European Parliament: Forming and maintaining a political group

How hard should it be to acquire the privileges accorded to political groups in the European Parliament?

What happens if members of a small group threaten to leave?


***

Affinities

Even if the Europarties and the EP political groups are mainly coalitions, the Rules of Procedure require ‘political affinities’, which means that members are prevented from banding together on purely technical grounds to gain influence; Rule 29(1).
The Rules of Procedure add the following official explanation: Parliament need not normally evaluate the political affinity of members of a group. In forming a group together under this Rule, Members concerned accept by definition that they have political affinity. Only when this is denied by the Members concerned is it necessary for Parliament to evaluate whether the group has been constituted in conformity with the Rules.


***


Minimum requirements

The following hurdle is that a political group must have members from at least one fifth of the member states (now six) and a minimum membership of twenty MEPs: Rule 29(2).



CHAPTER 4 POLITICAL GROUPS

Rule 29 Formation of political groups

1. Members may form themselves into groups according to their political affinities.

2. A political group shall comprise Members elected in at least one-fifth of the Member States. The minimum number of Members required to form a political group shall be twenty.

3. A Member may not belong to more than one political group.

4. The President shall be notified in a statement when a political group is set up. This statement shall specify the name of the group, its members and its bureau.

5. The statement shall be published in the Official Journal of the European
Union.


***

Higher hurdle after European elections 2009

When the newly elected European Parliament convenes after the June 2009 elections, the requirements for forming a political group are going to be higher, according to the Decision on amendment of Rule 29 of Parliament’s Rules of Procedure ─ Formation of political groups; Resolution P6_TA-PROV(2008)0351.

As voted by the EPP and the PES, MEPs from at least a quarter of the member states will be needed; seven instead of six. The minimum number of MEPs rises from twenty to twenty-five.

Officially the European Parliament has aligned the number of member states with the number of states mentioned with regard to political parties at European level and their funding, but for Europarties it is enough to have elected representatives at national level in seven member states.

The committee report also compared the percentages of total membership needed in national parliaments to form political groups.

In fact it will be harder for motley crews of MEPs to the right of the centre-right (EPP) and to the left of the centre-left (PES) to find enough soul-mates to form political groups after the European elections.

The new Rule 29(2) sets the following requirements:

2. A political group shall comprise Members elected in at least one-quarter of the Member States. The minimum number of Members required to form a political group shall be twenty-five.


***

Transitional rule

If a duly constituted group slips under one of the thresholds or both, it can provisionally continue to exist on certain conditions according to the new Article 29(2a):

2a. Where a group falls below the required threshold, the President, with the agreement of the Conference of Presidents, may allow it to continue to exist until Parliament’s next constitutive sitting, provided the following conditions are met:
- the members continue to represent at least one-fifth of the Member States;
- the group has been in existence for a period longer than one year.
The President shall not apply this derogation where there is sufficient evidence to suspect that it is being abused.


***

Are these changes needed for the orderly conduct of business, or were the largest groups out to make life hard for potential secessionists?


Ralf Grahn

European Parliament: Political groups run the show

The first paragraph of Article 197 of the Treaty establishing the European Community (TEC) as well as the future(?) Lisbon Treaty Article 14(4) of the Treaty on European Union (TEU) let the European Parliament decide freely on most of its internal organisation.


Rules of Procedure

The main text in this respect is the Rules of Procedure (16th edition, October 2008), available at:

http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do?pubRef=-//EP//NONSGML+RULES-EP+20081022+0+DOC+PDF+V0//EN&language=EN


***

Group and strength

The Rules of Procedure make it quite clear that the political groups run the show. After a recent amendment ─ Resolution P6_TA(2007)0499 ─ only one of the non-attached members (non-inscrits, NI) is allowed to attend the meetings of the Conference of Presidents, without a vote.

Among the political groups, the bottom line is that the larger ones decide. Even if each group is represented in the Conference of Presidents, the chairs of the political groups vote according to the parliamentary strength of their groups:

Rule 23 Composition of the Conference of Presidents

1. The Conference of Presidents shall consist of the President of Parliament and the chairs of the political groups. The chair of a political group may arrange to be represented by a member of that group.

2. The non-attached Members shall delegate one of their number to attend meetings of the Conference of Presidents, without having the right to vote.

3. The Conference of Presidents shall endeavour to reach a consensus on matters referred to it.

Where a consensus cannot be reached, the matter shall be put to a vote subject to a weighting based on the number of Members in each political group.


***

The requirements for a political group will be treated in a later post.


Ralf Grahn

European Parliament: Political groups

At the present stage of development, in the absence of a real European party statute, the political groups of the European Parliament are mainly coalitions of representatives from different national political parties, but they are still vital to the conduct of political business.

***

Overview

Those who want an overview of the history until the present situation can read the Wikipedia article Political groups of the European Parliament (latest modification 27 February 2009):

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_groups_of_the_European_Parliament


***

Political groups

The 785 members of the European Parliament are spread across seven political groups, but some MEPs are non-attached. The membership numbers of the groups are from the Wikipedia article. I have added the web addresses.

The lengthy names are an indication that the political groups (and the political parties) at European level are still mainly coalitions of more or less likeminded national political parties.

EPP-ED

The Group of the European People’s Party (Christian Democrats) and European Democrats (EPP-ED) is the largest political group with 288 members of the European Parliament:

http://www.epp-ed.eu/home/en/default.asp


PES

With 215 MEPs the Socialist Group in the European Parliament (PSE) is the second largest:

http://www.socialistgroup.eu/gpes/



ALDE

Third in size is the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe (ALDE) with 101 MEPs:

http://www.alde.eu/



UEN

Union for Europe of the Nations (UEN) has the fourth largest group, with 44 members:

http://www.uengroup.org/home.html



Greens─EFA

The Group of Greens─European Free Alliance (Greens─EFA) has a group of 42 MEPs:

http://www.greens-efa.org/index.htm


GUE─NGL

The Confederal Group of the European United Left─Nordic Green Left (GUE─NGL) has 41 members:

http://www.guengl.eu/showPage.jsp


I/D

Independence/Democracy (I/D) houses 24 MEPs:

http://indemgroup.org/


NI

There are now 30 MEPs outside the political groups, classified as Non-Inscrits (NI).


***

In the following post we look at how the EP’s Rules of Procedure make the political groups the lifeblood of parliamentary business.


Ralf Grahn

European Parliament: Committees ─ parliamentary engine

Many are content to see the more or less shiny exteriors of a car, but some want to understand how the engine works. The committees of the European Parliament are essential parts of the parliamentary engine.


Plenary sittings are the tip of the iceberg, but the preparatory work takes place in specialised committees, most of them standing (permanent).

The names of the committees give a fair indication of their areas of activity. In Eurospeak the committees are known under their acronyms.


***

Overview

The European Parliament’s web pages offer a listing on the existing committees, and from there you can access information about the work of each of them:

http://www.europarl.europa.eu/activities/committees/committeesList.do?language=EN





Standing committees

AFET
Foreign Affairs


Sub-committee DROI Human Rights


Sub-committee SEDE Security and Defence


DEVE
Development


INTA
International Trade


BUDG
Budgets


CONT
Budgetary Control


ECON
Economic and Monetary Affairs


EMPL
Employment and Social Affairs


ENVI
Environment, Public Health and Food Safety


ITRE
Industry, Research and Energy


IMCO
Internal Market and Consumer Protection


TRAN
Transport and Tourism


REGI
Regional Development


AGRI
Agriculture and Rural Development


PECH
Fisheries


CULT
Culture and Education


JURI
Legal Affairs


LIBE
Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs


AFCO
Constitutional Affairs


FEMM
Women's Rights and Gender Equality


PETI
Petitions



Temporary committees

CLIM
Climate Change





***

Common rules

The first paragraph of Article 197 of the Treaty establishing the European Community (and Article 14(4) of the Treaty on European Union as presented in the consolidated version of the Treaty of Lisbon) leave most of the internal organisation to be decided by the European Parliament itself.

The EP’s Rules of Procedure (16th edition, October 2008) constitute the backbone of its internal organisation:

http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do?pubRef=-//EP//NONSGML+RULES-EP+20081022+0+DOC+PDF+V0//EN&language=EN

***

Committee procedures

Here we are going to sample the common rules on procedure in committee, dealt with in Chapter 2 of the Rules of Procedure.

Legislative report

The committee chair proposes the procedure to follow and the committee appoints a rapporteur to draft the report. The rapporteur drafts amendments to the legislative proposal (with short justifications) and a draft legislative resolution (with an explanatory statement including financial impact):


CHAPTER 2 PROCEDURE IN COMMITTEE

Rule 42 Legislative reports

1. The chair of the committee to which a Commission proposal has been referred shall propose to the committee the procedure to be followed.

