EUU, Alm.del - 2011-12 - Bilag 286: Referat af Trojka-møde og COSAC-formandsmøde 29.-30/1-12

Europaudvalget 2011-12
EUU Alm.del Bilag 286
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EUU Alm.del - Bilag 286

MINUTES OF THE MEETING OF THE CHAIRPERSONS OF COSAC

Copenhagen, Denmark, 30 January 2012

AGENDA:

1. Opening address by Mr Mogens LYKKETOFT, Speaker of the Danish

Folketing

2. Adoption of agenda and procedural questions.

3. Priorities for Climate and Energy policies 2020 – guest speaker: Ms Connie

HEDEGAARD, Commissioner for Climate Action

4. The sovereign debt crisis, European Economic Governance and democratic

accoutability - guest speaker: Mr Maroš ŠEFČOVIČ, Commissioner for Inter-

Institutional Relations and Administration

PROCEEDINGS

IN THE CHAIR: Ms Eva KJER HANSEN, Chairman of the European Affairs Committee

(Folketinget, Denmark).

Ms KJER HANSEN welcomed the following new Chairpersons: Ms Zanda KALNINA -

LUKAŠEVICA, Latvian

Saeima,

Ms Agnieszka POMASKA, Polish

Sejm,

Mr Averof

NEOFYTOU, Cypriot

Vouli ton Antiprosopon,

and Mr Dominic HANNIGAN, Irish

Houses

of the Oireachtas.

1. Opening address by Mr Mogens LYKKETOFT, Speaker of the Danish Parliament

Mr LYKKETOFT opened the meeting by highlighting the opportunity for national

Parliaments to play a bigger role in the EU after the entry into force of the Treaty of Lisbon.

Thereby hopefully enhancing democracy, as support from the European citizens is more

important than ever. He stated that COSAC is a forum for meaningful dialogue between

national Parliaments and the EU institutions and that the Danish Parliament is committed to

ensuring the necessary coordination and cooperation to foster this dialogue. He went on to

talk about the parliamentary dimension of the Danish presidency and said that the

Folketing

would host a number of interparliamentary meetings focusing on the most pressing issues

facing the EU. He announced that Baroness Ashton, High Representative of the Union for

Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, and Mr Anders FOGH RASMUSSEN, NATO Secretary

General, would attend the COFACC meeting in March. Mr LYKKETOFT also mentioned

other topics that would be dealt with during the Danish presidency; the financial crisis, the

CAP-reform, energy efficiency, the environmental action plan and the re-launch of the Single

Market. Lastly, he thanked the EU institutions for their commitment to these

interparliamentary meetings.

In her welcome address, Ms KJER HANSEN said that the Danish Presidency would work

tirelessly to get Europe back on track through the promotion of economic stability, budget

discipline, sustainable growth and creating jobs. She hoped that the agreement to be reached

at the EU summit on the new budget pact would help restore confidence in the European

economy, but would also respect national Parliaments' budgetary powers. Ms KJER

HANSEN stressed the need to strengthen the political dialogue with the European

Commission ensuring that national Parliaments are adequately and timely consulted on

different relevant issues.

EUU, Alm.del - 2011-12 - Bilag 286: Referat af Trojka-møde og COSAC-formandsmøde 29.-30/1-12

2. Adoption of agenda and procedural questions

The agenda was adopted by the Chairpersons without amendments. Ms KJER HANSEN

informed the participants that the Troika had discussed the draft agenda for the XLVII

COSAC in April and the Presidency had agreed to include a guest speaker from the European

Parliament. Ms KJER HANSEN moved on to the consideration of the draft outline of the 17th

Bi-annual Report on which a few comments were made including a call from Ms Astrid

THORS, Finnish

Eduskunta,

for an analysis of the costs and benefits of the Bi-annual Reports

and IPEX.

