PV CPG 03.03.2005

PE-6/CPG/PV/2005-08

EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT

       

CONFERENCE OF PRESIDENTS

MINUTES

of the meeting of Thursday

03-03-2005

Paul Henri SPAAK Building - Room 6B01

- - -

Brussels

PV\560723EN.doc PE 355.890/CPG

EN EN PV CPG 03.03.2005

PE-6/CPG/PV/2005-08

CONFERENCE OF PRESIDENTS

MINUTES

of the meeting of

Thursday, 3 March 2005 from 11.00 a.m. to 1.00 p.m.

Paul Henri SPAAK Building – Room 6B01

Brussels

CONTENTS

Page

1. Adoption of draft agenda ...... 7

2. Approval of minutes of meeting ...... 8

3. Adoption of the preliminary draft agenda for the March part-session (7 to 10 March 2005) - Scheduling of debates in plenary ...... 9

4. Statements by the President ...... 11

4.1 Situation of journalists detained in Iraq ...... 11

4.2 Meeting with the President of Croatia ...... 11

4.3 Official visit by the President to Romania ...... 12

4.4 Proposed joint meeting of the Conference of Presidents with the Committee of the Regions on 7 April 2005 ...... 13

4.5 Visits by Heads of State...... 13

4.6 Request of the Committee on Foreign Affairs to hold a meeting in Strasbourg on Monday, 7 March 2005 ...... 14

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EN PV CPG 03.03.2005 5. Proposal for modification to the Rules of Procedure of the European Parliament - Conduct in and around the Chamber - respect of confidentiality - Note from President BORRELL - Legal Service opinion - Note dated 16 February 2005 from the Secretary-General ...... 15

6. Conclusions of the inter-committee coordination group responsible for preparing the European Parliament's position in connection with the Strategy - Report by Mr DAUL, Chairman ...... 17

7. Parliament delegation to attend WTO meetings in 2005 ...... 18

8. EU-Mexico Joint Parliamentary Committee ...... 19

9. Possibly, draft calendar of part-sessions of the European Parliament in 2006 - scheduling of other activities ...... 20

10. Own-initiative reports - Justifications for the committees' requests - Recommendations dated 23 February 2005 from Mr DAUL, chairman of the Conference of Committee Chairmen ...... 21

11. Enhanced cooperation between parliamentary committees (Rule 47 of Parliament's Rules of Procedure) - proposals dated 23 February 2005 from Mr DAUL, Chairman of the Conference of Committee Chairmen ...... 22

12. Urgent matters and any other business ...... 23

12.1 Reply of Mr BARROSO to the request for a renewed consultation on the proposed directive on the patentability of computer-implemented inventions (codecision procedure - COD 2002/47) ...... 23

13. Items for information ...... 27

14. Date and place of next meetings ...... 28

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CONFERENCE OF PRESIDENTS

MINUTES

of the meeting of Thursday, 3 March 2005

Brussels

Mr Josep BORRELL FONTELLES; President of the European Parliament, opened the meeting at 11.10 a.m.

Present

Josep BORRELL FONTELLES, President

Political group chairmen

Mr POETTERING (EPP-ED)

Mr SCHULZ (PES)

Mrs KOCH-MEHRIN, acting Chairman (ALDE)

Mrs FRASSONI, Co-Chairman (Greens/ALE)

Mr WURTZ (GUE/NGL)

Mr BONDE, Co-Chairman (IND/DEM)

Mr CROWLEY, Co-Chairman (UEN)

Non-attached Members (1)

Mrs BELOHORSKÁ Mr CLAEYS

Also present:

Mr PRIESTLEY, Secretary-General

(1) Present pursuant to Rule 23(2) of Parliament’s Rules of Procedure.

