RECOMMENDATION on the draft European Council decision establishing the composition of the European Parliament

11.9.2023 - (00013/2023 – C9‑0319/2023 – 2023/0900(NLE)) - ***

Committee on Constitutional Affairs
Rapporteurs: Loránt Vincze; Sandro Gozi

DRAFT EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT LEGISLATIVE RESOLUTION

on the draft European Council decision establishing the composition of the European Parliament (00013/2023 – C9‑0319/2023 – 2023/0900(NLE))

 

(Consent)

The European Parliament,

– having regard to the draft European Council decision (00013/2023),

– having regard to the request for consent submitted by the European Council in accordance with Article 14(2) of the Treaty on European Union (C9‑0319/2023),

– having regard to its resolution of 15 June 2023 on the composition of the European Parliament and to its proposal for a decision of the European Council annexed thereto[1],

– having regard to Rule 90 and Rule 105(1) and (4) of its Rules of Procedure,

– having regard to the recommendation of the Committee on Constitutional Affairs (A9-0265/2023),

1. Gives its consent to the draft European Council decision;

2. Instructs its President to forward its position to the European Council and, for information, to the Commission and to the governments and parliaments of the Member States.

 

 

EXPLANATORY STATEMENT

The co-rapporteurs welcome the proposed distribution of seats for the 2024-2029 legislative term. In line with previous European Council decisions on the Composition of the European Parliament, substantial demographic changes have been taken into account when applying the principle of degressive proportionality to the allocation of seats to Member States. In this respect, Parliament - and in particular the AFCO Committee - reiterates its commitment to propose a permanent calculation mechanism to determine the distribution of seats of the Parliament in an objective, fair, durable and transparent way, taking into account the population figures in the Member States.

 

Regarding the budgetary implications of this decision, the co-rapporteurs recall that the establishment of the Union’s annual budget is a task entrusted by the Treaties to the budgetary authority. They stress that any provision that purports to give the European Council the power to instruct the European Parliament in its capacity as part of the budgetary authority, including by means of a European Council decision, is legally void. The co-rapporteurs also note that the European Council has decided to increase the total number of MEPs, beyond that in the proposal submitted by the European Parliament.

 

The co-rapporteurs regret that, contrary to the spirit of mutual sincere cooperation and the request of Parliament expressed in its legislative resolution of 15 June 2023 on the composition of the European Parliament[2], the European Council failed to immediately inform the Parliament that it intended to deviate from the proposal submitted by Parliament with regard both to the number of seats and to the deletion of the proposed allocation of 28 seats to a Union-wide constituency subject to the adoption of the legal basis for that constituency.

 

Concerning that last point, the Renew Europe co-rapporteur reiterates that the work in the Council on Parliament’s proposal of 3 May 2022[3] for a Council Regulation on the election of the Members of the European Parliament by direct universal suffrage needs to take place in a spirit of sincere cooperation. In this respect, he welcomes the efforts of the Swedish Presidency of the Council that resulted in several Council discussions at technical and political level. The Renew Europe co-rapporteur expects the current and future Council Presidencies to accord the highest political priority to the continuation of negotiations on the proposed reform of European electoral law.

PROCEDURE – COMMITTEE RESPONSIBLE

Title	Draft European Council decision establishing the composition of the European Parliament
References	00013/2023 – C9-0319/2023 – 2023/0900(NLE)
Date of consultation or request for consent	23.8.2023
Committee responsible  Date announced in plenary	AFCO
Rapporteurs  Date appointed	Sandro Gozi 6.9.2023	Loránt Vincze 6.9.2023
Date adopted	11.9.2023
Result of final vote	+: –: 0:	20 5 1
Members present for the final vote	Gerolf Annemans, Damian Boeselager, Włodzimierz Cimoszewicz, Gwendoline Delbos-Corfield, Salvatore De Meo, Daniel Freund, Sandro Gozi, Brice Hortefeux, Zdzisław Krasnodębski, Jaak Madison, Victor Negrescu, Max Orville, Giuliano Pisapia, Paulo Rangel, Antonio Maria Rinaldi, Domènec Ruiz Devesa, Helmut Scholz, Loránt Vincze
Substitutes present for the final vote	Vladimír Bilčík, Pascal Durand, Cyrus Engerer, Sophia in ‘t Veld, Alin Mituța, João Pimenta Lopes
Substitutes under Rule 209(7) present for the final vote	Isabel Benjumea Benjumea, Karolin Braunsberger-Reinhold
Date tabled	11.9.2023

 

FINAL VOTE BY ROLL CALL IN COMMITTEE RESPONSIBLE

20	+
ECR	Zdzisław Krasnodębski
ID	Jaak Madison, Antonio Maria Rinaldi
PPE	Isabel Benjumea Benjumea, Vladimir Bilčik, Karolin Braunsberger-Reinhold, Salvatore De Meo, Brice Hortefeux, Paulo Rangel, Loránt Vincze,
Renew	Sandro Gozi, Alin Mituţa, Max Orville, Sophia in’t Veld
S&D	Włodzimierz Cimoszewicz, Pascal Durand, Cyrus Engerer, Victor Negrescu, Giuliano Pisapia, Domènec Ruiz Devesa,

 

5	-
ID	Gerolf Annemans
The Left	João Pimenta Lopes, Helmut Scholz
Verts/ALE	Gwendoline Delbos-Corfield, Daniel Freund

 

1	0
Verts/ALE	Damian Boeselager

 

Key to symbols:

+ : in favour

- : against

0 : abstention

 

 

• [1]  Texts adopted, P9_TA(2023)0243.
• [2] Texts adopted, P9_TA(2023)0243.
• [3] Texts adopted, P9_TA(2022)0129.