3. Priorities for Climate and Energy policies 2020 – guest speaker: Ms Connie

HEDEGAARD, Commissioner for Climate Action

Ms Connie HEDEGAARD, Commissioner for Climate Action, informed participants of two

major international events taking place on 30 January – the informal summit of Heads of

states and governments in Brussels and the presentation of the United Nations Global

Sustainability Panel report. She said that climate change was impacting more and more people

and that climate action should create a more sustainable, more energy- and resource-efficient

future. She noted that the growing world population would have to be supported by

substantial growth in economic terms to tackle growing demand for food production, water

and energy.

Ms HEDEGAARD linked discussions on the economic situation with the climate,

environment and resource crises. She said that the EU should stop thinking in silos and seek

solutions to all of these challenges in a more holistic manner. She noted that Europe was far

from reaching targets, especially in energy efficiency, and said she believed that addressing

this made economic sense in the long term. She pointed out that the completion of the 20-20-

20 targets (20% reduction of CO

emission to 2020, 20% growth in the use of renewable

energy sources and 20% increase in energy efficiency) could create many new jobs. The

Commissioner added that the world must move to a much more sustainable pathway and this

required greater investment and attention from both the public and private sectors. She

described that, as money was scarce, the EU needed to create more added value out of each

euro spent. According to Commissioner HEDEGAARD, at least 20% of the EU budget

should be dedicated to fighting climate-related issues. Effort should be invested into reaching

targets which applied to several fields, such as the expansion and renewal of the EU energy

infrastructure through the proposed “Connecting Europe Facility”, and creating more

intelligent development policy.

The Commissioner underlined that the EU could gain a lot of strategic credit from combining

success in the field of climate action linked with other policies to boost the Union's

competitiveness. She underscored that it was necessary for politicians to understand the needs

of citizens in order to have their support for climate action.

During the ensuing debate, 16 speakers took the floor. Several speakers agreed that climate

action, energy policy and economic policy were inter-related. Ms Tineke STRIK, Dutch

Eerste Kamer,

praised the European Commission and the Danish Presidency for their

endeavours to link economic policy to environmental policy. Ms HEDEGAARD appealed to

politicians to focus not only on obvious short term challenges but also to engage with the

longer term climate issues before “others get the economic benefits before us”.

EUU, Alm.del - 2011-12 - Bilag 286: Referat af Trojka-møde og COSAC-formandsmøde 29.-30/1-12

A number of speakers supported actions to encourage growth such as the “Connecting Europe

Facility” and the creation of an internal energy market. Members also admitted that various

European policies should be adapted to produce a more sustainable model of growth.

Responding to a question about the current state of play on the discussion on border carbon

tax from Mr Pierre LEQUILLER, French

Assemblée nationale,

Commissioner

HEDEGAARD described this type of tax as a tool to be kept in the toolbox as long as there

continued to be progress in international negotiations.

Mr Miguel Ángel MARTĺNEZ MARTĺNEZ, European Parliament, along with a number of

national parliamentarians, praised Ms HEDEGAARD for the role she had played in the UN

Climate Conference in Durban at the end of 2011, where the EU had spoken with one voice

and won allies and friends. Many interventions stressed the need for an international climate

agreement to be reached and Ms HEDEGAARD agreed, also pointing out that international

business was also very interested to see such an agreement.

A number of members emphasised the need for greater mainstreaming of climate action in EU

policy and better integration with development and trade policy. Many participants agreed

with Ms HEDEGAARD that there needed to be more efficient use of energy. When

questioned about binding targets for energy efficiency the Commissioner said that Member

States did not, at this time, support their use. She wanted to see more progress and asked

national Parliaments to help encourage this. If the voluntary route had not produced results in

two years time, binding targets would be proposed by the Commission. Ms THORS asked for

subsidiarity to be respected in all proposals for achieving greater energy efficiency. Lord John

ROPER, UK

House of Lords,

raised the question of adaptation and innovation, and was told

that the White Paper would be published in the first quarter of 2013 and it would aim to

spread best practice at all levels.

In response to many that raised questions on the use of renewable energy sources, Ms

HEDEGAARD said that the Global Sustainability Panel hoped to deliver agreed targets in this

area. Mr Edmund WITTBRODT, Polish

Senat,

asked how the use of nuclear power was

viewed by the Commission. Ms HEDEGAARD replied that energy mix was entirely for each

Member State to decide upon but that all had agreed the low carbon roadmap.