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EN PV CPG 03.03.2005 Invited for Items 3 and 6:

Mr DAUL, Chairman of the Conference of Committee Chairmen

Invited for Item 12.1:

M. McCREEVY, European Commissioner for Internal Market and Services

Also invited for Item 3:

The Council

represented by Mr LOPES-SABINO Mr DIEZ PARRA

The Commission

represented by Mr MASSANGIOLI Mrs CARPARELLI (Cabinet of Mrs WALLSTRÖM) Mrs BURY (Cabinet of Mr McCREEVY) Mr MÜLLER

Economic and Social Committee

represented by Mr ROCHE

* * *

Office of the President

Mrs VERGER Mr AGUIRIANO NALDA Mrs OBERHAUSER Mrs MIGO Mrs FAY Mr NANCY

Office of the Secretary-General

Mr STRATIGAKIS Mr CLARK

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Secretariat

DG Presidency Mr RØMER/Mr PORTA1/Mrs STENSBALLE1/ Mrs ALBANI-LIBERALI/Mr SCOTT1/Mr SANCHEZ RODRIGUEZ1 DG Internal Policies Mr WELLE/Mr RIBERA D'ALCALÁ1/Mrs DE VICENTE1/Mrs MARTINEZ IGLESIAS2/Mr KLEINIG1/Mr CHIOCCHETTI1 DG External Policies Mr PERILLO DG Information Mrs F. RATTI/Mr LIBERATO1/Mr DUCH GUILLOT1 Legal Service Mr GARZÓN CLARIANA/Mr PENNERA

Mrs O. RATTI, Director a.i. for relations with the political groups.

Political groups

Mr PEDERSEN/Mr KAMP/Mr LICANDRO/Mr PAPI (PPE-DE) Mr HILLER/Mrs BAPTISTA/Mr WINKLER/M. BEUMER (PSE) Mr BEELS (ALDE) Mrs TSETSI/ Mr DENKINGER (Verts/ALE) Mrs D’ALIMONTE (GUE/NGL) Mr VERHEIRSTRAETEN (IND/DEM) Mr BARRETT (UEN) Mr BUGALHO (NI)

M

Mr KYST, Mrs DEAN, Mrs VANDENBOSCH and Mr CALINOGLOU acted as secretary to the meeting.

M

1 Present for item 3. 2 Present for item 12.1.

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1. Adoption of draft agenda

The Conference of Presidents

- noted the draft agenda (PE 355.887/CPG) and adopted it in the form shown in these minutes.

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2. Approval of minutes of meeting

The Conference of Presidents

- noted that, due to the frequency of meetings and the time needed for translation, no minutes were available for adoption at this meeting.

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3. Adoption of the preliminary draft agenda for the March part-session (7 to 10 March 2005) - Scheduling of debates in plenary

The Conference of Presidents

- noted the following documents:  a preliminary/final draft agenda for the March part-session (Monday, 7 to Thursday, 10 March 2005);

 a letter dated 23 February 2005 from Mr DAUL, Chairman of the Conference of Committee Chairmen, on the Conference's recommendations concerning the agenda of the March 2005 part-session (PE 355.906/CPG).

- considered on an item-by-item basis the preliminary draft agenda for the March part-session (Monday, 7 to Thursday, 10 March 2005) on the basis of a note drawn up by the Directorate-General for the Presidency following meetings held with the secretaries-general of the political groups on 1 and 2 March 2005 and adopted the proposals set out in that note with the following modifications:

Monday, 7 March 2005

- held a brief exchange of views on the request of two Polish Members for one minute of silence to commemorate the 65th anniversary of the events in Katyń;

- decided, in response to the repeated requests to the President for a minute’s silence to be observed, and whilst acknowledging the need to remember the past, that painful events in the history of our 25 Member States could not be systematically commemorated in this way in plenary sittings;

- instructed the President to make a statement to that effect in plenary;

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EN PV CPG 03.03.2005 Tuesday, 8 March 2005

- decided that the declaration of the Commission on trade in stem cells will be followed by a resolution.

*

* *

Thursday, 10 March 2005

- held a brief exchange of views on the request of Commissioner FRATTINI to speak on behalf of the Commission as part of the homage to the victims of the terrorist attacks in Madrid on 11 March 2004;

- decided that it was unnecessary to have a statement from the Commission as part of the homage to the victims of the terrorist attacks, and that the President would thank Commissioner FRATTINI for his offer.

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4. Statements by the President

4.1 Situation of journalists detained in Iraq

The Conference of Presidents

- heard a statement from the President concerning the petitions circulating in the Parliament and the requests for a high level statement from Parliament;

- approved the proposal of the President for a statement of the Conference of Presidents calling for the immediate release of the journalists held in Iraq (PE 355.931/CPG).