2. Following a decision on the procedure to be followed, and if Rule 43 does not apply, the committee shall appoint a rapporteur on the Commission proposal from among its members or permanent substitutes if it has not yet done so on the basis of the annual legislative programme agreed under Rule 33.

3. The committee's report shall comprise:

a) draft amendments, if any, to the proposal, accompanied, if appropriate, by short justifications which shall be the responsibility of the rapporteur and shall not be put to the vote;

b) a draft legislative resolution, in accordance with Rule 51(2);

c) if appropriate, an explanatory statement including a financial statement which establishes the magnitude of any financial impact of the report and its compatibility with the financial perspective.


***

Simplified procedure

If there is overwhelming support in the committee for approving the legislative proposal without amendments, a simplified procedure can be adopted. Likewise if the amendments seem clear enough on the basis of the initial discussion:


Rule 43 Simplified procedure

1. Following a first discussion of a legislative proposal, the chair may propose that it be approved without amendment. Unless at least one-tenth of the members of the committee object, the chair shall present to Parliament a report approving the proposal. Rule 131(1), second subparagraph, (2) and (4) shall apply.

2. The chair may alternatively propose that a set of amendments be drafted by the chair or by the rapporteur reflecting the committee's discussion. If the committee so agrees, these amendments shall be sent to the members of the committee. Unless at least one-tenth of the members of the committee object within a set time limit, which may not be less than twenty-one days from the date of dispatch, the report shall be considered as having been adopted by the committee. In this case the draft legislative resolution and the amendments shall be submitted to Parliament without debate pursuant to Rule 131(1), second subparagraph, (2) and (4).

3. If at least one-tenth of the committee's members object, the amendments shall be put to the vote at the next meeting of the committee.

4. The first and second sentences of paragraph 1, the first, second and third sentences of paragraph 2 and paragraph 3 shall apply, mutatis mutandis, to committee opinions within the meaning of Rule 46.


***

Non-legislative report

The European Parliament does not deal solely with legislative proposals, but expresses its opinion on a variety of Commission consultation papers and requests for opinion:

Rule 44 Non-legislative reports

1. Where a committee draws up a non-legislative report, it shall appoint a rapporteur from among its members or permanent substitutes.

2. The rapporteur shall be responsible for preparing the committee's report and for presenting it to Parliament on behalf of the committee.

3. The committee's report shall comprise:

a) a motion for a resolution;

b) an explanatory statement including a financial statement which establishes the magnitude of any financial impact of the report and its compatibility with the financial perspective;

c) the texts of any motions for resolutions to be included under Rule 113(4).


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Own-initiative report

The EP may want to express its opinion and request legislative proposals on certain issues, but the Rules of Procedure impose the judicious use report on the EP’s own initiative by the requirement that such a report has to be authorised by the Conference of Presidents.

The official explanations add: The Conference of Presidents shall take a decision on requests for authorisation to draw up reports submitted pursuant to paragraph 1 on the basis of implementing provisions which it shall itself lay down. If a committee's competence to draw up a report for which it has requested authorisation is challenged, the Conference of Presidents shall take a decision within six weeks on the basis of a recommendation from the Conference of Committee Chairs, or, if no such recommendation is forthcoming, from its chair. If the Conference of Presidents fails to take a decision within that period, the recommendation shall be declared to have been approved.

Rule 45 on own-initiative reports:


Rule 45 Own-initiative reports

1. A committee intending to draw up a report and to submit a motion for a resolution to Parliament on a subject within its competence on which neither a consultation nor a request for an opinion has been referred to it pursuant to Rule 179(1) may do so only with the authorisation of the Conference of Presidents. Where such authorisation is withheld the reason must always be stated.

2. Motions for resolutions contained in own-initiative reports shall be examined by Parliament pursuant to the short presentation procedure set out in Rule 131a. Amendments to such motions for resolutions shall not be admissible for consideration in plenary unless tabled by the rapporteur to take account of new information, but alternative motions for resolutions may be tabled in accordance with Rule 151(4). This paragraph shall not apply where the subject of the report qualifies for a key debate in plenary, where the report is drawn up pursuant to the right of initiative referred to in Rule 38a or 39, or where the report can be considered a strategic report according to the criteria set out by the Conference of Presidents. [Cf. Annex XVIc]

3. Where the subject of the report comes under the right of initiative referred to in Rule 38a, authorisation may be withheld only on the grounds that the conditions set out in the Treaties are not met.

4. In the cases referred to in Rule 38a and Rule 39, the Conference of Presidents shall take a decision within two months.


***

Opinions of committees

Reports to be drafted have to be assigned to a responsible committee, but the issues often have implications for other policy areas (and committees). Therefore it is standard parliamentary practice to request opinions from other committees with regard to their remit:


Rule 46 Opinions of committees

1. Should the committee to which a question was first referred wish to hear the views of another committee, or should another committee wish to make known its views on the report of the committee to which a question was first referred, such committees may ask the President that, in accordance with Rule 179(3), one committee be named as the committee responsible and the other as the committee asked for an opinion.

2. In the case of documents of a legislative nature within the meaning of Rule 40(1), the opinion shall consist of draft amendments to the text referred to the committee accompanied, if appropriate, by short justifications. Such justifications shall be the responsibility of the rapporteur for the opinion and shall not be put to the vote. If necessary the committee may submit a short written justification for the opinion taken as a whole.

In the case of non-legislative texts, the opinion shall consist of suggestions for parts of the motion for a resolution submitted by the committee responsible.

The committee responsible shall put these draft amendments or suggestions to the vote.

The opinions shall deal solely with those matters that fall under the areas of responsibility of the committee giving an opinion.

3. The committee responsible shall fix a deadline within which the committee asked for an opinion must deliver it if it is to be taken into account in the committee responsible. Any changes to the announced timetable shall be immediately communicated by the committee responsible to the committee(s) asked for an opinion. The committee responsible shall not reach its final conclusions before that time limit has expired.

4. All adopted opinions shall be annexed to the report of the committee responsible.

5. Only the committee responsible may table amendments in Parliament.

6. The chair and rapporteur of the committee asked for an opinion shall be invited to take part in an advisory capacity in meetings of the committee responsible, insofar as these relate to the matter of common concern.


***

Joint responsibility

Borderline cases where a matter falls more or less equally within the remit of more than one committee require rules for cooperation in order to ensure consistency in the reports brought to the floor (and the output of the European Parliament).

The official explanations add: The wording of this Rule does not lay down any limits to its scope. Requests for application of the procedure with associated committees concerning non- legislative reports based on Rules 45(1) and 112(1) and (2) are admissible.


Rule 47 on associated committees:


Rule 47 Procedure with associated committees

Where a question of competence has been referred to the Conference of Presidents pursuant to Rules 179(2) or 45, and the Conference of Presidents, on the basis of Annex VI, considers that the matter falls almost equally within the competence of two or more committees, or that different parts of the matter fall under the competence of two or more committees, Rule 46 shall apply with the following additional provisions:

- the timetable shall be jointly agreed by the committees concerned;

- the rapporteur and the rapporteurs for opinions shall keep each other informed and shall endeavour to agree on the texts they propose to their committees and on their position regarding amendments;

- the chairs, rapporteur and rapporteurs for opinions concerned shall endeavour to jointly identify areas of the text falling within their exclusive or joint competences and agree on the precise arrangements for their cooperation;

- the committee responsible shall accept without a vote amendments from an associated committee where they concern matters which the chair of the committee responsible considers, on the basis of Annex VI, after consulting the chair of the associated committee, to fall under the exclusive competence of the associated committee and which do not contradict other elements of the report. The chair of the committee responsible shall take account of any agreement reached under the third indent;

- in the event of a conciliation procedure taking place on the proposal, Parliament's delegation shall include the rapporteur of any associated committee.


***

Drafting reports

Even if the explanatory statement is the responsibility of the rapporteur, he or she has to respect the rule that it has to accord with the approved draft resolution. At least the total committee vote is recorded as well as a summary of the minority opinion. In some cases a report may not be forthcoming; the committee can appoint a new rapporteur or propose a plenary debate on the basis of an oral report:



Rule 48 Drafting of reports

1. The explanatory statement shall be the responsibility of the rapporteur and shall not be put to the vote. It must, however, accord with the text of the motion for a resolution as adopted and any amendments proposed by the committee. If it fails to do so, the chair of the committee may delete the explanatory statement.

2. The report shall state the result of the vote taken on the report as a whole. In addition, if at least one-third of the members present so request when the vote is taken, the report shall indicate how each member voted.

3. Where the committee's opinion is not unanimous the report shall also give a summary of the minority opinion. Minority opinions shall be expressed when the vote on the text as a whole is taken, and may, at the request of their authors, be the subject of a written declaration not exceeding 200 words in length, annexed to the explanatory statement.

The chair shall settle any disputes which may arise as a result of the application of these provisions.

