of the ordinary meeting of thursday 9 february 2017 · pv cpg 09.02.2017 pe 595.288/cpg 2/42 en...

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PE-8/CPG/PV/2017-03

EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT

CONFERENCE OF PRESIDENTS

MINUTES

of the ordinary meeting of Thursday

9 February 2017

Paul-Henri SPAAK, Room 06B01

Brussels

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MINUTES

of the ordinary meeting of

Thursday, 9 February 2017

from 11:00 to 13:00 hours

Paul-Henri SPAAK Building, 06B02

Brussels

CONTENTS

Page

1. Adoption of the draft agenda ............................................................................................................. 9

2. Approval of the draft Minutes of the meetings of 12 and 19 January 2017 .................................... 10

3. Adoption of the final draft agenda for the February II part-session (from 13 to 16

February 2017) and the preliminary draft agenda for the March I part-session (from 1 to 2

March 2017) - Scheduling of key debates in plenary ...................................................................... 11

4. Communications by the President ................................................................................................... 13

4.1 Informal summit in Malta ............................................................................................................... 13

4.2 Composition of Committee bureaux ............................................................................................... 13

4.3 Parliament’s seat and the plenary sessions ...................................................................................... 14

4.4 Invitations to address Parliament’s plenary .................................................................................... 15

4.5 Video recording ............................................................................................................................... 15

4.6 Members’ conduct in plenary .......................................................................................................... 16

5. Preparation of the 60th anniversary of the Treaty of Rome - exchange of views ............................ 17

6. High-Level Group on Own Resources: Presentation of the Final Report - exchange of views

with Mr MONTI, Chair of the High-Level Group .......................................................................... 19

7. Request from the Committee on Legal Affairs to draw-up an own-initiative report under

Rule 52 entitled “Cross border aspects regarding the legal status of children resulting from

surrogacy procedures” ..................................................................................................................... 22

8. Agreement among the Committees on Foreign Affairs, on Development and on Budgets on

the application of Rules 55 on the legislative report on the European Fund for Sustainable

Development ................................................................................................................................... 23

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9. Request from the Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs to appoint co-rapporteurs

on the legislative report on the recovery and resolution of central counterparties .......................... 24

10. Request from the Committee on International Trade to extend the deadline for the consent

vote on the EEA/Norway financial mechanisms and Norway/Iceland additional protocols ........... 25

11. Request from the Committee on Constitutional Affairs to organise an Inter-parliamentary

Committee Meeting in Brussels, on 12 April 2017, and to authorise a fact finding mission to

Berlin, Germany, from 6 to 7 March 2017, within the framework of the implementation

report on the implementation of the Treaty provisions concerning national parliaments ............... 26

12. Request from the Committee of Inquiry into Money Laundering, Tax Avoidance and Tax

Evasion to postpone its meeting in Luxembourg to 2 and 3 March 2017 ....................................... 28

13. Country Security Assessment related to the joint mission of the Delegation for relations with

Afghanistan with Members from the Subcommittee on Security and Defence, to Kabul,

Afghanistan, from 20 to 24 February 2017 ...................................................................................... 29

14. Request for modification of the D-US Bureau visit to Washington D.C. and Florida, USA,

from 20 to 24 February 2017 ........................................................................................................... 30

15. Request for authorisation to hold a meeting of the Euronest Parliamentary Assembly

Working Group on Rules of Procedure in Kiev, Ukraine, on 21 February 2017, a joint

meeting of the standing committees in Brussels on 23 March 2017 and a joint meeting of the

standing committees and a Bureau meeting, in Chisinau, Moldova, on 23 May 2017 ................... 31

16. Request from the Democracy Support and Election Coordination Group for authorisation for

one Member to travel to Tbilisi, Georgia, from 16 to 18 February 2017 ........................................ 33

17. Request from the Democracy Support and Election Coordination Group to send a delegation

to observe presidential elections in Timor Leste to be held on 20 March 2017 .............................. 34

18. Request from the Democracy Support and Election Coordination Group to send a delegation

to observe parliamentary elections in Armenia to be held on 2 April ............................................. 35

19. Request from the Steering Group of the Parliamentary Conference on the WTO to hold its

next meeting in Brussels, on 9 March 2017 ..................................................................................... 36