4.2 Meeting with the President of Croatia

The Conference of Presidents

- heard a statement by the President concerning his meeting the previous day in Brussels with the President of Croatia;

- noted that the President of Croatia had asked Parliament not to create obstacles based on the conditions imposed by the Commission in relation to the start of accession negotiations on 17 March 2005, as the Croatian authorities believe that the General sought by the International Tribunal on war crimes in the former Yugoslavia is no longer in Croatia and therefore do not consider themselves in a position to comply with the condition;

- heard statements from Mr POETTERING and Mrs BELOHORSKÁ noting, respectively, that the word of the President of Croatia should be accepted, and the continuing efforts made by Croatia to meet the conditions of membership.

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EN PV CPG 03.03.2005 4.3 Official visit by the President to Romania

The Conference of Presidents

- heard a statement from the President on his official visit to Romania from 28 February to 1st March 2005, which coincided with the visit of the Commissioner responsible, Mr REHN. He had been asked to comment on the forthcoming assent procedure vote in Parliament on the membership application of Romania. He considered that the candidature of Romania should be discussed by the leaders of political groups on another occasion prior to the vote in plenary;

- heard a statement from Mr SCHULZ noting that there seem to be serious reservations, and that, at this final stage, before the assent procedure vote, the position of the Parliament needs to be prepared very carefully. He considered that if the Parliament were to reject the application of Romania, it might have a destabilizing effect on Romania, something not in the interest of the European Union;

- heard a statement from Mrs FRASSONI expressing the view that the Parliament should have raised it concerns earlier and is now in a difficult position. Her group believes that Romania is not ready for membership and that it would not be a favour to Romania to pretend otherwise;

- heard a statement by Mr WURTZ who considered that there were legitimate concerns about embarking so soon on a further enlargement to a poor country, but now that they have raised the hopes of Romanians, it is too late for the political leaders to back out. He agreed that a rejection could destabilize Romania and make it feel isolated, and that would not contribute to the common security policy of the EU;

- heard a statement by Mr POETTERING noting that problems exist in many areas of the acquis and that the Parliament could postpone accession by one year if it considered this to be necessary. He noted that the budgetary aspects have not yet been discussed. He added that it is important not to offend the honour of the Romanians and thus necessary to be careful in the use of language;

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EN PV CPG 03.03.2005 - noted the need, in the period before the assent procedure vote of the Parliament, foreseen for 13 April, on the membership application of Romania, for the careful use of language to avoid increasing tension unnecessarily; and agreed on the need for further discussion between group leaders on this point, before the Parliamentary vote.

4.4 Proposed joint meeting of the Conference of Presidents with the Committee of the Regions on 7 April 2005

- heard a statement from the President concerning the proposal of holding a joint meeting with the Committee of the Regions on 7 April 2005 and noted that the last meeting had been held in 26 June 2003;

- heard Mr SCHULZ and Mr POETTERING agree in principle with a meeting but note that the proposed date of 7 April 2005 would be impossible for them;

- heard Mr WURTZ and Mr CROWLEY stress the importance of holding meetings with the Committee of the Regions;

- noted a fair level of support for such a meeting, but that the political groups had difficulties with the date proposed;

- agreed that contacts would be made in order to find a more suitable date for a joint meeting with the Committee of the Regions later this year.

4.5 Visits by Heads of State

The Conference of Presidents

- heard a statement by the President concerning the planned official visits by Heads of State to Parliament during 2005;

- noted the state of contacts made in relation to the list of official visits already approved by the Conference of Presidents;

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EN PV CPG 03.03.2005 - noted that the King Juan Carlos of Spain would be visiting Brussels on 6 April 2005 for meetings with the Commission, and would also visit the Parliament to meet with the leaders of the political groups.

4.6 Request of the Committee on Foreign Affairs to hold a meeting in Strasbourg on Monday, 7 March 2005

The Conference of Presidents

- heard the President announce that the Committee on Foreign Affairs wished to hold an extraordinary meeting in Strasbourg on Monday, 7 March;

- held a brief exchange of views and confirmed the views expressed at its meeting of 13 January 2005 on the strict application of the rule that committee meetings not directly linked to the session would normally not be authorised at the same time as the plenary session;

- invited the President, unanimously, to inform the Committee on Foreign Affairs that, if it wished to hold a meeting in Strasbourg, it would only be authorised to hold its meeting in the afternoon of Thursday, 10 March 2005.

