Tuesday

19th Mar 2024

Commission accused of power-grab under new EU rules

Member states and interest groups stand to lose considerable power to the European Commission under new rules surrounding the implementation of EU legislation, experts on the subject say.

The rules, which come into force on Tuesday (1 March), are designed to overhaul decision-making in the 300-odd EU committees that vote on the detailed implementation of EU laws - a procedure known as 'comitology'.

Read and decide

Join EUobserver today

Get the EU news that really matters

Instant access to all articles — and 20 years of archives. 14-day free trial.

... or subscribe as a group

  • Hundreds of EU 'comitology' meetings take place every week in Brussels (Photo: European Commission)

Through ratification of the EU's Lisbon Treaty, member states handed greater control over hundreds of daily decisions such as food labeling and trade-protection measures to the commission, Daniel Gueguen, a leading public affairs consultant, told EUobserver.

"The reason why the new system will be worse is its increasing complexity. The commission gets more power to the detriment of member states and lobbyists," said Mr Guéguen, the author of a recent book on the subject.

Asked whether the move amounted to an intentional power-grab by the commission, Mr Guéguen said: "There is no doubt. It's not official but in practice yes. They are the only people who have the time to understand the complexity of the issues. The European Parliament may think it is getting more power but in practice it will not."

After nine months of protracted negotiations with the commission and member states, MEPs finally approved a regulation governing the new 'implementing powers' last December, as defined by the Lisbon Treaty.

The procedure is widely practised across the globe, with national legislature's frequently delegating much of the day-to-day implementation decisions to a country's executive branch. At the EU level, powers have been handed to the commission in a wide-ranging list of areas, on condition that it consults with committees of national experts before decisions are taken.

Under former EU treaties, a simple majority of member state experts could block a commission proposal on technical issues such as milk quotas or the approval of certain chemical substances. They could also elect to transfer controversial decisions such as those related to GMOs to the level of EU ministers.

Under the Lisbon Treaty and last December's regulation however, a harder-to-achieve qualified majority is now needed, while the ability to push politically sensitive decisions up to council of ministers level has also been restricted.

An EU official who is well versed on the subject confirmed that the new comitology rules would work very much in the commission's favour. "The commission is in control of the agenda and can push its own interests. It can now adopt its own proposals unless there is a qualified majority of member state experts against it," said the source on condition of anonymity.

National governments have recently been scrambling to claw back some of the lost powers, mostly in vain, added the contact. "Member states woke up way too late. This is what happens when you negotiate a new treaty at 3am."

Supporters of the new rules say they will help to further streamline EU decision-making and hand the European Parliament a greater say. But a number of states including Germany and the UK have recently shown considerable unease about the new mechanism, concerned that their ability to influence important trade decisions will be reduced.

The commission argues that bringing trade under the new comitology rules will reduce the ability of sectoral groups to lobby against the wider public interest, and also prevent member states from politicising particular issues such as tariffs on shoe imports.

And contrary to the views of Mr Guéguen, the Belgian EU presidency last December hailed the MEP agreement on a regulation governing comitology as an important step towards simplifying the EU procedure, frequently said to be lacking transparency.

Finnish PM: Russia preparing for 'long conflict with West'

Finland, which shares a border with Russia, has cautioned about the danger of a Russian attack in coming years. Russia is not "invincible" but "self-satisfaction is no longer an option," Finnish prime minister Petteri Orpo said.

EU Commission proposes opening Bosnia accession talks

Eight years on, the EU Commission is to recommend on Tuesday that member states open accession talks with Bosnia and Herzegovina after the country took "impressive steps" to meet the bloc's standards, Ursula von der Leyen said.

Opinion

How the EU can raise its game in the Middle East

Could the EU repair its reputation and credibility by taking action on Gaza? EU foreign affairs chief Josep Borrell, Spain, Belgium and Ireland, have worked hard to repair the damage, but have faced political headwinds due to internal divisions.

Latest News

  1. Borrell: 'Israel provoking famine', urges more aid access
  2. Europol: Israel-Gaza galvanising Jihadist recruitment in Europe
  3. EU to agree Israeli-settler blacklist, Borrell says
  4. EU ministers keen to use Russian profits for Ukraine ammo
  5. Call to change EIB defence spending rules hits scepticism
  6. Potential legal avenues to prosecute Navalny's killers
  7. EU summit, Gaza, Ukraine, reforms in focus this WEEK
  8. The present and future dystopia of political micro-targeting ads

Stakeholders' Highlights

  1. Nordic Council of MinistersJoin the Nordic Food Systems Takeover at COP28
  2. Nordic Council of MinistersHow women and men are affected differently by climate policy
  3. Nordic Council of MinistersArtist Jessie Kleemann at Nordic pavilion during UN climate summit COP28
  4. Nordic Council of MinistersCOP28: Gathering Nordic and global experts to put food and health on the agenda
  5. Friedrich Naumann FoundationPoems of Liberty – Call for Submission “Human Rights in Inhume War”: 250€ honorary fee for selected poems
  6. World BankWorld Bank report: How to create a future where the rewards of technology benefit all levels of society?

Stakeholders' Highlights

  1. Georgia Ministry of Foreign AffairsThis autumn Europalia arts festival is all about GEORGIA!
  2. UNOPSFostering health system resilience in fragile and conflict-affected countries
  3. European Citizen's InitiativeThe European Commission launches the ‘ImagineEU’ competition for secondary school students in the EU.
  4. Nordic Council of MinistersThe Nordic Region is stepping up its efforts to reduce food waste
  5. UNOPSUNOPS begins works under EU-funded project to repair schools in Ukraine
  6. Georgia Ministry of Foreign AffairsGeorgia effectively prevents sanctions evasion against Russia – confirm EU, UK, USA

Join EUobserver

EU news that matters

Join us