The deadline for MEPs to provisionally agree proposed legislation with the European Council has been leaked.
According to a document obtained by Euractiv, the European Parliament has until early February “to reach provisional agreement with the Council to publish files before summer 2024”.
The document adds that the Parliament has until mid-March to “reach provisional agreements with Council in order to publish files in autumn 2024” aimed at adding amendments to already agreed proposals.
Although the European Parliament is unable to propose legislation itself, the body is partly responsible for adjusting legislative proposals handed to it by the European Commission.
Via so-called “trilogues”, Parliament officials have to agree to such adjustments with the European Union’s two other legislative bodies, the Council and EC before the text can be adopted.
Sunday’s Swiss elections said a resounding no to the EU – Brussels should expect more of the same, writes @Towler. https://t.co/OS1Ge4Ax37
— Brussels Signal (@brusselssignal) October 24, 2023
With such a process taking a substantial amount of time – often more than a year – it now appears likely that many proposals slowly making their way through Brussels will not be concluded before the European Parliament elections in June 2024.
Such legislation will then have to wait until a new Parliament and EC is selected and put in place. It then faces the risk of being heavily adjusted or dropped entirely if the legislative agendas of one or more of these bodies change.
The Conference of Committee Chairs – which aims to co-ordinate the work of all of the European Parliament’s various committees – is set to meet at the end of November to discuss the legislative priorities of Parliament.
Another meeting is then set for mid-March, during which the remaining files still stuck in the EU legislative system will be examined.
The last-chance saloon for such proposals will be the European Parliament’s final plenary session before the election. That session is set to take place from April 22-25.
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— Brussels Signal (@brusselssignal) October 18, 2023
