Month: September 2020

What happens if the EP challenge is out of time?

by

There have been two recent cases – E171 and flumioxazine – where the Commission submitted comitology proposals for scrutiny to the European Parliament that did not allow the EP the time to effectively scrutinise the proposal. There is no better way to unify MEPs than to give the perception of trying to by-pass the limited … Read more

Don’t avoid the difficult issues, deal with them early on

by

In policy-making, there is usually a concern that is driving the agenda.  I’ve spent many years working on air quality. The concern was that ultra-fine particulate matter, PM 2.5, had the greatest health effects. Over time, with new studies and evidence, the idea became mainstream. The idea had been around for a decade or more. … Read more

So you want a piece of law adopted

by

From time to time, I have been asked how to get an idea taken up and put into an EU law. I got round to putting the practicalities of doing so into a few chapters of a book published in a few days time (link). After having done it a few times, my standard line … Read more

Environment Committee back challenge E171 RPS measure

by

This evening, 7 September, the Environment Committee backed the challenge by 51 votes to 11 against and 16 abstentions. The Commission announced their intention of withdrawing the proposed measure if the vote went against them. You can re-watch the exchange of views here.   ______________________________________________________________________________________ The memo not to poke the European Parliament when it … Read more