20. Urgent matters and any other business ............................................................................................ 37

20.1 Request from the S&D Group to hold a meeting of a delegation of the Group in Rome, Italy,

on 24 March 2017 ............................................................................................................................ 37

21. Regular items which are requested by the Conference of Presidents .............................................. 38

21.1 Delegated and implementing acts - Screening of current files ........................................................ 38

21.2 Overview of delegated acts and draft RPS measures currently under EP scrutiny ......................... 39

21.3 First reading agreements - Overview and state of play .................................................................... 40

22. Items for information ....................................................................................................................... 41

22.1 Internal correspondence ................................................................................................................... 41

22.2 Inter-institutional correspondence ................................................................................................... 41

22.3 External correspondence .................................................................................................................. 41

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23. Date and place of next meetings ..................................................................................................... 42

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MINUTES

of the meeting of Thursday 9 February 2017

from 11:00 to 13:00 hours

Brussels

The meeting opened at 11.05 hours with Mr Antonio TAJANI,

President of the European Parliament, in the chair

Present

Mr TAJANI, President

Political Group Chairs

Mr GONZÁLEZ PONS (Acting) (EPP)

Mr PITTELLA (S&D)

Mr ZILE (Acting) (ECR)

Mr VERHOFSTADT (ALDE)

Mr PAPADIMOULIS (Acting) (GUE/NGL)

Mr LAMBERTS (Co-Chair) (Greens/EFA)

Mr LUNDGREN (Acting) (EFDD)

Mr DE GRAAFF (Co-Chair) (ENF)

Ms DODDS1 (NI)

Also Present

Mr WELLE, Secretary-General

1 Present pursuant to Rule 26 (2) of the Rules of Regulations of Procedure

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Mr WINKLER, Deputy Secretary-General

Special Guest (item 6 of the Agenda)

Mr Mario MONTI, Chair of the High-Level Group on Own

Resources, accompanied by Ms MONTAGNON

Invited to item (6 of the Agenda)

Mr ARTHUIS, Chair of the Committee on Budget

Mr LAMASSOURE, Parliament representative on the High-Level

Group on Own Resources

The Council1

represented by Ms TUTS

Mr KERLEROUX

The Commission1

represented by Mr TAULEGNE

Mr LEGAL

The Vice-President of the Commission/High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and

Security Policy1

represented by Mr VISENTIN

Mr SPANIER

The Economic and Social Committee1

represented by Mr DELEANU

Office of the President

Mr CANGA FANO

Mr CHIOCCHETTI

Mr CORAZZA

Mr WEISS

Ms SAVELLI

Ms CHOMICKA2

Office of the Secretary-General

Mr MANGOLD

Ms FERNANDEZ PERLES

Ms SOCHACKA

Mr DE FINANCE

Office of the Deputy Secretary-General

Mr JAVELLE

1 Present for items 1-3

2 Present for item 6

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Secretariat

DG Presidency (PRES)

Mr LANE/Ms ROBSON/Ms GANDOLFO/ Ms TARDIOLI-

SCHIAVO1

Mr NATSCHERADETZ1/Ms SAILIS1

DG Internal Policies (IPOL)

Mr RIBERA D’ALCALA/Ms VANDENBOSCH/Ms FONTANILI1/

Ms JONES2

DG External Policies (EXPO)

Mr AGUIRIANO

DG European Parliamentary Research Services (EPRS)

Mr TEASDALE

DG Communication (COMM)

Mr DUCH GUILLOT

DG Personnel (PERS)

Mr KNUDSEN

DG Infrastructures and Logistics (INLO)

Ms LINNUS

DG Finance (FINS)

Mr MANNELLI

DG Innovation and Technical Support (ITEC)

Mr PETRUCCI

DG Security and Safety (SAFE)

Mr CAROZZA

Legal Service (SJ)

Mr DREXLER/Ms GOMEZ-LEAL

Directorate for relations with political groups

Mr SCHWETZ

Secretariat of the Bureau

Mr TZIORKAS

1 Present for items 1-3 2 Present for item 6

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Political groups

Mr KAMP/Mr RYNGAERT/Ms SCRIBAN/Ms LASKAVÁ (EPP)