4. On a proposal from its bureau, a committee may set a deadline within which the rapporteur shall submit the draft report. This deadline may be extended or a new rapporteur appointed.

5. Once the deadline has expired, the committee may instruct its chair to ask for the matter referred to it to be placed on the agenda of one of the next sittings of Parliament. The debates may then be conducted on the basis of an oral report by the committee concerned.

***

The committees are central to the functioning of the European Parliament, and the common rules sampled above cover just a part of nearly forty index references to EP committees in the Rules of Procedure.


Ralf Grahn

European Parliament: MEPs’ assistants

The so called Assistants’ Statute has now been published. Officially it is Council Regulation (EC) No 160/2009 of 23 February 2009 amending the Conditions of Employment of Other Servants of the European Communities; Official Journal of the European Union (OJEU) 27.2.2009 L 55/1.

The Regulation enters into force after the European elections in June 2009. It lays down basic rules on ‘accredited parliamentary assistants’, employed at one of the European Parliament's three places of work under the specific legal arrangements adopted on the basis of Article 283 of the Treaty and whose contracts are concluded and administered directly by the European Parliament. These assistants will be employed directly by the European Parliament.

The European Parliament will adopt implementing rules.

Local assistants will still work on contracts concluded according to the applicable national laws, but subject to the implementing provisions to be issued.


Ralf Grahn

European Parliament: “Trust us ─ we are clean (soon)”

It is a promising sign. The European Parliament has reacted to reports on wide-spread sleaze.

But the statement is an almost blanket denial. The issues are serious enough to merit space. First, let the EP speak.

Then we try to evaluate the measures and trust of the European Parliament.


***

European Parliament press statement

On 24 February 2009 the European Parliament issued the following press release:


Getting the facts straight on MEPs’ allowances

Institutions - 24-02-2009 - 10:34

Recent media reports in some Member States have given a false impression of the situation on MEPs’ expenses. In fact, following an Internal Audit Report made one year ago, the European regulatory framework was subject to a major change last December when Parliament and Council approved a new statute for Parliamentary Assistants.

Moreover, effective controls have already taken place: 99.5 per cent of the payments made by Parliament to Members' assistants in years 2004-2007 under the rules governing parliamentary expenses and allowances has now been cleared as regular based on extensive checks of the relevant documentation.

These checks have been carried out by Parliament’s services for all Members, whether or not they have been subject of reporting in the media and whether or not payments made to their assistants were mentioned in the Internal Audit Report. The checking of the payments relating to parliamentary assistance made in 2008 is currently ongoing.

Major reforms of systems for employment of assistants and travel expenses

Various claims have been made relating to an Internal Audit Report, which found a number of weaknesses in the system for the employment of MEPs’ assistants. The aim of Internal Audit Reports is to enable problems to be fixed, and this report was one of the factors behind Parliament’s decision essentially to replace the system governing the payments of parliamentary assistance allowances with a new European and common regime.

From July this year, Brussels-based assistants are being added on to the employment system for EU officials, with those based in the MEPs’ Member State being handled by qualified paying agents chosen by the Institution, guaranteeing tax and social security arrangements in the relevant Member State. The practice of Members employing close relatives as assistants is being phased out with new contracts no longer allowed.

A major reform of MEPs’ travel expenses will see, from July this year, expenses refunded on the basis of documented costs incurred rather than on a flat-rate basis as is the current practise.

Effective controls in place

Parliament’s services have undertaken and undertake a variety of checks on the various payments made to MEPs' assistants and request further information where doubts arise. If it has turned out that funds have been improperly claimed, the relevant sums have been recovered from the payments concerned. Where there has been and is good reason to suspect fraud, Parliament’s services can, and do, call in the EU’s anti-fraud investigations office, OLAF. This can ultimately lead to cases being passed to the relevant national prosecutors.


***

The EP press release is available at:

http://www.europarl.europa.eu/news/expert/infopress_page/008-50236-054-02-09-901-20090224IPR50235-23-02-2009-2009-false/default_en.htm

***

Documentation

The European Parliament offers supporting documentation, available through the same web page.

‘Allowances paid to Members of the European Parliament’ offers basic information about the amounts paid to MEPs.

There is a link to Decision 2005/684/EC, Euratom of the European Parliament of 28 September 2005 adopting the Statute for Members of the European Parliament, published in the Official Journal of the European Union 7.10.2005 L 262/1.

There is also a link to the so called Assistants’ statute, European Parliament legislative resolution P6_TA-PROV(2008)0606 of 16 December 2008 on the proposal for a Council regulation amending the Conditions of employment of other servants of the European Communities, awaiting final approval and publication.

In addition, there is an explanatory press release of 16 December 2008 ‘New employment and payment system for MEPs' assistants’.


***

Evaluation

It is indeed a positive sign that the European Parliament engages in a discussion about its practices. But can the case it presents be likened to more than white-wash?

The European Parliament offers no excuses for the notorious misuse of public funds by elected representatives, for the lack of controls and action against culprits, or for the active suppression of available evidence.

Only the belated reforms undertaken serve as an indirect admission of guilt.

We are now told to trust the European Parliament that the 99.5 per cent of MEPs’ expenses currently cleared as regular are indeed in order. How can we verify that? Are we offered any credible proof? Has the EP decided to publish audit reports?

The European Parliament has placed itself in the unenviable position of having forfeited the trust it might have had.

There is but one remedy to the credibility problem on past history and existing practices: earning back trust by extreme openness. Publish every audit report and invite new ones, open the books for outside inspection and take action against the sinners.


***

Promised reforms

Unrepentant and secretive about the past and present, the European Parliament lets us understand that it is going to become virtuous in July 2009, after the European elections.

The MEPs’ Statute seems to plug one gaping hole, since Article 20 foresees reimbursement or actual travel expenses only, from July 2009. Other allowances can still be flat-rate.

Late in the day, some changes were made to the status of MEPs’ assistants by way of a Bureau decision on 9 July 2008 on Implementing Measures for the Statute for the Members of the European Parliament. (Where are these Implementing Measures on the EP’s web pages?)

If the 16 December 2008 resolution on the so called Assistants’ Statute enters into force, accredited assistants at the EP’s places of work would be paid by the Parliament.

The Assistants’ Statute seemed less clear about the salaries of local assistants in MEPs’ home countries, but perhaps the following sentence in the press release should be interpreted as a promise of implementing measures (reforms) to come:

“The larger package of measures includes not only a European statute for assistants working in Brussels but also the handling of contracts of and payments to assistants working in the Member States by qualified and duly recognised payroll organisations in those countries.”


***

Let me get the facts straight: The European Parliament’s grudging reforms and recent press statement are still a long way off from a public relations success, especially from an institution which profiles itself as a watchdog with regard to how taxpayers’ funds are spent by other EU bodies and member states.


Ralf Grahn

European Parliament: Committee Chairs and Delegation Chairs

Article 197 TEC and the possible future Article 14(4) TEU place few restrictions on the European Parliament’s powers to organise its internal work, except for the President and the officers (Bureau).

The Bureau, which consists of the EP President and the fourteen Vice-Presidents with the five (now six) Quaestors in an advisory capacity is the main administrative body. The EP President and the chairs of the political groups convene in the Conference of Presidents to deal with the political and legislative work of the European Parliament.


***

Conference of Committee Chairs

Both at national and European level much of the real legislative work takes place in committees, where the chairs are responsible for the smooth and orderly running of business. Collectively the Committee Chairs constitute the Conference of Committee Chairs, an auxiliary body to the Bureau and the Conference of Presidents.

The composition and the main tasks of the Conference of Committee Chairs is laid down in Rule 26 of the EP’s Rules of Procedure (16th edition, October 2008), available at:

http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do?pubRef=-//EP//NONSGML+RULES-EP+20081022+0+DOC+PDF+V0//EN&language=EN




Rule 26 Conference of Committee Chairs

1. The Conference of Committee Chairs shall consist of the chairs of all standing or temporary committees and shall elect its chair.

2. The Conference of Committee Chairs may make recommendations to the Conference of Presidents about the work of committees and the drafting of the agenda of part-sessions.

3. The Bureau and the Conference of Presidents may instruct the Conference of Committee Chairs to carry out specific tasks.


