Legislature of the European Union#Ordinary legislative procedure

The ordinary legislative procedure ( before the Treaty of Lisbon co-decision procedure or co-decision procedure, called originally proceedings under Article 189b according to its place in the EC Treaty ) is the legislative process currently the most frequently applied in the EU legislation. It is applied in almost all areas of EU legislation, in which the Council of the European Union are a QMV.

In the ordinary legislative procedure, the European Parliament's role is particularly strong: According to this method, without his consent an act is not to enter into force (for example, directive or regulation). While this is true also for the approval process, but only in the ordinary legislative procedure, the European Parliament also has the right to adopt formal amendment proposals.

The codecision procedure was introduced in 1992 with the Treaty of Maastricht in specific policy areas of the European Community ( EC). It is the most important method in the framework of the supranational Community method.

Conduct of the procedure

The process itself is governed by Article 294 TFEU and includes up to three readings.

The European Commission has the sole right of initiative ( and the Treaties have provided exceptions to this principle ) and proposes a text. Thus, the process is initiated.

The European Parliament ( under Article 225 TFEU ) and the Council of the European Union ( in accordance with Article 241 TFEU), the Commission may request, propose legislation. Such a request is also Union citizens within the framework of a citizens' initiative (Art. 11 TEU and Article 24 TFEU).

In addition to being regulated in the contracts process steps can about the whole procedure across a so-called informal trialogue, ie discussions between two members of the European Parliament, the President of the Council and the European Commission to take place.

Survey

First Reading

The European Parliament ( Parliament) shall consider the legislative proposal from the Commission ( Commission), acting by a simple majority of the votes cast ( not counting abstentions or Absent ) its position. Parliament can therefore approve the proposal without any changes or make suggestions for changes.

Then follows the first reading by the Council of the European Union ( the Council). This may take decision by qualified majority either the Parliament's position or develop their own point of view. If he confirms Parliament's position, the procedure is completed and the measure was adopted.

If the Council has determined its own position, it shall inform the European Parliament of the reasons for its decision. Also, the Commission's position at the case. The positions of the Council and the Commission shall be sent to the Parliament for a second reading.

Second Reading

With the adoption of the Council position and submitting to Parliament a three-month deadline for second reading begins.

Parliament shall decide on the Council's position and has three options:

If Parliament has adopted amendments, the Council is seized again. He can text amended by Parliament

On Approving the amendments proposed by the Parliament, the Council, acting by qualified majority. However, should the Commission issued a negative opinion on the amendments proposed by the Parliament, the decision requires unanimity in the Council of.

Conciliation Committee

The Council amended the Parliament does not agree, a Conciliation Committee is convened. The process is similar to that between the German Bundestag and the Bundesrat.

The Mediation Committee is an equal number of representatives of the Council and Parliament assembled (the Committee has twice as many members as the Union Member States ). The Commission also participates watching ( trialogue ). Within six weeks, a decision has to be found. If no agreement is reached, the act has failed. If an agreement is reached, within six weeks following the third reading.

Third reading

In the third reading vote in Parliament ( by an absolute majority of the votes cast ) and the Council ( by qualified majority) on the outcome of the mediation committee from. Based only one of the organs from the text or even hold only one of the institutions in the six-week period a decision, the act has failed, it is accepted by both, it is accepted.

History and Applications

The method was first introduced by the Treaty of Maastricht under the name co-decision procedure in Article 189b of the EC Treaty. It was at that time only in a few areas, such as the Research Framework Programme and consumer policy. With the Treaties of Amsterdam and Nice, more areas were added, so that the procedure under the Treaty of Nice in more than half of all policy was applied. The Treaty of Amsterdam, the process was also simplified so that it could be done faster. Because of the renumbering of the articles of the Treaty, it was now found in Article 251 of the Treaty.

With the Lisbon Treaty, the codecision procedure received his new place in Article 294 TFEU; it was renamed " ordinary legislative procedure" and the scope has been further expanded. It is now applied in almost all areas of legislation, in which the Council of the European Union are a QMV.

Examples of the application of the ordinary legislative procedure are:

Transport policy
Environmental policy
Development policy
Employee protection
Permissiveness
Organization of agricultural markets
Judicial cooperation in civil matters
Certain matters of police and judicial cooperation in criminal matters
Border protection and abolition of checks
Asylum Legal minimum standards
Rights, such as privacy, protection against discrimination

After the ordinary legislative procedure, the Council, acting by qualified majority, was provided by the Lisbon Treaty to individual policy that individual members of the Council have the opportunity to deal, giving reasons, the European Council with a legislative procedure. This right is virtually a veto because the legislative process is only resume if a consensus between all the Member States has been reached in the European Council.

Practice

In practice, it appears that only a small part of the co-decision procedure - as the ordinary legislative procedure was called before the Treaty of Lisbon - had to be actually solved by a conciliation - not least through the instrument of the informal trialogue. The absolute number of conciliation remained almost constant. In the period 1994-1999 there were on average 12 conciliation annually (which at that time corresponded to 40% of 30 ). In the parliamentary year 1999/2000 there were 17 (26% of 65), 2000/2001, 20 (30 % of 66 ), 2001/2002, 17 (23% of 73 ) and 2002/2003, 15 (17% of 87 ). Since 1999 and the entry into force of the Amsterdam Treaty, it is possible to terminate the procedure at first reading. This possibility is also made use of: 1999/2000 in 13 cases ( 20%), 2000/2001, in 19 cases ( 29%), 2001/2002 likewise in 19 cases (26%) and 2002/2003 in 23 cases (27 %).

However, the ordinary legislative procedure and the codecision procedure may fail in the third reading - this was the first time in December 1994 in the process of patentability of biotechnological inventions ( Rothley report ). In this case, the Commission must submit a new proposal, and the process begins again.

Treaty of Rome Supranational union Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union Treaties of the European Union Bundesrat of Germany

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