Mr MORENO SANCHEZ/Mr BURU/Ms PEREIRA/Mr CARDELLA (S&D)

Mr BARRETT/Mr BOYD (ECR)

Mr BEELS/Ms COLERA-GARZÓN/Mr RASMUSSEN/McLAUGHLIN (ALDE)

Ms D’ALIMONTE/Ms LEPOLA (GUE/NGL)

Ms TSETSI/Mr LINAZASORO/Ms BROCHARD/Mr GAROBY1 (Greens/EFA)

Ms LALOUX/Mr TEUSCHER/Ms RUCYTE (EFDD)

Mr HOLZFEIND/Mr CAMPOMENOSI (ENF)

Mr BORDEZ (NI)

Ms WOLLNY, Ms BERTULESSI, Ms KOSTIDOU, Mr ROHLJE and Mr VAUGIER acted as

secretaries to the meeting.

1 Present for item 6

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1. Adoption of the draft agenda

The Conference of Presidents

- noted and adopted the draft agenda in the form shown in these minutes (PE 595.286/CPG).

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2. Approval of the draft Minutes of the meetings of 12 and 19 January 2017


- noted and approved the draft Minutes of the ordinary meeting of 12 January 2016, held in

Brussels (PE 595.213/CPG/Rev);

- noted and approved the draft Minutes of the ordinary meeting of 19 January 2016, held in

Strasbourg (PE 595.264/CPG and annex).

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3. Adoption of the final draft agenda for the February II part-session (from 13 to 16 February 2017) and

the preliminary draft agenda for the March I part-session (from 1 to 2 March 2017) - Scheduling of

key debates in plenary


- noted the following documents:

the draft agenda for the February II part-session (from 13 to 16 February 2017) in

Strasbourg, as adopted by the Conference of Presidents on 19 January 2017 in

Strasbourg;

the preliminary draft agenda for the March I Part-session (from 1 to 2 March 2017) in

Brussels;

a final table dated 9 February 2017 summarizing committee and delegation meetings

planned for the February II part-session (from 13 to 16 February 2017) in Strasbourg

(PE 599.074/CPG);

a letter dated 7 February 2017 from Ms WIKSTRÖM, Chair of the Conference of

Committee Chairs, submitting recent decisions adopted by committees in view of first,

early second and second reading as well as the state of play of files currently under

negotiation (PE 599.060/CPG and annexes I and II);

- held an exchange of views with the participation of Mr GONZALEZ PONS, acting Chair of

the EPP Group, Mr PITTELLA, Chair of the S&D Group, Mr ZILE, acting Chair of the

ECR Group, Mr VERHOFSTADT, Chair of the ALDE Group, Mr PAPADIMOULIS,

acting Chair of the GUE/NGL Group, Mr LAMBERTS, Co-Chair of the Greens/EFA

Group, Mr LUNDGREN, acting Chair of the EFDD Group, and Mr DE GRAAFF, Co-Chair

of the ENF Group, considered various proposals to amend the draft agenda, and, following a

vote on various items, adopted the final draft agenda for the February II 2017 part-session

with the following modifications:

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Tuesday, 14 February 2017

- decided that the title of the Statement by the Vice-President of the Commission/High

Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy on the situation in

Ukraine be changed into “Deterioration of the situation in Eastern Ukraine” and the

debate be taken without resolution;

Thursday, 16 February 2017

- endorsed unanimously the President’s proposal that a statement by Mr Justin

TRUDEAU, Prime Minister of Canada, be added at 11.00 hours, on the occasion of

the adoption of the Strategic Partnership Agreement between the European Union and

its Member States, of the one part, and Canada, of the other part;

- noted and adopted the preliminary draft agenda for the March I 2017 part-session;

- agreed with the President’s proposal to issue a second formal invitation to Mr Jeroen

DIJSSELBLOEM, President of the Eurogroup, urging him to address Parliament with a

view to the second review of the economic adjustment programme for Greece.

