1.General
AVC: assent procedure
COM: communication document from the Commission which usually initiates the legislative process
COD: co-decision procedure (see procedure section)
CNS: consultation procedure (see procedure section)
DG: Directorates General which are the departments the Commission is divided in. Commission includes a DG health and consumer policies namely DG SANCO.
EP: European Parliament
EU: European Union
G10 Group: High Level Group on Innovation and Provision of Medicines set up following a symposium on Pharmaceutical Industry Competitiveness held in December 2002. It aims at exploring ways of improving industry competitiveness in Europe while encouraging high levels of health protection.
INI: initiative procedure (see definition section)
OJ: Official Journal
2. European political parties
EPP-ED | Group of the European People's Party (Christian Democrats) and European Democrats |
PSE | Group of the Party of European Socialists |
ALDE | Group of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe |
Verts/ALE | Group of the Greens/European Free Alliance |
GUE/NGL | Confederal Group of the European United Left-Nordic Green Left |
IND/DEM | Independence/Democracy Group |
UEN | Union for Europe of the Nations Group |
NI | Non-attached |
3. European Parliament committees
Parliament's standing committees, of which there are seventeen, do the preparatory work for Parliament's plenary sessions. Each committee appoints a chairman, three vice-chairmen and has a secretariat.
The committees draw up and adopt reports on legislative proposals and own-initiative reports. They also prepare opinions for other standing committees.
In addition to these standing committees, Parliament can set up temporary committees and committees of inquiry.
The joint parliamentary committees maintain relations with the applicant country parliaments, the interparliamentary delegations with parliaments in other non-EU states.
ENV | Committee on Environment, Public Health and Consumer Policy |
FEM | Committee on Women’s Rights and Equal Opportunities |
EMPL | Committee on Employment and Social Affairs |
LIB | Committee on Citizens' Freedoms and Rights, Justice and Home Affairs |
ITRE | Committee on Industry, External Trade, Research and Energy |