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5. Proposal for modification to the Rules of Procedure of the European Parliament - Conduct in and around the Chamber - respect of confidentiality - Note from President BORRELL - Legal Service opinion - Note dated 16 February 2005 from the Secretary-General

The Conference of Presidents

- noted the following documents:

 a note dated 21 January 2005 from President BORRELL on the conduct in the Chamber (PE 352.584/CPG);

 a note dated 21 January 2005 from Mr GARZON CLARIANA, jurisconsult, on the legal opinion requested on 2 December 2004 by the Committee on Budgets (PE 352.583/CPG);

 a note of 16 February 2005 from the Secretary-General entitled "Good conduct in the European Parliament: proposed modification to the Rules of Procedure" (PE355.872/BUR);

- heard a statement from the President who referred to the previous debate on this subject and noted that the Secretary-General proposed modifications to the Rules of Procedure in his note of 16 February 2005;

- heard Mr BONDE express the view that, although it was acceptable for a sanction to include losing an allowance, Members should not lose the right to vote to avoid a sanction being applied for political purposes or creating difficulties when the votes of a majority of Members are needed;

- heard Mr POETTERING recommend that the proposed modifications be sent to the Committee on Constitutional Affairs so that they could fine tune the proposals;

- heard Mrs FRASSONI agree with Mr BONDE and question the lack of clarity in other terms used, such as "confidential" and "serious disturbance". In her opinion, the text in the Rules of Procedure needs to be clearer;

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EN PV CPG 03.03.2005 - heard Mr WURTZ express the need for caution when adopting sanctions;

- heard Mr CROWLEY, Mr SCHULZ and Mrs KOCH-MEHRIN express support for the proposed modifications;

- heard Mrs BELOHORSKÁ note that the possible loss of the right to vote would encourage the groups to ensure discipline among their Members as otherwise they could lose important votes;

- heard the President explain that the basis of the proposal was that the Bureau would prepare guidelines on the standards to be met;

- noted the broad support for the proposals and the differing views on a possible sanction involving the loss of the right to vote as well as the exclusion of a Member;

- recommended to the Bureau that the proposals be sent to the Committee on Constitutional Affairs.

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6. Conclusions of the inter-committee coordination group responsible for preparing the European Parliament's position in connection with the Lisbon Strategy - Report by Mr DAUL, Chairman

The Conference of Presidents

- noted the following documents:

. a letter from Mr DAUL, Chairman of the Conference of Committee Chairmen, on the Coordination group's recommendation for a resolution on the Lisbon Strategy to be adopted by the plenary before the Spring European Summit (PE 355.920/CPG);

- heard a statement from Mr DAUL on the recommendation from the Coordination group for a resolution on the Lisbon Strategy;

- expressed its gratitude to the Coordination group for its work;

- noted that the majority of the political groups considered this text to be an appropriate basis for the debate and amendments in the plenary (statements by Mr POETTERING, Mrs KOCH-MEHRIN, Mr CROWLEY and Mr SCHULZ);

- noted that certain political groups intended nonetheless to submit separate resolutions to the plenary (statements by Mrs FRASSONI and Mr WURTZ);

- decided that the draft resolution recommended by the Coordination group would be submitted to the plenary by the Conference of Presidents.

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7. Parliament delegation to attend WTO meetings in 2005

7.1 Sending of a delegation to on 22 and 23 April and in September 2005 for preparatory meetings - Letters from Mr BARÓN CRESPO, Chairman of the Committee on International Trade

7.2 Parliament delegation to attend the WTO Parliamentary Conference to be held in Hong Kong during the December 2005 part-session - Letters from Mr BARÓN CRESPO, Chairman of the Committee on International Trade

The Conference of Presidents, taking a decision without debate,

- noted the following document:

 the letters referred to above (PE 352.667/CPG, PE 355.869/CPG and PE 352.589/CPG and annexes);

- decided to send a delegation of six Members to attend the meeting of the Steering Committee meeting in Geneva on 22-23 April and in autumn (at a date to be communicated later) to attend another two day meeting in Geneva to prepare the conference in Hong Kong, provided that the calendar of Parliament is respected;

- decided to send, on an exceptional basis, in view of the plenary sitting taking place at the same time, but justified by the political importance of the Parliament being represented at the WTO Conference, a delegation of 16 Members, to be appointed by the political groups in accordance with the D'Hondt method and including one non- attached Member, to attend the fourth WTO Parliamentary Conference, which will be held from 12 to 16 December 2005, within the framework of the WTO Ministerial Conference from 13 to 18 December 2005.

