Participation of regional parliaments in the Early Warning System, REGPEX and in the CoR’s Subsidiarity Monitoring Network Pierre Schmitt

Introduction (I) This presentation is based upon a CoR report written by Pierre Schmitt, Tom Ruys and Axel Marx on The Subsidiarity Early Warning System of the Lisbon Treaty – the role of regional parliaments with legislative powers and other subnational authorities published in 2013.

Introduction (II) –Structure of the presentation:  Perception of the subsidiarity scrutiny by regional parliaments.  Main obstacles faced by regional parliaments in the EWS.  Best practices.  Recommendations related to the role of the CoR.

The perception of the subsidiarity scrutiny by regional parliaments –The establishment of the EWS was greeted with enthusiasm by regional parliaments. Most of them set up internal procedures for subsidiarity scrutiny. –Evolution: number of regional parliaments show signs of discouragement towards their lack of visibility within the EWS. In most of the EU Member States, the national parliament is not bound to pay heed to the objections issued by the regional parliaments.

Main obstacles faced by regional parliaments in the EWS (I) –E ight-week period imposed on national parliaments – even shorter deadline for regional parliaments. –Lack of resources and administrative capacities. –Complexity of the subsidiarity monitoring exercise.

Main obstacles faced by regional parliaments in the EWS (II) –Absence or late availability of translations of documents from other regional parliaments. –Lack of an efficient system for filtering EU draft legislation.

Best practices (I) –Subsidiarity monitoring mechanisms at the level of the regional parliaments.  Centralisation of (primary) responsibility for subsidiarity monitoring within a specific Standing Committee (e.g. an ‘EU affairs Committee’).  Precise deadlines for the different phases of the subsidiarity scrutiny. –Close cooperation with the respective regional government.

Best practices (II) –Coordination/cooperation at the national level.  Horizontally – national Conference of Presidents of regional parliaments.  Vertically – exchange of information between the national parliament and the regional parliaments.  In countries where regional parliaments have similar competences, the division of the workload related to subsidiarity monitoring among regional parliaments depending on the subject-matter of the draft legislation. –Coordination/cooperation at the cross- regional and European level.

Recommendations related to the role of the CoR (I) –Specific training sessions. –Additional support in selecting relevant EU draft legislation with regard to subsidiarity (see the revised subsidiarity strategy adopted on 2 May 2012). –REGPEX:  more user-friendly (more intuitive presentation) and more accurate.  early support and advice on the preparation of subsidiarity analyses of EU draft legislation.

Recommendations related to the role of the CoR (II)  Clear distinction between decisions on subsidiarity published by regional parliaments and other contributions.  Clear distinction between regional parliaments and regional governments.  Direct link to the reasoned opinions issued by national parliaments.  Systematic publication of all decisions on subsidiarity issued by regional parliaments.

Recommendations related to the role of the CoR (III)  Possibility to exchange information on subsidiarity issues which are still at the stage of discussion.  Systematic translation only for selected ‘EWS files’. Otherwise, a summary is translated into English if there is a CoR draft opinion on the initiative.

Conclusion (I) –The EWS provides a unique opportunity for both national and regional parliaments to participate in the EU legislative process. –Yet, improvements are needed:  in national parliaments’ rules of procedure to better take into consideration decisions on subsidiarity issued by regional parliaments;  in regional parliaments ‘rules of procedure;

Conclusion (II)  in the cooperation of the regional parliaments with the regional governments, with the national parliaments, and at the cross-regional and European levels. –In order to enhance the cooperation and to share information and practices, both the SMN and REGPEX can support regional parliaments to increase their impact in the context of the EWS.

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