WRITTEN QUESTION No. 3186/98 by Jan LAGENDIJK to the Commission. Parliamentary scrutiny of decisions under Title IIIA of the Treaty of Amsterdam
C 142/102 Official Journal of the European Communities EN 21. 5. 1999 Answer given by Mr Liikanen on behalf of the Commission (24 November 1998) The Commission’s report on the Community’s own resources system (1) includes data on both Commun- ity expenditure in each Member State and own resources contributed by each Member State to the Community budget. The data are available on a calendar year basis and the latest available figures relate to 1997. The various methodologies which can be used for calculating budgetary balances are discussed in annex 3 to the report. None is ideal and the Commission has repeatedly warned against simplistic interpretation of budgetary balance figures as a measure of the real balance of advantage and disadvantage in membership of the Community. The method used for allocating expenditure to individual Member States in calculating the British rebate is set out in the method of calculation document (2). (1) COM(98) 560 final available on web. site http://europa. eu. int/comm/dg19/index”_en. htm, choose ‘quoi de neuf?’. (2) COM(85) 36 final. (1999/C 142/125) WRITTEN QUESTION P-3186/98 by Jan Lagendijk (V) to the Commission (16 October 1998) Subject: Parliamentary scrutiny of decisions under Title IIIA of the Treaty of Amsterdam Is the Commission aware that the Netherlands Second Chamber is considering declaring in the law approving the Treaty of Amsterdam that the present requirement of the assent of the States-General, applying to all decisions under Title VI of the EU Treaty that are legally binding on the Kingdom, will also apply to decisions taken under the provisions of Title IIIA of the EC Treaty on which (and provided that) the European Parliament has not obtained the right of codecision, in order to prevent any increase in the democratic deficit in such fields as immigration and asylum policy? (1) As guardian of the Treaties, does the Commission agree with the Netherlands Government that ‘any expansion of assent to include (titles of) the EC Treaty would run into [. ] difficulties in European law’ (2), or does it welcome any move by national parliaments to take responsibility for parliamentary scrutiny of European policy where the European Parliament’s powers are not sufficient? If the former, what difficulties does the Commission foresee? (1) Second Chamber, 1996-1997 parliamentary term, motion 21 501-058, No 20 by De Hoop Scheffer and Rosenmöller (adjourned), and Second Chamber, 1997-1998 parliamentary term, 25 922 (R1613), No 4. (2) Second Chamber, 1997 parliamentary term, 25 922 (R1613), No 5, p. 2. Answer given by Mr Santer on behalf of the Commission (17 November 1998) Under Article 146 of the EC Treaty, the Council consists of a representative of each Member State at ministerial level, authorised to commit the government of that Member State. Each Member State is entitled to lay down its own rules and procedures which determine the position to be adopted by that representative in the Council. It is not for the Commission to judge these rules and procedures