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4. Communications by the President

4.1 Informal summit in Malta


- heard the President report on his dinner with Mr TUSK, President of the European Council,

Mr JUNCKER, President of the Commission, and Mr MUSCAT, Prime Minister of Malta

and President-in-office of the Council of the EU, ahead of the informal meeting of EU

Heads of State or Government in Malta, on 3 February 2017;

- heard him recall that the informal summit consisted of two parts, one addressing the external

aspects of migration and the Central Mediterranean route, followed by a declaration adopted

by the members of the European Council, and a second one with the EU-27 focussing on the

preparation of the upcoming 60th anniversary of the Treaty of Rome;

- heard the President thank the Chairs of the political groups for their input to his contribution,

highlighting the respect of human rights, international law and EU values, the security of

external borders, and the long term approach with partner countries like Libya, which he had

expressed at the informal dinner, and heard him report that, in line with Parliament’s long-

standing request, he had insisted that Parliament’s President be invited to the informal

meetings of EU Heads of State or Government;

- endorsed the President’s approach.

4.2 Composition of Committee bureaux


- heard the President report on the composition of the committee bureaux recalling that, under

Rule 204(1) of Parliament’s revised Rules of Procedure, the principle of the diversity of

Parliament must be reflected in the composition of the bureau of each committee, and that it

shall not be permissible to have an all male or all female bureau or for all of the Vice-Chairs

to come from the same Member State;

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- heard him report that the election of the bureaux of the Committee on Economic and

Monetary Affairs and the Committee on Budgets had been postponed with a view to the

provision under Rule 204, while noting that the Committee on Internal Market and

Consumer Protection could possibly be confronted with a similar issue;

- heard the President underline the importance of the principle of gender equality and call on

the political groups to find a solution in compliance with Parliament’s relevant rules;

- heard Mr PITTELLA, Chair of the S&D Group, and Mr PAPADIMOULIS, acting Chair of

the GUE/NGL Group;


4.3 Parliament’s seat and the plenary sessions


- heard the President report on a letter dated 23 January 2017 from Mr Jean-Marc

AYRAULT, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Development of the French

Republic, whereby the French authorities expressed concern about Parliament’s compliance

with Protocol N° 6 of the Treaties, which stipulated that the European Parliament should

have its seat in Strasbourg where the 12 periods of monthly plenary sessions, including the

budget session, should be held, with a view to the adoption of the 2017 EU Budget by

Parliament’s plenary in Brussels, on 1 December 2016;

- heard him report that the issue had also been raised by Mr Bernard CAZENEUVE, Prime

Minister of the French Republic, whom he had met previously;

- heard the President undertake to inform the Committee on Budgets and to instruct

Parliament’s relevant services with the aim to meet both the concern expressed by the

French authorities and the requirements of the Treaties with a view to the adoption of the

EU Budget in 2017 and the following years;


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4.4 Invitations to address Parliament’s plenary


- heard the President recall that Mr WEBER, Chair of the EPP Group, and Mr PITTELLA,

Chair of the S&D Group, had suggested to invite Ms Theresa MAY, Prime Minister of the

United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, and Mr Enrique PEÑA NIETO,

President of Mexico, respectively, to address the plenary at subsequent part-sessions;

- heard the President propose that a list of future guest-speakers in plenary be drawn up, and

suggest to extend an invitation to address the plenary to Mr António GUTERRES,

Secretary-General of the United Nations, to Mr Mauricio MACRI, President of Argentina,

and to the future President of Brazil;

- held an exchange with the participation of Mr GONZALEZ PONS, acting Chair of the EPP

Group, Mr PITTELLA, Chair of the S&D Group, Mr VERHOFSTADT, Chair of the ALDE

Group, Mr PAPADIMOULIS, acting Chair of the GUE/NGL Group, Mr LAMBERTS, Co-

Chair of the Greens/EFA Group, Mr LUNDGREN, acting Chair of the EFDD Group, and

Mr DE GRAAFF, Co-Chair of the ENF Group, during which several suggestions for guest-

speakers had been put forward;

- heard the President undertake to draw up a list of guest-speakers to be endorsed at a

subsequent meeting;

- agreed with the President’s proposal.

4.5 Video recording


- heard the President report that the Director-General for Communication had asked

authorisation for taking video footage of parts of the plenary session in Strasbourg on 13, 14

and 15 March 2017, and the beginning of the Conference of Presidents meeting on

16 March 2016, with a view to the preparation of an update of the 360° movie on the work

of the European Parliament to be shown in the Parlamentarium;

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- agreed to authorise the video footage.

