Hidden European Commission’s powers within the ordinary legislative procedure of the European Union

Commission of the European Union is considered to be one of the most important and one of the most influential institutions of the EU. The Commission of the EU is frequently named as an “engine of the European integration”. Under Article 17 of the Treaty on the European Union “the Commission shall promote the general interest of the Union and take appropriate initiatives to that end” [1]. In this context, the Commission of the EU should be perceived not o nly as “government of the EU” or “executive body of the EU” but as an institution that represents and protects Union's general interest. In other words, the original conception of the Commission of the EU should not be based on a separation of powers, but on a separation of interests [2, p. 7].

The Treaty of Lisbon introduced two main types of legislative procedures that are mostly applied in the EU, namely the ordinary legislative procedure and the special legislative procedure. The ordinary legislative procedure is applied by the EU institutions for the adoption of binding Union legislative acts such as regulations, directives and decisions in nearly all policy areas, unless the Treaties state otherwise. european union lisbon legislative

Actually, within the ordinary legislative procedure the legislative power is shared between three main institutions of the EU: the European Parliament, the Council of the EU and the Commission of the EU. Such “legislative triangle” usually works in the following consequence: The Commission of the EU proposes a legislative act, then the European Parliament and the Council of the EU should jointly adopt an act. In the context of the legislative process, the Commission of the EU is granted with an exclusive power of legislative initiative which makes it possible to offer any legislative proposals on the matters stipulated in the Treaties.

Most scholars hold the position that contemporary Commission of the EU is lack of autonomy in the ordinary legislative procedure because it only has a monopoly right of initiative, when the power to adopt or not to adopt an act lies exclusively in hands of both the European Parliament and the Council of the EU [3].

Nevertheless, once the Commission of the EU proposed a legislative act it still has two strong mechanisms of influence on the ordinary decision-making process.

Firstly, under the provisions of the Treaty on the functioning of the EU (the TFEU) the Commission of the EU can alter its initial legislative proposal at any time during the procedures leading to the adoption of a Union act [4]. According to provisions of Article 293 of the TFEU the European Parliament is the first institution which is entitled to amend the initial text of a proposed legislative act. The Commission of the EU may apply this right in response to the European Parliament's proposed amendments to the initial text of the legislative act concerned. At the same time, in the case where the European Parliament and the Council of the EU deliberations result in a compromise the Commission of the EU tends to follow suit and to make its amendments accordingly [5, p. 9].

Also, according to Article 293 (1) of the TFEU in cases where the Council of the EU acts on a proposal of the Commission of the EU, it may amend a proposal only by acting unanimously, unless the Treaties otherwise outline. This rule acts as a “shield” from the possible abuse of powers by the Council of the EU.

Secondly, the Commission of the EU may at any time withdraw its legislative proposal to preclude such act from being distorted by the amendments made either by the European Parliament or by the Council of the EU. The Commission of the EU applies this “latent power” when it considers that there is no prospect for the particular legislative act or when the Commission feels that the act concerned has been completely distorted by the legislators and does not match the Commission's initial goal or EU's interests. The Commission's right to withdraw a legislative proposal is not explicitly stipulated in the EU law. This is an implied right which helps it to protect the common interest of the Union [6].

Due to the mentioned-above situation, in 2013 the Council of the EU lodged a claim to the Court of Justice of the European Union in order to annul the decision of the Commission by which it withdrew its proposal for the regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council laying down general provisions for macro-financial assistance to third countries.

The Court ruled that “where an amendment planned by the Parliament and the Council distorts the proposal for a legislative act in a manner which prevents achievement of the objectives pursued by the proposal and which, therefore, deprives it of its raison d'кtre, the Commission is entitled to withdraw it” [7]. In such a way, the Court of Justice of the European Union shed a light on the Commission's “latent power” to withdraw its legislative proposal subject to some conditions.

To sum up, the Commission of the EU has not only the monopoly power of legislative initiative but also other legal mechanisms which provide the latest with certain powers to promote and protect European Union's general interest.

References

1. Consolidated version of the Treaty on European Union (2012), Official Journal of the European Union, 55: 13-47.

2. Manuel S. (2013) `The European Commission: A Practical Guide', London: John Harper Publishing: 378.

3. Bickerton Chris J., Hodson D., Puetter U. (2015) `The New Intergovernmentalism and the Study of European Integration', Oxford: Oxford University Press: 48.

4. Consolidated version of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (2012), Official Journal of the European Union, 55: 47-201.

5. Mark R. (2016) `Is the European Commission really in decline?', JCMS Journal of Common Market Studies: 1 - 17.

6. Eva P. (2015) `The European Commission's right to withdraw a legislative proposal'

7. Judgment of the Court (Grand Chamber) of 14 April 2015, Council of the European Union v. European Commission.

Размещено на Allbest.ru