Committee focus

The Lisbon treaty is set to make major changes to the way the European parliament goes about its daily business, says Catherine Stihler

A wise sage once said that the only thing you can be guaranteed in life is change. And the Lisbon treaty may well make major changes in the European parliament. With Ireland set to be the only country in the EU to hold a referendum on it, barring any major disaster, the treaty will come to pass. If so, the impact the extended co-decision powers will have on parliament and the opportunities that may arise from these new powers are noteworthy.

The Lisbon treaty and its impact are being debated in nearly all of parliament’s committees via formal reports, deadlines and amendments. In some cases the parliament’s legal services are offering counsel on their interpretation of the new powers. Some of the legal advice seems to amount to a ‘wait and see’ policy. The extent of change will not be fully known until the new powers are put in place. But we do know that in agriculture, fisheries, regional development and trade, the new powers certainly will change the workload and focus of these committees.

In addition, as these new powers become apparent, perhaps we should also be looking at a more streamlined committee structure which will better reflect the challenges which EU citizens face today. For example, would it not be better to create a permanent committee on climate change and energy security separate from the environment committee? As this will be a key focus for our work we should be giving it the status it deserves. At the same time, there is a great deal of environmental legislation distinct from climate change that should be given the consideration it deserves. Many MEPs want to work on these issues and therefore it would share the workload, giving more MEPs the chance of contributing on environment, climate change and energy.

There is also the issue of marrying committees with the remit of commissioners. Would it not be sensible to have fisheries and maritime policy as one committee now reflecting the new DG MARE? In keeping with the Lisbon treaty and reform, parliament could try to work more effectively and efficiently. A reorganisation and refocusing of the committees could help us be better prepared, not just at scrutinising and amending proposals post-2009 but also at holding the commission and the council to account. After all, is that not what we are elected to do?