***

Parliamentary committees

A quick overview of the European Parliament’s committees is offered on the web page Parliamentary committees:

http://www.europarl.europa.eu/parliament/public/staticDisplay.do?id=45&pageRank=5&language=EN


The meeting documents, draft reports and reports of the committees are available to the public. In Eurospeak the committees are known by their acronyms. Here is a list of the committees, from page:

http://www.europarl.europa.eu/activities/committees/committeesList.do?language=EN




Standing committees
AFET
Foreign Affairs
Meeting documents

DROI Human Rights
Meeting documents

SEDE Security and Defence
Meeting documents

DEVE
Development
Meeting documents

INTA
International Trade
Meeting documents

BUDG
Budgets
Meeting documents

CONT
Budgetary Control
Meeting documents

ECON
Economic and Monetary Affairs
Meeting documents

EMPL
Employment and Social Affairs
Meeting documents

ENVI
Environment, Public Health and Food Safety
Meeting documents

ITRE
Industry, Research and Energy
Meeting documents

IMCO
Internal Market and Consumer Protection
Meeting documents

TRAN
Transport and Tourism
Meeting documents

REGI
Regional Development
Meeting documents

AGRI
Agriculture and Rural Development
Meeting documents

PECH
Fisheries
Meeting documents

CULT
Culture and Education
Meeting documents

JURI
Legal Affairs
Meeting documents

LIBE
Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs
Meeting documents

AFCO
Constitutional Affairs
Meeting documents

FEMM
Women's Rights and Gender Equality
Meeting documents

PETI
Petitions
Meeting documents

Temporary committees
CLIM
Climate Change




***

Committee chairs

The members of the Conference of the Committee Chairs are the following:


23 Members found for
Other bodies : Conference of Committee Chairmen

1. GALEOTE, Gerardo
Chairman

2. SARYUSZ-WOLSKI, Jacek
Member

3. BORRELL FONTELLES, Josep
Member

4. MARKOV, Helmuth
Member

5. BÖGE, Reimer
Member

6. BÖSCH, Herbert
Member

7. BERÈS, Pervenche
Member

8. ANDERSSON, Jan
Member

9. OUZKÝ, Miroslav
Member

10. NIEBLER, Angelika
Member

11. McCARTHY, Arlene
Member

12. COSTA, Paolo
Member

13. PARISH, Neil
Member

14. MORILLON, Philippe
Member

15. BATZELI, Katerina
Member

16. GARGANI, Giuseppe
Member

17. DEPREZ, Gérard
Member

18. LEINEN, Jo
Member

19. ZÁBORSKÁ, Anna
Member

20. LIBICKI, Marcin
Member

21. FLAUTRE, Hélène
Member

22. von WOGAU, Karl
Member

23. SACCONI, Guido
Member





***


Conference of Delegation Chairs

The Conference of Delegation Chairs is the collective of the chairs of the standing interparliamentary delegations, and it acts in an advisory capacity to the Bureau and the Conference of Presidents:


Rule 27 Conference of Delegation Chairs

1. The Conference of Delegation Chairs shall consist of the chairs of all standing interparliamentary delegations and shall elect its chair.

2. The Conference of Delegation Chairs may make recommendations to the Conference of Presidents about the work of delegations.

3. The Bureau and the Conference of Presidents may instruct the Conference of Delegation Chairs to carry out specific tasks.


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Delegations

The web page Delegations presents brief information about interparliamentary contacts outside the European Union; 34 delegations in all:

http://www.europarl.europa.eu/parliament/public/staticDisplay.do?id=45&pageRank=6&language=EN

You can link to delegations for European and non-European parliaments.


***

Delegation chairs


Here is a list of the delegation chairs, from page:

http://www.europarl.europa.eu/members/expert/otherBodies/search.do?body=1514&language=EN


38 Members found for
Other bodies : Conference of Delegation Chairmen

1. OBIOLS i GERMÀ, Raimon
Chairman

2. SCHMITT, Pál
Member

3. TRAKATELLIS, Antonios
Member

4. LAGENDIJK, Joost
Member

5. MANN, Erika
Member

6. CATANIA, Giusto
Member

7. RAEVA, Bilyana Ilieva
Member

8. PACK, Doris
Member

9. OOMEN-RUIJTEN, Ria
Member

10. SEVERIN, Adrian
Member

11. MIKKO, Marianne
Member

12. PROTASIEWICZ, Jacek
Member

13. JUKNEVIČIENĖ, Ona
Member

14. ISLER BÉGUIN, Marie Anne
Member

15. HYBÁŠKOVÁ, Jana
Member

16. TRIANTAPHYLLIDES, Kyriacos
Member

17. ITURGAIZ ANGULO, Carlos José
Member

18. PATRIE, Béatrice
Member

19. BEER, Angelika
Member

20. EVANS, Jonathan
Member

21. Ó NEACHTAIN, Seán
Member

22. LIPIETZ, Alain
Member

23. SOUSA PINTO, Sérgio
Member

24. JARZEMBOWSKI, Georg
Member

25. STERCKX, Dirk
Member

26. EVANS, Robert
Member

27. GILL, Neena
Member

28. PODESTÀ, Guido
Member

29. NASSAUER, Hartmut
Member

30. PIRKER, Hubert
Member

31. CHICHESTER, Giles
Member

32. PRODI, Vittorio
Member

33. LOCATELLI, Pia Elda
Member

34. KINNOCK, Glenys
Member

35. SALAFRANCA SÁNCHEZ-NEYRA, José Ignacio
Member

36. PÖTTERING, Hans-Gert
Member

37. SARYUSZ-WOLSKI, Jacek
Member

38. BORRELL FONTELLES, Josep
Member







Ralf Grahn

EU: lawyer-linguists Estonian Slovenian Czech Latvian

The European Personnel Selection Office (EPSO) is organising open competitions, based on qualifications and tests, to constitute a reserve from which to recruit lawyer-linguists.

The notices have been published in the Official Journal of the European Union (OJEU) 25.2.2009 C 46 A/1 with regard to applicants with Estonian or Slovenian as their main language and (page 14) concerning Czech or Latvian language hopefuls.

The main requirements are the following:

“The European institutions recruit highly qualified lawyers, who must be able to translate often complex legal/legislative texts into the language of the competition from at least two languages and check such texts. The work will involve use of standard IT and other office-technology tools.”

The purpose of the competitions is to draw up reserve lists from which to fill vacant posts in the European institutions, in particular the Court of Justice, the Parliament and the Council.


Ralf Grahn

European Central Bank: Procurement amendments

The European Central Bank has aligned its procurement rules with the Procurement Directive 2004/18/EC.

The ECB is going to use the amended EU thresholds, establish lists of suitable suppliers for contracts below the thresholds and exclude bidders guilty of criminal acts or having conflicting interests.


The Decision of the European Central Bank ECB/2009/2 of 27 January 2009 amending Decision ECB/2007/5 laying down the Rules on Procurement has been officially published in the Official Journal of the European Union (OJEU) 24.2.2009 L 51/10. The Decision enters into force on 1 March 2009.

The original Decision ECB/2007/5 of 3 July 2007 was published in the OJEU 14.7.2007 L 184/34.


Ralf Grahn

European Parliament: Conference of Presidents ─ political business

The English versions of the current Article 197 TEC and Article 14(4) TEU of the consolidated Lisbon Treaty regulate only that the European Parliament elects its President and its officers from among its members. In other language versions the officers are defined as the Bureau.

The rest of the internal organisation of the European Parliament is left to itself, with the EP Rules of Procedure as the centrepiece.

Among the various 16th editions the one from October 2008 seems to be the latest, available here:

http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do?pubRef=-//EP//NONSGML+RULES-EP+20081022+0+DOC+PDF+V0//EN&language=EN


***

Conference of Presidents

Composition

Rule 23 lays down the composition of the Conference of Presidents. The composition highlights the importance of the political groups in the running of parliamentary business. Their chairs are members of the Conference of Presidents, chaired by the EP President. Despite the aim to reach consensus the bottom line is that the largest parliamentary groups dominate, because their chairs vote with their number of MEPs. One non-attached member participates, but without a vote:


Rule 23 Composition of the Conference of Presidents

1. The Conference of Presidents shall consist of the President of Parliament and the chairs of the political groups. The chair of a political group may arrange to be represented by a member of that group.

2. The non-attached Members shall delegate one of their number to attend meetings of the Conference of Presidents, without having the right to vote.

3. The Conference of Presidents shall endeavour to reach a consensus on matters referred to it.

Where a consensus cannot be reached, the matter shall be put to a vote subject to a weighting based on the number of Members in each political group.


***

Duties

The Conference of Presidents is responsible for planning the legislative work and the agendas of the part-sessions, for questions relating to committees, for relations with the Commission and the Council as well as other EU bodies. The Conference maintains relations with national parliaments and non-EU countries and organisations. Seating arrangements and matters relating to the political groups fall within the remit of the Conference:


Rule 24 Duties of the Conference of Presidents

1. The Conference of Presidents shall carry out the duties assigned to it under the Rules of Procedure.

2. The Conference of Presidents shall take decisions on the organisation of Parliament's work and matters relating to legislative planning.

3. The Conference of Presidents shall be the authority responsible for matters relating to relations with the other institutions and bodies of the European Union and with the national parliaments of Member States. The Bureau shall name two Vice-Presidents who shall be entrusted with the implementation of the relations with national parliaments. They shall report back regularly to the Conference of Presidents on their activities in this regard.

