madam president i am glad to see that the new framework agreement represents a significant improvement in and deepening of relations with the commission and the special partnership reflects the new power of the european parliament under the lisbon treaty
as a result of excellent work within the commission and the working party the practical solutions included in the proposed revised agreement bring major improvements in legislative procedure and planning parliamentary scrutiny obligations to provide information and the commission's presence in parliament
welcome commissioner šefčovič let me draw your attention to two points in particular
i consider the involvement of parliament in international negotiations a major step forward facilitating parliament's consent and giving more predictability to the procedure
in my view one of the most important elements is the follow-up of legislative initiative requests from parliament
i welcome the development that the commission undertakes to report on the concrete follow-up given to any legislative initiative requests within three months of its adoption the commission shall come forward with a legislative proposal after one year at the latest or include the proposal in the next year's work programme
if the commission does not submit a proposal it shall give parliament a detailed explanation of the reasons
as the rapporteur on the european citizens initiative i hope that the follow-up of citizens requests will also be handled with equally proper respect
i was glad to see the major backing of the report in committee
i trust the plenary session will follow the line agreed between the commission and the european parliament working party
well done and thank you very much
