Committees of the European Parliament

The committees of the European Parliament are designed to aid the European Commission in initiating legislation.

A committee room in the Parliament

Standing committees are made up of Members of the European Parliament (MEPs), who are directly elected to the seats in the European Parliament by the electorate. Each committee has a chair and four vice-chairs, along with numerous committee members. Each committee also has substitute members.

Reports are usually compiled by a rapporteur, who is appointed by the chair of the committee, selected from amongst the members or permanent substitutes.

Appointment

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The established system for the appointment of committee chairs follows the D'Hondt method.[1]

Legislative reports

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In the process of proposing and drafting legislation, the European Commission will consult the various standing committees during the codecision procedure, and these committees will advise the commission by producing reports, proposing amendments to the draft legislation, and providing, if necessary, a drafted legislative resolution.

In the event of at least one-tenth of the members objecting to any particular amendment, the amendment will be put to a vote at the committee's next meeting.

Similarly, unless at least one-tenth of committee members object, committees can also pass legislation back to the commission without amendments.

Non-legislative reports

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Committees are also able to produce non-legislative reports. The appointed rapporteur is responsible for preparing the report, and presenting it to Parliament on the committee's behalf. These reports must include a motion for a resolution, an explanatory statement, and must also outline financial implications.

Own-initiative reports

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Committees can also produce reports relevant to their competence, without having to be consulted. These are called "Own-Initiative Reports", and are used to submit a motion for a resolution.

Before drawing up any such report, a committee must obtain the permission of the Conference of Presidents. The Conference of Presidents has two months to make a decision, and any reasons for withholding permission must always be stated.

Cross-committee co-operation

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When drawing up a report, a committee may ask the opinion of another committee on the matter, particularly if it is felt that a proposed amendment would fall into the interests of another committee. The committee asked for an opinion will be named as such in the final report. The chair and drafter of the secondary committee may be invited to take part in any committee discussions held by the primary committee, where the meeting deals with the matter that the secondary committee is advising on.

Amendments that are proposed by the secondary committee will be voted on by the committee responsible for producing the report.

If the Conference of Presidents decides that a requested report falls equally to two committees, both committees will agree upon a joint timetable, and shall work together in producing the report.

List of standing committees

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This is a list of standing committees along with the respective chairperson as of July 2024.

