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The Delegation for the European Union _____________ See also : _____________
The increasing influence of European construction over Member States' national legislation led to the creation in 1979, in each of Parliament's chambers, of a Delegation for the European Union. Till then no body within the National Assembly or the Senate was specifically tasked with following Community issues-it was the duty of the National Assembly deputies appointed to sit at the European Parliament to present each year to the Foreign Affairs Committee an information report on the main issues of European construction. For as long as the Strasbourg Assembly was composed of national parliamentarians, these were institutionally associated in European construction. But the election since 1979 of European deputies by direct universal suffrage has broken this tie and the continuous extension of Union competences has led the deputies and senators to feel progressively stripped of their powers. As the development of the European Communities has entailed the transfer to Brussels of decision-making authority in an increasing number of areas which are matters for statute, the risk emerged of Parliament being insufficiently informed. In addition, as the Community legal order does not take up the distinction made by the French Constitution between matters for statute and matters for regulation, many texts (directives, regulations, decisions) are directly negotiated by the government whereas their content could, according to French law, be a matter for the legislator. Unlike the six standing committees whose existence is laid down by the Constitution, the Delegation for the European Union has only a statutory status. While its operation is similar to that of a committee, its remit is however different. Whereas the committees are tasked with considering French legislation and voting on it in the public sitting, the Delegation for the European Union exercises above all political scrutiny over the government's European activities. It intervenes upstream of the decision-making process, in the negotiation phase of Community texts. The number of members of each Delegation-the National Assembly's and the Senate's-is, by statute, thirty six-a number which is nevertheless considerably lower than that of the six standing committees. For instance, the Cultural, Family and Social Affairs Committee can number up to 145 deputies. The Delegation bureau is made up of a Chairman, four deputy chairmen and two secretaries. The Chairman determines the agenda of meetings and convenes the Delegation. He is, like the President of the National Assembly, elected for the length of the legislature; this permanence facilitates the monitoring of Community texts which are negotiated and adopted according to a schedule which does not match the rhythm of parliamentary sessions. Pursuant to Article 48 of the Rules of Procedure of the National Assembly, he participates in the Chairmen's Conference, a body which provides the opportunity for an exchange of views on the priority agenda laid down by the government and which, in some cases, draws up a complementary agenda to the texts given precedence by the government.
List of chairmen of the National
The rules on the composition of the Delegation set forth proportional representation of political groups and balanced representation of standing committees. The Delegation indeed engages in transversal activity and can be led to examine any subject whenever it is addressed by the European Union. Therefore the fact that all the deputies of the Delegation are also members of one of the six standing committees facilitates this transversal work. Composition of the Bureau of the Delegation for the European Union (November 2003) Chairman: Mr Pierre Lequiller (UMP) Vice-Chairmen : Mr Jean-Pierre Abelin (UDF), Mr René André (UMP), Mrs Elisabeth Guigou (SOC), Mr Christian Philip (UMP). Secretaries : Mr François Guillaume (UMP), Mr Jean-Claude Lefort (CR) Composition of the Delegation for the
European Union
UMP: Union pour un mouvement populaire Group; SOC: Socialist Group; The Delegation : The National Assembly's European lookout The Delegation's first remit is to inform the National Assembly of European Union work, particularly by publishing information reports. Since the constitutional amendment of 1992 prior to ratification of the Maastricht Treaty, this general information remit has been combined with a duty to scrutinise, upstream, Community legislation, pursuant to Article 88-4 of the Constitution. In session, the Delegation generally holds one to two meetings a week during which reports, opinions, communications or hearings are included on the agenda. Distributed after each meeting, the work reports are grouped in the Delegation Bulletin published every month. The Delegation's general remit is to stay abreast of work by European Union institutions in order to keep the deputies informed. It is the government's duty to keep the Delegation informed by communicating any necessary document drawn up by the various European institutions. The Act of 10 June 1994 extended this communication obligation to all `European Union' drafts of instruments, in other words not only Community drafts of instruments, but also those coming under the common foreign and security policy and cooperation in the fields of justice and internal affairs. Each year the Delegation therefore receives nearly 3 000 European documents (draft regulations, draft directives, decisions, white papers, green papers, communications, work programme, etc.). Every month it publishes a `Selection of European Union documents' aimed at allowing the deputies and committees to become rapidly informed of the main points of the Union's legislative activity. Brief analyses draw attention to texts deemed particularly important. Number of documents received