4. The Conference of Presidents shall be the authority responsible for matters relating to relations with non-member countries and with non-Union institutions and organisations.

5. The Conference of Presidents shall draw up the draft agenda of Parliament's part-sessions.

6. The Conference of Presidents shall be the authority responsible for the composition and competence of committees, committees of inquiry and joint parliamentary committees, standing delegations and ad hoc delegations.

7. The Conference of Presidents shall decide how seats in the Chamber are to be allocated pursuant to Rule 32.

8. The Conference of Presidents shall be the authority responsible for authorising the drawing up of own-initiative reports.

9. The Conference of Presidents shall submit proposals to the Bureau concerning administrative and budgetary matters relating to the political groups.


***

Suspension or removal of MEP

Among the penalties for serious misconduct, generally decided by the President, is the submission to the Conference of Presidents, pursuant to Rule 18, of a proposal for the Member's suspension or removal from one or more of the elected offices held by the Member in Parliament, according to Rule 147(2)(d).


***

Europarty in breach of f(o)unding principles

Title XI of the Rules of Procedure deal with the relations with Europarties, officially political parties at European level (Rules 198 to 200).

According to Rule 200(1) the Conference of Presidents engages in an exchange of views ahead of a possible decision to refer to the committee responsible the question whether or not a political party at European level is continuing to observe (in particular in its programme and in its activities) the principles upon which the European Union is founded, namely the principles of liberty, democracy, respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms, and the rule of law.


***

Accountability

Again we see a positive commitment to openness and transparency. The minutes of the Conference of Presidents are distributed to all MEPs.

The minutes are ‘accessible to the public’, but the meaning of that is unclear. My meager efforts to locate these and other internal documents of the European Parliament on its web pages have come to naught:


Rule 28 Accountability of the Bureau and the Conference of Presidents

1. The minutes of the Bureau and the Conference of Presidents shall be translated into the official languages, printed and distributed to all Members of Parliament and shall be accessible to the public, unless the Bureau or the Conference of Presidents exceptionally, for reasons of confidentiality, as laid down in Article 4(1) to (4) of European Parliament and Council Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001, decides otherwise with regard to certain items of the minutes.

2. Any Member may ask questions related to the work of the Bureau, the Conference of Presidents and the Quaestors. Such questions shall be submitted to the President in writing and published in the Bulletin of Parliament within thirty days of tabling, together with the answers given.


***

Who are they?

There is a listing of the members of the Conference of Presidents on the following EP web page:

http://www.europarl.europa.eu/members/expert/otherBodies/search.do?body=1510&language=EN


1.
PÖTTERING, Hans-Gert President
2.
DAUL, Joseph Member
3.
SCHULZ, Martin Member
4.
WATSON, Graham Member
5.
CROWLEY, Brian Member
6.
MUSCARDINI, Cristiana Member
7.
FRASSONI, Monica Member
8.
COHN-BENDIT, Daniel Member
9.
WURTZ, Francis Member
10.
FARAGE, Nigel Member
11.
BELOHORSKÁ, Irena Member



***

The European Parliament should step up its efforts to inform the public of the internal aspects of its work.


Ralf Grahn

European Parliament: Bureau ─ spider in the web

Whether you wonder at MEPs’ expenses or the funding debacle of Libertas, the spider in the web is the Bureau of the European Parliament.


***

We have seen that the European Parliament elects its President and its officers among its members (Article 197 TEC; Article 14(4) TFEU in the consolidated Lisbon Treaty).

We have also seen that the English treaty text refers to the constituent parts (officers), whereas other language versions point to the Bureau.

After looking at the different offices ─ President, fourteen Vice-Presidents and five (now six) Quaestors ─ we turn to the internal ruling body of the European Parliament: the Bureau.




***

Composition of the Bureau

Elected for two and a half years (Rule 16) the President and the fourteen Vice-Presidents automatically form the Bureau, with the Quaestors in an advisory capacity; Rule 21 of the European Parliament’s Rules of Procedure (16th edition, October 2008):


Rule 21 Composition of the Bureau

1. The Bureau shall consist of the President and the fourteen Vice-Presidents of Parliament.

2. The Quaestors shall be members of the Bureau in an advisory capacity.

3. Should voting in the Bureau result in a tie, the President shall have a casting vote.


***

Duties of the Bureau

In the internal life of the European Parliament, the Bureau is the spider in the web. Finances, organisation, administration, members’ issues, personnel as well as funding for Europarties and their political foundations are either regulated or decided by the Bureau, as we see from Rule 22:


Rule 22 Duties of the Bureau

1. The Bureau shall carry out the duties assigned to it under the Rules of Procedure.

2. The Bureau shall take financial, organisational and administrative decisions on matters concerning Members and the internal organisation of Parliament, its Secretariat and its bodies.

3. The Bureau shall take decisions on matters relating to the conduct of sittings.

(Official explanation: The term 'conduct of sittings' includes the matter of the conduct of Members within all of Parliament's premises.)

4. The Bureau shall adopt the provisions referred to in Rule 31 concerning non-attached Members.

5. The Bureau shall decide the establishment plan of the Secretariat and lay down regulations relating to the administrative and financial situation of officials and other servants.

6. The Bureau shall draw up Parliament's preliminary draft estimates.

7. The Bureau shall adopt the guidelines for the Quaestors pursuant to Rule 25.

8. The Bureau shall be the authority responsible for authorising meetings of committees away from the usual places of work, hearings and study and fact-finding journeys by rapporteurs.

Where such meetings are authorised, the language arrangements shall be determined on the basis of the official languages used and requested by the members and substitutes of the committee concerned.

The same shall apply in the case of the delegations, except where the members and substitutes concerned agree otherwise.

9. The Bureau shall appoint the Secretary-General pursuant to Rule 197.

10. The Bureau shall lay down the implementing rules relating to European Parliament and Council Regulation (EC) No 2004/2003 on the regulations governing political parties at European level and the rules regarding their funding and shall, in implementing that Regulation, assume the tasks conferred upon it by these Rules of Procedure.

11. The President and/or the Bureau may entrust one or more members of the Bureau with general or specific tasks lying within the competence of the President and/or the Bureau. At the same time the ways and means of carrying them out shall be laid down.

12. When a new Parliament is elected, the outgoing Bureau shall remain in office until the first sitting of the new Parliament.


***

Who are they?

Who are the ones responsible for the orderly and savoury conduct of EP affairs? Take the rules on MEPs’ expenses, the controls put in place, corrective measures and information to the public. The Bureau is the linchpin.


You can find the composition of the Bureau on the web pages of the European Parliament at:

http://www.europarl.europa.eu/members/expert/otherBodies/search.do?body=2370&language=EN



1.
PÖTTERING, Hans-Gert President
2.
KRATSA-TSAGAROPOULOU, Rodi Vice-President
3.
VIDAL-QUADRAS, Alejo Vice-President
4.
ONESTA, Gérard Vice-President
5.
McMILLAN-SCOTT, Edward Vice-President
6.
MAURO, Mario Vice-President
7.
MARTÍNEZ MARTÍNEZ, Miguel Angel Vice-President
8.
COCILOVO, Luigi Vice-President
9.
ROTHE, Mechtild Vice-President
10.
MORGANTINI, Luisa Vice-President
11.
ROURE, Martine Vice-President
12.
dos SANTOS, Manuel António Vice-President
13.
WALLIS, Diana Vice-President
14.
SIWIEC, Marek Vice-President
15.
BIELAN, Adam Vice-President
16.
NICHOLSON, James Quaestor
17.
LULLING, Astrid Quaestor
18.
DE VITS, Mia Quaestor
19.
FRIEDRICH, Ingo Quaestor
20.
FAZAKAS, Szabolcs Quaestor
21.
MULDER, Jan Quaestor


***

Language arrangements

The Rules of Procedure mention a number of specific tasks for the Bureau. All documents of the European Parliament are drawn up in the official languages and the speeches of MEPs are interpreted simultaneously into the other official languages and other languages the Bureau may decide . Interpretation is provided in committees according to wishes of members. If committees or delegations meet outside the EP, the language arrangements can be more flexible, but in case of disagreement the decision is taken by the Bureau (Rule 138).

The Bureau recommends the abolishment or extension of provisional language arrangements (Article 139).


***

Serious misconduct

The President rules on penalties for MEPs guilty of serious misconduct (Rule 147), but the member concerned can lodge an internal appeal to the Bureau (Rule 148).


***

Funding of Europarties and their foundations

The 2009 EU budget for the European Parliament contains non-negligible funds for political parties at European level (10.9 million euros) and their foundations (7.0 million euros).

