Dr. Sonia Piedrafita:

I would appreciate if the members could remind me if I forget any of their questions. There was a question on the level of interaction between Members of the European Parliament and Members of national parliaments. The interaction is very useful and it should take place either in one way or another. Members of the European Parliament should at least attend sessions in the national parliaments, although the idea that they can sometimes be a Member of a national parliament is controversial. They should at least attend sessions, given the position of the Parliament in legislative dossiers that are being negotiated at the moment. The European Parliament may have a different position to that of the European Council, which may be useful and increase political accountability and democratic legitimacy. Increasing numbers of interparliamentary meetings are taking place either in Brussels when organised by the European Parliament or the rotating Presidency, which Ireland has just left with a successful record.

There was a question of which initiative, so far, has been effective in improving democratic legitimacy in the European Union. The subsidiarity checks on the political dialogue with the Commission is one such example, and checking the subsidiarity principle remains on the sidelines. Sometimes it is a very technical exercise and although national parliaments have already been doing it, the process should be put in the context of political dialogue with the Commission. This related to the question on the annual work programme. If we can do this from a very early stage, there can be a capacity of the national parliament not only to scrutinise what is happening in the Council but also what European institutions think about this. There would also be a capacity to react and influence governments in order to shape a final outcome, which is very important. It would be a very successful initiative.

There is still much to consider in how the Commission reacts as it is not just receiving recent opinions on compliance with the principle of subsidiarity; it is also taking comments on the substance of the proposal. The Commission should increase resources to accommodate all the comments from national parliaments, as sometimes such suggestions can be helpful and useful. The Commission always sends a letter taking good account of comments received but perhaps it should move to explain whether it takes into account any such comment or suggestion from a national parliament, and in what way that happens.