Amendment of Annex VI – Powers and responsibilities of the standing committees

European Parliament decision of 18 December 2024 on setting up a standing committee on Security and Defence and a standing committee on Public Health (2024/2115(RSO))

The European Parliament,

–having regard to the proposal from the Conference of Presidents,

–having regard to its decision of 15 January 2014 on the powers and responsibilities of the standing committees,

–having regard to Rules 212, 218 and 219 of its Rules of Procedure,

1.Decides to set up a standing committee on Security and Defence and that the subcommittee on Security and Defence shall cease to exist; decides that the responsibilities of the committee on Foreign Affairs shall be amended accordingly;

2.Decides that the standing committee on Security and Defence shall be responsible for EU security and EU defence integration and cooperation including the issues related to the European Defence Agency, the permanent structured cooperation, the scrutiny of the common security and defence policy (CSDP), European Defence Industry and European defence industry funding where it contributes to the objectives of CSDP and related defence-exclusive measures of the European Union;

3.Decides to set up a standing committee on Public Health and that the subcommittee on Public Health shall cease to exist; decides that the name and the responsibilities of the committee on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety shall be amended accordingly;

4.Decides that Annex VI to its Rules of Procedure is amended as follows:

(1)in Part I, paragraph 1, point 1 is replaced by the following:

‘1. the common foreign and security policy (CFSP);’

(2)the following Part is inserted:

‘Ia. Committee on Security and Defence

Committee responsible for the promotion, implementation and monitoring of the common security and defence policy (CSDP) and related defence-exclusive measures of the Union as envisaged in Article 42(2) of the Treaty on European Union, including:

1.the developments threatening the territorial integrity of the Union and its Member States and the security of Union citizens;

2.the capabilities and assets for civilian and military CSDP missions outside the Union, complementary measures under the European Peace Facility (EPF) as well as other budget lines and financial instruments directly supporting or contributing to the CSDP framework;

3.the implementation and regular review of strategic defence decisions and policies;

4.the progressive framing of a common Union defence policy leading to a Common Defence Union and the alignment of CSDP instruments with other Union financial instruments, legislation and policies;

5.the capabilities to monitor and counter hybrid threats from outside the Union – including foreign information manipulation and interference (FIMI), cyber-defence, and related issues such as the protection of space assets, and the security of defence related critical infrastructure – within the limits of the CSDP and related defence-exclusive measures of the Union;

6.the defence capabilities, preparedness and resilience of the Union and its Member States, including defence-specific research, development and innovation, joint production and life-cycle management;

7.the measures, activities and instruments related to Union defence industrial integration and cooperation in pursuit of a single market for defence;

8.the military mobility infrastructure relevant to the defence readiness of the Union and its Member States and the capacities to protect that infrastructure from foreign threats, except in relation to TEN-T-related projects and dual-use transport infrastructure, where, when appropriate, advice shall be provided to the responsible Committee on Transport and Tourism;

9.the parliamentary oversight of defence-specific institutional Union structures and agencies, in particular:

–the Directorate-General of the EU Military Staff,

–the European Security and Defence College,

–the European Defence Agency (EDA),

–the Permanent Structured Cooperation (PESCO),

–the EU Satellite Centre within the limits of the CSDP and in establishing the European Defence Union, and

–the European External Action Service CSDP structure;

10.initiatives, programmes and policies insofar as they aim to strengthen the European defence technological and industrial base and consolidate defence industrial cooperation aimed for exclusively military use by Member States and relevant Union capacities;

11.defence-specific international agreements, depending on their content and scope, on security and defence, the external dimension of counter-terrorism, cyber defence, arms exports and control, disarmament and non-proliferation;

12.relations with the Union’s security and defence partners, including NATO, the UN Department of Peace Operations, the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), and other international organisations, and with inter-parliamentary bodies for matters falling under the responsibility of the Committee on Security and Defence;

13.political oversight and coordination with the work of the delegation for relations with the NATO Parliamentary Assembly and the possible future delegations with competences in the field of security and defence;

14.multilateral frameworks for security, arms exports and control and non-proliferation issues, the external dimension of counter-terrorism, good practices to improve the effectiveness of security and defence, and the Union legal and institutional developments in those fields within the limits of the CSDP and related defence-exclusive measures of the Union;

15.joint consultations, meetings and conferences on a regular basis to exchange information with the Council, the European External Action Service, and the Commission within the remit of the competences of the Committee on Security and Defence.’

(3)Part VIII is replaced by the following:

‘VIII. Committee on the Environment, Climate and Food Safety

Committee responsible for:

1.environmental and climate policy and protection measures, in particular concerning:

(a)climate change, adaptation, resilience and preparedness,

(b)environmental policy for the protection of public health,

(c)air, soil and water pollution, waste management and recycling, noise levels and the protection of biodiversity,

(d)chemicals, dangerous substances and preparations, pesticides and maximum residue levels, and cosmetics,

(e)sustainable development,

(f)international and regional measures and agreements aimed at protecting the environment,

(g)restoration of environmental damage,

(h)civil protection,

(i)the European Environment Agency and the European Chemicals Agency;

2.food safety issues, including in particular:

(a)the labelling and safety of foodstuffs,

(b)veterinary legislation concerning protection against risks to human health; public health checks on foodstuffs and food production systems,

(c)the European Food Safety Authority and the Commission’s Directorate for Health and Food Audits and Analysis.’

(4)the following Part is inserted:

‘VIIIa. Committee on Public Health

Committee responsible for public health matters related to:

1.pharmaceuticals and medical devices;

2.programmes and specific actions in the field of public health;

3.health crisis preparedness and response;

4.mental health and patients’ rights;

5.health aspects of bioterrorism;

6.the European Medicines Agency and the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control;

7.relations with the World Health Organization concerning the above matters.’

5.Decides that the standing committee on Security and Defence shall have 43 members and that the standing committee on Public Health shall have 43 members;

6.Decides that the standing committee on Security and Defence committee shall cooperate with other committees, guided by the principle of good and sincere cooperation, notably with the Committee on Foreign Affairs;

7.Decides, with reference to the decisions of the Conference of Presidents of 30 June 2019 and 9 January 2020 relating to the composition of committee and subcommittee bureaux, that the bureaux of the standing committee on Security and Defence and of the standing committee on Public Health may each consist of up to four vice-chairs;

8.Decides that this decision will enter into force on the first day of the next part-session;

9.Instructs its President to forward this decision to the Council and the Commission, for information.