The main provisions have been laid down by Regulation (EC) No 2004/2003 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 4 November 2003 on the regulations governing political parties at European level and the rules regarding their funding, originally published OJEU 15.11.2003 L 297/1, but amended by Regulation 1524/2007, so this is a link to the consolidated version (of 27 December 2007):

http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=CONSLEG:2003R2004:20071227:EN:PDF


More detailed rules were issued by the Decision of the Bureau of the European Parliament of 29 March 2004 laying down the procedures for implementing Regulation (EC) No 2004/2003 of the European Parliament and of the Council on the Regulations governing political parties at European level and the rules regarding their funding (OJEU 12.6.2004 C 155/1).
There is a second entry in the Official Journal OJEU 2008 C 252/1, but it was published in the C series, so it should not be an amending decision, only republication for informational purposes:

Decision of the Bureau of the European Parliament of 29 March 2004 laying down the procedures for implementing Regulation (EC) No 2004/2003 of the European Parliament and of the Council on the regulations governing political parties at European level and the rules regarding their funding,
OJEU 3.10.2008 C 252/1.

Anyway, there are the hoops to jump through and the forms to fill out for the political parties and foundations concerned.

As we see, the Decision has been made by the Bureau.


***

Deciding on funding for Europarties

After the provisions on the funding system and its implementation, the EP’s Rules of Procedure regulate the concrete decision making on funds to be distributed to the European level parties and their foundations:


Rule 199 Powers and responsibilities of the Bureau

1. The Bureau shall take a decision on any application for funding submitted by a political party at European level and on the distribution of appropriations amongst the beneficiary political parties. It shall draw up a list of the beneficiaries and of the amounts allocated.

2. The Bureau shall decide whether or not to suspend or reduce funding and to recover amounts which have been wrongly paid.

3. After the end of the budget year the Bureau shall approve the beneficiary political party’s final activity report and final financial statement.

4. Under the terms and conditions laid down in European Parliament and Council Regulation (EC) No 2004/2003 the Bureau may grant technical assistance to political parties at European level in accordance with their proposals. The Bureau may delegate specific types of decisions to grant technical assistance to the Secretary- General.

5. In all the cases set out in the above paragraphs the Bureau shall act on the basis of a proposal from the Secretary-General. Except in the cases set out in paragraphs 1 and 4 the Bureau shall, before taking a decision, hear the representatives of the political party concerned. The Bureau may at any time consult the Conference of Presidents.

6. Where Parliament - following verification - establishes that a political party at European level has ceased to observe the principles of liberty, democracy, respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms and the rule of law, the Bureau shall decide that that political party shall be excluded from funding.


***

Libertas controversy

As far as we know from statements to the media, the potential pan-European political party Libertas has fallen foul of these regulations, which its chairman Declan Ganley has interpreted as a conspiracy against Libertas.

In principle, Libertas’ application for status and funds has failed, if I understand correctly, but the Bureau has mandated the EP’s legal services to consider if Libertas should have fulfilled the requirements by the dead-line for the application (1 November 2008) or if irregular or defected “representatives” can be replaced by new ones, which Ganley has offered to do.


***

Budget estimates

The Bureau draws up the preliminary draft estimates of the Euroepan Parliament on the basis of a report by the Secretary-General (Rule 73).


***

Accountability and questions

We have seen that the Bureau has a crucial role in questions of utmost importance to the conduct of the MEPs and the handling of party funding. Therefore the openness, transparency and accountability of the Bureau towards the public are significant.

Rule 28 of the EP’s Rules of Procedure looks promising:


Rule 28 Accountability of the Bureau and the Conference of Presidents

1. The minutes of the Bureau and the Conference of Presidents shall be translated into the official languages, printed and distributed to all Members of Parliament and shall be accessible to the public, unless the Bureau or the Conference of Presidents exceptionally, for reasons of confidentiality, as laid down in Article 4(1) to (4) of European Parliament and Council Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001, decides otherwise with regard to certain items of the minutes.

2. Any Member may ask questions related to the work of the Bureau, the Conference of Presidents and the Quaestors. Such questions shall be submitted to the President in writing and published in the Bulletin of Parliament within thirty days of tabling, together with the answers given.


***

Accessibility?

After navigating a fair number of pages on the European Parliament website, I am less certain if the European Parliament and I understand the same thing when we employ the term ‘accessible’.

By ‘accessible’ I mean information easily found, but I have failed to locate the decisions of the Bureau.

Based on earlier posts and this one I have come across a few areas, where I think that the European Parliament should step up its efforts to inform the public.

The European Parliament should post all the regulations concerning the European election procedures visibly (both permanently and on its election web pages).

The European Parliament’s decisions concerning MEPs’ allowances, control and the deliberate suppression of information including audit reports have been deplorable. The Bureau is the main responsible for the harm done to the EP’s reputation.

The Bureau’s minutes should be posted visbly on the EP’s web pages.

This includes decisions and documentation with regard to the Libertas funding controversy.



Ralf Grahn

European Parliament: Are the Quaestors doing their job?

After looking at the rules on the Quaestors of the European Parliament and failing to find more exact guidelines on their duties, we have to turn to sources outside the EP to assess the accountability and probity of this important institution and the effectiveness of its officers.

Times Online features the findings of an audit report, sadly leaked instead of being published by the EP, which is less than flattering for members of the European Parliament (MEPs).

‘Secret report reveals how MEPs make millions’ was published 22 February 2009, and it recalls the earlier instance of non-publication we have discussed on this blog:

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/politics/article5780750.ece


My two words of advice to the European Parliament are: Come clean!



Ralf Grahn

European Parliament: Quaestors

After the blog posts on the President of the European Parliament and the fourteen Vice-Presidents, we turn to the five Quaestors (or six until the next Parliament).

The deliberate choice of an ancient Roman title for these EP officers invites us to take a look at what these earlier role models were up to.

The Wikipedia article Quaestor starts by telling us that Quaestor is a type of public official. In the Roman Republic a quaestor was an elected official who supervised the treasury and the financial affairs of the state, its armies and its officers.

For more information, go to:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quaestor


***

Electing Quaestors

The five Quaestors are elected by secret ballot (Rule 12) for two and a half years (Rule 16), by the same procedure as the Vice-Presidents:


Rule 15 Election of Quaestors

After the election of the Vice-Presidents, Parliament shall elect five Quaestors.

The Quaestors shall be elected by the same procedure as the Vice-Presidents.

Notwithstanding the provisions of the first paragraph, for the period from January 2007 to July 2009 Parliament shall elect six Quaestors.


***

Duties of Quaestors

The duties of the Quaestors are laid down generally in Rule 25:


Rule 25 Duties of the Quaestors

The Quaestors shall be responsible for administrative and financial matters directly concerning Members, pursuant to guidelines laid down by the Bureau.


***


Financial interests

The Quaestors keep a record of the MEPs’ declarations of professional activities and financial interests, as laid down in Rule 9(1) and Annex I


***


Bureau meetings

The Quaestors form part of the Bureau in an advisory capacity, according to Rule 21(2), and thus they participate in the duties of the Bureau, mentioned in Rule 22.



***

Passes for lobbyists

Under Rule 9(4) and Annex IX the Quaestors issue passes to registered lobbyists.


***

Members’ questions to Quaestors


MEPs can ask questions of Questors and other officers according to Rule 28(2):

2. Any Member may ask questions related to the work of the Bureau, the Conference of Presidents and the Quaestors. Such questions shall be submitted to the President in writing and published in the Bulletin of Parliament within thirty days of tabling, together with the answers given.


***

Accessible information?

According to the EP Rules of Procedure, Rule 28(1), the minutes of the Bureau and the Conference of Presidents shall be translated into the official languages, printed and distributed to all Members of Parliament and shall be accessible to the public, unless the Bureau or the Conference of Presidents exceptionally, for reasons of confidentiality, as laid down in Article 4(1) to (4) of European Parliament and Council Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001, decides otherwise with regard to certain items of the minutes.

*

I am not quite sure about the accessibility of this information. I found a list of members of the Bureau, but failed to find other detailed information such as its minutes. I failed to find other Bureau guidelines to the Quaestors than those mentioned above.

What does the European Parliament mean by accessible to the public?



Ralf Grahn

European Parliament: Vice-Presidents

In addition to the rare appearances of the oldest member (Rule 11) and the President we looked at earlier, Chapter 2 of the European Parliament’s Rules of Procedure mentions the following officers: Vice-Presidents and Quaestors.

Rule 14 provides for the election of fourteen Vice-Presidents after the election of the President and his or her opening address.

(The official explanation added to Rule 14(1) allows nominations between the ballots: Although this Rule, unlike Rule 13(1), does not expressly provide for new nominations to be introduced between ballots during the election of Vice-Presidents, such action is permissible because Parliament, being a sovereign body, must be able to consider all possible candidates, especially since the absence of such an option might impede the smooth running of the election.)


