November II 2013 Issue No 11

Important dates

November 25-26 – JURI meeting

November 28 – Workshop on the training of legal practitioners: teaching EU law and judgecraft

December 16-17 – JURI meeting

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Credits and acknowledgements

European Parliament

Committee on Legal Affairs

Head of Unit: Robert Bray

Responsible Administrator: Alexander Keys

JURI website

At this meeting

This meeting of the Committee on Legal Affairs will commence on the afternoon of 25 November 2013 with an exchange of views with the Lithuanian Presidency on the proposal for a Common European Sales Law. Parliament’s first-reading position on this flagship project is to be adopted in the December plenary, on the basis of the report prepared by co-rapporteurs Klaus-Heiner Lehne and Luigi Berlinguer. Later on in the afternoon, from 16.00, there will be an exchange of views with Commissioner Michel Barnier as part of the structured dialogue between Parliament and the Commission. António Campinos, the President of OHIM, will then present a study entitled ‘European citizens and intellectual property: perception, awareness and behaviour’ which looks at the way citizens perceive major intellectual property issues. The morning of 26 November 2013 will start with a joint debate on the so-called omnibus package which concerns the use of the comitology procedure. In view of the end of the transitional period conceded by the Lisbon Treaty, all remaining primary law which provides for the use of the

regulatory procedure with scrutiny for the adoption of secondary legislation must be adapted to the new system of delegated and implementing acts under Articles 290 and 291 TFEU. József Szájer will be leading the first debate on all three proposals. Voting time will begin at 10.00 and include major votes on the trade mark package (Cecilia Wikström) and on three own-initiative reports on delegated and implementing powers (József Szájer), the EU Justice Scoreboard (Tadeusz Zwiefka) and private copying levies (Françoise Castex), respectively. The committee will also hold a vote to confirm the result of negotiations with the Council on the very important file on the collective management of copyright and related rights and the multi-territorial licensing of rights in musical works for online use in the internal market (Marielle Gallo). Following the votes, there will be debates on Alexandra Thein’s report on the proposal to increase the number of judges at the General Court and on Raffaele Baldassarre’s draft report on the disclosure of non-financial and diversity information by certain large companies and groups. Raffaele

Baldassarre, who presided over the committee’s delegation to China in October, will report back on the meetings held with Chinese officials and institutions. On the afternoon of 26 November, there will be an exchange of views on Eva Lichtenberger’s own-initiative report on monitoring the application of EU law, following which the committee will meet in camera to consider disputes, the verification of credentials and immunity requests.

Exchange of views with Michel Barnier

At this meeting, the committee will welcome Commissioner Barnier. This invitation is part of the annual structured dialogue with the European Commission on its work programme. Commissioner Barnier is responsible for two of the most important areas of competence in the JURI committee: company law and intellectual property rights.

JURI REPORT

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Disclosure of non-financial and diversity information by certain large companies and groups

Procedure 2013/0110(COD)

Basic doc COM(2013)0207 Rapporteur Raffaelle Baldassarre Administrator respons.

Leticia Zuleta de Reales

PRELIMINARY TIMETABLE Consideration of amend.

25.-26.11.2013

Adoption JURI 17.12.2013 It is estimated that only a limited number of large companies (2 500 out of the total of 42 000 in the EU) regularly publish non-financial information. The quality of the information disclosed varies, making it difficult for investors and stakeholders to understand and compare companies’ position and performance. Furthermore, national requirements are significantly diverse, which adds to the lack of clarity for companies and investors who operate across the Internal Market. The need to improve the transparency of the social and environmental information provided by companies in all sectors, in order to ensure a level playing field, has been acknowledged by the Commission in the Single Market Act and was reiterated in the Communication ‘‘A renewed strategy 2011 – 2014 for Corporate Social Responsibility’’. The European Parliament, in its two resolutions on ‘Corporate Social Responsibility: accountable, transparent and responsible business behaviour and sustainable growth’ and ‘Corporate Social Responsibility: promoting society’s interests and a route to sustainable and inclusive recovery’, acknowledged the need to increase transparency in this field and called the Commission to bring forward a legislative proposal. Against this background, the legislative proposal presented by the Commission focuses on the following points: 1) Non-financial information: the proposal will require certain large companies to include a statement in their Annual Report including material information relating to at least environmental, social, and employee-related matters, respect for human rights, anti-corruption and bribery matters. The obligation will only apply to those companies where the average number of employees exceeds 500, and either a balance sheet total in excess of EUR 20 million or a net turnover of over EUR 40 million. 2) Diversity: the amendment will require large listed companies to provide information on their diversity policy, including aspects concerning age, gender, geographical diversity, and educational and professional background. The information will be included in the corporate governance statement. After the presentation of the Commission proposal, Council Directives 78/660/EEC and 83/349/EEC were repealed by Directive 2013/34/EC. In his draft report, Raffaele Baldassarre has tabled a series of technical amendments aimed at adapting the text to the Accounting Directive. The rapporteur essentially shares the orientation given by the Commission to the text. However, he goes beyond the proposal by specifying the information to be included in the non-financial statement. He has included a grandfather clause giving the members of the administrative, management, and supervisory bodies the possibility to decide whether or not to disclose such information if disclosure would be seriously prejudicial to the interests of the undertaking. Finally, and following the echoes of the Council conclusions of 22 May 2013, the rapporteur proposes to ask the Commission to consider, in the report referred to in Article 48 of Directive 2013/34/EC, whether to introduce an obligation for large undertakings and public-interest entities to publicly disclose, on an annual basis, a country-by-country report for each Member State and third country in which they operate, containing information on, as a minimum, the profit or loss before tax, the tax on profit or loss and public subsidies received. 172 amendments have been tabled. The committee will discuss them at this meeting.

