EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT: PROPOSAL ON POLITICAL PARTIES' REGULATIONS AND FUNDING IMMINENT.

The Greens, EPP, PES and ELDR political groupings (and their respective parties at European level) referred the issue of creating a clear legal basis for the funding of European political parties to the Commission following a Court of Auditors' report severely criticising the way European political parties were funded from the budget of their political grouping (see European Report No 2488). At the European Parliament on 14 June 2000, the Commissioner responsible for the Inter-Governmental Conference, Michel Barnier, signalled that the Commission intended to take a two-pronged approach. On the one hand, it suggests that Article 191 of the Treaty be expanded and made more explicit in order to provide a clear and transparent legal basis for the organisation of political parties at the European level, and on the other, it suggests using Article 308 to create a transitional legal document to apply until legislation based on a revised version of Article 191 is adopted (see European Report No 2509).--Article 191 of the Treaty of Amsterdam states that "Political parties at European level are important as a factor for integration within the Union. They contribute to forming a European awareness and to expressing the political will of the citizens of the Union". The Treaty of Nice amends Article 191 by adding that the Council, by a qualified majority vote and using the co-decision procedure, "shall lay down the regulations governing European political parties, in particular the conditions as to their recognition and the rules regarding their funding".--Budget of Euro 7 million.The Treaty of Nice has kept the amended version of Article 191 but since it has not yet come into force, the Regulation is based on Article 308. It will fully respect the principle of subsidiarity and will not affect the way national parties are funded. The provisions will permit neither the funding of national parties - this would clash with Article 191 - nor electoral campaigns at either national or European level. The Commission document lays down various criteria to define a European political party. It must have a clear European vocation; target issues related to the European project, (whether it...