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8. EU-Mexico Joint Parliamentary Committee

8.1 Request for authorisation for the EU-Mexico JPC to meet on 23 and 24 May 2005 in Berlin - Letter dated 12 January 2005 from Mrs MANN, Chairman of the delegation concerned

8.2 Request for authorisation for the Bureau of the EU-Mexico JPC to undertake a working visit to Mexico during the first half of 2005 - Letter dated 12 January 2005 from Mrs MANN, Chairman of the delegation concerned

The Conference of Presidents, taking a decision without debate,

- noted the following documents:

 two letters of 12 January 2005 from Erika MANN, chairwoman of the Delegation to the EU-Mexico Joint Parliamentary Committee (PE 352.596/CPG and PE 352.597/CPG and annexes);

- decided to authorise a meeting of the Joint Parliamentary Committee on 23 and 24 May 2005 to replace the meeting in February foreseen in the programme of activities of the delegations but that, in accordance with the rules in force and current practice, this meeting must be held in one of Parliament's places of work; and

- decided to authorise the Bureau of the Delegation to Mexico to make a working party visit to Mexico, on an exceptional basis, justified by the need to prepare the rules of procedure on the setting up of the Joint Parliamentary Committee, in the first quarter of 2005, provided that the calendar of Parliament is respected.

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9. Possibly, draft calendar of part-sessions of the European Parliament in 2006 - scheduling of other activities

This item was postponed to the meeting of 10 March 2005 in order to allow time for discussion at the level of the Secretaries-General of the political groups.

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EN PV CPG 03.03.2005 10. Own-initiative reports - Justifications for the committees' requests - Recommendations dated 23 February 2005 from Mr DAUL, chairman of the Conference of Committee Chairmen

The Conference of Presidents, taking a decision without debate,

- noted the following document:

 a letter dated 23 February 2005 from Mr DAUL on the recommendations of the Conference of Committee Chairmen concerning the initiative reports approved by the parliamentary committees (PE 355.907/CPG and annexes);

- decided to authorise, pursuant to Rule 45 of the Rules of Procedure, the drawing up of the non-legislative reports included in the list annexed to the letter dated 23 February 2005 from Mr DAUL, Chairman of the Conference of Committee Chairmen.

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11. Enhanced cooperation between parliamentary committees (Rule 47 of Parliament's Rules of Procedure) - proposals dated 23 February 2005 from Mr DAUL, Chairman of the Conference of Committee Chairmen

The Conference of Presidents, taking a decision without debate,

- noted the following document:

 a letter dated 23 February 2005 from Mr DAUL concerning one recommendation from the Conference of Committee Chairmen on enhanced cooperation between committees (Rule 47) (PE 355.908/CPG and annex);

- decided to authorise the request for the application of Rule 47 of the Rules of Procedure (Enhanced cooperation between committees) to the request of the Committee on Foreign Affairs on the preparation of the report by the Committee on Internal Market and Consumer Protection on the Green Paper on Defence procurement (COM(2004) 0608 - 2005/2030 INI).

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12. Urgent matters and any other business

12.1 Reply of Mr BARROSO to the request for a renewed consultation on the proposed directive on the patentability of computer-implemented inventions (codecision procedure - COD 2002/47)

The Conference of Presidents

- noted the following documents:

 a letter dated 3 March from Mr GARGANI to President BORRELL (PE 355.932/CPG),

 a letter dated 1 March 2005 from President BORRELL to Mr BARROSO (PE 352.682/CPG/ANN2),

 a letter dated 25 February 2005 from Mr BARROSO (PE 352.682/CPG/ANN1),

 a letter dated 24 February 2005 from President BORRELL to Mr BARROSO (PE 352.682/CPG),

- heard a statement from the President recognising that, although the Commission was not obliged to accede to Parliament's request for a renewed consultation in relation to the procedure on the patentability of computer-implemented inventions (codecision procedure - COD 2002/47), the Commission was nonetheless obliged, by the relevant Treaty provisions, to explain its reasons to Parliament;

- heard a statement from Mr MCCREEVY, Commissioner responsible for Internal Market and Services outlining the Commission's reasons for not acceding to the Parliament's request. Mr MCCREEVY noted that he had attended the debate in the Committee on Legal Affairs and that the Commission had given due and careful consideration to the request of the European Parliament. However, the Commission considered that, at this stage, it could not resubmit its proposal nor submit a new

