MEPs - and the committees asked to deliver opinions - can table amendments to the draft report drawn up by the rapporteur; it is then adopted, possibly with some changes, by the committee responsible; the political groups examine the report from their own political standpoint; finally, the report is discussed in plenary session. Amendments to it may be tabled by the committee responsible, the political groups or a number of Members. Parliament votes on the report, thereby adopting its position on the original proposal.
Codecision
The codecision procedure involves one, two or three readings. Its effect has been greatly to increase the number of contacts between the European Parliament and the Council, the co-legislators, and with the Commission.
The Commission proposes a legislative text; The European Parliament adopts a position on the basis of a report by its relevant standing committee; it usually suggests changes to the Commission proposal in the form of amendments. This is the first reading;
The Council of Ministers either approves Parliament's amendments - in which case the legislative proposal is adopted - or modifies them by adopting a common position;
On the basis of a recommendation by the relevant standing committee, the European Parliament delivers an opinion at second reading: it approves, rejects or amends the Council position by an absolute majority of its Members (314 votes);
The Commission takes account of Parliament's amendments and forwards an amended proposal to the Council. The Council can adopt Parliament's amendments that have been accepted by the Commission by a qualified majority, or modify Parliament's amendments only by a unanimous vote.
In the event of disagreement between Parliament and the Council, a conciliation committee made up of the members of the Council and a delegation from Parliament meets for a maximum of six weeks. The 15-member EP delegation, which reflects the composition of Parliament, is chaired by one of its Vice-Presidents. It always includes Parliament's rapporteur.
In the vast majority of cases the two parties reach an agreement, in the form of a joint text;
Parliament is invited to confirm this agreement at the third reading. If no agreement is reached, the proposal for a Community 'law' is deemed not to have been adopted (i.e. it lapses).
Budgetary power
The European Parliament and the Council are the two arms of the budgetary authority. In other words, they share the power of the purse, just as they share legislative power. The preliminary work on Parliament's decision-making in this area is done by its Committee on Budgets in cooperation with the other standing committees.
- By exercising its budgetary power the European Parliament expresses its political priorities. It establishes the budget for the following year each December. The budget does not come into force until it has been signed by the President of Parliament. Since 1986 annual expenditure has been part of a multiannual framework - the 'financial perspectives' - adopted jointly by Parliament and the Council.
- Parliament can also reject the budget if it believes that it does not meet the needs of the Union. The budgetary procedure then starts all over again. Parliament has rejected the budget on two occasions in the past, but has not used this weapon since it began defining a multiannual financial framework jointly with the Council.
What is the budget spent on?
Let us take as an example the European Union's budget for 2002: 46.2% of the budget is allocated to agriculture, 33.6% to 'structural' measures, i.e. measures to develop the Union's less prosperous regions, 6.4% to other internal policies such as research and social measures. 5.4% of the budget is earmarked for running the EU institutions (including 1.08% for the European Parliament's budget). External measures (foreign policy, development aid, etc.) account for 7.6% of the budget, 2.7% going towards preparations for the accession of new member states.
How is the budget financed?
The budget is financed from own resources agreed on by the member states after consulting the European Parliament. This means, in plain language, that these are resources belonging to the European Union and not contributions from the member states. The budget cannot exceed 1.27% of the European Union's gross national product.
Parliament not only adopts the annual budget, it monitors the way the budget is spent. Parliament's Budgetary Control committee carries out this work, using the reports of the European Court of Auditors and the European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF) among other sources.
It monitors the management and effectiveness of Community spending and strives to ensure zero-tolerance of fraud and mis-management. It decides each year whether to grant the Commission a 'discharge' for the implementation of the budget. This decision is accompanied by comments, which the institutions in question are obliged to act upon.
Supervisory power
Parliament exercises democratic oversight of all Community activities. This power, which was originally applied to the activities of the Commission only, has been extended to the Council of Ministers and the bodies responsible for the foreign and security policy. To facilitate this supervision the European Parliament can set up temporary committees of inquiry. It has done so on several occasions, as in the case of mad cow disease, when Parliament's inquiry led to the establishment of a European Veterinary Agency in Ireland. Parliament also secured the creation of the European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF).
The Commission and Council
The European Parliament plays a central role in appointing the Commission. It ratifies the appointment of the Commission President, holds confirmation hearings of the nominee Commissioners and then decides whether or not to appoint the Commission, as a whole, by a vote of confidence.
Parliament also has the right to censure the Commission: a 'motion of censure' against the Commission adopted by an absolute majority of MEPs and two-thirds of the votes cast would force the Commission to resign. To date Parliament has never adopted a motion of censure, but its power to do so acts as a powerful deterrent.
Parliament routinely exercises its supervisory powers by examining a large number of reports that the Commission submits to it on the implementation of policies, legislation and the budget.
A parliamentary committee, a political group or a given number of Members can put oral questions to the Council and Commission. These questions, on topics of political importance, usually lead to a debate. Topical issues relating to events that have aroused a high level of public interest in Europe are also the subject of regular debates. In both cases the debate is usually followed by the adoption of a resolution. During plenary sessions 'Question Time' with the Council and Commission provides a forum for a series of questions and answers on topical issues. Individual Members can address written questions to the Council and Commission; these receive written replies. More than 5,000 questions are asked every year by Members and political groups.
The Council Presidency presents its programme and half-yearly report to Parliament It also informs Parliament of the preparation for and outcome of European Councils and the progress of important legislative activities. The Council is represented, sometimes at ministerial level, at meetings of Parliament's committees.
The European Council
The European Council, which meets twice a year, is made up of the heads of state and government of the Member States and the Commission President. Parliament's President makes a number of recommendations to the European Council as it sets general political guidelines for the Union. After each summit meeting the President of the European Council reports to Parliament.
The Common Foreign and Security Policy. The aim of European political cooperation, which started in the early 1970s, was to go beyond the economic and social framework set up by the Community treaties to achieve a genuinely common strategy in foreign policy. The Treaty on European Union incorporated the security dimension into foreign policy; one of its sections is entitled 'Provisions on a common foreign and security policy'. The setting up of the European Rapid Reaction Force has, for the first time in its history, given the European Union a foreign and security policy identity of its own.
Globalisation and the role of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) are a constant concern of the European Parliament. Its recommendations to the Commission, the European Union's main trade negotiator, carry a great deal of weight, since Parliament has to give its assent to the outcome of negotiations in the WTO.
Defending human rights in the world. The European Parliament, which attaches great importance to the protection of human rights both inside and outside the Union, uses its power of assent as one way of promoting respect for fundamental rights. It has, for example, rejected a series of financial protocols with certain non-member countries on human rights grounds, forcing those countries to release political prisoners or to subscribe to international undertakings on human rights protection.