4.6 Members’ conduct in plenary


- heard the President report on the conduct of Mr Seb DANCE, Member, who infringed on

Parliament’s rules on Members’ conduct during the plenary sitting of the January 2017 part-

session, by holding a sign behind Mr Nigel FARAGE, Member, while the latter had been

speaking;

- heard him report that, further to his exchange with Mr DANCE, the latter had formally

apologized for his conduct;

- heard Mr LUNDGREN, acting Chair of the EFDD Group;

- heard the President conclude by noting that he had accepted Mr DANCE’s apology on

behalf of Parliament and that, therefore, the case was to be considered closed;


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5. Preparation of the 60th anniversary of the Treaty of Rome - exchange of views

The Conference of Presidents,

- took note of the following documents:

a press release dated 31 January 2017 from the European Council, entitled “United we

stand, divided we fall: letter by President Donald Tusk to the 27 EU heads of state or

government on the future of the EU before the Malta summit” (PE 599.045/CPG);

‘The Bratislava Declaration’ adopted on 16 September 2016 by the Heads of State or

Government of 27 Members States (PE 586.568/CPG and annex);

a statement of the Heads of State or Government of 27 Members States, following their

informal meeting on 29 June 2016 (PE 586.520/CPG);

- heard the President stress the importance of role of Parliament for the celebrations of the

60th anniversary of the Treaty of Rome and the debate on the future of EU;

- heard the President recall that the 60th anniversary of the Treaty of Rome would fall on 25

March 2017 and that the European Parliament should schedule a series of public initiatives

with that regard;

- heard him propose to hold a plenary debate, and possibly a ceremony, in Strasbourg on 15

March 2017 following the adoption by the Commission of its white paper on the future of

the EU;

- heard him suggest to organise an event in the Chamber in Brussels, involving both

Members and citizens, in March 2017, and an event linked to the opening of the House of

European History, in Brussels, on 5 May 2017;

- heard the President further propose to organise, alongside the ceremonies and events

foreseen by the Italian government for the anniversary of the Treaty of Rome, a joint

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meeting and a joint event of Parliament’s Conference of Presidents and Bureau, in Rome

with Mr Sergio MATTARELLA, President of the Italian Republic, and in Norcia, Italy;

- heard Mr LAMBERTS, Co-Chair of the Greens/EFA Group, plead for the involvement of

the Group Chairs in the ceremonies of the 60th anniversary of the Treaty of Rome;

- heard the President undertake to send a formal invitation to the President of the Italian

Republic, and conclude by proposing to resume the discussion on the planning of

Parliament’s initiatives for the 60th anniversary of the Treaty of Rome at a subsequent

meeting;

- endorsed the President’s proposals.

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6. High-Level Group on Own Resources: Presentation of the Final Report - exchange of views with

Mr MONTI, Chair of the High-Level Group

The Conference of Presidents,

- took note of the following documents:

the final report and recommendations from the High-Level Group on Own Resources,

entitled “Future Financing of the EU” and dated December 2016 (PE 595.311/CPG);

Joint Declaration on Own Resources (PE 524.945/CPG);

- heard the President welcome Mr Mario MONTI, Chair of the High-Level Group on Own

Resources (HLGOR), and note the importance and the quality of the work produced by Mr

MONTI and the HLGOR with the presentation of the final report and recommendations on

the future financing of the EU;

- heard Mr MONTI thank the President for the invitation and underline the key role played by

Parliament in raising the prominence of the topic of own resources and the future financing

of the EU, with a view to the adoption of the next Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF);

- heard Mr MONTI recall that the recommendations of the HLGOR had been presented to the

Presidents of the European Parliament, the Council of the European Union, and the

European Commission, and stress that the purpose of the HLGOR had been to carry out a

technical exercise in order to provide for political recommendations;

- heard him praise the contributions provided by the members of the HLGOR, notably by Mr

VERHOFSTADT, Mr LAMASSOURE and Mr KALFIN, appointed by Parliament, who

had reached unanimous conclusions and recommendations, going beyond the traditional

division between Parliament and Council on the issue of own resources;

- heard him report that the final nine recommendations concerned both the expenditure and

revenue side of the EU Budget, with a view to the legitimacy of the EU level of public

finance, while taking into account current challenges, such as migration and refuges crisis,

terrorism, Brexit, and increasing uncertainty at international level;