The EP Rules of Procedure, 16th edition, October 2008, are available here:

http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do?pubRef=-//EP//NONSGML+RULES-EP+20081022+0+DOC+PDF+V0//EN&language=EN



***

Electing the Vice-Presidents

The election procedure is laid down in Rule 14:


Rule 14 Election of Vice-Presidents

1. The Vice-Presidents shall then be elected on a single ballot paper. Those who on the first ballot, up to the number of fourteen, obtain an absolute majority of the votes cast shall be declared elected in the numerical order of their votes. Should the number of candidates elected be less than the number of seats to be filled, a second ballot shall be held under the same conditions to fill the remaining seats. Should a third ballot be necessary, a relative majority shall suffice for election to the remaining seats. In the event of a tie the eldest candidates shall be declared elected.

2. Subject to the provisions of Rule 17(1), the Vice-Presidents shall take precedence in the order in which they were elected and, in the event of a tie, by age.

Where they are not elected by secret ballot, the order in which their names are read out to the House by the President shall determine the order of precedence.


***

Vacancies

Rule 14(2) relates the precedence of officers to Rule 17(1) on offices becoming vacant:


Rule 17 Vacancies

1. Should it be necessary for the President, a Vice-President or a Quaestor to be replaced, the successor shall be elected in accordance with the above rules.

A newly elected Vice-President shall take the place of the predecessor in the order of precedence.

2. Should the President's seat become vacant, the first Vice-President shall act as President until a new President is elected.


***


The duties of the Vice-Presidents, in order of precedenc, are laid down in Rule 20:


Rule 20 Duties of the Vice-Presidents

1. Should the President be absent or unable to discharge his duties, or wish to take part in a debate pursuant to Rule 19(3), he shall be replaced by one of the Vice-Presidents pursuant to Rule 14(2).

2. The Vice-Presidents shall also carry out the duties conferred upon them under Rules 22, 24(3) and 64(3).

3. The President may delegate to the Vice-Presidents any duties such as representing Parliament at specific ceremonies or acts. In particular, the President may designate a Vice-President to take charge of the responsibilities conferred on the President in Rules 109(3) and 110(2).


***

Chairman ad hoc

In addition to the general rule that the President is replaced by a Vice-President if he is absent or unable to discharge his duties, there are a number of specific tasks which can be allotted to Vice-Presidents.

Should the President abandon his role as chairman of the plenary debate to engage in the contents of an issue, he would be replaced by a Vice-President until the end of the debate according to Rule 19(3).


***

Bureau

The Vice-Presidents are members of the Bureau, and Rule 22 refers to the duties of the Bureau, which regulates the internal work of the European Parliament.


***

Conference of Presidents

Rule 24(3) deals with the Conference of Presidents, which cooperates with the other EU institutions with regard to legislative planning and relations with national parliaments.


Rule 24(3):

3. The Conference of Presidents shall be the authority responsible for matters relating to relations with the other institutions and bodies of the European Union and with the national parliaments of Member States. The Bureau shall name two Vice- Presidents who shall be entrusted with the implementation of the relations with national parliaments. They shall report back regularly to the Conference of Presidents on their activities in this regard.


***

Conciliation Committee

When the European Parliament and the Council try to reach agreement on a legislative proposal, delegations from these institutions meet in a Conciliation Committee. Rule 64(3) lays down that three Vice-Presidents are appointed to the shifting EP delegation as permanent members for twelve months.


***

Ruling on Questions

The President can delegate to a Vice-President the ruling on the admissibility and order of Questions put to the Commission and the Council at Question Time, according to Rule 109(3).


***

Written questions

The President can designate a Vice-President to rule on the admissibility of written questions to the Council or the Commission, according to Rule 110(2).


***

Comment

The European Parliament is still excluded from or in an inferior position with regard to a number of crucial areas and issues relating to the security and prosperity of European Union citizens, but the EP has become an important co-legislator and the Lisbon Treaty would improve the legitimacy of EU legislation.

In its areas of competence, the European Parliament is an important player, setting standards for nearly 500 million Europeans. Lobbyists have discovered the EP’s importance ages ago, but public awareness remains low. Both mainstream media and citizens seem to be stumped by the complexity European Union decision-making.

Every organisation needs an internal machinery to work. The Vice-Presidents of the directly elected European Parliament form part of the backbone of an institution of growing importance. Some day even the European voters may realise it.


Ralf Grahn

European Parliament: Officers or Bureau?

In addition to its President, the European Parliament elects ‘its officers’ from among its members.

Interestingly, the treaty in English seems to refer to a different Chapter of the Rules of Procedure than other language versions.

It is hard to see that this difference could lead to harmful results in practice, but perhaps the European Parliament helps to bring the English text of the treaty in line with the other language versions next time around.


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Treaty provisions

The first paragraph of the current Article 197 of the Treaty establishing the European Community (TEC) provides that:

The European Parliament shall elect its President and its officers from among its Members.


In the Treaty of Lisbon this paragraph is formally deleted when Article 197 TEC is amended; formally because exactly the same wording appears first in Article 9a(4) of the Treaty on European Union in the original version and then as Article 14(4) TEU in the consolidated version of the Lisbon Treaty.


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Officers?

The generic English term ‘officers’ seems to leave everything to the European Parliament, but interestingly other language versions give the impression that the drafters had something a bit more specific in mind.

Here are six language versions for comparison, chosen for the sake of convenience from Article 14(4) of the Treaty on European Union as published in the consolidated version of the Treaty of Lisbon (OJEU 9.5.2008 C 115):



Spanish

4. El Parlamento Europeo elegirá a su Presidente y a la Mesa de entre sus diputados.


German

(4) Das Europäische Parlament wählt aus seiner Mitte seinen Präsidenten und sein Präsidium.


English

4. The European Parliament shall elect its President and its officers from among its members.


French

4. Le Parlement européen élit parmi ses membres son président et son bureau.


Finnish

4. Euroopan parlamentti valitsee jäsentensä keskuudesta puhemiehen ja puhemiehistön.


Swedish

4. Europaparlamentet ska välja sin ordförande och sitt presidium bland sina ledamöter.



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EP Rules of Procedure

Terminology


Chapter 2 of the European Parliament’s Rules of Procedure (16th edition, October 2008) is called Officers of Parliament.

In Spanish the Chapter heading is ‘De los mandatos’, in German ‘Amtsträger des Parlaments’, in French ‘Mandats’, in Finnish ‘Parlamentin toimihenkilöt’ and in Swedish ‘Uppdrag’.


In Spanish Chapter 3 is called ‘De los órganos y funciones’, in German ‘Organe und Aufgaben’, in French ‘Organes et fonctions’, in Finnish ‘Parlamentin elimet ja niiden tehtävät’, in Swedish ‘Organ och uppgifter’.

In five of the sampled languages the treaty provisions, Article 197 TEC and Article 14 TEU, refer to the “praesidium”, “Bureau” or words to that effect in Chapter 3. Only the English treaty text, which employs the word ‘officers’ seems to refer to Chapter 2.

It is hard to imagine any harmful consequences arising out of this, because the ‘officers’ form the ‘Bureau’, but five treaty versions are consistent in what they refer to, whereas the English treaty text is not:


Spanish

Articulo 21 Composición de la Mesa
Articulo 22 Funciones de la Mesa


German

Artikel 21 Zusammensetzung des Präsidiums
Artikel 22 Aufgaben des Präsidiums



English

Rule 21 Composition of the Bureau
Rule 22 Duties of the Bureau



French

Article 21 Composition du Bureau
Article 22 Fonctions du Bureau


Finnish

21 artikla Puhemiehistön kokoonpano
22 artikla Puhemiehistön tehtävät


Swedish

Artikel 21 Presidiets sammansättning
Artikel 22 Presidiets uppgifter


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After this linguistic detour we are going to look at the officers and the composition of the Bureau.


Ralf Grahn

European Parliament: President

Ahead of the European elections between 4 and 7 June 2009 there are people who want to know more about the European Parliament than short and simple messages convey.

We take a closer look at the internal organisation of the European Parliament, starting with its President.


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Treaty provisions

The first paragraph of the current Article 197 of the Treaty establishing the European Community (TEC) provides that:

The European Parliament shall elect its President and its officers from among its Members.


In the Treaty of Lisbon this paragraph is formally deleted when amending Article 197 TEC; formally because exactly the same wording appears in. first Article 9a(4) of the Treaty on European Union in the original version, and then as Article 14(4) TEU in the consolidated version of the Lisbon Treaty.


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Autonomy

The treaty provisions express that the European Parliament sets its internal rules autonomously, within the limits of the treaties.

This offers the European Parliament wide discretion with regard to its internal organisation.

The treaties (rather self-evidently) make it clear that the European Parliament has to have a President.


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President or Speaker?

