Joseph Daul - Responsibilities Within The European Parliament

Responsibilities Within The European Parliament

After having been elected in 1999, he naturally joined the then EPP-ED Group, now EPP Group, since it represented his most deeply held European convictions and the values which had always guided his political work.

He became a very active member of the Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development, being appointed its chairman in January 2002. Under his chairmanship, the committee contributed significantly to the necessary reform of the CAP in 2003. The committee has since continued to ensure the rigorous implementation of the reform without losing sight of the need for an in-depth review in 2008, with a view to the reform in 2013.

The Committee on Agriculture has sought in particular to reflect on social issues, taking account of the concerns of European consumers and taking a close interest in environmental protection.

During his chairmanship, we have also seen the enlargement of the Union with the accession of 10 new Member States and the preparations for the forthcoming accession of Bulgaria and Romania. The agricultural problems which are specific to most of the new Member States have led to Joseph Daul making numerous trips to meet farmers, their professional representatives and the relevant government departments with the aim of informing and reassuring the agricultural sector and gauging the impact of the reforms and efforts required of them. Joseph Daul was thus able to establish an important network of contacts in these countries.

In 2002, Joseph Daul was appointed chairman of the Conference of Committee Chairmen¸ which is responsible for coordinating 'horizontal' issues affecting the 20 parliamentary committees and for preparing the draft agenda for the plenary part-sessions. As part of the reform of the European Parliament, the Conference put forward proposals for making its work more efficient.

Joseph Daul also co-chaired, together with the committee chairmen concerned, the hearings of the Commissioners and transmitted the conclusions to the President of the European Parliament.

Finally, in 2005 and 2006, he and Socialist MEP Richard Corbett were Parliament's representatives for a new round of negotiations with the Council and Commission on comitology, giving Parliament, for the first time, the right to block the adoption of Commission implementing measures.

The 'Lisbon Strategy' Group headed by Joseph Daul carried out the groundwork for the work of the European Parliament and of the national parliaments to promote employment and innovation, an issue which has become a major political priority for the Union. In this connection, Joseph Daul co-chaired two meetings in 2005 and 2006 between the European Parliament and the national parliaments.

As a member of the European Parliament Delegation for the WTO negotiations, Joseph Daul formed part of the European Parliament delegation to the ministerial conferences in Seattle (1999), Doha (2001) and Cancun (2003). He was involved in the preparatory work for the ministerial conferences by regularly meeting ambassadors in Geneva in order to defend the position of the European Parliament.

In January 2007, he was elected Chairman of the EPP Group. He remains member of the Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development and substitute member of the Committee on International Trade and of the Delegation to the ACP-EU Joint Parliamentary Assembly.

He is also chairman of the European Parliamentary Association (EPA), which has its seat in Strasbourg and which aims to help give parliamentary life a more convivial dimension, allowing Members of the European Parliament also to establish contacts in academic, economic and cultural circles.