Juncker was offended by the deputies of the European Parliament for absenteeism
European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker has criticized the European Parliament for failing to appear at the plenary meeting, which was scheduled to consider a report on the semi-annual presidency of Malta to the EU and the progress in solving the problems of migrants. Juncker said the speaker of the European Parliament Antonio Tajani. The BBC calls them skirmish the most bitter quarrel of representatives of branches of power of the EU over the past few years.
Juncker called ridiculous that at the morning session came about 30 members out of 751. He expressed the opinion, that work so serious. Tajani accused the official in contempt of Parliament: “You can criticize the work of the European Parliament, but the powers of the European Commission does not include control of the Parliament, the Parliament should monitor the EC”. Juncker retorted that there now not so many deputies, who had to control the Commission.
He said that more such debates will not go, and expressed confidence that if the deputies came German Chancellor Angela Merkel and President of France Emmanuel macron, the hall would be full.
The BBC correspondent reported that only counted in the plenary hall at least 100 people, including a delegation accompanying the cadets and the Prime Minister of Malta Joseph Muscat. The MEP from the UK in an interview suggested that it may be at the beginning of the holiday season. According to another version, members could decide not to go to the plenary, as were canceled a debate scheduled on this day. Finally, someone might prefer to go to France for the funeral of the first speaker of the European Parliament Simone veil.
The Russian state Duma has long fought for attendance of the plenary meetings. In 2005 the initiative to deal with the absentees was made by the Chairman of the state Duma Lyubov Sliska, but the idea is not supported by the then speaker Boris Gryzlov. In March 2010, to monitor the attendance of MPs and senators invited the Public chamber. The proposals of the Duma opposition to punish truants to allow the transfer card is not supported. Were representatives of the Duma opposition, but their initiative was not supported.
In April 2010, then-President Dmitry Medvedev demanded to improve discipline parliamentarians and to prevent truancy. “This is not my expertise <…> but, as guarantor of the Constitution, I can’t say that surprises me a picture from the courtroom of the state Duma, where there sits 10-15% of the payroll,” said he then. He demanded to amend the legislation. Amendments to the regulations permitting the transfer of vote from one member to another, was introduced in the Duma in June of the same year. Later, however, United Russia has expanded the list of situations in which deputies were allowed to miss meetings and to trust your voice comrades. In March 2010, shortly after the election, the Duma of the new convocation forbade the deputies to vote by proxy, has introduced fines for missing the plenary sessions, instead of two weeks to a month for plenary now will have three separate week for Committee work undone — the work of the committees has to combine with the plenary, and their duration increased.