(1) from 01/01/2002 to 18/06/2002 As part of its information remit, the Delegation regularly holds hearings of ministers and French and foreign personalities. For instance it systematically hears the foreign affairs minister or the minister delegate with responsibility for European affairs, following each European Council. During the 2002-2003 ordinary session, it heard thirty or so personalities, among whom many members of the government. Several of these hearings were open to the public and the press. Number of hearings
(1) from 25/06/2002 to 30/06/2003 Many information reports are also published to keep the deputies informed and these are circulated both within the Assembly and outside of it (government, Community institutions, French representatives to the European Parliament, socio-professional bodies, press, etc.). The delegation is entitled to issue own-initiative opinions on any subject it chooses and can publish as many information reports as it desires in order to keep the national parliament abreast of each of the major ongoing debates on the future architecture of the Union institutions and the specific policies implemented: creation of a European public prosecutor, asylum and immigration policy, Europol, maritime safety, common agricultural policy, transports, trade policy. Each of these reports can lead to the adoption of a motion for a resolution or a proposal for conclusions expressing the Delegation's position on these dossiers. Number of reports tabled
(1) from 01/01/2002 to 18/06/2002 By way of example, during the 2002-2003 session, the Delegation gave a favourable opinion for the enlargement of the European Union to ten new States. A general rapporteur on the enlargement process as a whole and special individual country rapporteurs were appointed to keep tabs on the membership process of each of the candidate countries. List of information reports by the Delegation for the European Union tabled between 1 july 2002 and 15 november 2003 These reports can be consulted in French under the `Union européenne' heading of the National Assembly's website : www.assemblee-nationale.fr/europe/ Year 2002 N° 26 Information report on the preliminary draft general budget of the European Communities for 2003 (Rapporteur: Mr René ANDRÉ) N° 183 Information report on texts laid before the National Assembly pursuant to Article 88-4 of the Constitution (Rapporteur: Mr Pierre LEQUILLER) N° 331 Information report on texts laid before the National Assembly pursuant to Article 88-4 of the Constitution (Rapporteur: Mr Pierre LEQUILLER) N° 344 Information report on the reform of the common fisheries policy (Rapporteur: Mr Didier QUENTIN) N° 388 Information report on the second railway package (Rapporteur: Mr Christian PHILIP) N° 391 Information report on the transposition of the directive on common rules for the internal natural gas market (Rapporteur: Mr Christian PHILIP) N° 392 Information report on the single European sky (Rapporteur: Mr Thierry MARIANI) N° 445 Information report on the creation of a European public prosecutor (Rapporteurs: Messrs. René ANDRE and Jacques FLOCH) N° 469 Information report on the European arrest warrant (Rapporteur: Mr Pierre LEQUILLER) N° 512 Information report on texts laid before the National Assembly pursuant to Article 88-4 of the Constitution (Rapporteurs: Messrs. Pierre LEQUILLER and Christian PHILIP) Year 2003 N° 592 Information report on texts laid before the National Assembly pursuant to Article 88-4 of the Constitution (Rapporteur: Mr Pierre LEQUILLER) N° 597 Information report on the reform of voting rules for the election of France's representatives to the European Parliament (Rapporteur: Mr Pierre LEQUILLER) N° 598 Information report on the agricultural negotiations at the World Trade Organization (Rapporteur: Mr François GUILLAUME) N° 639 Information report on the taxation of the art market in Europe (Rapporteur: Mr Pierre LELLOUCHE) N° 644 Information report on maritime safety in Europe (Rapporteurs: Messrs. Guy LENGAGNE and Didier QUENTIN) N° 711 Information report on the second railway package (complementary report) (Rapporteur: Mr Christian PHILIP) N° 713 Information report on texts laid before the National Assembly pursuant to Article 88-4 of the Constitution (Rapporteurs: Messrs. Pierre LEQUILLER, Marc LAFFINEUR, Didier QUENTIN) N° 716 Information report on judicial cooperation between the European Union and the United States of America (Rapporteur: Mr Didier QUENTIN) N° 773 Information report on the enlargement of the European Union to ten candidate countries (Rapporteur: Mr René ANDRÉ) N° 774 Information report on the accession of Hungary to the European Union (Rapporteur: Mr Michel DELEBARRE) N° 775 Information report on the accession of Latvia to the European Union (Rapporteur: Mr Alfred ALMONT) N° 776 Information report on the accession of Lithuania to the European Union (Rapporteur: Mr René ANDRE) N° 777 Information report on the accession of Malta to the European Union (Rapporteur: Mr Jacques FLOCH) N° 778 Information report on the accession of Poland to the European Union (Rapporteur: Mr François GUILLAUME) N° 779 Information report on the accession of the Czech Republic to the European Union (Rapporteur: Mr Nicolas DUPONT-AIGNAN) N° 780 Information report on the accession of Slovakia to the European Union (Rapporteur: Mr Jean-Pierre ABELIN) N° 781 Information report on the accession of the Republic of Cyprus to the European Union (Rapporteur: Mr Christian PHILIP) N° 782 Information report on the accession of Estonia to the European Union (Rapporteur: Mr André SCHNEIDER) N° 