Malta MEP seeks support for choice of committees

Newly elected MEP Simon Busuttil was in Brussels yesterday to take part in the first meeting of the European People's Party (EPP) after the June 12 elections.

The EPP group brings together various Christian Democratic parties, including the Nationalist Party, as well as other centre-right parties and the British Conservatives.

The meeting was attended by the heads of delegation from all 25 EU countries. Dr Busuttil was participating as the head of the Maltese delegation in the EPP.

The meeting discussed the participation of MEPs in the 20 different committees of the European Parliament, each dealing with different subjects. Each MEP may participate in up to two committees. However, this will now be extended in certain cases.

Dr Busuttil stressed that MEPs should have the option to participate in more than two committees. This, he said, was particularly important for small countries to ensure that they could be represented in as many parliamentary committees as possible.

In addition, each MEP will also be able to participate in a parliamentary delegation set up to focus on relations with different non-EU countries.

The meeting also discussed the appointment of the new European Commission President, Portuguese Prime Minister José Manuel Durao Barroso, which needs to be approved by the European Parliament in a vote that will take place on July 22 in a plenary session in Strasbourg. Maltese MEPs will be able to vote on this occasion for the first time.

Mr Barroso is a member of the EPP and has the strong backing of the group. The EPP had made it clear that as the largest political group in the European Parliament it expected the new Commission President to be selected from its own political family.

Dr Busuttil also held meetings with senior officials in the EPP and with other heads of delegation in order to seek support so that the five Maltese MEPs - both from the PN (EPP) and the Malta Labour Party (Party of European Socialists) - would be able to participate in the committees that are most important for Malta. These include the committees relating to budget, regional policy, economic and monetary affairs and the environment.

The final decision on the composition of the different committees will be taken in Strasbourg on July 22 and 23.