Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2011-10-12-Speech-3-299-000"
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"en.20111012.21.3-299-000"2
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"Madam President, first, I would like to thank the honourable Members for their replies to my introductory remarks. Also, I have to thank the European Parliament for a very constructive approach towards this mechanism and also towards the cooperation between the Commission and the national parliaments. I am deeply convinced that the good work of the subsidiarity control mechanism and its efficient application is in the interests of all of us. This is not about blocking European integration but about making it more transparent to the citizens and also more democratic, because the issues are, in this manner, being brought closer to the hearts of citizens and to their concerns.
I also very much welcome the positive tone and constructive approach of the speakers and the roles of the national parliaments in this debate, because their role is also essential when it comes to the building of an inclusive Europe that resonates in the capitals of our Member States and is closely linked to the concerns of the citizens. The Commission is fostering an active political dialogue with the national parliaments. This has been very fruitful, as has been demonstrated by the numbers of opinions and reasoned opinions. We would, of course, very much encourage this tendency to continue in the future.
On the question relating to the Committee of the Regions, of course we cooperate with the Committee of the Regions very closely. The Committee can play an active role in the mechanism and, most importantly, ensures that there is a voice for local and regional authorities at European level. More specifically, the Committee of the Regions’ subsidiarity monitoring network provides a very good access point for regional and local authorities, and can enable the Commission, in some situations, to reinforce the analysis of regional aspects in its impact assessments. It can also help the Commission to strengthen the analysis of subsidiarity and proportionality in the future. In conformity with the Protocol on Cooperation between the Commission and the Committee of the Regions, the Commission regularly provides the Committee of the Regions with comments on its opinions.
As regards the subsidiarity control mechanism and regional bodies, we have to respect the Treaty. The Treaty is very clear in this respect, because it states that it is for each national Parliament or each chamber of a national parliament to consult its appropriate regional parliaments with legislative powers. We have to respect the Treaty in that respect.
The first and last questions were on how the mechanism works in practice. I have to say that the national parliaments have been quite efficient and effective in their responses to the legislative proposals from the Commission. It does not look as if they have a particular problem with respecting the eight-week deadline, and we are absolutely punctual when it comes to the legislative deadlines. At the same time as the legislative proposal is sent to the European Parliament and to the Council, it is also sent to the national parliaments. We have seen that within eight weeks, the national parliaments are ready and able to send us their opinions.
What we are trying to do now in the Commission is to be more efficient in terms of responses. The Commission has installed a new IT system which is making it easier to record all the responses, and it is trying to improve the quality of its responses to the national parliaments and to work in more detail on the opinions we receive from the national parliaments.
As has already been said, two years after the Lisbon Treaty entered into force, the subsidiarity monitoring mechanism is working very well. I am sure that it will be a very important tool for involving the national parliaments more closely in the process of European cooperation."@en1
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