At the sitting of 11 March 2003 Parliament adopted its position at first reading on the proposal with a view to the adoption of a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council adapting the provisions relating to committees which assist the Commission in the exercise of its implementing powers laid down in European Parliament and Council instruments adopted in accordance with the procedure referred to in Article 251 of the EC Treaty (COM(2001) 789 - 2001/0314 (COD)).

At the sitting of 15 May 2003 the President of Parliament announced that the common position had been received and referred to the Committee on Constitutional Affairs (11253/2/2002 – 7569/2003 – SEC(2003) 498 – C5-0223/2003).

The committee had appointed Monica Frassoni rapporteur at its meeting of 26 March 2002.

It considered the common position and draft recommendation for second reading at its meeting of 19 June 2003.

At the latter meeting it adopted the draft legislative resolution unanimously.

The following were present for the vote: Jo Leinen, acting chairman; Ursula Schleicher, vice‑chairman; Monica Frassoni, rapporteur; Enrique Barón Crespo, Richard Corbett, Sir Neil MacCormick (for Johannes Voggenhuber), Konrad K. Schwaiger (for Teresa Almeida Garrett), Dimitris Tsatsos and Paavo Väyrynen (for Andrew Nicholas Duff).

The recommendation for second reading was tabled on 24 June 2003.

on the Council common position with a view to the adoption of a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council adapting to Council Decision 1999/468/EC the provisions relating to committees which assist the Commission in the exercise of its implementing powers laid down in instruments subject to the procedure referred to in Article 251 of the EC Treaty (11253/2/2002 – 7569/2003 – SEC(2003) 498 – C5‑0223/2003 – 2001/0314(COD))

(Codecision procedure: second reading)

The European Parliament,

–   having regard to the Council common position (11253/2/2002 – C5‑0223/2003),

–   having regard to its position at first reading(1) on the Commission proposal to Parliament and the Council (COM(2001) 789)(2),

–   having regard to Article 251(2) of the EC Treaty,

–   having regard to Rule 78 of its Rules of Procedure,

–   having regard to the recommendation for second reading of the Committee on Constitutional Affairs (A5‑0250/2003),

1.   Approves the common position;

2.   Notes that the act is adopted in accordance with the common position;

3.   Instructs its President to sign the act with the President of the Council pursuant to Article 254(1) of the EC Treaty;

4.   Instructs its Secretary-General duly to sign the act and, in agreement with the Secretary‑General of the Council, to have it published in the Official Journal of the European Communities;

5.   Instructs its President to forward its position to the Council and Commission.

(1) Adopted texts of 11 March 2003, P5_TA(2003)0071. (2) OJ C 75 E, 26.3.2002, p. 385.

The text under consideration forms part of a package of four proposals for regulations presented by the Commission in December 2001 (COM(2001) 789 final(1)) with a view to adapting the existing ‘comitology’ procedures to the procedures provided for in the new ‘comitology’ decision of 1999.(2) This adaptation was announced in Commission and Council Declaration No 2(3) annexed to the 1999 Decision, which was ratified by Parliament in its resolution of 17 February 2000(4) agreeing to the interinstitutional agreement between the EP and the Commission on the rules for the application of the new ‘comitology’ decision. The four proposals for Commission regulations were organised in accordance with the procedure applicable to acts to be amended. The text under consideration applies to acts adopted under the codecision procedure (Article 251).

At first reading(5) Parliament tabled no amendments to the proposal. The Council common position tabled a series of technical and linguistic amendments to the original text: these served to remedy omissions, ensure uniformity of the wording of the texts using terminology more in line with the new ‘comitology’ decision, add acts which had been amended in the meantime and delete others which had meanwhile been adjusted individually to the new procedures.

These changes to the Commission text are the result of collaboration between the institutions’ legal services, in which the European Parliament took a full part.

The Commission has expressed its agreement with all the amendments proposed by the Council (SEC(2003) 498 final).

The rapporteur wishes to point out that this is a separate issue from, and in no way prejudices, the discussion of the new ‘comitology’ procedures which have been launched in the meantime on the basis of proposals presented by the Commission, a discussion which will have to take the developments in the Convention into account. On the contrary, the sooner this predominantly technical matter has been settled, the sooner we shall be able to turn our full attention to the new procedures.

The rapporteur therefore proposes that the Council common position be adopted without amendment.

(1) OJ C 75, 26.3.2002. (2) Council decision 1999/468/EC of 28 June 1999 – OJ L 184, 17.7.1999, p. 23. (3) OJ C 203, 17.7.1999, p. 1. (4) OJ C 339, 29.11.2000, p. 269. (5) Adopted texts of 11 March 2003, P5_TA(2003)0071.