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| New Legislative Procedure (EU) | |
|---|---|
| Name | New Legislative Procedure (EU) |
| Type | Legislative process |
| Jurisdiction | European Union |
| Established | Maastricht Treaty (1993) / Treaty of Lisbon (2009) |
| Also known as | Ordinary Legislative Procedure |
New Legislative Procedure (EU) The New Legislative Procedure (EU), commonly called the Ordinary Legislative Procedure, is the principal decision-making process of the European Union for adopting directives, regulations, and decisions. It frames interactions among the European Commission, the European Parliament, and the Council of the European Union, replacing earlier forms established by the Treaty of Rome, the Single European Act, and the Treaty on European Union through reforms in the Maastricht Treaty and the Treaty of Lisbon. The procedure aims to balance supranational initiative with intergovernmental negotiation, shaping policy outcomes across member states such as France, Germany, Italy, Poland, and Spain.
The procedure evolved from post-war integration milestones including the Treaty of Paris, the Treaty of Rome, and reforms in the Single European Act to enhance democratic legitimacy after controversies like the empty chair crisis and debates during the Delors Commission. It reflects compromises forged in treaty negotiations such as the Maastricht Treaty and the Treaty of Nice to respond to enlargement involving United Kingdom, Greece, Portugal, Ireland, Austria, and later Croatia. The aim was to combine the agenda-setting role of the European Commission with co-decision by the European Parliament—itself transformed by direct elections established after the 1976 Act concerning the election of the representatives of the Assembly by direct universal suffrage—and the member state representation of the Council of the European Union and the European Council during summits like those at Maastricht and Lisbon.
The legal foundation lies in key treaty provisions including Articles of the Treaty on European Union and the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, consolidated at Lisbon. The European Commission holds initiative power akin to its roles under Presidents such as Jacques Delors and José Manuel Barroso, proposing measures informed by consultations with bodies like the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions. The European Parliament exercises co-legislative authority since enhancements in Lisbon Treaty reforms and interacts with political groups such as the European People's Party, the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats, and Renew Europe. The Council of the European Union represents national governments, often coordinated through formations chaired by members like Angela Merkel (former Chancellor of Germany) or ministers from France and Netherlands; the European Council provides strategic direction under Presidents such as Herman Van Rompuy and Charles Michel.
Legislation typically begins when the European Commission submits a proposal after impact assessment models informed by agencies like the European Medicines Agency or the European Environment Agency. The European Parliament adopts a position through plenary votes influenced by committees such as the Committee on Legal Affairs, the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety Committee, and the Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs, often after amendments proposed by rapporteurs like those from EP rapporteur teams. Concurrently the Council of the European Union deliberates in preparatory bodies including the Coreper and working parties representing national ministries from Sweden, Belgium, Hungary, and Romania. If the Parliament and Council disagree, successive readings and conciliation committees modeled on prior interinstitutional agreements—whose frameworks recall accords like the Interinstitutional Agreement of 2016—seek compromise; unresolved files may progress to trilogue negotiations involving Commission, Parliament, and Council negotiators.
Voting in the Council of the European Union uses qualified majority voting (QMV) rules set out by the Treaty of Lisbon with thresholds reflecting population weights—concepts traced to negotiations among Germany, France, and Italy"—and procedures administered by the Council Secretariat. QMV calculations account for member state votes and blocking minorities; exceptions preserve unanimity in areas tied to treaties such as EU enlargement or common foreign and security policy where unanimity remains under provisions from the Treaty on European Union. The European Parliament votes by simple or absolute majority depending on the legislative file, with plenary procedures overseen by Presidents like Martin Schulz and Roberta Metsola.
Reforms aimed at transparency echo commitments in documents like the Treaty of Lisbon and interinstitutional declarations promoting open decision-making, lobbying registers inspired by controversies involving firms such as Cambridge Analytica and policy debates around digital privacy. Initiatives include public consultations, impact assessments published by the Commission, plenary webcast sessions in the European Parliament, and registers of interest for officials from the Council and Commission. Mechanisms for judicial review through the Court of Justice of the European Union and access to documents under regulations influenced by cases like Commission v. Parliament reinforce accountability alongside scrutiny by national parliaments such as the Bundestag and Assemblée nationale.
Critics argue the procedure centralises influence among institutional elites—debates highlighted during negotiations involving Jean-Claude Juncker and Donald Tusk—and raises concerns about opaque trilogue practices scrutinised by groups like Friends of the Earth and journalists at outlets such as Euractiv and Politico Europe. Sovereignty advocates in parties like the UK Independence Party and publics in episodes such as the Brexit referendum stressed democratic deficits, while constitutional scholars referencing cases adjudicated by the European Court of Human Rights and academic analyses from universities like Oxford and Cambridge debate subsidiarity and proportionality principles enshrined in treaties.
Major legislative outcomes using the procedure include the General Data Protection Regulation, negotiated after initiatives by the Commission, co-decisions involving the Parliament and Council, and implementation by member states including Germany and France. Other high-profile files include the Markets in Financial Instruments Directive II and the European Climate Law, linked to policy frameworks like the European Green Deal and institutions such as the European Investment Bank. Enlargement-related instruments for Croatia and measures responding to crises like the Greek government-debt crisis also illustrate the procedure's central role in EU policymaking.