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The EU Justice Scoreboard – civil and administrative justice in the Member States Procedure 2013/2117(INI)

Basic doc COM(2013)0160 Legal basis Rule 48 RoP Rapporteur Tadeusz Zwiefka Administrator respons. Alexander Keys PRELIMINARY TIMETABLE Consideration of amendments

4.11.2013

Adoption JURI 26.11.2013 Adoption Plenary January 2014

For the first time, the European Commission has issued a report which looks at the performance of national civil and administrative justice systems.

The purpose of the exercise is to compare national justice systems, with a view to establishing where there may be shortcomings and where Member States may benefit from a transfer of best practices. As this is a sensitive area and national prerogatives must be respected, the Committee on Legal Affairs has decided to issue an implementation report concerning the Justice Scoreboard. As the goal of the exercise is to assess the quality, independence and efficiency of national justice systems, it is to be welcomed. Nevertheless, in his draft report, the rapporteur draws attention to certain considerations and limitations which should be borne in mind. The amendments tabled to the draft report are largely positively disposed towards the Commission initiative, but many seek to stress the importance of national differences in the justice field.

At this meeting, the committee will vote on the report.

The implementation of the Unfair Commercial Practices Directive 2005/29/EC

The Committee should adopt the draft opinion by Mr Baldassarre to the Committee on the Internal Market on the first report by the Commission assessing the application of Directive 2005/29/EC on unfair commercial practices (UCPD) in the Member States. The Directive aims to contribute to the completion of the internal market by removing barriers which exist as a result of differences in national laws on unfair commercial practices, and to provide a high level of consumer protection. It seeks to ensure that consumers are not misled or exposed to aggressive marketing and that any claim made by traders in the EU is clear, accurate and substantiated, thus enabling consumers to make informed and meaningful choices. The rapporteur for JURI’s opinion suggests that further efforts should be made in terms of strengthening UCPD enforcement, including by setting up a database on the case law to apply the Directive in the Member States.

Procedure

2013/2116(INI)

Basic doc

COM(2013)0139

Rapporteur Raffaele Baldassare Administrator respons.

Kjell Sevón

Lead Committee

IMCO

PRELIMINARY TIMETABLE Draft opinion 4.11.2013 Deadline for amendments

11.11.2013

Adoption JURI 26.11.2013

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Adapting to Article 290 of the TFEU a number of legal acts in the

area of justice providing for the use of the regulatory procedure with scrutiny

Adapting a number of legal acts providing for the use of the regulatory procedure with scrutiny to Article 290 of the TFEU

Adaptation to Article 290 and 291 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union of a number of legal acts providing for the use of the regulatory procedure with scrutiny

Procedure 2013/0220(COD) 2013/0218(COD) 2013/0365(COD) Basic doc COM(2013)0452 COM(2013)0451 COM(2013)0751 Rapporteur Jozsef Szajer Jozsef Szajer Jozsef Szajer Administrator Andrea Scrimali Andrea Scrimali Leticia Zuleta de Reales PRELIMINARY TIMETABLE

Exchange of views 5.11.2013 5.11.2013 5.11.2013 Adoption in JURI 17.12.2013 17.12.2013 17.12.2013

These three proposals adapt a number of legislative acts referring to the regulatory procedure with scrutiny (RPS) to the criteria laid down in the Treaty of Lisbon. The first two proposals provide for a transformation of the RPS into delegated acts for the basic legislative acts which are listed in their annexes. The third one proposes the transformation of RPS into delegated acts for some legislative instruments. In other cases, where it finds that the measures fulfil the criteria of Article 291 TFEU, the Commission proposes to be empowered to adopt implementing acts. In a few cases where the powers given to the Commission are not in accordance with the Treaty, it is proposed that the provisions in question are deleted. The rapporteur, József Szájer, understands that all the proposals must be dealt with as a package. With the aim of having the largest possible number of acts adapted to provisions of the Treaty of

Lisbon before the end of the Parliamentary term, he has set a very ambitious timetable, with a date for vote in committee set for 17 December 2013.

