Olivier Chastel: For better cooperation between the Presidency of the Council and the European Parliament
The Secretary of State for European Affairs met with Member of the European Parliament Klaus-Heiner Lehne, President of the Conference of Committee Chairs of the European Parliament, this 14 September 2010.
This discussion was a follow-up to the idea floated during the meeting between the Belgian Presidency and the Conference of Presidents in June to strengthen the connections between the Council and the Parliament. For Olivier Chastel, this meeting aimed at consulting together better on the subject of the work of the Council and the Parliament, especially in terms of the schedule of legislative dossiers. Representatives of the other two members of the Trio, Spain and Hungary, also participated in the meeting.
Olivier Chastel and Klaus Lehne discussed several dossiers on which the Belgian Presidency hopes to arrive at an agreement. Concerning the European External Action Service, the negotiations between the Council and the Parliament were started on the financial settlement and the status of the staff. “The objective is to complete the dossier in October in such a way that the service can be operational starting on 1 December”, the Secretary of State declared.
He also recalled the importance given by the Belgian Presidency to the establishment of the citizenship initiative before the end of the year. A vote in plenary session is scheduled for mid-December.
“On the subject of the AIFM directive (alternative investment fund managers directive), the tripartite meeting of 8 September revived the hope of arriving at an agreement,” declared the Secretary of State. In fact, the Belgian Presidency would like to reach an agreement on the directive on investment fund managers aiming at regulating hedge funds as well as “private equity” firms.
“The Belgian Presidency will see to promoting the correct rollout of the annual budget procedure within the framework of effective inter-institutional cooperation,” Olivier Chastel reminded the European Member of Parliament concerning the 2011 budget of the EU.
Prime Minister Yves Leterme and Secretary of State Olivier Chastel will meet with the President of the European Parliament, Mr Buzek, on Friday 17 September. The Conference of the Committee Chairs of the European Parliament has also asked to host Olivier Chastel during the plenary session of Tuesday, 19 October, in order to take stock mid-course of the Belgian Presidency of the Council of the EU.
