13.7.2007   

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 161/45

Opinion of the European Economic and Social Committee on 25 acts to be adapted as a matter of urgency to Council Decision 1999/468/EC of 28 June 1999 laying down the procedures for the exercise of implementing powers, as amended by Council Decision 2006/512/EC of 17 July 2006

COM(2006) 901, 902, 903, 905, 906, 907, 908, 909, 910, 911, 912, 913, 914, 915, 916, 917, 918, 919, 920, 921, 922, 923, 924, 925, 926 final

(2007/C 161/14)

Between 18 January and 8 February 2007, the Council decided to consult the European Economic and Social Committee, under Articles 37, 44, 47, 55, 95, 152, 175 and 262 of the Treaty establishing the European Community, on the above-mentioned proposals.

On 14 January 2007, the Committee Bureau instructed the Section for the Single Market, Production and Consumption to prepare the Committee's work on the subject.

Given the urgent nature of the work, the European Economic and Social Committee appointed Mr Retureau as rapporteur-general at its 434th plenary session, held on 14 and 15 March 2007 (meeting of 14 March), and adopted the following opinion by 96 votes to one with three abstentions.

1.   Summary of the Committee opinion

1.1

The Committee welcomes the introduction of the regulatory procedure with scrutiny into the comitology system, enabling the Council and the Parliament to scrutinise and, where appropriate, amend the Commission's implementing regulations when the legislative act recognises the Commission's right to exercise implementing powers in some areas, without authorising it to make substantive amendments; in principle, this involves only making the adjustments and changes necessary for the proper application of the act in question, in accordance with Article 251 TEC.

1.2

The Committee notes that the urgent amendment of some acts proposed by the Commission (1) is in line with Decision 2006/512/EC and the joint statement concerning both the list of acts to be adjusted as quickly as possible and the repeal of time limits on the exercise of the Commission's implementing powers.

2.   Commission proposals

2.1

Council Decision 2006/512/EC of 17 July 2006 (2) amended Council Decision 1999/468/EC (3) of 28 June 1999 laying down the procedures for the exercise of implementing powers conferred on the Commission, in particular by the addition of Article 5a introducing a new regulatory procedure with scrutiny.

2.2

The comitology procedures for the follow-up of each legislative act will thus comprise a further option strengthening the Parliament's scrutiny over the exercise of the implementing powers conferred on the Commission by the act, with reference to acts subject to this new option and governed by the co-decision procedure, or the Lamfalussy process in financial matters.

2.3

In a joint statement (4), the Commission, the Council and the Parliament agreed on a list of instruments that they believed should urgently be adjusted to the amended Decision, so as to replace the initial procedure with the new regulatory procedure with scrutiny. This joint statement further stipulates that the principles of good legislation require that implementing powers be conferred on the Commission without any time limit.

2.4

The Commission now proposes to amend retroactively 26 legislative acts considered to be of key importance (5), so as to introduce the new procedure and, where appropriate, repeal any time limits on the implementing powers which might be included in the acts.

2.5

In three cases, the listed co-decision instruments not only modify already existing basic acts but also merely refer to comitology provisions which have to be aligned in those acts. In these cases, the Commission has therefore proposed to adjust the latter. In particular:

2.5.1

To align Directive 2005/1/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 9 March 2005, the Commission proposes to adjust:

—

Directive 91/675/EEC of 19 December 1991 setting up a European insurance and occupational pensions committee;

—

Directive 92/49/EEC of 18 June 1992 on the coordination of laws, regulations and administrative provisions relating to direct insurance other than life assurance and amending Directives 73/239/EEC and 88/357/EEC (third non-life insurance Directive);

—

Directive 2002/83/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 5 November 2002 concerning life assurance;

—

Directive 2005/68/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 16 November 2005 on reinsurance and amending Council Directives 73/239/EEC, 92/49/EEC as well as Directives 98/78/EC and 2002/83/EC.

2.5.2

To align Directive 2003/41/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 3 June 2003 on the activities and supervision of institutions for occupational retirement provision, the Commission proposes to adjust:

—

Directive 2002/83/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council mentioned above.

2.5.3

To align Directive 2001/107/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 21 January 2002, the Commission proposes to adjust:

—

Directive 85/611/EEC on the coordination of laws, regulations and administrative provisions relating to undertakings for collective investment in transferable securities (UCITS).