Information accompanying transfers of funds

Procedure 2013/0024(COD)

Basic doc COM(2013)0044 Rapporteur Tadeus Zwiefka Administrator Kjell Sevón Lead Committee/ Rapporteur

LIBE & ECON (Rule 51) Timothy Kirkhope

PRELIMINARY TIMETABLE Deadline for am. 26.9.2013 Adoption in JURI 26.11.2013

The rapporteur will present his opinion on a proposal for revision of Regulation (EC) No 1781/2006 on information on the payer accompanying transfers of funds (the "Funds Transfers Regulation"), which lays down rules for payment service providers to send information on the payer throughout the payment chain for the purposes of prevention, investigation and detection of money laundering and terrorist financing. The Regulation was to a large extent based on Special Recommendation VII on wire transfers adopted by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) and the revision aims to ensure that a new set of such international recommendations, adopted in February 2012, are transposed by the Union. The objective is to adjust to changes which should see an increased focus placed on (a) the effectiveness of regimes to counter money laundering and terrorist financing, (b) greater clarity and consistency of the rules across Member States, and (c) a broadened scope designed to address new threats and vulnerabilities. The proposal is closely linked to the revision of the Anti-Money Laundering Directive, on which JURI will also vote on its

opinion during this meeting.

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Prevention of the use of the financial system for the purpose of money laundering and terrorist financing

Procedure 2013/0025(COD)

Basic doc COM(2013)0045 Rapporteur Antonio López-Istúriz Administrator Kjell Sevón

Lead Committee/ Rapporteur

LIBE & ECON (Rule 51) Judith Sargentini

PRELIMINARY TIMETABLE Draft opinion 17.9.2013 Deadline for am. 26.9.2013 Adoption JURI 26.11.2013

The Committee will vote on the draft opinion by Mr Lopez Isturiz to the Committee on Civil Liberties on a Commission proposal for a Directive on the prevention of the use of the financial system for the purpose of money laundering and terrorist financing. The proposal incorporates and repeals Directive 2005/60/CE and Directive 2006/70/CE in response to changes made to the requirements issued by the international Financial Action Task Force (FATF) and a review carried out by the Commission in 2010 on the implementation of the Third Anti-Money Laundering Directive (3rd AMLD). The proposed initiatives aim to coordinate and integrate the existing norms and create a more targeted and focused risk-based approach across the EU, in order to fight money laundering and financing of terrorism more efficiently. The amendments tabled to the proposal by the rapporteur and other Members aim at strengthening the Commission’s proposal.

Payment services in the internal market

The proposed second Directive on Payment Services (PSD2) aims to

facilitate the development of an integrated European market for electronic payments. Stakeholders have indicated the need for changes to the existing law so that it better meets the needs of an efficient European payments market and helps to create conditions which are conducive to competition, innovation and security. In particular, one of the aims is to ensure a level playing field for fair competition between established and

new suppliers of card, internet and mobile payments. The rapporteur’s draft opinion is supportive of the Commission’s proposal, but aims to fine-tune certain definitions for the sake of legal certainty. The draft opinion also seeks to improve the provisions on consumer complaints procedures. At this meeting, the rapporteur will present the draft opinion. It is proposed that the deadline for tabling amendments be set at midday on 29

November 2013.

Procedure 2013/0264(COD) Basic doc COM(2013)0547 Legal basis Articles 114 TFEU Rapporteur Dimitar Stoyanov Administrator respons. Alexander Keys Lead Committee/rapporteur

ECON/Diego Feio

PRELIMINARY TIMETABLE Presentation of draft opinion

26.11.2013

Deadline for amend. 29.11.2013 Adoption JURI 17.12.2013

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Preparing for a fully converged audio-visual world

Procedure 2013/2180(INI)

Rapporteur Françoise Castex Administrator Magnus Nordanskog

Lead Committee CULT PRELIMINARY TIMETABLE Consideration of draft opinion

25.11.2013

Deadline for amendments

29.11.2013, at 12.00

Adoption JURI 17.12.2013

The Commission Green Paper entitled ‘Preparing for a fully converged audiovisual world: growth, creation and values’ looks into the implications of the transformation of the traditional audiovisual media landscape into a converged media environment. Convergence is defined as the progressive merging of traditional broadcast services and the internet. This results in a host of viewing options, ranging from television sets with added internet connectivity to over-the-top (OTT) audiovisual services, in addition to traditional television (‘linear’ services). In Europe, the large-scale development of audiovisual media services available on terminals connected to the internet is making the boundaries between traditional broadcasting and new media less and less relevant. With regard to the many on-line services being developed and not currently covered by the Audiovisual Media Services (AMS) Directive, the trend is towards more editorialisation and professional audiovisual content. Their impact on the general public is obvious, however, and makes them akin to mass media. Accordingly, the boundary between the two traditional consumption methods is becoming blurred, whereas the regulatory distinction in the AMS Directive between linear and nonlinear media services remains a reality. According to the rapporteur for opinion, Françoise Castex, account must therefore be taken of the impact of such convergence on different items of legislation, such as the AMS Directive or the Electronic Commerce Directive. In addition and particularly in light of the ongoing negotiations on the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership between the EU and the US, one of the challenges of this change to the audiovisual media landscape will be to safeguard cultural diversity and European firms in what is a major European market. At this meeting, the rapporteur will present her draft opinion.

Presentation of IP perception survey by OHIM

In the framework of the Programme of the European Observatory on Infringements of Intellectual Property Rights, the Office for Harmonization in the Internal Market (OHIM) commissioned a study on "The European citizens and intellectual property rights: perception, awareness and behaviour". At this meeting, President António Campinos will present the main conclusions drawn from this very timely and important survey to the JURI Members.

