four questions on the joint committee

After the rejection motion adopted in the National Assembly against the immigration bill, the government wants to convene a joint committee. This parliamentary tool, made up of seven deputies and seven senators, will try to find a compromise for a common text.

The government refuses to abandon its immigration bill and will convene “as quickly as possible” a joint joint commission. The text was rejected on Monday December 11 by the National Assembly via a motion of rejection, before any discussion.

The Prime Minister, Elisabeth Borne, declared on Tuesday December 12 that she wanted “provide answers” to the French on immigration by allowing his bill to be debated in a joint committee. Franceinfo explains this parliamentary tool to you by answering four questions.

1 What is a joint committee?

The joint committee is a group of deputies and senators which meets when the two chambers of parliament (Senate and National Assembly) cannot reach an agreement. This happens regularly. Apart from the text on immigration, there are nine other joint committees at the moment, for example one on the proposed law on the opening of the RATP to competition.

These commissions can be convened at the initiative of the Prime Minister, as is the case today, or by the presidents of the two chambers. Fourteen parliamentarians then met behind closed doors, seven deputies, seven senators who must find a compromise, that is to say a text common to the two assemblies.

2 How are the 14 parliamentarians who make up this commission chosen?

They are chosen by the presidents of the different groups present within the joint committee. This commission must reflect the political balances of the Senate and the National Assembly. This means that the presidential camp will not be in the majority. There are also technical considerations. For example, for this text on immigration, the president and the rapporteur of the law committee are automatically integrated into the committee.

3What happens if the joint committee manages to reach an agreement?

The bill cannot escape a vote. The new text, drafted by the joint committee, must go back to the Senate and the National Assembly. It is submitted as is, that is to say that no amendment is admissible unless the government gives its agreement. In other words, this means that the government is taking the risk of seeing its bill rejected, as on Monday, by the deputies. Unless you use 49.3 which will then expose it to a possible motion of censure.

4 What happens if the joint committee cannot reach an agreement?

In the event of failure, the government can request a final parliamentary shuttle, that is to say a new reading in the Senate and the Assembly. And if there is still no agreement, the government can ask, as a last resort, the deputies to rule definitively on the text.