- Poland, Denmark, Portugal and others (not specified) asked for a B item (discussion point)
- The Luxembourg presidency claimed this was not possible due to procedural reasons, and that this would have undermined the whole process -> it would stay on the list of A-items
Bendtsen and the precidency might use this paragraf of the Council's Rules of Procedure:
3.6. The provisional agenda shall be divided into Part A and Part B. Items for which approval by the Council is possible without discussion shall be included in Part A, but this does not exclude the possibility of any member of the Council or of the Commission expressing an opinion at the time of the approval of these items and having statements included in the minutes.
I think they interpret the following as not dealing with B-items:
3.8 "However, an A item shall be withdrawn from the agenda, unless the Council decides otherwise, if a position on an A item might lead to further discussion thereof or if a member of the Council or the Commission so requests."
They will say it means that an A-item may be blocked and discussed, in principle infinitely. They will say that 3.8 does not offer the opportunity to turn an A-item into a B-item.
However, annex III article 3.8 is interpreted as the maintaining B-item paragraph (Annex III, point 1(c))
1. In application of the following provisions of these Rules of Procedure and for decisions in respect of which, in accordance with the Treaties, members of the Council or of Coreper may not participate in the vote, account is not to be taken of votes by such members: .... (c) Article 3(8) (maintaining as a "B" item on the agenda an "A" item, which would otherwise have had to be withdrawn from the agenda);
Rule 57 Communication of the Council's common position
1. Communication of the Council's common position pursuant to Articles 251 and 252 of the EC Treaty takes place when it is announced by the President in Parliament. The President shall make the announcement after he has received the documents containing the common position itself, all declarations made in the Council minutes when it adopts the common position, the reasons which led the Council to adopt its common position and the Commission's position, duly translated into the official languages of the European Union. The President's announcement shall be made during the part-session following the receipt of such documents.
Before making the announcement, the President shall establish, after consulting the chairman of the committee responsible and/or the rapporteur, that the text he has received is indeed a common position and that the circumstances described in Rule 55 do not apply. Failing this, the President, together with the committee responsible and, where possible, in agreement with the Council, shall seek an appropriate solution.
2. A list of such communications shall be published in the minutes of the sitting together with the name of the committee responsible.
The MEPs are in Strasbourg.
Proposed algorithm:
1. http://wwwdb.europarl.eu.int/ep6/owa/p_meps.entry?ilg=EN
2. Choose legal affairs as committe
3. Choose your MEPs
4. look at the Strasbourg fax number, substitue 7 instead of the 9 of the fourth back 's/9(...)$/7\1/'
5. call your MEPs, inform them on the matter, hint that the procedural rules of Council are violated, EP should not announce it as a Common position, and go to Court.