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Follow-up on the delegation of legislative powers and the control by Member States of the commission’s exercise of implementing powers

Procedure 2012/2323(INI) PRELIMINARY TIMETABLE Rappor-teur

József Szájer Consideration of draft opinion

17.9.2013

Adminis-trator

Magnus Nordanskog Deadline for amendments

26.9.2013, 12.00

Opinion Commi-ttees /rappor-teurs

TRAN/Werner Kuhn & Saïd El Khadraoui, ITRE/Amalia Sartori, LIBE/Monika Flašíková Beňová, ENVI/Matthias Groote, DEVE/Gay Mitchell, PECH/Antolin Sanchez Presedo, ECON/tbc, IMCO/Chair, opinion in letter form, INTA/Chair, opinion in letter form

Consideration of amendments

5.11.2013

Adoption JURI 26.11.2013 Adoption Plenary

January 214 December 2013

The Committee on Legal Affairs is, in accordance with Annex VII of the Rules of Procedure, the committee responsible for the interpretation, application and simplification of Union law and compliance of Union acts with primary law, and therefore holds horizontal responsibility within Parliament for questions relating to delegated and implementing acts under Articles 290 and 291 TFEU. The Committee may, furthermore, issue opinions under Rule 37a concerning specific legislative proposals, either at the request of the committee responsible for the subject matter or on its own initiative. Five such opinions have so far been issued. JURI was responsible for the two important reports drawn up in 2010 and 2011 on Articles 290-291 TFEU, for which Mr József SZÁJER was the rapporteur, namely the reports on the ‘‘Power of legislative delegation’’ and on Regulation (EU) No 182/2011 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 16 February 2011 laying down the rules and general principles concerning mechanisms or control by Member States of the Commission’s exercise of implementing powers. JURI was also the initiator of the Common Understanding on Delegated Acts, which was approved on 3 March 2011 by the Conference of Presidents. In several negotiations the Parliament faces difficulties in obtaining delegated acts for provisions where the criteria of Article 290 TFEU are clearly met and the issue has been addressed several times in the Conference of Committee Chairs (CCC) and the Conference of Presidents. The latter has endorsed a common line that EP negotiators should always insist on the inclusion of delegated acts when the criteria of Article 290 TFEU are fulfilled and their use would be desirable and has also decided that the CCC should, in close cooperation with the competent services in Parliament, undertake regular screening exercises in order to avoid future decisions which would be legally questionable. By the end of this legislature, all comitology provisions in legislative acts already in existence before the entry into force of the Lisbon Treaty shall be aligned to delegated and implementing acts. The alignment of these legislative acts, particularly in the areas which before Lisbon were not subject to co-decision, such as agriculture and fisheries policies, has proven to be difficult and has not yet been finalised for several files. In order to take stock of the developments outlined above, and to give further general guidance to committees when dealing with provisions on delegated and implementing acts, the Committee on Legal Affairs has been granted authorisation to draw up a non-legislative own-initiative report to follow up on the delegation of legislative powers under Article 290 TFEU, the use of the Common Understanding, the control by Member States of the Commission’s exercise of implementing powers under Article 291 TFEU and the use of the Implementing Acts Regulation, in particular in connection with the alignment exercise.

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At the request of the rapporteur, Mr József SZÁJER, a project team consisting of the responsible administrators from the opinion-giving committees and the relevant services has been set up in

order to ensure that all aspects of delegated and implementing acts affecting Parliament will be taken into account during the procedure leading up to the adoption of the report. In parallel with this procedure for an own-initiative report, negotiations are ongoing between Parliament, the Council and the Commission at technical level on a set of general principles concerning delegated and implementing acts. The resolution resulting from this procedure will thus constitute the political mandate for these negotiations. The ultimate objective of Parliament is for these actions to result in an update of the Interinstitutional Agreement on Better Law-making to take account of the new legislative environment created by the Lisbon Treaty, including delegated and implementing acts. JURI held a first exchange of views on the subject at its meeting on 21 February 2013, with the rapporteur presenting a working document at the meeting on 25 April 2013 and his draft report at the meeting on 17 September 2013. The Committee considered the 28 amendments tabled by Members and the 10 opinions presented by other committees at the meeting on 5 November 2013. The rapporteur has suggested compromise amendments, which were discussed at the meeting of the project team on 12 November 2013 and at the Conference of Presidents on 19 November 2013. At this meeting, the Committee will vote.

Collective management of copyright and related rights. and multi-territorial licensing

This long-awaited proposal aims to create an appropriate legal framework for the collective management of copyright and related rights and the multi-territorial licensing of rights to musical works online. The provisions of the proposed directive concern two areas. First, Titles I, II and IV define the requirements for ensuring the proper functioning of collecting societies, while improving their governance and transparency. Secondly, Title III and Articles 36 and 40 of Title IV seek to facilitate the granting of multi-territorial licences for rights to musical works for online use in the internal market. In March 2013, the rapporteur presented her working document, which was drawn up after extensive consultation with stakeholders. On 18 March 2013, the committee held a hearing to enable a number of experts and stakeholders to present their views and positions. INTA, IMCO, ITRE and CULT submitted opinions. At the meeting on 9 July 2013, the Committee adopted a negotiating mandate. On 4 November 2013, following numerous technical meetings and three trilogue meetings at political level, the three institutions agreed on a compromise text. At this meeting, the committee will vote on an opinion on the legal basis of the proposal and confirm the results of the negotiations.

