Uit nieuwsbrieven van het Committee on Legal Affairs van het Europese parlement (“JURI”) blijkt dat de commissie veel prioriteit wil geven aan hervorming van het auteursrecht, merkenrecht en regelgeving inzake handelsgeheimen. Het lopende project inzake insolventierecht moet worden afgemaakt en het voorstel inzake de  single member private limited company zal worden bekeken.

Uit de nieuwsbrief van de commissie blijkt dat de nieuwe commissaris Timmermans is bevraagd door het parlement en volgens de auteur van de nieuwsbrief goed werk heeft geleverd:

The performance of Mr. Timmermans at his hearing in front of the Parliament was generally considered the strongest among all of the hearings. In addition to showing linguistic and cultural dexterity and a real commitment to and confidence in the European integration project, he presented himself as a well-prepared and well-informed advocate for the rule of law in the EU, and was therefore considered well-suited to take on his proposed portfolio, in particular the challenges of better regulation, in the new Commission.

Timmermans heeft een aantal toezeggingen gedaan die in een apart document zijn terug te vinden. Een aantal thema’s zijn voor de praktijk interessant, zoals Better Regulation. Onder meer zegt hij toe het Europese Parlement te consulteren inzake intrekking van Europese regelgeving. Hierna volgen enige citaten:

Pledge to conclude a new Inter-Institutional Agreement on Better Law-Making
“…By the end of next year, I hope to conclude an Inter-Institutional Agreement on better law-making that will hopefully align and reinforce our efforts to better serve Europe’s interests.”

EP consultation on proposed withdrawal of legislation
“…By the beginning of next year, I will propose to the College a list of pending proposals which should be withdrawn, after consulting this Parliament”.

Pledge to take steps to clarify the “subsidiarity” principle
“For legislative proposals at European level…the onus is on the Commission in the first instance to examine and explain in understandable terms exactly why its proposals are needed and how they comply with the principle of subsidiarity. I will pay particular attention to this.”

Pledge to engage with national parliaments
“When a yellow or orange card is used, the Commission should consider this carefully. I see it as part of my role to encourage colleagues to take the discussion directly to national parliaments and listen to remarks and provide justified replies. The results of these debates should also be shared with the European Parliament.”

High-quality, independent impact assessments
“It is important that the Commission’s Impact Assessment Board is composed of people who can act independently of vested interests and bring in outside expertise. And I will personally express my view on the quality of impact assessments when they are brought to the College.”
“I will encourage the Council to follow the European Parliament’s lead in making sure that the impact of proposals is not only assessed by the Commission and not only at the beginning of the legislative procedure.”

Andere belangrijke thema’s zijn Rule of Law en Fundamental Rights.

Inmiddels heeft notarissenorganisatie Koninklijke Notariële Beroepsorganisatie (KNB) al laten weten bij Timmermans te zullen aandringen op intrekking van regelgeving. KNB stelt voor Europese voorstellen inzake nieuwe anti-witwasregels, de eenpersoonsvennootschap en de publieke documenten in te trekken.

Plannen voor de komende tijd

Pavel Svoboda, de nieuwe voorzitter van de commissie, vertelt op de JURI site over de plannen van de commissie:

Responsible for intellectual property, the committee will be dealing in this legislature with the reform of the EU’s trademark rules, trade secrets and the future of copyright, following its previous work on digital rights management and copyright in the information society.

As far as concerns company law, its first priorities will be to finish work on the new insolvency rules and consider the new proposal on single member private limited companies. At the same time, the committee will be maintaining its focus on citizens, families and businesses in the internal market with the forthcoming review of the private international law rules on jurisdiction and recognition and enforcement of judgments in matrimonial matters and matters of parental responsibility (including child abduction) and the proposal for updating the small claims procedure.

Lastly, the committee helps Parliament as a whole build an informed opinion on a number of very technical issues, including supervising the use of delegated and implementing legislation, ensuring proper consideration is given to input from national Parliaments under the subsidiarity mechanism and taking decisions on the defence of Parliament’s interests in court.

I hope that you will find this website informative and would like to thank you for your interest in the Committee on Legal Affairs.

Pavel Svoboda, Chair

Tot slot

Het is natuurlijk afwachten of Europese Commissie en Europese Parlement de hierboven vermelde goede intenties waar kunnen maken.

Meer informatie

Informatie van de commissie:

• Website van de het Committee on Legal Affairs van het Europese parlement
• Commitments made at the hearing of Frans Timmermans, First Vice-President of the Commission, Commissioner for Better Regulation, Inter-Institutional Relations, the Rule of Law and the Charter of Fundamental Rights
• JURI US newsletter, November 2014
• JURI report, November 2014
• Bericht KNB 30 oktober 2014 over intrekking van Europese regelgeving

De onderwerpen van deze commissie worden 0p de site als volgt beschreven:

Committee responsible for:
1. the interpretation, application and monitoring of Union law and compliance of Union acts with primary law, notably the choice of legal bases and respect for the principles of subsidiarity and proportionality;
2. the interpretation and application of international law, in so far as the European Union is affected;
3. better law-making and the simplification of Union law;
4. the legal protection of Parliament’s rights and prerogatives, including its involvement in actions before the Court of Justice of the European Union;
5. Union acts which affect the Member States’ legal order, namely in the fields of:
a.civil and commercial law,
b.company law,
c.intellectual property law,
d.procedural law;
6. measures concerning judicial and administrative cooperation in civil matters;
7. environmental liability and sanctions against environmental crime;
8. ethical questions related to new technologies, applying the procedure with associated committees with the relevant committees;
9. the Statute for Members and the Staff Regulations of the European Union;
10. privileges and immunities as well as verification of Members’ credentials;
11. the organisation and statute of the Court of Justice of the European Union;
12. the Office for Harmonisation in the Internal Market.