Activists see new lobbying prospects in EU Treaty

With national parliaments set to gain more powers to scrutinise EU laws, environmental NGOs are hoping that European capitals will offer a new battleground to defend their cause. But others warn that the new powers are essentially defensive and could lead to obstruction.

• Environmentalists upbeat about Lisbon Treaty

The European Environmental Bureau (EEB), a federation of 143 NGOs dealing with environmental issues across Europe, has produced an upbeat analysis of what the EU’s new treaty is expected to bring to their cause.

“By and large the Lisbon Treaty is no step backwards for the environment,” writes John Hontelez, EEB secretary general, in a briefing paper, saying that the new treaty “includes positive elements with regards to democratisation and transparency”.

“The opportunity of national parliaments to consider whether the subsidiarity principle is properly interpreted by the Commission can hopefully lead to an increased constructive interest by national politicians and media in EU policy making, in particular for environment and sustainable development” says Hontelez.

Moreover, he believes that the European Parliament’s new co-legislative powers in agriculture, fisheries, external trade and EU regional policy funding can “bring benefits for environmental protection and sustainable development”.

• Opponents will also find it easier to get their voices heard

However, new scrutiny powers for national parliaments could also create new opportunities for opponents of green policies. 

“It may be that for example strong lobbies like the chemical or the building industry will try to influence national parliaments to oppose an environmental directive proposed by the Commission,” says Ulrike Lunacek, an Austrian MP who is also a spokesperson for the European Green Party.

But she says the Greens are not afraid “because this regulation also makes it possible to work on changing Commission [legislative proposals] which for example puts free competition and trade above environmental concerns,” citing GMOs as an example.

“Democratic spaces always include the chance that you can lose a case – but it also includes the chance that you can win.”

In addition, she also stresses that the possibility of blocking legislation is restricted by definition only to issues which could be addressed more effectively at national or local level, according to the subsidiarity principle.

“As European Greens we have been in favour of national parliaments getting more involved in European issues, in order to achieve more coherence and to prevent the constant nagging about ‘Brussels’ in any question that they do not like,” says Lunacek. 

• A defensive instrument

For Sebastian Kurpas, a research fellow at Centre for European Policy Studies (CEPS) in Brussels, the national parliaments’ new powers are comparable to “an emergency brake”. 

“It is an inherently defensive instrument,” says Kurpas, who believes the new powers are “not providing national parliaments with a very proactive role.” “That’s why I’m worried,” he adds.

However, according to Kurpas, most parliaments lack the capacity to follow everything the EU does and will find themselves overwhelmed by the complex task of forging a sufficiently broad alliance with other parliaments to block EU legislation. 

According to the new treaty, objecting to a legislative proposal needs support from a majority of national parliaments in order to be taken into account. And even if they succeeded, it would still require a vote of support by the European Parliament or the Council of Ministers (simple majority and 55% of votes respectively).

“If they get their act together, they could trigger a procedure to stop a legislative initiative of the Commission,” says Kurpas. But he says they will have to be quick: parliaments only have eight weeks to find the votes necessary to block a proposal.

Moreover, Kurpas adds, “in order to effectively block a Commission proposal, you would still have to lobby the European Parliament or the Council.”

Read more with Euractiv

Study rejects single ethical rulebook for EU officials

Officials working for the European institutions are regulated "more strictly" than their counterparts at national level, reveals a study carried out by the European Institute of Public Administration in Maastricht. The study recommends tightening ethical rules in each institution rather than a one-size-fits-all solution.