Procedure 2012/0180(COD)

Basic doc COM(2012)0372

Legal basis Articles 50(1), 53 and 62 TFEU

Rapporteur Marielle Gallo Administrator respons. Magnus Nordanskog PRELIMINARY TIMETABLE Presentation of draft report

29-30.5.2013

Deadline for amendments

4.6.2013

Consideration of amendments

20.6.2013

Adoption of negotiation mandate in JURI

9.7.2013

Confirmation of the negotiation results and vote on the legal basis in JURI

26.11.2013

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Workshop on Judicial Training: "The training of legal practitioners: teaching EU law and judgecraft"

The JURI Committee and Policy Department C are holding a workshop entitled ‘The training of legal practitioners: teaching EU law and judgecraft’ on 28 November, 9.00-12.30 (ASP 3E2). The first session of the morning will be dedicated to learning and accessing EU law, whilst the second session will investigate ways of enhancing mutual trust in the legal field.

European Single Market for electronic communications

Procedure 2013/0309(COD)

Basic doc COM(2013)0627 Rapporteur Marielle Gallo Administrator Leticia Zuleta de

Reales Lead Committee ITRE PRELIMINARY TIMETABLE Exchange of views 25.11.2013

Draft opinion 16.-17.12.2013 On 11 September 2013, the Commission presented a proposal for a Regulation towards a single market for electronic communications in which citizens and businesses can access electronic communications services wherever they are provided in the Union, without cross-border restrictions or unjustified additional costs and companies providing electronic communications networks and services can operate and provide them wherever they are established or their customers are situated in the EU. The ITRE committee has set an extremely ambitious timetable for dealing with the proposal. At this meeting, the JURI committee will hold an exchange of views.

Request for waiver of the immunity of Zbigniew Ziobro

At the sitting of 9 September 2013 the President announced, under Rule 6(2) of the Rules of Procedure, that he had received from the General Prosecutor of the Republic of Poland a request for the immunity of Zbigniew Ziobro to be waived. The President referred the request to the Committee on Legal Affairs under Rule 6(2). At this meeting the committee will hold an exchange of views concerning this request.

Procedure 2013/2189(IMM) Legal basis Protocol on Privileges and

Immunities, Art. 8 Rapporteur Cecilia Wikström Administrator Andrea Scrimali, Laure Montastier Notice to Members 87/2013 PRELIMINARY TIMETABLE Exchange of views Hearing

26.11.2013 16-17.12.2013

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Proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council amending the Statute of the Court of Justice of the European Union by increasing the number

of judges at the General Court

In 2011, the Court of Justice made various proposals for the modernisation of the operation of the three courts of the European Union. As regards the General Court, the original proposal provided for an increase in the number of judges in order to cope with the increasing number of cases at that court. The figures on the General Court’s workload are very clear, and the rapporteur considers that the case for an increase in the number of judges has been made. The Council of Ministers was then not able to agree to the increase, mainly owing to disagreement as to the nationality of the future additional judges. As a last resort, Parliament, the Council, the Court of Justice and the Commission therefore agreed to split the proposal into two parts. The main part of the regulation has already become law. On 17 January 2013, the rapporteur travelled to Luxembourg to discuss the situation with the Court of Justice and the General Court. Vassilios Skouris, President of the Court of Justice, contributed to the debate at a hearing on 24 April 2013, as did Jean-Marc Sauvé, President of the Article 255 Panel, at a hearing on 30 May 2013. The committee’s report, as proposed by Ms Thein, includes a novel proposal aimed at reinvigorating the debate, whereby nationality is not to be a criterion for the appointment of the additional judges – only merit is to be a criterion. Some months after the award of a negotiating mandate, the committee will now reconsider the matter, with a view to the report possibly being voted in plenary.

Procedure 2011/0901B(COD) Basic doc 02074/2011 Legal basis Articles 254(1) and

281(2) TFEU Rapporteur Alexandra Thein Administrator respons. Alexander Keys Opinion Comm./ rapporteur

AFCO/Morten Messerschmidt

PRELIMINARY TIMETABLE Exchange of views 07.9.2012,

26.11.2012, 22.1.2013

Draft report 19.3.2013 Deadline for amend. 28.3.203 Consideration of amendments

30.5.2013

Adoption JURI 20.6.2013 ADOPTION PLENARY 10.12.2013

Disputes involving Parliament (IN CAMERA)

The committee will discuss in camera a possible action by the European Parliament for the annulment of Council Directive 2013/51/Euratom of 22 October 2013 laying down requirements for the protection of the health of the general public with regard to radioactive substances in water intended for human consumption. The committee has been called upon to decide whether to recommend intervening in support of either party, under Rule 128(4) of Parliament’s Rules of Procedure.