783 Information report on the accession of Slovenia to the European Union (Rapporteur: Mr Thierry MARIANI) N° 816 Information report on the status and funding of European political parties (Rapporteur: Mr Pierre LEQUILLER) N° 817 Information report on the European asylum policy (Rapporteur: Mr Thierry MARIANI) N° 819 Information report on the future of Europol (Rapporteur: Mr Jacques FLOCH) N° 833 Information report on the implementation conditions in Europe of the `birds' directive of 2 April 1979 (Rapporteur: Mr Daniel GARRIGUE) N° 866 Information report on texts laid before the National Assembly pursuant to Article 88-4 of the Constitution (Rapporteurs: Mr Pierre LEQUILLER and several of his colleagues) N° 889 Information report on the mid-term review of the common agricultural policy (CAP) (Rapporteur: Mr Jean-Marie SERMIER) N° 902 Information report on linguistic diversity in the European Union (Rapporteur: Mr Michel HERBILLON) N° 903 Information report on sales promotions in the internal market (Rapporteur: Mr Gérard VOISIN) N° 994 Information report on the Convention on the future of Europe (Rapporteur: Mr Pierre LEQUILLER) N° 1007 Information report on the preliminary draft general budget of the European Communities for 2004 (Rapporteur: Mr René ANDRE) N° 1009 Information report on the transposition status of European directives (Rapporteur: Mr Christian PHILIP) N° 1010 Information report on the European Commission green paper on services of general interest (Rapporteur: Mr Christian PHILIP) N° 1011 Information report on texts laid before the National Assembly pursuant to Article 88-4 of the Constitution (Rapporteurs: M. Pierre LEQUILLER and several of his colleagues) N° 1095 Information report on the European research and development policy (Rapporteur: Mr Daniel GARRIGUE) N° 1096 Information report on texts laid before the National Assembly pursuant to Article 88-4 of the Constitution (Rapporteurs: M. Pierre LEQUILLER and several of his colleagues) N° 1145 Information report on the accession of the Republic of Cyprus to the European Union (complementary report) (Rapporteur: Mr Christian PHILIP) N° 1158 Information report on the reform of the mergers regime (Rapporteur: Mr Marc LAFFINEUR) N° 1160 Information report on the proposal for a Council Directive amending Directive 77/388/CEE as regards reduced rates of value added tax (Rapporteur: Mr Daniel GARRIGUE) N° 1162 Information report on texts laid before the National Assembly pursuant to Article 88-4 of the Constitution (Rapporteurs: Mr Pierre LEQUILLER and several of his colleagues) N° 1210 Information report on negotiations at the World Trade Organization (WTO) (Rapporteur: Mr Marc LAFFINEUR) At the initiative of its President, a National Assembly Permanent Bureau to the European Union was set up in March 2003 with the main aim of improving the information of parliamentarians on the activity of Community institutions. This bureau, manned by an official of the European Affairs Department and housed in the premises of the European Parliament and of the Permanent Representation of France to the European Union, is available to the deputies as a whole, members of the Delegation and also of the standing committees. The collection of working documents from Union institutions and also the development of a network of relations comprising the main players taking part in the European decision-making process should contribute to improving the quality of parliamentary scrutiny over European affairs. This bureau was also created to promote the development of interparliamentary relations. The Delegation played an active part in the debate on the future of Europe. It was behind the `Conference on the future of Europe' which brought together 1 000 citizens on 7 and 8 November 2001 at the National Assembly. In January 2003, it hosted a debate on the issues of the future European Constitution between nearly 600 European students and many deputies from the Delegation and European politicians. The Delegation also takes part regularly in the organisation of symposia and conferences. The Delegation carefully followed the work by the Convention on the future of Europe tasked with drafting a draft European Constitution. The President of the National Assembly indeed appointed two of its members to represent it there: Mr Pierre Lequiller as the established representative and Mr Jacques Floch as the alternate representative. The Delegation was therefore regularly and closely associated in the Convention debates on the occasion of many communications, hearings and joint meetings with parliamentary delegations from several European Union Member States or acceding States. The work by the National Assembly representatives is available in its entirety in an information report by Mr Pierre Lequiller published in July 2003: La Constitution européenne: le pari gagné de la Convention sur l'avenir de l'Europe (The European Constitution: The winning bet of the Convention on the future of Europe) (report no. 994). · Europe on the National Assembly website www.assemblee-nationale.fr/europe/ The `Union européenne' heading of the National Assembly website forms a major channel informing about the Delegation's activities. In addition to its current European affairs heading, a wealth of constantly updated information is available here online: - Composition of the Delegation for the European Union; - Agenda and forward programme of meetings; - Meeting reports; - Information reports; - Selection of documents on the European Union; - Thematic documentary dossiers on the European Convention and the Intergovernmental Conference; - Spotlight on the country holding the presidency of the Union; - Selection of useful links to other sites devoted to European issues.
