The 23rd COSAC took place in Paris on 16-17 October 2000. The IGC was in its closing phase, with only two months to go before the heads of state or governments should conclude the Nice Treaty. The French Prime Minister, Mr Lionel Jospin, appeared before COSAC to present the state of negotiations at the IGC on institutional reform, which he declared had been very “rich”. However, since the views of national parliaments on institutional reform were as different as those among governments, COSAC did not try to provide detailed advice to the IGC, but settled for a call on Member States to reach an agreement that would “ensure efficient, transparent and legitimate institutions”.
For the first time in five years, COSAC was used as a platform for an exchange of information and best practises on national parliamentary scrutiny of EU Affairs. The Presidency had prepared discussions thoroughly by submitting a questionnaire in advance of the conference to get an overview of the procedures in place for scrutiny in the national parliaments. Special emphasis was put on how the provisions in the Amsterdam protocol on transmission of EU proposals to national parliaments were functioning. As a consequence, COSAC called on the IGC to modify the protocol to ensure that a minimum of 15 days, or one week in urgent cases, should be observed between the reading in COREPER and the final decision in the Council.
COSAC also agreed that the French Presidency should consult national parliaments about setting up a working group that could meet during the forthcoming Swedish Presidency to allow COSAC to meet in between conferences. Several topics were proposed for the working group to discuss: Justice and Home Affairs, the scrutiny procedures of national parliaments and social affairs.