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EN PV CPG 03.03.2005 proposal as the Council had reached political agreement in May 2004 and is on the point of adopting its common position. The Commission has supported the political agreement and it would lead to chaos in the Council if the Commission changed its proposal now. Once the Council has adopted its common position, Parliament can reject or substantially amend the common position, and the Commission stands ready to review the positions expressed;

- heard Mrs FRASSONI emphasise that the Parliament wanted the first reading procedure to start again. Secondly, it was not only a question of the procedure but also of the content. The Commission had not accepted any of the Parliament's amendments and also must have reasons, based on the content, for not withdrawing its proposal. She noted that the Council had not adopted the common position during the last ten months and, if the result of a new proposal will be chaos, then not submitting a new proposal will only lead to chaos during the second reading;

- heard a statement by Mr SCHULZ expressing the view that the reply of Mr BARROSO was on the limits of being acceptable, but the reply of Mr MCCREEVY was beyond the limits. The Parliament had made a and, on a legislative initiative of such importance, the Commission could restart the procedure. Mr Schulz referred to the principle of discontinuity following national elections and, although he recognised that the Commission is not obliged to accede to Parliament's request, he concluded that the Commission did not want to withdraw its proposal and was creating tension between the two institutions. He asked what the Commission intended to do if the Council did not adopt its common position at its meeting on Monday, 7 March 2005;

- heard a statement by Mr WURTZ who, referring to the Commission's monopoly on presenting legislative initiatives, considered that the Commission was abusing its position and that the bureaucratic reply was the equivalent of a slap in the face of Parliament, particularly since there was a very clear vote in Parliament in the first reading;

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EN PV CPG 03.03.2005 - heard Mr CROWLEY state that, as a member of the Committee on Legal Affairs, he had voted against requesting a renewed consultation for two reasons. Firstly, because the Parliament has the power to change the proposal in the second reading and, secondly, because of the existence of a political agreement in the Council. He considered that Parliament should concentrate on radically changing the proposal during the second reading;

- heard Mr POETTERING note that the existing interinstitutional agreement, agreed with Mr Prodi in 1999, states that the Commission must examine carefully a request from the Parliament for a legislative proposal and that this virtually amounts to an obligation on the Commission;

- heard Mr MCCREEVY reply that, out of Parliament's fifty amendments in September 2003, the substance of half the amendments was included in the political agreement in the Council and that the content could be further amended in the second reading. He noted that, unlike the situation in the Member States, the institutions operate on the basis of continuity and, if the common position is not adopted on Monday and the Council concludes that it is not able to reach agreement, the Commission will draw its conclusions then, taking into account the position of the Parliament;

- noted that the statement of Mr MCCREEVY at the meeting of the Conference of Presidents did not absolve the Commission of its duty to inform the plenary and the committee responsible;

- decided to re-examine this issue at its next meeting, following the Council meeting on Monday, 7 March 2005, and to include this issue in the agenda of the April plenary;

- heard a statement by Mr MCCREEVY on the need for modifications to the proposed directive on services in the internal market, in advance of a public announcement;

- heard a statement from the President, thanking Mr MCCREEVY, that the information provided on the modifications to the proposed directive on services in

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EN PV CPG 03.03.2005 the internal market, while welcome, could not in this case either be considered as absolving the Commission of its duty to inform Parliament and its committees.

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13. Items for information

The Conference of Presidents,

- noted the following documents:

 a letter dated 18 and 28 February 2005 from Mr LICANDRO on changes to members and substitutes in committees and delegations (PE 355.921/CPG);

 a letter dated 18 and 23 February 2005 from Mr BEELS on changes to members and substitutes in committees and delegations (PE 355.922/CPG);

 a note dated 18 January 2005 from Mr MEADOWS, European Commission, DG Regional Policy, on the invitation to the Conference on Cohesion and Lisbon Strategy : the role of the regions, to be held on 3 March 2005 in Brussels (PE 352.611/CPG and annex).

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EN PV CPG 03.03.2005 14. Date and place of next meetings

The Conference of Presidents

- decided that it would hold its next ordinary meeting from 10 a.m. to 12 noon on Thursday, 10 March 2005 in Room R 1, 1 of the Louise Weiss Building in Strasbourg.

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*

The meeting closed at 1.00 p.m.

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