Introduced into the Constitution in 1992, on the occasion of the constitutional revision prior to ratification of the Maastricht Treaty, then amended in 1999 as part of the ratification process of the Amsterdam Treaty, Article 88-4 has given the French Parliament specific means of monitoring European affairs. This constitutional provision requires the government to lay before the National Assembly and the Senate any drafts of or proposals for instruments of the European Communities or the European Union containing provisions which are matters for statute as soon as they have been transmitted to the Council of the European Union. It is up to the Conseil d'Etat to decide on the statutory nature or not of a draft of or a proposal for a Community instrument. However, since the constitutional amendment of 25 January 1999, the government has also had the possibility of laying before the chambers European texts which, though not statutory in nature, can be considered as likely to give rise to Parliament taking a position. This is the `optional clause' added to the `mandatory clause' on drafts of or proposals for European instruments containing provisions which are matters for statute.
European texts which are matters for statute are printed on blue paper and distributed in a specific series of parliamentary documents bearing the letter "E" (for Europe) followed by a number corresponding to the order of arrival of proposals. The Rules of Procedure of the National Assembly (Rules 151-1 to 151-4) entrust the Delegation with the task of systematically examining the texts which the government lays before the Assembly pursuant to Article 88-4 of the Constitution. Approximately 250 European texts are thus submitted to the Delegation on which it is required to take a position. It can then decide : - To approve the draft of or the proposal for a Community instrument by adopting, where applicable, conclusions or a motion for a resolution to explain its position in detail; - To defer taking a decision when it feels it lacks information to assess the scope of the text and it may possibly appoint an information rapporteur tasked with addressing in greater depth the examination of the document; - To oppose the adoption of the draft of or the proposal for a Community instrument. It may then decide to state the reasons for its opposition by adopting conclusions or a motion for a resolution which will be automatically communicated for examination to one of the National Assembly's six standing committees responsible. `E' Documents communicated by the Government pursuant to article 88-4 of the Constitution
(1) from 01/01/2002 to 18/06/2002 · How does the procedure take place for examining drafts of or proposals for Community instruments ? Parliamentary scrutiny reserve The parliamentary scrutiny reserve notion was introduced by the Prime Minister's circular of 19 July 1994 on the factoring of the position of the French Parliament into the formulation of Community instruments. It means that the National Assembly and the Senate are entitled to vote - for or against - a proposal for an instrument before its adoption by the European Union Council of Ministers. The Prime Minister's circular of 13 December 1999 therefore sets forth that the government must allow a minimum one month period from the transmittal to Parliament of a draft of or a proposal for a Community instrument. This one month period is part of the six week period laid down by the protocol on the role of national parliaments appended to the Amsterdam Treaty, during which the Union Council cannot adopt a common position or a decision with respect to a legislative proposal received from the Commission. There is however an emergency examination procedure which allows the government to ask the Chairman of the Delegation to directly carry or reject a draft European instrument, without convening the Delegation, when the Community schedule requires the urgent adoption of a text. This procedure should however remain exceptional.