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- heard Mr MONTI stress that any serious EU policy needed to be underpinned by a

consistent budget capable of delivering on new priorities, and that the nine final

recommendations of the report aimed at changing the perspective of the EU budget from a

zero-sum game to a common European value-added exercise;

- heard him underline the key features of the report, and notably that the recommendations did

not call for Treaty changes, neither for increasing of the size of the EU budget, nor for

rejecting the principle of equilibrium and the use of contributions based on the gross

national income (GNI) as residual resources;

- heard him focus on the expenditure side, highlighting that a reform was needed with a view

to delivering first on public goods and services meeting the citizens’ needs for security and

welfare; and on the revenue side, highlighting that possible EU revenues should be linked to

EU policies such as the Single Market, tax coordination for both VAT and common

corporate taxation, environment, energy efficiency and border control;

- heard him stress that the conclusions catered for the elimination of all rebates, underlining

the importance of coordinating better the EU budget procedure with national budget

procedures within the European semester process;

- held an exchange of views with the participation of Mr GONZALEZ PONS, acting Chair of

the EPP Group, Mr PITTELLA, Chair of the S&D Group, Mr ZILE, acting Chair of the

ECR Group, Mr VERHOFSTADT, Chair of the ALDE Group, Mr PAPADIMOULIS,

acting Chair of the GUE/NGL Group, Mr LAMBERTS, Co-Chair of the Greens/EFA

Group, Mr LUNDGREN, acting Chair of the EFDD Group, and Mr DE GRAAFF, Co-Chair

of the ENF Group, during which, inter alia, the following issues were raised;

- appreciation of the outstanding work of the HLGOR;

- the need to include the work on the reform of the EU budget and own resources in the

debate on Brexit negotiations and on the future of the EU;

- the necessity to preserve citizens from an increased tax pressure, while tackling the

issues of tax rulings, tax avoidance and tax evasion;

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- the objective of a balanced EU budget including taxation coordination, with a view to

ensuring a fair system of taxation among big multinational corporations, SMEs and

citizens;

- the need to go beyond the division between net contributors and recipients, and to link

the EU budget to citizens’ needs, notably with a view to the social dimension of the

EU;

- the necessity to abolish all rebates and to allow for enhanced cooperation where

necessary, notably with reference to the Financial Transaction Tax;

- the objective to preserve national prerogatives in the budgetary and taxation fields;

- heard Mr MONTI reply by underlining the overall objective of coordinating better the EU

and national budgetary exercises, while ensuring fairer taxation and strengthening the social

pillar of the EU;

- heard the President conclude by thanking Mr MONTI.

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7. Request from the Committee on Legal Affairs to draw-up an own-initiative report under Rule 52

entitled “Cross border aspects regarding the legal status of children resulting from surrogacy

procedures”

The Conference of Presidents, without debate

- took note of a letter dated take note of a letter dated 10 January 2017 from Mr BUZEK, Chair of

the Conference of Committee Chairs (CCC), submitting requests from parliamentary

committees for authorisation to draw up own-initiative reports under Rule 52, and for the

application of Rules 54, 55, 113 and 198 of the Rules of Procedure (PE 595.280/CPG and

annexes);

- took note of a letter dated 2 February 2017 from Mr SVOBODA, Chair of the Committee on

Legal Affairs (JURI), concerning the JURI request to draw up an own-institutive report on

the “Cross border aspects regarding the legal status of children resulting from surrogacy

procedure” (PE 599.064/CPG);

- recalled that, at its meeting on 19 January 2017, the Conference of Presidents had decided to

withhold authorisation to draw up the own-initiative report under Rule 52 on the “Cross

border aspects regarding the legal status of children resulting from surrogacy procedure”

requested by the JURI Committee;

- declined the JURI Committee request to draw up the above-mentioned own-initiative report.