The Commissioner concluded by saying that the EU must remain competitive and would be

helped in this by setting targets. There needed to be a fundamental change in the structure of

EU economies to link economic and environmental policies as it was unacceptable that fossil

fuels were currently being subsidised seven times more than renewable energy sources.

4. The sovereign debt crisis, European Economic Governance and democratic

accountability - guest speaker: Mr Maroš ŠEFČOVIČ, Commissioner for Inter-

Institutional Relations and Administration

Ms KJER HANSEN opened the discussion by noting that the draft Treaty on Stability,

Coordination and Governance in the Economic and Monetary Union foresees the

establishment of a forum for interparliamentary cooperation in the area of budgetary policies.

In this context, she stated that each individual national Parliament should be more involved in

a dialogue with the European Commission on closer economic cooperation and the European

Semester, proposing that the Commissioners could be invited to appear before the

Committees of the national Parliaments and written questions could be addressed by the

EUU, Alm.del - 2011-12 - Bilag 286: Referat af Trojka-møde og COSAC-formandsmøde 29.-30/1-12

national Parliaments to the Commission, following a similar practice in the European

Parliament.

Vice-President ŠEFČOVIČ opened his speech saying that he thought it was vital to act

together and that the Danish Presidency, at this time of unprecedented concern about the

future of the euro, took decisive and effective action in order to combat the economic and

financial crisis. It was inconceivable that the single currency would fail, however, systemic

shortcomings revealed by the crisis meant that the euro governance system had to be

improved.

The Vice-President listed actions undertaken by the EU to ensure survival of the Economic

and Monetary Union, such as the adoption of the European Economic Recovery Plan, the

release of an emergency loan facility for Greece and the creation of the European Financial

Stability Facility and the European Financial Stabilisation Mechanism. According to Mr

ŠEFČOVIČ, the fundamental lesson of the crisis was that of interdependence and he called

for greater integration between national economic and budgetary policies and a more

collective approach to European economic governance.

The Vice-President noted that the crisis showed the necessity to act decisively in three key

areas: the financial sector, economic growth and public finances. Action included: the

creation of a new supervisory structure; ensuring both a rapid recovery and sustainable long-

term development across the EU (through the Europe 2020 Strategy, the new European

Semester and the Commission‟s Annual Growth Survey); and the so-called „six pack‟ of

legislation. Mr ŠEFČOVIČ underlined that the key role of the „six pack‟ was “to give the EU

a much stronger framework for preventing the economic mistakes”. In addition to the „six

pack‟, the Commission also proposed a „two pack‟ designed to further strengthen economic

governance in the euro area. The Vice-President said that „two pack‟ “would enable the

Council and the Commission to examine national draft budgets and take a position before

they are adopted by national Parliaments”. However, the Vice-President also made it clear

that national budgets would continue to be agreed and adopted by national Parliaments.

Then, Mr. ŠEFČOVIČ referred to the issue of democratic oversight over European economic

governance, which should not be left to national governments alone. In his opinion, such

cooperation had to be complemented by a more effective dialogue between the Commission

and national Parliaments. Moreover, he stressed that in the new Europe‟s economic

governance framework the budgetary authority of national Parliaments had to be fully

respected and the role of national Parliaments and the European Parliament enhanced.

Speaking on the so-called „fiscal compact‟ agreed by the leaders of 26 Member States at the

European Summit of 8-9 December 2011, the Vice-President expressed regret that the

community method had not been chosen and that the European Council had to resort to the

use of an intergovernmental treaty though he broadly welcomed the content of the agreement.

