EUobserver.com

EUOBSERVER / BRUSSELS - Dutch MPs are seeking to raise awareness of the extra powers that national parliamentarians will have under the bloc's new treaty to influence EU legislation and are proposing a practical system to ensure that MPs take advantage of it.

Labour Party MP Luuk Blom and his colleague, Han Ten Broeke, of the liberal People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD), met EU ambassadors from the 27 member states in Brussels on Monday (21 April) to outline how they see the new system as working.

The treaty introduces a system whereby MPs can object to proposed legislation by the European Commission.

The commission has to reconsider – but not necessarily withdraw - a piece of legislation if one third of national parliaments object to it on subsidiarity grounds – the principle that the EU should only legislate where it is clear that it can do better than action at a more local level. This is has been dubbed the ‘yellow card' procedure.

If a majority of parliaments continue to object, then the commission has to ask member states and the European Parliament for their opinion on the matter.

"This closes the democratic deficit that's been around in Europe for 50 years," said Mr Ten Broeke, "without introducing something like a European Senate or a veto for national parliaments."

The Dutch politicians are pushing a paper produced by the European affairs committee in the Dutch parliament in which it is proposed that a group of MPs meet every two months to examine legislative proposals to see if they overstepped EU bounds.

This group would answer to COSAC, the body bringing together representatives from all member state national parliaments.

Currently, COSAC, dating back to 1997, only meets twice a year. It is an inter-parliamentary body composed of members of national parliaments that are knowledgeable about European affairs.

Mr Blom and Mr Ten Broeke are aiming to have this proposal discussed at the next national parliament meeting on 7-8 May.

"It's a fundamental reform of the way COSAC does things, but it's also an expansion of their role," said Mr Blom.

In the wake of the Netherlands' 2005 No vote against the proposed constitution, the Dutch strongly pushed to give a greater role to national parliaments, elevating it to a make or break issue during last year's negotiations on the Lisbon Treaty.

"The proposal is also about national parliaments taking their role seriously," he added. "We are forever saying 'It's not our fault; It's Brussels' fault'. In fact, the fault was with national parliaments for not defending their interests," continued Mr Blom.

The leaders of the Dutch No side have given the concept a guarded welcome.

Haary van Bommel, the EU spokesperson in the Dutch lower house for the Socialist Party - which played a key role in organising the No campaign in 2005 - said: "We think it's a step forward if it works, as it gives a greater role to national parliaments."

"They still have to find ways to make it work, as national parliaments will have to work together much more closely than they do now," he added.

"But it doesn't compensate for the handing over of national veto rights," he said, "and these two MPs may think that this addresses the No side's complaints, but it's not a sufficient answer because it doesn't address the 95 percent of the Lisbon Treaty that's the same as the old constitution."

MPs seek to make concerted use of new powers under EU treaty