The Greens/EFA and European Parliament position
The Greens/EFA political group has been aware of a list of invited participants to the "High level group on competitiveness, energy ane environment". This High level group will be created by the European Commission Directorate General for Industry and Entreprises in order to advise the European Commission on measures to be taken in the above mentioned themes.
The Greens do question the representativity of such a group, as well as its legitimacy and mandate. They argue that the composition has to be well-balanced, the outcomes and the processes transparent.
According to Claude Turmes (Greens - LU), the discussions about the High level group take place behind closed doors, which contradicts initiatives by Commissioners Wallström and Kallas on transparency and democracy
The Greens point out that the list of 28 experts put forward by DG Entreprise and Industry, does comprise at least six members linked to industrial interests which focus on high energy prices. Besides, the only invited energy providers represent the nuclear companies (2 seats).
They also regret that NGOs are limited to one representative of environmental issues. Not only NGOs, but also MEPs suffer from an unbalanced representation whereby the largest political groups only are given seats.
The Greens plan to launch a debate between the presidents of the political groups in the European Parliament in order to move the issue forward. Claude Turmesalso submitted a written question to the European Commission in December 2005. The answer is still pending.
Following this action, the European Parliament Conference of the Presidents has decided that the European Parliament shall not be represented at all in the High Level Group. They requested José Manuel Barroso to give more information on the establishment and exact role of the High Level Group.
In May 2006, the EPP-ED Françoise Grossetete, PES, Dagmar Roth-Behrendt and ALDE Jorge Chatzimarkakis joined the Forum on Pharmaceuticals, following a unilateral decision of the ALDE to lift the European Parliament boycott.
Voices from the Environment NGOs and G10
Several members of the G10 have published a joint statement warning that the High Level Group’s role might be more political than technical. They demand that agendas, presentations, minutes, interim and final reports are made public and available online.
Background: Composition and role of the High Level Group on Competition, Energy and Environment
As a follow-up to the European Commission Communication on Industrial Policy published in Octover 2005, DG Enterprise and Industry has set up a "High Level Group on Competitiveness, Energy and Environment", which first met on the 28 February 2006.
Composed of national regulatory experts, the goal of this High Level Group is to foster cooperation between policy and legislative initiatives and to contribute to the better regulation agenda. They will advise the European Commission on how to simplify and improve European legislation. It shall not give opinions on specific legislative proposals.
According to the European Commission, the key objectives of the High Level Group are to:
act as an interface between the European Commission and governmental authorities;
contribute to disseminate best practices;
strengthen cooperation between the Commission and the
Member States with a view to implementing better regulation at
national level;
contribute to the development of a coherent set of indicators to monitor progress as regards the quality of the regulatory framework;
advise the Commission on better regulation issues, in particular: simplification of EU legislation; the assessment of economic, social and environmental impacts, including administrative costs; consultation practices; and the various options of regulation possible.
The list of experts is available from the Greens Secretariat on request.
