JURI: A committee with a toothless bite

EUobserver takes a deep dive into the workings and new chairs of every single European Parliament committee for the new 2024-2029 session, in a series of articles first published in our print magazine of October 2024

At the beginning of each new mandate, the European Parliament's legal affairs committee is tasked to scrutinise possible conflicts of interests of the 26 European Commissioner-designates.

For Ilhan Kyuchyuk, the Bulgarian Renew MEP chairing the committee, known as JURI, the probe represents a top priority in the weeks to come. 

"We will work devotedly on it," said the 39-year-old, who studied law and political science.

But there are limitations. The committee has no investigative powers. It will only review declarations submitted by the candidates themselves, in an ‘honour’ system. And any possible conflicts must also fall within their respective commissioner portfolios.  

Once submitted, the committee will attempt to make its assessment within 48 hours. Should it suspect any wrongdoing, the committee can ask the commissioner-designate follow-up questions behind closed doors.

Kyuchyuk has been an MEP for over a decade, working on foreign affairs. He also had a keen interest in Turkey. 

Yet his experience with the JURI committee is also limited. It is currently composed of around 25 members. He was a JURI substitute committee member for around four years up until 2024. He became a full member in July 2024 for three days, before being designated its chair.

The tasks ahead are serious. The committee will look into everything from intellectual property rights and company law to parliamentary immunities, better law-making and institutional scrutiny.

It will also have a role in matters related to judicial independence and the protection of the rule of law in member states, especially in view of administrative law.

"The committee’s task is to guarantee that EU legislation not only addresses contemporary challenges but also remains aligned with the values and legal framework that underpin the Union," he said.

Kyuchyuk said the committee will face several challenges over the next five years. 

Among them are new rules on European cross-border associations, which he says aim to improve the legal framework for civil society.

"The proposal on AI liability is one of our priorities too, as it aims to complement the framework regulating artificial intelligence in an innovation-friendly manner," he said.

And issues surrounding copyright will also be tackled, he said.

The direction of the committee is also being steered, in part, by European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen's political guidelines.

The guidelines include ideas of a so-called 28th regime, which aims to allow companies to benefit from a simpler, harmonised set of rules. It means the European Commission plans to propose a new EU-wide legal status to help innovative companies grow.

"That would have a strong effect on European competitiveness. We would also be adamant on keeping up, from a regulatory point of view, with the evolution of AI and digitalisation," said  Kyuchyuk.

As for possible biggest achievements for the committee over the next five years?

Kyuchyuk cites setting aside political differences in order to secure rule of law and better law-making.

"My hope as chair of the legal affairs committee would be that as professionals with legal background, together with the colleagues, members of the committee we can put aside our differences and focus on the matter at hand," he concluded.

The JURI committee coordinators are: Axel Voss (EPP, Germany), René Repasi (S&D, Germany), Pascale Piera (PfE, France), Tobiasz Bocheński (ECR, Poland), Dainius Žalimas (Renew, Lithuania), Sergey Lagodinsky (Greens, Germany), Mario Furore (Left, Italy), and Marcin Sypniewski (ESN, Poland).