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29th annual report on monitoring the application of EU law (2011)

Procedure 2013/2119(INI)

Basic doc COM(2012)0714 Rapporteur Eva Lichtenberger Administrator Magnus Nordanskog Lead Committee AFCO/Morten

Messerschmidt, PETI/Roger Helmer

PRELIMINARY TIMETABLE Exchange of views 16.9.2013 Exchange with the Legal Service

26,11,2013

Consideration of draft report

17.12.2013

Deadline for amendments

January 2014

Vote in JURI January 2014 Adoption plenary February 2014

The correct application of EU law continues to present challenges for the Member States. Problems are frequent in the early stages of implementation, with late transposition becoming increasingly problematic. According to the Commission, late transposition infringements have steadily increased over the past three years, indicating a worrisome trend. This report looks at the year 2011, when the total number of participating Member States in EU Pilot reached 25. EU Pilot is a problem-solving mechanism supported by an on-line data base and communication tool, introduced by the Commission and aimed at responding to questions and identifying solutions to problems related to the application of EU Law. Of the 700 EU Pilot files opened in 2011, the Commission closed 508 because the Member State

provided a satisfactory answer, while 183 files led to the launch of formal infringement procedures. The Commission continues to link the application of EU law to the smart regulation agenda, systematically feeding infringement performance data into the policy development cycle, in particular into evaluations. At the meeting on 16 September 2013, a presentation was made of a study commissioned by Parliament’s Policy Department on ‘‘Tools for Ensuring Implementation and Application of EU Law and Evaluation of their Effectiveness’’, followed by an exchange of views on the dossier. During this exchange, Members voiced their opposition to allegedly opaque practices in the Commission when it comes to pre-infringement cases and the probable lack of legal basis for the ‘EU Pilot’. Furthermore, the Commission’s representative’s use of personal data

protection as an excuse for not giving Parliament’s experts access to the data base for the EU Pilot and for not giving complainants or parliament access thereto was rejected as ‘scandalous’. In an exchange of letters between the Presidents of Parliament and the Commission concerning these issues the latter had written that ‘the Commission remains committed to fully implementing our 2010 framework agreement, making summary information on individual infringements available to the European Parliament’. The coordinators of the Committee therefore decided on 4 November 2013 to take the matter up with the Legal Service to see what action could be taken. At this meeting, the Committee will hold an exchange of views with the Legal Service on these issues.

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Photos from the Hearing on Patent

Chair Klaus-Heiner

Lehne at the hearing on the Patent Package

Luigi Berlinguer at the hearing on the Patent

Package

Members and experts at

the hearing on the implementation of the

Patent Package at 15.30 on 5 November 2013

Request for defence of the immunity of Lara Comi

At the plenary session of 9 September 2013, the President informed Members that he had received a letter from Lara Comi requesting the defence of her parliamentary immunity pursuant to Rule 6(3) of the Rules of Procedure in respect of criminal proceedings pending before the Tribunale di Ferrara. At this meeting, the rapporteur, Eva Lichtenberger, will initiate the continuing discussions on this case.

Procedure 2013/2190(IMM) Legal basis Protocol on Privileges and

Immunities, Art. 9 Rapporteur Ewa Lichtenberger Administrator respons. Robert Bray, Claudio di

Pietro Notice to Members 86/2013 PRELIMINARY TIMETABLE Discussion 26.11.2013 Adoption in JURI 16.-17.12.2013

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Subsidiarity (Rule 38a)

Since 5 November 2013 Parliament has received the following reasoned opinions from national parliaments raising concerns about subsidiarity:

Reasoned opinion

by the Romanian Chamber of Deputies on the proposal for a Council Regulation on the establishment of the European Public Prosecutor's Office (COM(2013)0534 – 2013/0255(APP))

by the Maltese Parliament on the proposal for a Council Regulation on the establishment of the European Public Prosecutor's Office (COM(2013)0534 – 2013/0255(APP))

by the Netherlands House of Representatives on the proposal for a Council Regulation on the establishment of the European Public Prosecutor's Office (COM(2013)0534 – 2013/0255(APP))

by the Slovene National Assembly on the proposal for a Council Regulation on the establishment of the European Public Prosecutor's Office (COM(2013)0534 – 2013/0255(APP))

by the French Senate on the proposal for a Council Regulation on the establishment of the European Public Prosecutor's Office (COM(2013)0534 – 2013/0255(APP))

by the Swedish Parliament on the proposal for a Council Regulation on the

establishment of the European Public Prosecutor's Office (COM(2013)0534 – 2013/0255(APP))

by the United Kingdom House of Lords on the proposal for a Council Regulation on the establishment of the European Public Prosecutor's Office (COM(2013)0534 – 2013/0255(APP))

by the Cypriot Parliament on the proposal for a Council Regulation on the establishment of the European Public Prosecutor's Office (COM(2013)0534 – 2013/0255(APP))

by the United Kingdom House of Commons on the proposal for a Council Regulation on the establishment of the European Public Prosecutor's Office (COM(2013)0534 – 2013/0255(APP))