Mr ŠEFČOVIČ expressed his hope that agreement would be reached quickly and that

provisions would eventually be incorporated within the overall EU legal framework. He

highlighted the fact that further steps were needed and underlined the following EU policy

priorities: growth-friendly fiscal consolidation; tackling unemployment, and in particular the

challenge of youth employment; and promoting competitiveness, in particular for SMEs. He

emphasised the benefits of the implementation of proposed reforms in the area of the Single

Market, saying that it would add around 3% to the GDP level by 2020. He regretted that the

EUU, Alm.del - 2011-12 - Bilag 286: Referat af Trojka-møde og COSAC-formandsmøde 29.-30/1-12

European Patent was blocked in the Council because three Member States could not agree on

the seat.

In conclusion, the Vice-President said that public faith in the national and European

institutions would not improve “if we put narrow self-interest above the greater European

good”. He reiterated that the crisis revealed a considerable degree of interdependence between

the EU Member States and stressed that actions undertaken in order to respond to this crisis

would only be successful “if we continue to work together”.

During the debate, 20 speakers took the floor. Several members focused their contributions on

Article 13 of the draft Treaty

regarding the role of national Parliaments and the European

Parliament, including Mr Ludĕk SEFZIG, Czech

Senát,

and Mr Simon SUTOUR, French

Sénat,

who underlined the importance of COSAC as an appropriate forum for discussion and

parliamentary oversight in relation to the Treaty provisions. However, Mr Enrico

FARINONE, Italian

Camera dei Deputati,

supported the view that the organisation of a forum

relating to economic cooperation should be determined together by the national Parliaments

and the European Parliament in the framework of the EU Speakers' Conference. Stressing

national Parliaments' sovereign right to adopt their own national budget, some national

Parliaments' members criticised the wording of Article 13. They underlined the need to allow

national Parliaments to specify themselves the relevant committees to participate in the

conference that would discuss budgetary policies and other issues covered by this Treaty. Ms

Gabriele MOLITOR, German

Bundestag,

quoted the letter of Mr Krichbaum

advocating the

COSAC model, and stated, inter alia, that “the size of delegations ensures a balance between

national Parliaments and the European Parliament and reflects the political composition of the

national Parliaments”. The German position was supported by a number of other members

during the debate. Mr LEQUILLER said that the latest version of Article 13 was balanced and

well drafted and he called for the Commissioner to support it. A number of speakers said that

the Treaty agreement and the monitoring of its implementation needed to be in line with the

institutional framework and asked for it to be incorporated in the EU Treaties.

Responding to comments, Mr ŠEFČOVIČ explained that the Treaty was about greater fiscal

discipline and improvement of the rules, which were necessary bearing in mind that 24 out of

27 Member States were in excessive deficit procedures. Referring to the cooperation under

Article 13 of the draft Treaty, the Vice-President noted that it was necessary to agree upon

details of such cooperation. He agreed that COSAC was an appropriate forum to discuss

sensitive issues like these. He also said that national Parliaments ought to refer to their

governments in order to ensure the exercise of their right of democratic scrutiny over budget.

He admitted that the Treaty had its limits as it was an intergovernmental agreement, binding

only to its contracting parties. Commissioner ŠEFČOVIČ clarified that the wording of Article

13, as amended in the most recent version of the draft Treaty, enshrined the right of national

Parliaments and the European Parliament to determine their representatives and the relevant

committees participating in the conference. Moreover, he underlined that the sovereignty of

each national Parliament in adopting the national budget remained untouched, explaining that

the Commission and the Council were to give an opinion on the sustainability of national

budgets assuming collective responsibility. Regarding the incorporation of the Treaty in EU

law, he stated that the goal was to operate within EU law and to incorporate the Treaty in EU

Some delegates spoke on the basis of the 19 January version and others on the basis of the most recent version

that was distributed in the plenary hall after the coffee break.

Letter to Mrs Eva Kjer Hansen dated 26 January 2012.

EUU, Alm.del - 2011-12 - Bilag 286: Referat af Trojka-møde og COSAC-formandsmøde 29.-30/1-12

law. He agreed with a number of speakers that solidarity and political consensus regarding

measures relating to the euro-zone were very important.

In her closing remarks, Ms KJER HANSEN said that the Presidency would develop proposals

about how to strengthen cooperation between the European Commission and national

Parliaments in advance of the COSAC plenary meeting in April.