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The European Parliament is close to completing the split of the Environment and Health Committee (ENVI) and upgrading the existing Public Health Subcommittee (SANT) to a standing committee, according to parliamentary sources. TonAl Active in Europe.
Parliament is expected to establish new standing committees, the first in more than a decade, following five-year mandates that deepened cooperation among EU member states on: healthy and defense.
Senior sources in the Social Democrats and Reform parties separately confirmed that the parliamentary majority had informally decided to upgrade the health committee after weeks of speculation.
Adam Jarubas, the current chair of the health subcommittee, was more cautious, telling Euractiv that the EPP “will still work towards a full SANT committee,” something the party has long advocated.
“We think the EU is having its Jean Monnet moment, with deeper integration in the health sector,” he told European Events. “The coronavirus pandemic has shown that we can do more by working together rather than competing for limited resources.”
The confirmation came as a surprise amid reports that the government was planning to set up a comprehensive health commission collapse In early July.
Parliamentary sources told European Events that sceptics within the Socialist Party fear that a split could give the right a numerical advantage.
The Environment, Public Health and Food Safety Committee (ENVI) currently has 90 members, and the Public Health Subcommittee (SANT) has 30. In a smaller committee, it should be easier for the three right-wing groups (ECR, PfE and ESN) and the European People’s Party (EPP) to drag the results in the direction they want.
It is not clear why the socialist group changed its stance.
The informal agreement is expected to be formalised when Parliament returns in the autumn as part of a wider deal on a new committee structure.
Greens skeptical
But some uncertainty remains as the Greens, part of the pro-EU parliamentary majority, claim a deal is not yet done.
“We are skeptical about making SANT a permanent committee because we fear it will just be a ‘pharmaceutical committee’ for industry,” Green Party deputy chair Kira Peter-Hansen told Euractiv.
The final configuration of the committee will depend on approval by the Conference of Presidents, which will not reconvene until the fall.
Upgrading the Defence Committee and the Housing Select Committee
The move to upgrade the health committee will be part of a wider reorganization of parliamentary committees. Socialist and Liberal sources told European Action that the current subcommittee of the defence committee Will also upgrade It will be separated from the Foreign Affairs Committee (AFET) and established as a standing committee. The agreement is also expected to include the creation of a dedicated housing committee.
Ultimately, the agreement on changes to parliamentary committees will seek to reflect the composition and responsibilities of the new European Commission, Giarrubas said.
Although the composition of the new commission is still unclear, Ursula von der Leyen, who was re-elected as President of the European Commission, intention Appoint a new defence commissioner and a new housing commissioner. Agreement on the composition of parliamentary committees is therefore likely to depend on the composition of the new committees.
Details about the new standing committee on public health’s mandate, composition and leadership remain scarce. However, the split means the public health committee will be able to amend and vote on legislative proposals, a role currently reserved for its parent committee, ENVI.
*Nick Alipour contributed to this report.
(Editing by Nick Alipour and Chris Powers)
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