2.6

The list of instruments to be aligned as a matter of priority is reproduced below:

(1)

Directive 2006/49/EC of the European Parliament and the Council of 14 June 2006 on the capital adequacy of investment firms and credit institutions;

(2)

Directive 2006/48/EC of the European Parliament and the Council of 14 June 2006 relating to the taking up and pursuit of the business of credit institutions;

(3)

Directive 2006/43/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 17 May 2006 on statutory audits of annual accounts and consolidated accounts, amending Council Directives 78/660/EEC and 83/349/EEC and repealing Council Directive 84/253/EEC;

(4)

Regulation 2006/562/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 15 March 2006 establishing a Community Code on the rules governing the movement of persons across borders (Schengen Borders Code);

(5)

Directive 2005/68/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 16 November 2005 on reinsurance and amending Council Directives 73/239/EEC, 92/49/EEC as well as Directives 98/78/EC and 2002/83/EC;

(6)

Directive 2005/60/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 26 October 2005 on the prevention of the use of the financial system for the purpose of money laundering and terrorist financing;

(7)

Directive 2005/32/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 6 July 2005 establishing a framework for the setting of ecodesign requirements for energy-using products and amending Council Directive 92/42/EEC and Directives 96/57/EC and 2000/55/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council;

(8)

Regulation 2005/396/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 February 2005 on maximum residue levels of pesticides in or on food and feed of plant and animal origin and amending Council Directive 91/414/EEC;

(9)

Directive 2004/109/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 15 December 2004 on the harmonisation of transparency requirements in relation to information about issuers whose securities are admitted to trading on a regulated market and amending Directive 2001/34/EC;

(10)

Directive 2004/39/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 21 April 2004 on markets in financial instruments amending Council Directives 85/611/EEC and 93/6/EEC and Directive 2000/12/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council and replacing Council Directive 93/22/EEC;

(11)

Directive 2003/71/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 4 November 2003 on the prospectus to be published when securities are offered to the public or admitted to trading and amending Directive 2001/34/EC;

(12)

Regulation 2003/1829/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 22 September 2003 on genetically modified food and feed;

(13)

Directive 2003/6/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 28 January 2003 on insider dealing and market manipulation (market abuse);

(14)

Directive 2002/96/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 27 January 2003 on waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE);

(15)

Directive 2002/95/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 27 January 2003 on the restriction of the use of certain hazardous substances in electrical and electronic equipment;

(16)

Directive 2002/87/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 16 December 2002 on the supplementary supervision of credit institutions, insurance undertakings and investment firms in a financial conglomerate and amending Council Directives 73/239/EEC, 79/267/EEC, 92/49/EEC, 92/96/EEC, 93/6/EEC and 93/22/EEC, and Directives 98/78/EC and 2000/12/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council;

(17)

Directive 2002/83/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 5 November 2002 concerning life assurance;

(18)

Regulation 2002/1606/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 19 July 2002 on the application of international accounting standards;

(19)

Directive 2001/83/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 6 November 2001 on the Community code relating to medicinal products for human use;

(20)

Directive 2001/18/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 12 March 2001 on the deliberate release into the environment of genetically modified organisms and repealing Council Directive 90/220/EEC;

(21)

Directive 2000/60/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 October 2000 establishing a framework for Community action in the field of water policy;

(22)

Directive 2000/53/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18 September 2000 on end-of life vehicles;

(23)

Directive 98/8/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 16 February 1998 concerning the placing of biocidal products on the market;

(24)

Directive 92/49/EEC of 18 June 1992 on the coordination of laws, regulations and administrative provisions relating to direct insurance other than life assurance and amending Directives 73/239/EEC and 88/357/EEC (third non-life insurance Directive);

(25)

Directive 91/675/EEC of 19 December 1991 setting up an insurance committee;

(26)

Directive 85/611/EEC of 20 December 1985 on the coordination of laws, regulations and administrative provisions relating to undertakings for collective investment in transferable securities (UCITS).

3.   General comments

3.1

The Committee has always considered that comitology procedures, involving only representatives of the Commission and Member State governments and tasked, according to the nature of the committee established, with the management, consultation or regulation flowing from the follow-up and implementation of legislative acts, should be more transparent and accessible to people living in Europe and especially to those affected by these acts.

3.2

It therefore welcomes the decision to introduce a new regulatory procedure with scrutiny for acts governed by the co-decision procedure. With the Parliament not being directly involved in the committees, it was appropriate that a system be established to scrutinise the Commission's implementing powers so as to verify that the implementing regulations adopted autonomously by the Commission did not exceed these powers.

3.3

The repeal of time limits on implementing powers, which are included in some acts, follows on logically from the enhancement of the scrutiny exercised by the Parliament and the Council, and their right to amend Commission implementing regulations for any act governed by the co-decision procedure and the Lamfalussy process.

3.4

The joint statement of 21 October 2006 called on the Commission, as a matter of urgency, to submit proposals under the Decision of 17 July 2006, and the Committee notes that the Commission has duly complied with this request.

3.5

It also notes that the acts amended are consistent with the priorities established by this decision.

Brussels, 14 March 2007.

The President

of the European Economic and Social Committee

Dimitris DIMITRIADIS

(1)  COM(2006) 901 to 926.

(2)  OJ L 200 of 22.7.2006, p. 11.

(3)  OJ L 184 of 17.7.1999, p. 23.

(4)  OJ C 255 of 21.10.2006, p. 11.

(5)  I.e. documents COM(2006) 901 to 926, introduced by Communication COM(2006) 900 final. It should however be noted that the EESC has not been consulted on COM(2006) 904 final.