Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2009-05-06-Speech-3-353"
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"en.20090506.39.3-353"2
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"Mr President, Commissioner, firstly I would like to extend my very warm thanks for our successful work together to the rapporteur from the Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs, Mr Deprez, all the shadow rapporteurs, and the representatives of the Czech Presidency and the European Commission. In spite of our fairly distant initial negotiating positions, we have managed to reach a compromise, which, I hope, will allow us to come to an understanding with the Council at first reading.
The proposal for a regulation establishes a mechanism, on the basis of which Member States will be able to renegotiate, negotiate and conclude bilateral agreements with third countries in the area of judicial cooperation in civil and commercial matters. An analogical mechanism is foreseen in relation to bilateral agreements in the area of jurisdiction, recognition and enforcement of judgments and decisions in matrimonial matters, parental responsibility and maintenance obligations. It is a response to the practical problem which arose in consequence of Opinion 1/03 of the European Court of Justice on the new Lugano Convention, in accordance with which the Communities are competent to conclude external agreements to the same extent that they used the mandate to accept legal means in the area of judicial cooperation in civil cases under Article 61(c) of the EC Treaty.
The proposed instrument establishes a special procedure. For this reason, the legal frameworks of the proposed mechanism must be strictly limited both in terms of scope and time. The first condition is met by limiting the proposed regulation to bilateral agreements in the areas of jurisdiction and recognition and enforcement of judgments and decisions in civil and commercial matters. The second condition is met by the ‘sunset clause’, in accordance with which an agreement concluded under this procedure automatically loses force at the moment of conclusion of an agreement by the Communities with a third country.
Admittedly I do see the need to include in the legal frameworks the matter of performance of external competencies in the area which includes the specific law of contractual and non-contractual obligations, and also of matrimonial matters. However, it would seem to be necessary to make clear that the proposed mechanism will be applicable not only to sectoral agreements determined by the limited scope of this proposal, but also to other agreements such as bilateral understandings and regional agreements between a limited number of Member States and neighbouring third countries – of course only in very limited cases, concerning specific matters, and with the intention of resolving local problems.
I was sceptical as to the need to set the ‘sunset clause’ at 31 December 2014, if, according to the proposed regulation, the European Commission has to present a report on the application of the resolution by 1 January 2014. In addition, the process of negotiating agreements with third countries is often complicated and lengthy, and does not leave Member States much time to make use of the new procedure. Therefore the compromise proposal for the regulation to expire on 31 December 2019 allows a more complete and effective use of the procedure by Member States.
Despite the differing view of the European Commission, I am of the opinion that in its report on the application of the regulation the Commission should present the regulation in the context of other legislative instruments, such as Brussels I. The proposed mechanism, which includes a two-stage control function on the part of the Commission, will undoubtedly serve to ensure cohesion with the
. However, I have tried to achieve the greatest possible flexibility in the proposed procedure and a shortening of the times designated for the Commission to react, and also a reduction in the bureaucratic load. Democratic authorisation and the role of the European Parliament are not in any doubt, and therefore I also insist that the European Parliament and the Member States be given information at every stage, from the intention of a Member State to start negotiations with a third country through to conclusion of an agreement.
I would like to stress that the procedure for concluding bilateral agreements with third countries gives us a unique opportunity to demonstrate that the European Union is able to solve the problems of its citizens in their interest, which is particularly important in the context of the economic crisis and the growing Euroscepticism in many Member States. In conclusion, Mr President, in spite of certain differences of approach in a specifically legal sense we must show our pragmatism here, while of course respecting the acquis communautaire."@en1
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