The Joint Committee for EU as a Fundamental Vehicle for the Participation of the Cortes Generales in European Affairs.

Abstract

The Joint Committee for the European Communities of the Congress of Deputies and the Senate was created in 1985, according to quite an infrequent model in Comparative Law, and with merely informative and generic competences. However, it has been persistently gaining reach and relevance through a series of consecutive reforms of its legal regulation. Indeed, with the last reform, the legislator has entrusted this joint organism with the competences of monitoring and supervising European legislative initiatives, as well as approving reports and opinions regarding the violation of the principle of subsidiarity, or within the framework of political dialogue with the European legislative institutions. Other aspects to be highlighted concerning the work of the Joint Commission are the establishment of a procedure for the Parliaments of the Autonomous Communities to get more involved, or the consolidation of some parliamentary customs, such as regular meetings between the Chair of the Congress and the Spokespersons of the political groups to foster further engagement in the follow-up work of European legislative initiatives. Ultimately, the new role acquired by the Joint Commission has allowed its members to monitor the EU legislative initiatives on a permanent basis and exert a stronger influence in the initial steps of the European legislative procedure.