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8. Agreement among the Committees on Foreign Affairs, on Development and on Budgets on the

application of Rule 55 on the legislative report on the European Fund for Sustainable Development


- took note of a letter dated 16 January 2017 from Mr BUZEK, Chair of the Conference of

Committee Chairs, submitting an agreement reached among the Committees on Foreign

Affairs (AFET), Development (DEVE) and Budgets (BUDG) for the application of Rule 55

of Parliament’s Rules of Procedure on the legislative report on the Regulation establishing

the European Fund for Sustainable Development (EFSD) (PE 595.302/CPG and annexe);

- noted the agreement reached among the AFET, DEVE and BUDG Committees with regard

to the application of Rule 55 on the above-mentioned legislative file as well as the

commitment therein undertaken by the three committees;

- endorsed the agreement.

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9. Request from the Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs to appoint co-rapporteurs on the

legislative report on the recovery and resolution of central counterparties


- took note of a letter dated 16 January 2017 from Mr GUALTIERI, Chair of the Committee on

Economic and Monetary Affairs, submitting a request for authorisation to appoint two co-

rapporteurs for the legislative report on a “Regulation on a framework for the recovery and

resolution for central counterparties and amending Regulations (EU) No 1095/2010, (EU)

No 648/2012, and (EU) No 2015/2365” (PE 595.303/CPG);

- recalled that the Rules of Procedure made no provision for the appointment of co-rapporteurs,

and that the Conference of Presidents, on previous occasions, had, therefore, only authorised

the appointment of co-rapporteurs for a very limited number of highly important reports,

generally of a budgetary or institutional nature;

- exceptionally authorised the request.

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-

10. Request from the Committee on International Trade to extend the deadline for the consent vote on the

EEA/Norway financial mechanisms and Norway/Iceland additional protocols


- took note of a letter dated 24 January 2017 from Mr LANGE, Chair of the Committee on

International Trade (INTA), requesting an extension of the deadline for the consent vote on

the EEA/Norway financial mechanisms and Norway/Iceland additional protocols

(EU/Iceland/Liechtenstein/Norway Agreement: EEA financial mechanism 2014-2021;

Norway/EU Agreement: Norwegian financial mechanism 2014-2021; additional Protocol to

EEC/Norway Agreement; additional Protocol to EEC/Iceland Agreement (06679/2016 – C8

0175/2016 – 2016/0052(NLE))) (PE 599.041/CPG);

- recalled that, under Parliament’s Rules of Procedure, if the committee responsible had not

adopted its recommendation within six months after a request under the consent procedure

had been referred to it, the Conference of Presidents might either place the matter on the

agenda for consideration at a subsequent part-session or, in duly substantiated cases, decide

to extend the six-month period;

- noted that the INTA Coordinators had decided, with a view to the issue of provisional

application, that the vote should be scheduled only after an exchange of views in committee

with the European External Action Service;

- decided to extend the six-month period until the end of March 2017.

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PE 595.288/CPG 26/42

EN

11. Request from the Committee on Constitutional Affairs to organise an Inter-parliamentary Committee

Meeting in Brussels, on 12 April 2017, and to authorise a fact finding mission to Berlin, Germany,

from 6 to 7 March 2017, within the framework of the implementation report on the implementation

of the Treaty provisions concerning national parliaments


- took note of a letter dated 17 January 2017 from Ms HÜBNER, Chair of the Committee on

Constitutional Affair (AFCO), requesting authorisation for an Inter-parliamentary

Committee Meeting (ICM) on the implementation of Treaty provisions concerning national

parliaments, in Brussels, on 12 April 2017 (PE 595.316/CPG annex and financial statement);

- took note of a letter dated 10 January 2017 from Ms HÜBNER, Chair of the AFCO Committee,

on the action plan concerning the draft report on the implementation of Treaty provisions

concerning national parliaments (PE 599.054/CPG, annexes and financial statement);

- noted that the requested ICM was planned within the framework of the drawing up of the AFCO

implementation report on the implementation of Treaty provisions concerning national

parliaments, which had been endorsed by the Conference of Presidents on 7 July 2016;

- noted that the ICM meeting was not included in the calendar of inter-parliamentary activities

with national parliaments for the first half of 2017, which had been approved by the

Conference of Presidents on 23 November 2016;

- noted that the ICM was scheduled to take place within the ordinary AFCO Committee meeting,

jointly with a hearing that was not included in the programme of the committee hearings for

the first part of 2017, which had been authorised by the Bureau on 21 November 2016, and

noted further that such a hearing should be subject to the authorisation of the Bureau;

