THE FRENCH PRESIDENCY OF THE COUNCIL AND THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT

During its term, the French Presidency will have to manage many contacts with the  European Parliament. During its semester, the Presidency has to carry out a number of specific tasks in the context of relations and negotiations between the Council and the European Parliament. They aim at facilitating interinstitutional relations.

Before and in the early days of the Presidency, in particular, it presents the Presidency’s work programme to the Parliament’s plenary and to individual committees. It is also involved to a considerable degree in parliamentary debates- both in the plenary and in the Parliament’s different committees.

Presentation of the Presidency work programme

Before the Presidency:

About a month before the beginning of the Presidency, a meeting is organised in France with the chairs of the political groups of the EP and the President of the EP (the ‘Conference of Presidents’) to discuss the Presidency’s priorities.

Similarly, a few weeks before starting its term, the Presidency is invited to address the Conference of Committee Chairs (CCC), which consists of the chairs of all the EP committees.

At the beginning of the Presidency

At the beginning of its term, the Presidency presents its programme to the European Parliament at a Strasbourg plenary session, and participates in the subsequent debate on the matter with MEPs. It is established practice that on this occasion the Presidency is represented by its Prime Minister.

At an early stage in its term, the Presidency also appears before most of the EP committees to make a statement and to answer questions on issues of relevance for each committee. The Presidency is usually represented at ministerial level by the President of the relevant configuration of the Council. Such meetings allow for more detailed discussions on files which are of particular interest to committee members, and the General Secretariat of the Council (GSC) assists the minister in preparing his or her statement and replies.

Mid-term

In addition, roughly half way through the Presidency, a stock-taking meeting may take place between the Presidency and the Conference of Committee Chairs (CCC) in order to assess progress.

At the end of the Presidency

At the end of its term, the Presidency, represented by its Prime Minister, reports to the Parliament plenary on the progress achieved

Plenary sessions

The Presidency intervenes on behalf of the Council in the following ways.

• Taking part in debates on the basis of a report.
• Making a statement on a specific subject, usually at the request of the European Parliament, or possibly at the Council’s initiative; statements do not necessarily relate to the work of the Council. Some statements are recurrent, for example the one that the Presidency makes on the preparation of the European Council meetings, having regard to the role played by Coreper and the General Affairs Council in the preparation process.
• Taking part in a ‘topical debate’ (provided for since 2017 in the Rules of Procedure of the European Parliament, under which each group has the right to ask for at least one debate per year on a matter of major interest for EU policy).
• Answering ‘questions for oral answer with debate’ , which may be accompanied by a draft resolution, submitted to a vote the following day
• Potentially, answering ‘major interpellations’ (instrument introduced in 2017 by the new Rules of Procedure of the European Parliament).

In addition, the Presidency can intervene on behalf of the High Representative, if a replacement is needed for issues falling exclusively or primarily in the area of CFSP

The agenda for the plenary is usually organised in such a way as to require the Presidency to be present on Tuesday and Wednesday.

On the occasion of visits to the EP by heads of state or government, the Presidency may be present in the plenary, although it does not usually make a statement. However, the Presidency is generally invited to the meal which may take place during such visits and may hold private meetings in the margins with the visiting head of state or government.

For plenary sessions, the Presidency usually designates a minister for relations with the EP. He or she represents the Council, although the Council may be represented by another minister for specific debates (typically-  but not automatically-  on budget issues). With the agreement of the Presidency or at its request, the Council may also be represented by a member of the ‘trio’), by the next Presidency  or by the Secretary-General.

The Council may also present its views to the European Parliament by means of a written statement .

At the European Parliament’s Conference of Presidents, during which the agenda of the plenary sessions is drawn up, the Council is represented by the GSC’s Directorate for Interinstitutional Relations.

Involvement in committees

In addition to the ministerial appearances at the beginning (and possibly at the end) of a Presidency, some committees may request additional appearances by ministers during the Presidency term in order to be kept updated on developments within the Council on specific dossiers.

The Presidency normally accepts such invitations provided they do not become excessive. These meetings are part of the Council’s relationship with the Parliament. They may provide useful opportunities to inform committees of developments within the Council. However, the Presidency should be careful and avoid being drawn into negotiations during these meetings.