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by the Hungarian Parliament on the proposal for a Council Regulation on the

establishment of the European Public Prosecutor's Office (COM(2013)0534 –

2013/0255(APP))

by the Irish House of Representatives on the proposal for a Council Regulation on the establishment of the European Public Prosecutor's Office (COM(2013)0534 – 2013/0255(APP))

by the Irish Senate on the proposal for a Council Regulation on the establishment of the European Public Prosecutor's Office (COM(2013)0534 – 2013/0255(APP))

by the Maltese Parliament on the proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council laying down measures concerning the European single market for electronic communications and to achieve a Connected Continent, and amending Directives 2002/20/EC, 2002/21/EC and 2002/22/EC and Regulations (EC) No 1211/2009 and (EU) No 531/2012 (COM)0627 - C7-0267/2013 - 2013/0309(COD)

by the Swedish Parliament on the proposal for a Regulation of the European

Parliament and of the Council establishing uniform rules and a uniform procedure for the resolution of credit institutions and certain investment firms in the framework of a Single Resolution Mechanism and a Single Bank Resolution Fund and amending Regulation (EU) No 1093/2010 of the European Parliament and of the Council (COM)0520 – C7-0223/2013 – 2013/0253(COD))

by the United Kingdom House of Commons on the proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on new psychoactive substances (COM(2013)0619 – C7-0272/2013 – 2013/0305(COD))

by the United Kingdom House of Lords on the proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on new psychoactive substances (COM(2013)0619 – C7-0272/2013 – 2013/0305(COD))

by the United Kingdom House of Commons on the proposal for a Directive of the

European Parliament and of the Council amending Council Framework Decision 2004/757/JHA of 25 October 2004 laying down minimum provisions on the constituent elements of criminal acts and penalties in the field of illicit drug trafficking, as regards the definition of drug (COM(2013)0618 – C7-0271/2013 – 2013/0304(COD)

by the United Kingdom House of Lords on the proposal for a Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council amending Council Framework Decision 2004/757/JHA of 25 October 2004 laying down minimum provisions on the constituent elements of criminal acts and penalties in the field of illicit drug trafficking, as regards the definition of drug (COM(2013)0618 – C7-0271/2013 – 2013/0304(COD)

by the Swedish Parliament on the proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council laying down measures concerning the European single market for electronic communications and to achieve a Connected Continent, and amending Directives 2002/20/EC, 2002/21/EC and 2002/22/EC and Regulations (EC) No 1211/2009 and (EU) No 531/2012 (COM(2013)0627 – C7-0267/2013 – 2013/0309(COD)

by the Austrian Federal Council on the proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council laying down measures concerning the European single market for electronic communications and to achieve a Connected Continent, and amending Directives 2002/20/EC, 2002/21/EC and 2002/22/EC and Regulations (EC) No 1211/2009 and (EU) No 531/2012 (COM(2013)0627 – C7-0267/2013 – 2013/0309(COD))

15

Common European Sales Law

On 11 October 2011, the Commission presented a proposal for a Common European Sales Law. The overall objective of the proposal was to improve the functioning of the internal market and to facilitate trade by offering a single set of rules in Member States for cross-border contracts. The proposal put forward, in the form of a regulation, a set of contract law rules which is intended to be self-standing and to co-exist, within each Member State’s national law, alongside the pre-existing rules of national contract law, as a second contract law regime which is identical throughout the EU. The debate has been very intense in and outside the Parliament. A series of workshops on different elements on the proposal took place in 2012 and in the first half of 2013, leading the co-rapporteurs to take the decision to reduce the scope of the Regulation in order to limit its application to distance selling. The Legal Affairs Committee held its vote on the proposal on 17 September 2013, with a result of 19 votes in favour, 3 against, with 2 abstentions. The co-rapporteurs have now invited the Lithuanian Presidency, in order to have an update on the progress made by the Council, which will allow them to take an informed decision regarding future steps.

Procedure 2011/0284 (COD)

Basic doc COM (2011)0635

Legal basis Article 114 TFEU

Rapporteur Klaus-Heiner Lehne, Luigi Berlinguer

Administra-tor respons.

Leticia Zuleta de Reales

Opinion Comm./ Rapporteur

IMCO/Evelyne Gebhardt, Hans-Peter Mayer

(associated under Rule 50) ECON/Marianne Thyssen

Opinion Comm./ Rapporteur

IMCO/Evelyne Gebhardt, Hans-Peter Mayer

(associated under Rule 50) ECON/Marianne Thyssen

Verification of credentials (IN CAMERA)

The President has announced to plenary that the competent national authorities have given notice of the appointment of the following as Member of the European Parliament, with effect from the date shown below:

Ms Gabriele STAUNER (to replace Ms Anja WEISGERBER), as from 30 October 2013;

Ms Hiltrud BREYER (to replace Ms Franziska Katharina BRANTNER), as from 31 October 2013.

According to Rule 3 of the Rules of Procedure, Parliament must, on the basis of a report by the JURI committee, verify the credentials without delay and rule on the validity of the mandate of each of its newly elected Members.

Rapporteur Klaus-Heiner Lehne

Administrator respons.