(1) from 01/01/2002 to 18/06/2002 Point A or Point B of the agenda Texts deemed of minor importance or that do not involve any specific difficulty are placed under point A of the Delegation's agenda, which means that they are approved without debate. For each of these, an information sheet is sent to the Delegation members approximately one week before the date of the meeting during which they are considered as approved unless a Delegation member voices his disagreement. In this case, the Delegation does not take a position until after a debate between its members. The other texts, placed under point B of the agenda, are presented orally by the Chairman of the Delegation or a specially appointed rapporteur who states the content and the explanatory memorandum of the draft European instrument, any feedback, compliance with the subsidiarity principle, legal basis adopted, probable schedule for its examination... The examination sheets of all the E documents (examined under point A and point B) are regularly published as part of the Delegation's `balai' reports (information reports on texts laid before the National Assembly pursuant to Article 88-4 of the Constitution). · National Assembly resolutions on drafts of or proposals for European Community and European instruments Unlike the adoption of conclusions which are wholly those of the Delegation for the European Union, resolutions express the position of the National Assembly as a whole. The Delegation can adopt therefore only proposals for resolutions which are then sent for examination to one of the six standing committees tasked with deciding within a period of one month following the referral. The standing committee than appoints its own rapporteur and takes a position on the Delegation's proposal for a resolution which it can adopt as such, amend or reject. Within eight days following the distribution of the committee's report, the proposal for a resolution can be included on the National Assembly's agenda on request by a group chairman, a committee chairman, the Chairman of the Delegation or the government. If no request for inclusion on the agenda is presented, the text adopted by the committee responsible is considered final and transmitted to the government. Resolutions have a political scope; they are not legally binding on the government but the latter must take them into account at Community negotiations. In all cases, resolutions adopted by the Assembly are published in the Journal officiel (official gazette)(Acts and decrees edition). The Delegation does not however have the sole right of initiative to table proposals for resolutions, which is also an individual right enjoyed by each deputy. If the government or the chairman of a group so requests, the standing committee responsible must examine the proposal for a resolution within one month following this request.
(1) from 01/01/2002 to 18/06/2002
As part of its role of monitoring European affairs, and in view of France's poor results regarding the transposition of directives, the Delegation for the European Union has taken the initiative of publishing an annual information report taking stock of the effective transposition of directives into domestic law. This report lists directives whose transposition period has expired and analyses the causes for such delay. Parliament thereby intends to support the government's action plan to considerably reduce the backlog of directives remaining to be transposed, in order to meet Community requirements.
Interparliamentary cooperation forms an important aspect of the Delegation for the European Union's activities. Apart from its constitutional and legislative powers of information and supervision, the Delegation is a body in permanent contact with the parliaments of the Union and those of candidate countries.
The role of national parliaments in European construction was enshrined by the Amsterdam Treaty which entered into force in 1999 and to which is appended a specific protocol on the role of national parliaments. This protocol represents significant progress in terms of transparency and access to information, setting forth that a minimum six-week period shall elapse between a legislative proposal being transmitted to the Council of the Union and included on the agenda of the Council with a view to the adoption of an Act or of a common position. The European Convention has also formulated ambitious proposals to better associate national parliamentarians in the issues of European construction. The draft Treaty establishing a Constitution for Europe therefore comprises two protocols: one on the role of national parliaments in the European Union and the other on the application of the principles of subsidiarity and proportionality. · Draft protocol on the role of national parliaments The draft protocol on the role of national parliaments adopted by the Convention sets forth that `all Commission consultation documents (green and white papers and communications) shall be forwarded directly by the Commission to the Member States' national parliaments upon publication' and adds that `all legislative proposals sent to the European Parliament and to the Council of Ministers shall simultaneously be sent to Member States' national parliaments.' It is also laid down that national parliaments shall receive the Commission's annual legislative programme as well as any other instrument of legislative planning or policy strategy. This draft text also clarifies the relations between national parliaments and the Council of the Union composed of representatives of Member States' governments. A minimum ten-day period shall elapse between the placing of a proposal on the agenda for the Council of Ministers and the adoption of a position. · Draft protocol on the application of the principles of subsidiarity and proportionality The subsidiarity principle, introduced by the Maastricht Treaty, refers to the most appropriate level of intervention when a competence is shared between the Union and the Member States. In the case of `shared' or `competing' competences, European action is justified only if the Union really can act more effectively than the Member States individually. The draft protocol on the application of the principles of subsidiarity and proportionality appended to the draft Constitutional Treaty lays the