Changes from report parliamentary committee draft to plenary report

AddedDear Madam Chair,

AddedAt the meeting of 23 October 2023, the Coordinators of the Committee on Legal Affairs decided to give an opinion, in accordance with Rule 56+ of the Rules of Procedure, on the proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council amending Regulations (EU) No 1024/2012 and (EU) 2018/1724 as regards the use of the Internal Market Information System and the Single Digital Gateway for the purposes of certain requirements laid down by Directive (EU) .../... of the European Parliament and of the Council on European cross-border associations. The opinion was attributed to the Greens/EFA Group and Mr Sergey Lagodinsky was nominated the Rapporteur. However, in order to respect the timetable of the IMCO Committee as well as following the rather technical, concise and uncontroversial nature of the proposal, the Coordinators decided on 29 November to change the format of the opinion under Rule 56+ into a letter while keeping the same Rapporteur.

AddedSuggestions:

AddedAt its meeting of 11 December 2023, the Committee on Legal Affairs accordingly decided, by 18 votes in favour, 0 votes against and no abstentions, to call on the Committee on the Internal Market and Consumer Protection, as the committee responsible, to take into account the elements outlined in this opinion, when preparing their report.

AddedThe proposed regulation accompanies the proposal for a Directive on European Cross-border Association (ECBAs), and should support an efficient administrative cooperation and the exchange of information between the competent authorities of the Member States with regards to ECBA in order to contribute to the implementation and application of the proposed directive. It is therefore important for the European Parliament and the Council to look at both instruments together as part of the same package to ensure coherence and consistency.

AddedIn that regard, the Committee on Legal Affairs welcomes the Commission’s proposal for regulation and the suggested changes to the Regulations on the Internal Market Information System and the Single Digital Gateway, and considers only minimal amendments are needed. Therefore, the elements to be taken into account as agreed by the Committee on Legal Affairs, are the following:

Added1. Recital 2 contains a technical error in referring to Article 30 on the Committee procedure instead of Article 28 on the IMI. It should therefore be amended as follows:

Added2. Article 1 of the draft regulation concerns the inclusion of the ECBAs Directive as a new point in the Annex of Regulation (EU) No 1024/2012 regarding the IMI System. By using an already existing digital system for administrative cooperation, additional legislative, administrative and financial burden is avoided and supports the functioning of the internal market for associations. The Committee therefore considers that no amendments are needed to this provision in the draft regulation.

Added3. Article 2 of the draft regulation covers amendments to Regulation (EU) 2018/1724 regarding the Digital Single Gateway. It expands the use of the Digital Single Gateway in view of access to information and problem-solving services beyond citizens and businesses to legal persons other than business, to include in particular future ECBAs. The amendments proposed by the European Commission are reflecting this expansion in a legally sound and technically correct way, including by putting forward additional areas of information to Annex I of Regulation (EU) 2018/1724 which concern the exact same areas included in that Annex for businesses. This supports the transparency of the operations of ECBAs as well as the creation of a level-playing field and more equal participation in the internal market for ECBAs compared to businesses.

AddedThe Committee therefore considers that no amendments are needed to these provisions in the draft regulation.

AddedYours sincerely,

AddedAdrián Vázquez Lázara