Hearings
A committee is permitted to organise a hearing with experts, where this is considered essential to its work on a particular subject. Hearings can also be held jointly by two or more committees. Most committees organise regular hearings, as they allow them to hear from experts and hold discussions on the key issues. On this page you will find all the available information relating to committee hearings, including programmes and contributions from speakers.

The hearing aims to provide rapporteur Ms Pagazaurtundúa and committee members with information in view of her report on this topic. It will focus on progress on the implementation the Treaty provisions on EU citizenship and on identifying the areas that need improvement. Prof. Freixes, Jean Monnet ad Personam Professor in Constitutional Law-Vice President of RAED and Ms Kavrakova, Executive Director of the ECAS will make their presentations then followed by a Q&A session with the Members.

The aim of this hearing is to capitalise on the remarkable increase in turnout rates of the last election and ignited a momentum for the launch of a deeper process of democratisation of the Union. It builds upon the main findings and recommendations of the AFCO report on stocktaking of European elections and identifies the areas of improvement where further action is needed with a view to fuel the debate and the work on the ongoing AFCO report on the 2024 elections.

On Tuesday 30 May 2023, ING2 Members will jointly with AFCO Members dive deeper into the different rules of democratic institutions on transparency, integrity, accountability and anti-corruption, in order to formulate recommendations to strengthen Parliament's own rules on these aspects.

In the perspective of a possible convention for the revision of the EU Treaties, it is important to discuss the ways of strengthening the EU’s institutional, budgetary and decision-making arrangements in the common foreign and security policy by means of treaty changes.

The European Treaties' implications for economic policy-making of the Member States
In the perspective of a possible convention for the revision of the EU Treaties, it is important to discuss how the Treaties shape and limit the economic policy decision-making of EU Member States.

Analyse different mechanisms of participatory democracy and devise ways and tools to increase citizens input and support Parliament’s work.

Analysis of the concept of European sovereignty and of the principles of subsidiarity and proportionality, their possible scope and hypothetical tensions between them, as well as on the existing political and legal mechanisms to ensure their implementation and the possible changes necessary to enhance their efficiency.

Analysis of the dynamics between the EU and the Council of Europe institutional relationship from different points of view, such as: mechanisms for political cooperation, relations between parliamentary assemblies (Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe and European Parliament) and the relationship between the European Court of Human Rights and the Court of Justice of the EU.

Following the success of the previous editions, the European Parliament is holding a second European Gender Equality Week from 24 to 30 October. Many parliamentary committees and delegations are organising sessions addressing gender equality issues in their policy areas.

The purpose of this hearing is to take stock of the proposals adopted by the plenary of the Conference on the Future of Europe and to analyse them from a political and legal point of view, in order to assess the most appropriate means to ensure their implementation, in particular those that may require a modification of the Treaties.

The objective of this hearing was to take stock, from a constitutional and inter-institutional perspective, of the various mechanisms designed to uphold EU values enshrined in Article 2 TEU in terms of prevention, monitoring, sanctioning and enforcement, with particular focus on rule of law and the mechanism provided for in Article 7 TEU.

The purpose of this hearing is to provide Members with an analysis of the necessary changes needed to reinforce EU citizens’ rights to vote and stand in European and municipal elections in their country of residence, as well as to evaluate the possibility of extending these rights to regional, and national elections, as well as referenda. The hearing will be webstreamed.