Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2006-03-22-Speech-3-249"
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"en.20060322.18.3-249"2
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"Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, allow me to begin with a somewhat heretical remark. The important reports are discussed in this House shortly before midnight, and the esoteric drivel in the form of resolutions is discussed during the day at prime transmission time. If we are to talk about the question of parliamentary reform – and there is, of course, a proposal to this effect from the President of the House – I would say that, before we deliberate seriously on the curtailment of Members’ rights, we should talk about giving the plenary agenda a more logical structure in which important subjects are given their rightful place.
The second process, for which we have already taken the first organisational steps in this House, is the establishment of a project group comprising the rapporteurs and shadow rapporteurs of both participating committees, a working party whose purpose would be to keep a close eye on the work of the Commission, the research groups and the network as well as providing political guidance on particular issues of legal policy, such as the issue of the demarcation line between business-to-business and business-to-consumer transactions.
From our point of view, these are crucial matters which still require regulation and in which greater parliamentary involvement is both welcome and necessary. These are the key elements of the resolution on the table. Let me finish by saying that I believe this is the most significant project being undertaken by the European Commission and the other institutions in the course of the present legislative term. It is the most significant by far, which is why I would certainly expect us to try and bring it to a successful conclusion. It will also play an important part in determining whether the single European market continues to converge for the benefit of everyone – consumers and traders alike.
This report is about European civil law. In simple terms, its aim is to have the Commission try to shape broad areas of European civil law by creating a common frame of reference in a particular field of activity in the first instance in such a way that it will affect the legislation of the Member States and of the European Union in the field of civil law for many generations to come.
There is even something of a debate on whether the work we are considering here could ultimately lead to a uniform European code of civil law. Although I say that with all due caution, what we have here is nevertheless a truly significant and decisive project.
This House has, for many years, been monitoring the efforts of the European Commission with regard to a code of European civil law and has expressed its approval and lent its support in numerous resolutions since 1989. That is also our intention in this proposal for a resolution.
We have come to a very critical stage. At the present time, work is under way on the frame of reference and on the revision of the established body of Community law and practice in the realm of consumer protection. The reason why this stage is critical is that the present efforts will determine whether this work is ultimately crowned with success or whether it falls short of the desired outcome, and this depends very much on the quality of the substance that emerges from these present efforts.
Parliament therefore takes the view that, although what the Commission has launched is right in principle, it requires improvement in several respects. For example, we have the impression that the cooperation between the research groups that drafting the common frame of reference on contract law and the practitioners on the network side is not functioning properly. We want to ensure that the practical experience brought into this project by the network specialists is considered by the research groups in an appropriate framework. This is something for which we in the Committee on Legal Affairs are pressing vigorously.
Another important point is that a distinction must be made between business-to-business and business-to-consumer transactions. We want to protect consumers, but traders must also have broad scope to conclude contracts with each other, and this scope must not be restricted by excessive red tape.
There is also a need to ensure that what is currently being developed within this frame of reference and will subsequently form a very considerable body of soft law, at least at the European level, and have an impact on all legislation in the field of civil law is not simply created without any involvement on the part of the legislative institutions, namely Parliament and the Council. It is not enough for Parliament and the Council to deliver their opinions on the drafting procedure; they must also be involved in the development of the substance of this frame of reference, because it will be they who adopt laws enshrining elements of the frame of reference and who must publicly justify the adoption of those laws.
Against this background it is important that Parliament is also involved on the substantive side. From our perspective, this should involve two processes. Firstly, the Commission should keep Parliament constantly and comprehensively informed of progress in the formulation of the frame of reference and the improvement of the body of Community law and practice relating to consumer protection, and we should have the opportunity to pronounce ourselves at any time within a continuous process."@en1
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