foundation for greater integration of the subsidiarity principle during the elaboration and proposal phase of legislative acts and aims at allowing national parliaments to exercise ex-ante political scrutiny over subsidiarity by the introduction of an early warning mechanism. A protocol provision therefore sets forth that the Commission shall justify its proposals with regard to the principles of subsidiarity and proportionality. Henceforth, any legislative proposal should contain a detailed statement making it possible to appraise compliance with the principles of subsidiarity and proportionality. Any Member State national parliament or any chamber of a national parliament may, within a six week period, send to the Presidents of the European Parliament, the Council of Ministers and the Commission a reasoned opinion stating why it considers that the proposal in question does not comply with the principle of subsidiarity. Where reasoned opinions on a Commission's proposals non-compliance with the principle of subsidiarity are given by at least one third of the national parliaments, the Commission shall review its proposal. After such review, the Commission may decide to maintain, amend or withdraw its proposal. Early warning therefore sets out to allow national parliaments to express their position, individually and directly, at the beginning of the Community legislative procedure. It is a matter here of ex ante political scrutiny which is not aimed at getting national parliaments to intervene directly in the Community legislative procedure. The Commission cannot be legally bound by the opinions issued. It will however, in practice, be restrained by a political power relationship which will naturally impact the content of its legislative proposals. The history of European construction is the fruit of permanent negotiations; in this sense the early warning right is part and parcel of the Community approach. Once Community instruments have been adopted definitively, national parliaments will always have the possibility of bringing actions before the European Court of Justice, which is asked to give a legal ruling on compliance with the subsidiarity principle. This ex post right of judicial appeal will be exercised by Member States or implemented by them on behalf of their national parliament.
As national parliaments are becoming involved in Community affairs, so is cooperation strengthening between national and European parliamentary institutions. Deputies are increasingly frequently invited to Brussels to debate on a variety of subjects with the members of such or such a standing committee of the European Parliament. For instance during the fourth quarter of 2003, the European Parliament Constitutional Affairs Committee organised several meetings open to national parliamentarians on the follow-up to the Intergovernmental Conference. Likewise, the National Assembly Delegation for the European Union regularly invites French deputies to the European Parliament to participate in joint meetings. This was the case during the ordinary 2002-2003 session during the debates devoted to the creation of a European prosecutor and to linguistic diversity in the enlarged Union. At the same time, bilateral parliamentary cooperation is developing both with the parliaments of Member States and with those of candidate countries. For example, between October 2002 and November 2003, the members of the Delegation received their counterparts from the European Affairs Committees of the British, Czech, German, Polish and Spanish parliaments. They also travelled to Stuttgart on 25 February 2003 to participate in a joint meeting with the Bundestag's European Union Affairs Committee, and on 16 June 2003 to Warsaw for an important work meeting with the European Affairs Committees of the Weimar Triangle.
COSAC is an interparliamentary conference created in 1989 at the initiative of Laurent Fabius, then President of the National Assembly. It convenes each half year, in the country holding the European Union presidency, six representatives of the committees or delegations tasked with European affairs at the Union's parliaments and six European Parliament representatives. COSAC meetings allow parliamentarians to question the European Union Presidency-in-Office and adopt political contributions on European subjects. COSAC, which saw its existence enshrined in the protocol on the role of national parliaments appended to the Amsterdam Treaty, is also empowered to examine any legislative proposal or initiative in relation to the establishment of any area of freedom, security and justice which might have a direct bearing on the rights and freedoms of individuals. COSAC contributions shall be transmitted to the European institutions, in other words the Council of Ministers, European Parliament and Commission. COSAC meetings organised in 2002 and 2003
Guidelines for relations between governments and national parliaments on Community issues were adopted on 27 January 2003 at the XXVIIIth extraordinary COSAC in Brussels. The aim of this document is to improve the quantity and quality of information supplied to national parliaments in order to increase their influence in their country over the conduct of European affairs. The main recommendations concern : - Transmission by governments of all Community and European Union legislative documents, as well as those on other Community initiatives ; - Transmission to national parliaments of explanatory governmental notes on European legislative texts under discussion ; - Regular exchanges with the ministers concerned ; - Transmission of Council agendas and meeting reports. The nature of the scrutiny exercised by national parliaments over their respective governments cannot however interfere with the constitutional organisation and practice specific to each Member State; this justifies the fact that these guidelines are not legally binding. The draft protocol on the role of national parliaments appended to the draft constitutional treaty adopted by the European Convention takes up-without referring to them-some of the recommendations of these guidelines, particularly regarding the transmission to national parliaments of agendas and minutes of legislative sessions of the European Union Council of Ministers.
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