Sir, - Donal O'Driscoll (June 15th) refers to my recent comment on the European Parliament's powers, to its recent resolution on women's health (which referred, inter alia, to abortion) and to comments by MEPs to the effect that this resolution "was just a general statement". Mr O'Driscoll asks if the parliament has real power or if it is just a talking shop. I should like to make the following points by way of reply.
Parliament has extensive budgetary, legislative and supervisory powers. Its legislative powers relate exclusively to areas of public policy which the EU member-states have assigned to the European Community through the ratification (in Ireland's case by way of referendum) of successive EC/EU treaties.
The initiative in respect of new EC laws lies exclusively with the Commission. In the beginning Parliament was merely consulted about such Commission proposals and the Council of Ministers decided. The Treaty on European Union (Maastricht, 1992) introduced a co-decision procedure under which EU laws are enacted jointly and equally by the parliament and council. This procedure now applies to up to 40 areas such as the single market, environment, transport, consumers' rights and development co-operation.
In addition to its resolutions enacting EU laws, parliament regularly debates matters which lie outside the legislative competence of the EU but which, in parliament's view, are matters of wide public interest and concern. In adopting resolutions on such matters parliament is meeting its democratic obligation to express a view, by way of majority vote, on behalf of the citizens of the union. This is what parliament did when, on March 9th last, it adopted a resolution on a report on women's health (prepared for its Committee on Women's Rights by rapporteur Heidi Hautala MEP).
The wider the public debate that precedes a decision on whether or not to legislate (and if so how), the better the decision will be. This is the way parliamentary democracy works. Parliament is the forum which gives voice to citizens' concerns on all matters of interest to them. Parliament (with the council) is also the law-making arm of the Union which, within the limits set down in the treaties, gives legislative effect to citizens' wishes as to Europe's future. - Yours, etc.,
Jim O'Brien, Head of Office, European Parliament, Molesworth Street, Dublin 2.