When a minister is not available, senior officials of the Presidency or the GSC, acting on instructions from the Presidency, may also appear before committees . This is, however, not systematic and needs to be decided on case by case, in the context of the issue and if a specific request of the European Parliament has been made.

As regards the Foreign Affairs Committee (AFET), the Presidency’s obligations are reduced. Normally, any meeting with the Presidency is supposed to be limited to discussing issues of enlargement and neighbourhood policy, although it invariably happens that members of the European Parliament (MEPs) try to draw the minister into a wider discussion of foreign policy issues. There is no requirement for the Presidency to attend meetings of AFET’s two sub-committees, Security and Defence (SEDE) and Human Rights (DROI), unless it is specifically requested to do so by the High Representative on his or her behalf . The Secretary-General or a senior Council official may, acting on the Presidency’s instructions, represent the Council before European Parliament committees

Exchange of views on international agreements

The European Parliament must be immediately and fully informed at all stages of the negotiation and conclusion of agreements between the EU and third countries or international organisations . It is generally the negotiator, either the Commission or the High Representative, that briefs the Parliament. However, the briefing may also take the form of an exchange of views in a parliamentary committee or a plenary part session attended by the Presidency. The Council informs Parliament of its decisions and requests Parliament’s consent where appropriate.

Trilogues (ordinary legislative procedure)

A trilogue is any trilateral meeting held between the three institutions during the legislative process, with a view to bringing the positions of the two institutions closer together in order to achieve an agreed outcome. Formal trilogues only take place at third reading or ‘conciliation’ stage. Trilogues held during first or second reading phases are all informal. They are sometimes referred to as ‘political’ or ‘technical’ (and also known as ‘technical meetings’).

• A political trilogue is one that is attended by MEPs (e.g. the chair of the EP committee dealing with the proposal, the rapporteur and the shadow rapporteurs) and which is intended to address the key political issues.
• A technical trilogue or technical meeting tends to be attended on the EP’s side only by the EP Secretariat, and by MEPs’ assistants and/or representatives of the political groups, because it is intended to address issues of a technical and non-contentious nature and/or issues that are so technically complex that thorough discussion is required to ensure that the co-legislators share a common understanding.

For those legislative files where Council Presidencies have decided that the Coreper/ SCA chair should head the Council Presidency negotiating team, the Coreper/SCA chair will normally attend only political trilogues, while the working party chair will attend technical trilogues. The question of whether an issue is ‘political’ or ‘technical’ should be agreed jointly by the Council Presidency and the EP, at an early stage in the negotiations. The working party chair can also be chosen by the Presidency to head the Council Presidency negotiating team at all levels.

Even when it is clear that an agreement will not be reached at first reading, continued contacts with the EP may be justified in order to define the points of disagreement more clearly. This would either pave the way for an early second reading agreement, or reduce the number of possible EP amendments at second reading.

Interparliamentary bodies and delegations

Under the Lisbon Treaty, responsibility for participating in the meetings of interparliamentary bodies and delegations has in most cases passed to the High Representative and her staff. The Presidency is therefore no longer required to attend these meetings, unless the High Representative specifically requests that it attend in her place.

Nevertheless, the Presidency may still be invited to participate in certain meetings such as those of the European Economic Area Joint Parliamentary Committee (where the Presidency is included in its capacity as the EU Presidency of the EEA Council), or meetings relating to candidate countries. However it is not always necessary for the Presidency to be represented at these meetings at political level.

The Council has also traditionally attended the meetings of the ACP–EU Joint Parliamentary Assembly, on behalf of the High Representative. It is normally required to participate in these meetings at ministerial level for at least half a day to give a presentation on the state of relations between the European Union and the ACP states and to reply to questions from members of the assembly. This meeting can be held in the country holding the Presidency. Briefing material for this meeting is provided directly by the relevant GSC departments.

Attendance by MEPs at informal meetings of the Council

The incoming Presidency is often approached by the European Parliament about participation in informal Council meetings. These requests are generally made by the chairs of the relevant committees. EP participation in these informal meetings is not governed by uniform rules. The practice varies depending on the set-up of each meeting. The Presidency must therefore strike a balance between, on the one hand, maintaining good relations with the EP and having exchanges with its representatives during informal meetings and, on the other hand, preserving a space in which ministers can hold discussions among themselves.