Council decisions concerning enlargement taken on 18 November 2002
28.11.2002
ORAL QUESTION WITH DEBATE O-0094/02
pursuant to Rule 42 of the Rules of Procedure
by Giorgio Napolitano, on behalf of the Committee on Constitutional Affairs
to the Commission
- At its meeting in Brussels in October 2002, without consulting Parliament, the European Council adopted an annex containing transitional measures applicable from the date of accession until 31 December 2004 on the weighting of votes in the Council and the total number of Members of the European Parliament. Are these transitional measures in accordance with the Treaties?
- On what political and practical criteria did the Council base its decision, taken without consulting Parliament, to set 1 May 2004 as the date for the accession of the candidate countries, even though that date raises obvious technical and political problems, in particular for Parliament, which will hold the last part-session of its parliamentary term in May 2004?
- Article 8 of Declaration 23 annexed to the Treaty of Nice stipulates that ‘those candidate States which have concluded accession negotiations with the Union will be invited to participate in the [Intergovernmental] Conference’. The Council’s decision of 18 November 2002, taken without consulting Parliament, provides for ‘the full participation’ of the candidate countries in the forthcoming IGC. Is that wording compatible with Article 48 of the Treaty on European Union and what is the legal basis for that wording?
Tabled: 28.11.2002
Forwarded: 02.12.2002
Deadline for reply: 09.12.2002