For MEPs, one of the challenges of the next legislature will undoubtedly be to gain influence over foreign policy, the exclusive territory of member states, by benefiting from the entry into force of the Lisbon Treaty, hopefully at the beginning of 2010. With the treaty, the EU high representative for Common Foreign and Security Policy will also become vice-president of the European Commission, and so will have to obtain a vote of approval from the Parliament at the same time as the entire college.

From then onwards, contrary to the current practice of Javier Solana, the high representative will have to give an account to MEPs. Since the person is supposed to coordinate all the Union’s foreign policy, this will allow the Parliament to be better informed and consulted. “We will have greater consideration and at least a vision of the whole of the Union‘s foreign policy,” said a parliamentary leader. The Parliament also intends to monitor closely the creation of the European External Action Service, which has been put on hold since the collapse of the draft Constitution in 2005. The financing of this service, which will bring together officials from the Commission and the Council as well as national diplomats, under the authority of the high representative, “must remain entirely under the control of the budgetary authority,” the Parliament underlined in a resolution, adopted on 7 May. The Parliament now shares this budgetary power entirely with the Council.

This should reinforce the attraction of the Committee on Foreign Affairs, already one of the most popular, although clearly less influential than environment or the internal market. On the other hand, in terms of defence, the Parliament should continue to be satisfied with a sub-committee, whereby only a handful of handpicked MEPs receive confidential information from the Council. There are no changes either for the Subcommittee on Human Rights, responsible for the annual report on human rights and the winner of the Sakharov Prize.

MEASURES OF ASSENT

Another institutional novelty, following the launch of the Eastern Partnership between the EU and six Eastern countries (Belarus, Ukraine, Moldova, Azerbaijan, Armenia and Georgia), is the creation of a new parliamentary assembly, Euronest, modelled after what already exists with Latin America, the Mediterranean and the ACP countries.

The Parliament’s main power will remain the vote of assent. This will allow deputies to have influence over the content of cooperation and trade agreements negotiated with third countries by, for example, the inclusion of a human rights clause. At the beginning of December 2008, Parliament also postponed its assent on Israel’s increased participation in EU programmes because of the situation in Gaza. Over the coming years, Parliament will therefore have to give its approval in the event of a new EU-Russia or EU-China partnership agreement. MEPs will also need to approve future association agreements with the South American sub-regions (Mercosur, Andean Community and Central America) and economic partnership agreements with the ACP countries.

Another source of influence will continue to be the vote on resolutions in the plenary relating to human rights violations, which have serious repercussions in certain countries (see separate article).

Lastly, on enlargement, Parliament will have to give the green light in the event of the accession of Croatia and Iceland. This is unlikely to provoke controversy. On the other hand, with the increase in the power of the extreme right within the assembly, debates on Turkey promise to be even more heated, even if the end of accession negotiations are not anticipated for this legislature.

“We will have greater consideration and at least a vision of the whole of the Union‘s foreign policy”