Committee Members Chair Vice Chairs
1st half of term
(2024-2027)
2nd half of term
(2027-2029)
1st half of term
(2024-2027)
2nd half of term
(2027-2029)
Committee on Foreign Affairs AFET 79 EPP David McAllister   GER S&D Hana Jalloul   ESP
RE Urmas Paet   EST
ECR Alberico Gambino   ITA
EPP Ioan-Rareș Bogdan   ROM
Subcommittee on Security and Defence SEDE 30 RE Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann   GER EPP Christophe Gomart   FRA
S&D Mihai Tudose   ROM
ECR Alberico Gambino   ITA
EPP Riho Terras   EST
Subcommittee on Human Rights DROI 30 G/EFA Mounir Satouri   FRA S&D Marta Temido   POR
EPP Łukasz Kohut   POL
Vacant
Vacant
Committee on Development DEVE 25 RE Barry Andrews   IRE G/EFA Isabella Lövin   SWE
EPP Hildegard Bentele   GER
RE Abir Al-Sahlani   SWE
S&D Robert Biedroń   POL
Committee on International Trade INTA 43 S&D Bernd Lange   GER LEFT Manon Aubry   FRA
EPP Iuliu Winkler   ROM
RE Karin Karlsbro   SWE
S&D Kathleen Van Brempt   BEL
Committee on Budgets BUDG 40 ECR Johan Van Overtveldt   BEL EPP Monika Hohlmeier   GER
S&D Giuseppe Lupo   ITA
EPP Janusz Lewandowski   POL
RE Lucia Yar   SVK
Committee on Budgetary Control CONT 30 EPP Niclas Herbst   GER EPP Caterina Chinnici   ITA
ECR Cristian Terheș   ROM
S&D Claudiu Manda   ROM
Vacant
Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs ECON 60 S&D Aurore Lalucq   FRA G/EFA Damian Boeselager   NED
RE Ľudovít Ódor   SVK
EPP Luděk Niedermayer   CZE
Vacant
Subcommittee on Tax Matters FISC 30 LEFT Pasquale Tridico   ITA G/EFA Kira Marie Peter-Hansen   DEN
EPP Regina Doherty   IRE
EPP Markus Ferber   GER
S&D Matthias Ecke   GER
Committee on Employment and Social Affairs EMPL 60 LEFT Li Andersson   FIN S&D Johan Danielsson   SWE
EPP Jagna Marczułajtis-Walczak   POL
G/EFA Katrin Langensiepen   GER
Vacant
Committee on Environment, Public Health and Food Safety ENVI 90 S&D Antonio Decaro   ITA EPP Esther Herranz García   ESP
ECR Pietro Fiocchi   ITA
LEFT Anja Hazekamp   NED
EPP András Tivadar Kulja   HUN
Subcommittee on Public Health SANT 30 EPP Adam Jarubas   POL G/EFA Tilly Metz   LUX
RE Stine Bosse   DEN
S&D Romana Jerković   CRO
ECR Emmanouil Fragkos   GRE
Committee on Industry, Research and Energy ITRE 90 EPP Borys Budka   POL S&D Tsvetelina Penkova   BUL
ECR Elena Donazzan   ITA
S&D Giorgio Gori   ITA
RE Yvan Verougstraete   BEL
Committee on Internal Market and Consumer Protection IMCO 52 G/EFA Anna Cavazzini   GER EPP Christian Doleschal   GER
RE Nikola Minchev   BUL
S&D Maria Grapini   ROM
EPP Kamila Gasiuk-Pihowicz   POL
Committee on Transport and Tourism TRAN 46 EPP Elissavet Vozemberg-Vrionidi   GRE G/EFA Virginijus Sinkevičius   LIT
EPP Sophia Kircher   AUT
LEFT Elena Kountoura   GRE
S&D Matteo Ricci   ITA
Committee on Regional Development REGI 41 S&D Dragoș Benea   ROM EPP Gabriella Gerzsenyi   HUN
S&D Nora Mebarek   FRA
ECR Francesco Ventola   ITA
RE Ľubica Karvašová   SVK
Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development AGRI 49 ECR Veronika Vrecionová   CZE EPP Daniel Buda   ROM
EPP Norbert Lins   GER
S&D Eric Sargiacomo   FRA
Vacant
Committee on Fisheries PECH 27 EPP Carmen Crespo Díaz   ESP EPP Sander Smit   NED
ECR Giuseppe Milazzo   ITA
RE Stéphanie Yon-Courtin   FRA
EPP Jessica Polfjärd   SWE
Committee on Culture and Education CULT 30 G/EFA Nela Riehl   GER EPP Bogdan Andrzej Zdrojewski   POL
S&D Emma Rafowicz   FRA
G/EFA Diana Riba   ESP
RE Hristo Petrov   BUL
Committee on Legal Affairs JURI 25 RE Ilhan Kyuchyuk   BUL EPP Marion Walsmann   GER
ECR Mario Mantovani   ITA
S&D Lara Wolters   NED
EPP Emil Radev   BUL
Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs LIBE 75 EPP Javier Zarzalejos   ESP S&D Marina Kaljurand   EST
ECR Charlie Weimers   SWE
S&D Alessandro Zan   ITA
LEFT Estrella Galán   ESP
Committee on Constitutional Affairs AFCO 30 EPP Sven Simon   GER S&D Gabriele Bischoff   GER
EPP Adrián Vázquez Lázara   ESP
RE Charles Goerens   LUX
EPP Péter Magyar   HUN
Committee on Women's Rights and Gender Equality FEMM 40 S&D Lina Gálvez   ESP RE Dainius Žalimas   LIT
LEFT Irene Montero   ESP
EPP Rosa Estaràs Ferragut   ESP
S&D Predrag Fred Matić   CRO
Committee on Petitions PETI 35 ECR Bogdan Rzońca   POL EPP Dolors Montserrat   ESP
EPP Fredis Beleris   GRE
S&D Nils Ušakovs   LAT
G/EFA Cristina Guarda   ITA
Sources:[2][3][4]

Temporary committees

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Under Rules 175 and 176 the European Parliament may at any time set up temporary committees for specific reports for an initial period of no longer than 12 months. They can be either a special committee or a committee of inquiry.