Less obvious but given is that this leading figure is called President in the English version, not for instance Speaker.

If we look at a few language versions of Article 14(4) TEU, we get the following results:


Spanish

4. El Parlamento Europeo elegirá a su Presidente y a la Mesa de entre sus diputados.


German

(4) Das Europäische Parlament wählt aus seiner Mitte seinen Präsidenten und sein Präsidium.


English

4. The European Parliament shall elect its President and its officers from among its members.


French

4. Le Parlement européen élit parmi ses membres son président et son bureau.


Finnish

4. Euroopan parlamentti valitsee jäsentensä keskuudesta puhemiehen ja puhemiehistön.


Swedish

4. Europaparlamentet ska välja sin ordförande och sitt presidium bland sina ledamöter.



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Three of the versions, two belonging to founding member states, use comparable expressions domestically and with regard to the European Parliament.

The French Assemblée nationale (National Assembly) has a Président, and the European Parliament uses the same term. The Deutscher Bundestag (Germany’s Parliament) has a Bundestagspräsident, so the national terminology and the EP terms are in line. The lower house in Spain (Congreso de los Diputados) has a Presidente.

None of the other three were among the initial member states of the ECSC and the EEC. There are small variations in the terms employed:

The UK House of Commons is led by the Speaker, but the EP has a President.

The Finnish version uses ’puhemies’ meaning Speaker, in line with national parliamentary custom.

The Swedish treaty version has opted for ‘ordförande’, the general term for Chair(man), although the Swedish Parliament has a ‘talman’ (Speaker).


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EP Rules of Procedure

The EP’s Rules of Procedure (16th edition, October 2008) have more on the President of the European Parliament:

http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do?pubRef=-//EP//NONSGML+RULES-EP+20081022+0+DOC+PDF+V0//EN&language=EN



According to Rule 11(1), at the first sitting after the European elections and any other sitting held for the purpose of electing the President and the Bureau, the oldest MEP present takes the Chair until the President has been elected.


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Nominations


Rule 12 provides that the President has to be nominated by a political group or by at least forty members. The President is elected by secret ballot.

The rule favours a package to be negotiated in advance, because the second paragraph expresses the wish to achieve a fair representation of member states and political views when electing the President, Vice-Presidents and Quaestors:


Rule 12 Nominations and general provisions

1. The President, Vice-Presidents and Quaestors shall be elected by secret ballot, in accordance with the provisions of Rule 162. Nominations shall be with consent. They may only be made by a political group or by at least forty Members. However, if the number of nominations does not exceed the number of seats to be filled, the candidates may be elected by acclamation.

2. In the election of the President, Vice-Presidents and Quaestors, account should be taken of the need to ensure an overall fair representation of Member States and political views.


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Election of President

Rule 13 gives more details about the election of the President:


Rule 13 Election of President - opening address

1. The President shall be elected first. Nominations shall be handed before each ballot to the oldest Member, who shall announce them to Parliament. If after three ballots no candidate has obtained an absolute majority of the votes cast, the fourth ballot shall be confined to the two Members who have obtained the highest number of votes in the third ballot. In the event of a tie the elder candidate shall be declared elected.

2. As soon as the President has been elected, the oldest Member shall vacate the Chair. Only the elected President may deliver an opening address.


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Term of office

The term of office of the President is two and a half years (Rule 16), meaning that the EP normally elects a President twice during its five year term.


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Duties of the President

The President directs the activities of the European Parliament, presides over the proceedings and represents the Parliament:


Rule 19 Duties of the President

1. The President shall direct all the activities of Parliament and its bodies under the conditions laid down in these Rules and shall enjoy all the powers necessary to preside over the proceedings of Parliament and to ensure that they are properly conducted.


2. The duties of the President shall be to open, suspend and close sittings; to rule on the admissibility of amendments, on questions to the Council and Commission, and on the conformity of reports with these Rules; to ensure observance of these Rules, maintain order, call upon speakers, close debates, put matters to the vote and announce the results of votes; and to refer to committees any communications that concern them.

3. The President may speak in a debate only to sum up or to call speakers to order. Should he wish to take part in a debate, he shall vacate the Chair and shall not reoccupy it until the debate is over.

4. Parliament shall be represented in international relations, on ceremonial occasions and in administrative, legal or financial matters by the President, who may delegate these powers.



(Explanation: Rule 19(1) can be interpreted as meaning that the powers conferred by that Rule include the power to call an end to the excessive use of motions such as points of order, procedural motions, explanations of vote and requests for separate, split or roll-call votes where the President is convinced that these are manifestly intended to cause and will result in a prolonged and serious obstruction of the procedures of the House or the rights of other Members.

The powers conferred by this Rule include the power to put texts to the vote in an order other than that set out in the document to be voted on. By analogy with the provisions of Rule 155(7), the President may seek the agreement of Parliament before doing so.)


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In coming posts we look at the EP officers.



Ralf Grahn

European Parliament: Internal organisation and relations between the institutions

Both the existing treaties and the EU Treaty of Lisbon contain basic provisions on the internal organisation of the European Parliament and on the EP’s relations with the other institutions: the Commission and the Council.

In this blog post we present the treaty changes, but ahead of the European elections in June 2009 we will then continue by taking a closer look at the detailed provisions in a number of posts.


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Current treaty

Article 197 of the Treaty establishing the European Community (TEC) contains bare bones provisions on two areas concerning the European Parliament:

a) internal organisation, and
b) relations with the Commission and the Council.

The text of Article 197 TEC is from the latest consolidated version of the treaties, published in the Official Journal of the European Union (OJEU) 29.12.2006 C 321 E/134:


Article 197 TEC

The European Parliament shall elect its President and its officers from among its Members.

Members of the Commission may attend all meetings and shall, at their request, be heard on behalf of the Commission.

The Commission shall reply orally or in writing to questions put to it by the European Parliament or by its Members.

The Council shall be heard by the European Parliament in accordance with the conditions laid down by the Council in its Rules of Procedure.


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Original Lisbon Treaty (ToL)

Article 2, point 185 of the original Treaty of Lisbon formally deleted the first paragraph of Article 197 TEC on the internal organisation of the European Parliament and amended two of the three other paragraphs (OJEU 17.12.2007 C 306/102):


185) Article 197 shall be amended as follows:

(a) the first paragraph shall be deleted;

(b) the second paragraph shall be replaced by the following:

‘The Commission may attend all the meetings and shall, at its request, be heard.’;

(c) the fourth paragraph shall be replaced by the following:

‘The European Council and the Council shall be heard by the European Parliament in accordance with the conditions laid down in the Rules of Procedure of the European Council and those of the Council.’.


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I used the words formally deleted with regard to the first paragraph of Article 197 TEC, because if we look at Article 9a(4) of the Treaty on European Union (TEU) we find the following text (OJEU page 17):


4. The European Parliament shall elect its President and its officers from among its members.’.


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Consolidated Lisbon Treaty

This means that we have two strands to follow in the consolidated Treaty of Lisbon (OJEU 9.5.2008 C 115).

The main provisions on the institutions are located in Title III of the Treaty on European Union (TEU) and Article 9a TEU (ToL) has been renumbered Article 14 TEU in the consolidated version (OJEU page 22 to 23). The whole Article is presented here as background, although the fourth paragraph will be our point of departure:


Article 14 TEU

1. The European Parliament shall, jointly with the Council, exercise legislative and budgetary functions. It shall exercise functions of political control and consultation as laid down in the Treaties. It shall elect the President of the Commission.

2. The European Parliament shall be composed of representatives of the Union's citizens. They shall not exceed seven hundred and fifty in number, plus the President. Representation of citizens shall be degressively proportional, with a minimum threshold of six members per Member State. No Member State shall be allocated more than ninety-six seats.

The European Council shall adopt by unanimity, on the initiative of the European Parliament and with its consent, a decision establishing the composition of the European Parliament, respecting the principles referred to in the first subparagraph.

3. The members of the European Parliament shall be elected for a term of five years by direct universal suffrage in a free and secret ballot.

4. The European Parliament shall elect its President and its officers from among its members.


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The European Parliament’s relations with the Commission and the Council remained in slightly amended form in Article 197 (ToL), which was renumbered Article 230 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU) in the consolidated Lisbon Treaty (OJEU page 151):


Article 230 TFEU
(ex Article 197, second, third and fourth paragraph, TEC)

The Commission may attend all the meetings and shall, at its request, be heard.

The Commission shall reply orally or in writing to questions put to it by the European Parliament or by its Members.

The European Council and the Council shall be heard by the European Parliament in accordance with the conditions laid down in the Rules of Procedure of the European Council and those of the Council.


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After this general presentation of the changes brought about by the Lisbon Treaty we are going to dedicate a few blog posts to the internal organisation of the European Parliament before we turn to the inter-institutional relations.


Ralf Grahn