of the Joint Parliamentary Scrutiny Group under the new Europol Regulation (PE /CPG and annexes); - noted that the LIBE Committee had recommended to nominate Mr DIAZ DE MERA as the European Parliament s political representative to the Working Group on the setting up of the JPSG; - invited Parliament s political representative to exercise his mandate and to reply to the consultation launched by the Slovak Parliament on the basis of the European Parliament legislative resolution of 25 February 2014, and to keep the Conference of Presidents duly informed during the process, in particular with a view to the Speakers Conference in April 2017 in Bratislava; - endorsed the recommendation of the LIBE Committee and invited the President to inform the Speaker of the National Council of the Slovak Republic accordingly. PE /CPG 20/28

21 11. Request from the Committee on Constitutional Affairs to send a delegation to Warsaw, Poland, from 16 to 18 November 2016 This item was withdrawn. 21/28 PE /CPG

22 12. Request from the Committee on International Trade and the Delegation for relations with South Asia to increase the size of the EP delegation traveling to Sri Lanka from 31 October to 3 November 2016 The Conference of Presidents, without debate - took note of a letter dated 29 September 2016, co-signed by Mr LANGE, Chair of the Committee on International Trade (INTA), and Ms LAMBERT, Chair of the Delegation for relations with South Asia, requesting authorisation under Article 12(3) of the Implementing provisions for Mr KARIM, Standing Rapporteur of the INTA Monitoring Group for trade relations with South Asia, to accompany the three Members of the Delegation on their mission to Sri Lanka from 31 October to 3 November 2016 (excluding travel time) (PE /CPG and financial statement); - recalled that at its meeting on 4 May 2016, the Conference of President had authorised the request from the Delegation for relations with the countries of South Asia to travel to Colombo and another location in Sri Lanka from 31 October to 4 November 2016; - recalled that under the rules in force, the current committee rapporteur should be systematically invited to participate in a delegation travelling on mission outside Parliament s places of work, provided that this was justified by the agenda of the inter-parliamentary meeting concerned; - noted that one of the main issues to be addressed during the mission to Sri Lanka would be the development of economic relations between Sri Lanka and the EU and, in that context, the country s application for the Generalised Scheme of Preferences+ (GSP+) status; - authorised the request. PE /CPG 22/28

23 13. Request from the S&D Group to hold a meeting in Prague, Czech Republic, from 2 to 3 December 2016 This item was postponed. 23/28 PE /CPG

24 14. Urgent matters and any other business 14.1 Budgetary procedure - Nomination of the delegation representing Parliament at the Conciliation Committee under Article 314 (5) TFEU The Conference of Presidents, without debate - took note of the letter dated 19 October 2016 from the coordination of the political groups on a proposal from the groups for the nominal composition of Parliament s delegation to the Conciliation Committee for the 2017 budget (PE /CPG); - recalled its decision of previous years that the delegation to the Budgetary Conciliation Committee should be composed of its President and 27 other Members, drawn from amongst the political groups, based on a proposal from the political groups; - approved the proposal. PE /CPG 24/28

25 14.2 Parliament's support of the EU's mediation efforts in the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia The Conference of Presidents, without debate - took note of the letter dated 12 October 2016 from Mr PITTELLA, Chair of the S&D Group, informing the President of the proposal that Mr FLECKSTEIN replace Mr HOWITT as part of Parliament's support of the EU's mediation efforts in the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM), together with Mr KUKAN and Mr VAJGL (PE /CPG); - recalled that Mr KUKAN, Mr HOWITT and Mr VAJGL had been working with Mr HAHN, Commissioner for European Neighbourhood Policy and Enlargement Negotiations, in support of the EU's mediation efforts, and that they had supported the implementation of the Przino Agreement, including by visiting Skopje, FYROM, on several occasions; - recalled its decision of 4 May 2016 to invite the President to authorise missions in the framework of Parliament's support of the EU's mediation efforts in FYROM by Mr KUKAN, Mr HOWITT and Mr VAJGL, when duly justified, and subject to the relevant rules and a proper notification of the Conference of Presidents, including the provision of a financial statement for each mission (PE /CPG); - noted that Mr KUKAN, Mr FLECKSTEIN and Mr VAJGL should continue the work and be authorised to participate in meetings in support of the EU's mediation efforts, when duly justified; - recalled that these meetings could be scheduled at short notice; - invited the President to authorise future missions in this framework by Mr KUKAN, Mr FLECKSTEIN and Mr VAJGL, subject to the conditions set out in its decision of 4 May /28 PE /CPG

26 14.3 Afghanistan Special Measure The Conference of Presidents - heard Mr LAMBERTS, Co-Chair of the Greens/EFA Group, regret that his group s proposal to include a Commission statement, wound up by a resolution, on the plenary agenda on the Commission s proposal for a special measure on improving reintegration of returnees in Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan had been rejected; - heard the President note that the matter was currently being considered by the Committee on Development, which was in an ongoing procedure on this issue with the European Commission. PE /CPG 26/28

27 15. Items for information 15.1 Internal correspondence The documents for the meeting include: - a note on the result of the written procedure on the request from the Delegation to the Parliamentary Assembly-Union for the Mediterranean (PA-UfM) to hold a meeting of the Bureau and the Enlarged Bureau in Rome, Italy, from 21 to 22 October 2016 (PE /CPG/Conclusions and annexes); - an exchange of letters dated 6, 11, 12 and 14 October 2016 between Mr MICHEL, Co-Chair on the ACP-EU Joint Parliamentary Assembly, and other Members and Mr SCHULZ, President of the European Parliament, on the situation in Bangui, Central African Republic (PE /CPG and PE /CPG) Inter-institutional correspondence The documents for the meeting include: - a letter dated 6 October 2016 from Mr JUNCKER, President of the European Commission, on Vice-President GEORGIEVA s resumption of her duties with the European Commission (PE /CPG) External correspondence The documents for the meeting include: - an exchange of letters dated 13 and 19 October 2016 between Mr MECKASSOUA, President of the Parliament of the Central African Republic, and Mr SCHULZ, President of the European Parliament, concerning the 13th Regional meeting of ACP-EU Joint Parliamentary Assembly (PE /CPG). 27/28 PE /CPG

28 16. Date and place of next meetings The Conference of Presidents - noted that the next ordinary meeting would be held on Thursday 27 October 2016 from 10:00 to 12:00 hours in room R1.1, in Louise WEISS Building, in Strasbourg. * * * The meeting closed at hours. PE /CPG 28/28