Magnus Nordanskog

TIMETABLE

Exchange of views 26.11.2013 Adoption JURI 26.11.2013 Parliament will also rule on any dispute referred to it pursuant to the provisions of the Act of 20 September 1976, except those based on national electoral laws. It is not possible to confirm the validity of the mandate of a Member unless the written declarations required on the basis of Article 7 of the Act of 20 September 1976 and Annex I to the Rules have been made. Until such time as a Member’s credentials have been verified or a ruling has been given on any dispute, the Member is to take his or her seat in Parliament and on its bodies and will enjoy all the rights that come with this.

16

Implementation of single European Sky

Procedure 2013/0186(COD)

Basic doc COM(2013)0410 Rapporteur Francesco Enrico

Speroni Administrator Magnus Nordanskog Lead Committee TRAN PRELIMINARY TIMETABLE Adoption JURI 26.11.2013

The Consultative Working Party of the three Legal Services (European Parliament, Commission and Council) examined the proposal for recast above and concluded that it did not comprise any substantive amendments other than those identified as such therein or in their opinion. The Working Party also concluded, as regards the codification of the unchanged provisions of the earlier acts with those substantive amendments, that the proposals contain a straightforward codification of existing texts, without any change in their substance.

Under Rule 87 of the Rules of Procedure, when a Commission proposal recasting Community legislation is submitted to Parliament, that proposal shall be referred to the committee responsible for legal affairs and to the committee responsible for the subject matter. The committee responsible for legal affairs shall examine the proposal in accordance with the Interinstitutional Agreement of 28 November 2001 on a more structured use of the recasting technique for legal acts and Rule 87 of the Rules of Procedure, with a view to verifying that it entails no substantive changes other than those identified as such in the proposal.

National Parliaments raise yellow card against proposal for European Public Prosecutor

Rapporteur Sajjad Karim

Administrator Kjell Sevón

The scrutiny by National Parliaments of the compliance of proposed EU legislation with the principle of subsidiarity has led to the second ‘yellow card’ after the introduction of this procedure in the Treaty of Lisbon. Pursuant to Article 7(2) of Protocol 2 on the application of the principles of subsidiarity and proportionality, draft legislation shall be forwarded to the National Parliaments of the Member States, which can issue a Reasoned Opinion against the proposal within a deadline of eight weeks from receiving the proposal. The Parliaments of each Member State have two votes in this respect, and where reasoned opinions on a draft legislative act’s noncompliance with the principle of subsidiarity represent at least one third of all the votes allocated to the National Parliaments the draft must be reviewed. As the Commission’s proposal for a Council Regulation on the establishment of the European Public Prosecutor’s Office (COM(2013)534) received 14 Reasoned Opinions, representing 19 votes out of the total of 56 votes, the Commission, as initiator of the legislation, must now decide whether to maintain, amend or withdraw the draft. Reasons must be given for the

decision. The meeting of the Committee on Legal Affairs will also verify and take note of Reasoned Opinions on the following other proposals:

- proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council laying down measures concerning the European single market for electronic communications and to achieve a Connected Continent, and amending Directives 2002/20/EC, 2002/21/EC and 2002/22/EC and Regulations (EC) No 1211/2009 and (EU) No 531/2012 (COM(2013)0627)

- proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council establishing uniform rules and a uniform procedure for the resolution of credit institutions and certain investment firms in the framework of a Single Resolution Mechanism and a Single Bank Resolution Fund and amending Regulation (EU) No 1093/2010 of the European Parliament and of the Council (COM(2013)0520)

- Proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and the Council on new psychoactive drugs (COM92013)0619).

17

Presentation of the Report on the China Delegation and consideration of a possible opinion to Chinese Authorities

Rapporteur Raffaele Baldassarre Exchange of views 26.11.2013 Administrator respons. Magnus Nordanskog Adoption JURI 26.11.2013

At the invitation of the Law Committee of the National People’s Congress (NPC) of the People’s Republic of China, eight Members of JURI accompanied by political advisors and secretariat staff made a delegation visit to Beijing on 28-30 October 2013. In addition to a meeting at the NPC, the delegation’s meetings with Chinese stakeholders included the Supreme People’s Court, the Ministry of Finance, the State Administration of Industry and Commerce, the State Intellectual Property Office, the Music Copyright Society of China and the Beijing Arbitration Commission. The delegation also met informally with Chinese lawyers to discuss timely issues such as human rights and trademarks. Meetings with European stakeholders included the EU Chamber of Commerce and a media correspondent. The delegation was also briefed by the EU Ambassador, experts from the EU Delegation in Beijing and Ambassadors from the EU Member States.

At this meeting, the chair of the delegation, Raffaele Baldassarre, will present a report on the visit, and the Committee will consider an opinion in letter form to relevant Chinese authorities concerning on-going legislative procedures in China

Family photo from the delegation's meeting with the Law Committee of the National People's Congress. The Chair of the Law Committee, Mr Qiao Xiaoyan, stands to the right of Mr Raffaele Baldassarre, the Chair of the delegation, in the middle of the front row. Disclaimer: The items contained herein are drafted by the Secretariat of the Legal Affairs Committee and are provided for general information purposes only. The opinions expressed in this document are the sole responsibility of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent the official position of the European Parliament. The JURI Report may contain links to websites that are created and maintained by other organisations. The JURI Secretariat does not necessarily endorse the views expressed on these websites.