Special committees

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Examples of such temporary committees have been:

On 25 April 2007 MEPs voted to set up a temporary committee on climate change. The committee will have a year to come up with proposals on the EU's future integrated climate-change policy, to co-ordinate the EP's position in this field, to assess the latest evidence on climate change and to evaluate the cost of action.[5]

Following the 2009 elections, in light of the Late 2000s recession, Parliament set up a Special Committee on the Financial, Economic and Social Crisis.

Committees of Inquiry

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The European Parliament created nine committees of inquiry in the period between the introduction of direct elections in 1979 and the inclusion of a legal basis for inquiry committees in the Maastricht Treaty in 1995. They were:

Year Committee
1983 The Seveso disaster
1984 The rise of fascism and racism. The committee's work led to the 'Joint Declaration against racism and xenophobia'.
1985 The drugs problem
1986 Agricultural stocks
1988 The Transnuklear scandal
1988 Hormones in meat
1991 Racism and Xenophobia (The application of the Joint Declaration against racism and xenophobia)
1991 Trans-frontier crime linked to drug trafficking.

The European Parliament was granted the right to create temporary committees of inquiry under Article 226 of the 1993 Maastricht Treaty. Inquiry Committees since 1995 have been:

EP Year Abbrev Committee of inquiry Chairperson Rapporteur
Fourth 1996-1997 TRANSIT Temporary Committee of Inquiry into the Community Transit System John Tomlinson Edward Kellett-Bowman
Fourth 1996-1997 ESB I Temporary Committee of Inquiry into BSE (Bovine spongiform encephalopathy) Reimer Böge Manuel Medina Ortega
Sixth 2006-2007 EQUI Temporary Committee of Inquiry into the Crisis of the Equitable Life Assurance Society Mairead McGuinness Diana Wallis
Eighth 2015 EMIS on the measurement of emissions in the automotive sector, established on 17 December 2015, whose work was finalised on 4 April 2017. See Dieselgate. Kathleen Van Brempt
Eighth 2016 PANA on money laundering, tax avoidance and tax fraud, established on 8 June 2016, whose work was finalised on 13 December 2017. See Panama Papers. Werner Langen
Ninth 2020 ANIT on the Protection of animals during transport, established on 19 June 2020. Tilly Metz
Ninth 2022 PEGA On the use of Pegasus and equivalent surveillance spyware, established on 10 March 2022. See Pegasus Project (investigation). Jeroen Lenaers Sophie in 't Veld

Delegations

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MEPs also compose delegations to various Parliaments outside of the European Union. Joint parliamentary committees are set up with candidate countries. There are also delegations to the ACP–EU Joint Parliamentary Assembly, the Euro-Latin American Parliamentary Assembly[6] the Euronest Parliamentary Assembly and the Euro-Mediterranean Parliamentary Assembly.[7]

Conference of Committee Chairs and Conference of Delegation Chairs

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Two major bodies in the Parliament are the Conference of Committee Chairs (CCC) and the Conference of Delegation Chairs (CDC). The Conference of Committee Chairs is the political body in Parliament that works for better cooperation between the committees and consists of the chairs of all the standing and special committees. The Conference of Delegation Chairs is the political body in Parliament that periodically considers all matters concerning the smooth running of interparliamentary delegations and delegations to the joint parliamentary committees. They may make recommendations to the Conference of Presidents and can be instructed to carry out particular tasks by the Bureau or Conference of Presidents.[8][9]

References

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  1. ^ "Greens back Farage in row over EU Parliament chairman". Euractiv. 4 July 2014. The appointment of committee chairs follows the D'Hondt system – named after the Belgian mathematician who designed the method – which allocates positions on the basis of political groups' size. However, the precise allocation of seats may shift until the last minute, as political horse-trading continues between the main political groups.
  2. ^ "List of Committees". europarl.europa.eu. European Parliament. Retrieved 24 July 2024.
  3. ^ "Parliament confirms the list and size of its committees and delegations". europarl.europa.eu. EP. 17 July 2024. Retrieved 24 July 2024.
  4. ^ "Committee Chairs and Vice-Chairs elected". EP. 23 July 2024. Retrieved 24 July 2024.
  5. ^ Temporary Committee on Climate Change
  6. ^ Euro-Latin American Parliamentary Assembly
  7. ^ Delegations
  8. ^ Conference of Committee Chairs
  9. ^ Conference of Delegation Chairs Archived 31 May 2009 at the Wayback Machine
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