European Affairs Committee

EUROPEAN AFFAIRS COMMITTEE (EAC) – the decision-making body in the coordination system of Polish European policy, it is acting from 1st January 2010. It is composed of: as the president – the minister responsible for Poland’s membership in the EU represented by the → secretary of state for European affairs (secretary of state at the ministry of foreign affairs), members of the Council of Ministers (who may be represented by their deputies in the rank of secretary of state or undersecretary of state), head of the Chancellery of the President of the Council of Ministers (who may be represented by the designated secretary or undersecretary of state in the Chancellery of the President of Council of Ministers) and the President of the General Counsel to the Republic of Poland (Prokuratoria Generalna RP) (or a designated vice-president of the General Counsel). The President of the Council of Ministers can also take part in the meetings of the Committee, in which case he/she becomes the president of the EAC. Representatives of other institutions are also invited to the meetings of EAC and take part in its activities, however, they participate without the right make decisions. The EAC has no competence and acts on the basis of the mandates given by the Council of Ministers. They can be catalogued in two groups: deciding and settling. The first catalogue of competences allows members of the EAC to resolve issues such as: the instructions for the EU Council meetings, the meetings of Permanent Representatives of COREPER I and COREPER II, and the reports of those meetings; information on the position of the Republic of Poland in the meetings of the European Council and the results of those meetings; draft initiatives and positions on issues related to functioning and policies of the EU; positions on the EU documents subject to consultations with member states and their assessments formulated by the competent institutions or other EU bodies; the positions of the government of the Republic of Poland on legislative acts and non-legislative documents of the EU; assumptions for the projects of responses to the European Commission in matters related to violation of law by Poland; assumptions for the positions of the Republic of Poland in proceedings before the EU’s judicial bodies; the level of preparation of the government administration to perform tasks resulting from the membership of the Republic of Poland in the EU; issues of informing the public about the processes of European integration and Poland’s membership in the EU; information on the use by the Republic of Poland of the financial support mechanisms of the EU and member states of the European Free Trade Association (EFTA); documents related to the coordination of the implementation of the EU law to the Polish legal system, the cooperation of the Council of Ministers with the Sejm and the Senate on matters related to Poland’s membership in the EU and documents related to the preparation and handling of the Polish Presidency of the EU Council; decisions concerning the approval of candidates for the positions of national experts in the EU institutions. In addition, members of the EAC, in line with the competences of the second catalogue, settle: issues related to drafts of legislative proposals transposing the EU law into the Polish legal system as well as drafts of such acts themselves; the position of the Republic of Poland on drafts of international agreements establishing the EU or agreements defining the rules of their operation; position of the Republic of Poland presented in the European Council; complaints addressed to the EU’s judicial bodies on behalf of the Republic of Poland; strategic documents concerning the activity of the Republic of Poland within the EU. The sessions of the EAC are preceded by meetings of the EAC work team. The secretary who is also the Director of the Department of the European Affairs Committee is responsible for the work of the EAC, within which he performs his tasks. EAC meetings take place on a regular basis once a week [ T. Kownacki ].

Literature: R. Michalska-Badziak, E. Olejniczak-Szałowska, B. Jaworska-Dębska, M. Stahl (scientific eds.), Z. Duniewska, Prawo administracyjne. Pojęcia, instytucje, zasady w teorii i orzecznictwie [Administrative law. Concepts, institutions, principles in theory and jurisprudence], Warszawa 2016.