Committee Reports > List of Committees > Joint > 2005 > Committee on European Affairs > Report No. 09 - Europe Day in Dáil Éireann

APPENDICES

APPENDIX 1

Original Declaration on the Role of National Parliaments in the European Debate

Raise national European awareness

The European Commission shall send it’s Annual Legislative and Work programme (as well as the 3-month rolling programme) to the Member States’ national parliaments

The legislative and work programme will be subject of a (coinciding) debate in all the national parliaments

The debate in the national parliaments will be held in the same week as the debate about the Commission’s programme in the European Parliament

Scheduling a specific week (after the presentation of the programme by the Commission) to have simultaneously debates will create a common window which will:

-enable the parliaments to properly and preliminary check the compliance with the principle of subsidiarity and proportionality.

-further strengthen the European role of the national parliaments

-encourage the parliaments to put European issues on the national political agenda and make their European views known

-raise national awareness of the activities of the European Union

-create more support for European development by the citizens and will contribute to the European Union of the citizens.

-involve -also on the national level- civil society and the organisations representing civil society (social partners, the business world, non-governmental organisations, academia etc).

Dear Colleague,

We have decided on the draft constitutional treaty; we now need to implement this in the national parliaments. As a result of the discussion in the Convention we -as members of the national parliaments- have to strengthen the democratic process and the implementation of the principles of subsidiarity and proportionality (as established in the protocol on the role of the national parliaments).

Once a year the European Commission presents the Annual Legislative and Work Programme. This offers an excellent opportunity for a strengthened role and involvement of the national parliaments in the European integrationprocess. I believe, we should use this reinforced role as an instrument to raise the national European awareness.

I propose a coinciding debate in all the national parliaments on the Annual Legislative and Work Programme of the European Commission in the same week as this debate will be scheduled in the European Parliament.

Within the momentum of the Convention and the upcoming intergovernmental conference now is the time to take this step.

Not only to realise a further strengthening of the role and involvement of the parliaments in the European integrationprocess,

But specifically to enable and encourage the social partners, the civil society and the European citizens to get (more) involved also on the national level. This is of utmost importance.

It will bring the citizens closer to the Union and will raise the national European awareness.

With this writing I call for your support for the “Declaration on the role of National Parliaments in the European debate. To raise National European Awareness”.

It will be necessary for us to proclaim this declaration in our national parliaments.

Not only will we -hopefully with the support of many Convention members- hand this Declaration over to the Praesidium, but also transmit this declaration to the speakers of the member states parliaments inviting them to support this proposal.

R. Van der Linden

(Member of the Convention representing the Dutch Senate)

Parliamentarian (alternate) members who signed the Declaration on the Role of national parliaments in the European Debate: “Raise national European awareness”