- noted that interpretation into ten additional languages to the ordinary interpretation regime of the

AFCO committee had been requested;

- noted that the request for an ICM on the implementation of Treaty provisions concerning

national parliaments was consistent with the recommendations set out by the steering group

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on National Parliaments concerning the planning of inter-parliamentary activities and,

therefore, approved the meeting;

- noted that the action plan of the implementation report foresaw a series of fact-finding missions,

and recalled that, in line with Annex III of the provisions governing the procedure for the

granting of authorisation to draw up own initiative reports dealing with implementation

reports, the undertaking of any necessary fact-finding journeys should be requested in

accordance with Rule 25 (9) of Parliament’s Rules of Procedures;

- further recalled that any request for fact-finding missions undertaken by a rapporteur should be

authorised under the relevant rules governing committee missions outside the three places of

work of the European Parliament on the basis of individual requests with related programme

and financial statement;

- noted that the dates of the fact-finding mission to Berlin coincided with one day set aside for

parliamentary committee activities and one day set aside for political group activities

(Monday and Tuesday of week 10);

- recalled that, under the rules governing committee missions outside the three places of work of

the European Parliament, committees should undertake missions during weeks set aside for

external parliamentary activities, and that for any mission undertaken outside those weeks a

limited language regime would be applied that might not exceed interpretation into one

language;

- noted that the dates of the mission had been set by the German counterpart on the basis of the

scheduled activities of the Bundestag, therefore, recommended to authorise the request

exceptionally, on the understanding that a limited language regime of interpretation into one

language would apply, and forwarded its recommendation to the Bureau for final decision.

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PE 595.288/CPG 28/42

EN

12. Request from the Committee of Inquiry into Money Laundering, Tax Avoidance and Tax Evasion to

postpone its meeting in Luxembourg to 2 and 3 March 2017


- took note of a letter dated 17 January 2017 from Mr LANGEN, Chair of the Committee

of Inquiry into Money Laundering, Tax Avoidance and Tax Evasion (PANA), requesting

authorisation to postpone its meeting in Luxembourg to 2 and 3 March 2017 (PE

595.304/CPG and financial statement);

- recalled that, at its meeting on 21 November 2016, the Bureau had exceptionally

authorised a mission of the PANA Committee to Luxembourg on 20 January 2017, on

the understanding that a limited language regime of interpretation into one language only

would apply, as the mission was scheduled for a period not set aside for external

parliamentary activities;

- noted the reasons which had led the PANA Committee to defer its mission, and noted

that the new dates coincided with one day set aside for Parliament’s part-session in

Brussels and parliamentary committees activities (Thursday) and one day without

parliamentary activity (Friday);

- recommended to authorise the request exceptionally, on the understanding that a limited

language regime of interpretation into one language would apply and that the timing of

the departure did not preclude Members’ presence for the votes at the part-session, and

forwarded its recommendation to the Bureau for final decision.

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13. Country Security Assessment related to the joint mission of the Delegation for relations with

Afghanistan with Members from the Subcommittee on Security and Defence, to Kabul, Afghanistan,

from 20 to 24 February 2017


- took note of a letter, and its annexes, dated 2 February 2017 from Mr AUSTREVICIUS,

Chair of the Delegation for relations with Afghanistan, stressing the need and proposing

ways for adapting, according to the security situation on the ground, the inter-parliamentary

meeting scheduled within the joint mission of the Delegation for relations with Afghanistan

with Members from the Subcommittee on Security and Defence, in Kabul, Afghanistan from

20 to 24 February 2017 (PE 599.047/CPG and annexes and revised financial statement);

- recalled that, at its meeting on 17 November 2016, it had authorised an eight Member joint

mission of the Delegation for relations with Afghanistan, with Members from the

Subcommittee on Security and Defence, to Kabul, Afghanistan, from 20 to 24 February

2017 (five days including travel time) on the strict condition that the security situation

allowed for the mission to take place;

- took note of the security situation in the country;

- noted that the latest arrangements for the mission foresaw a limitation of its length to two

working days, a decrease in the size of the delegation to three Members, plus one

accompanying staff, and a restriction to some specific venues for housing and meetings;

- invited the delegation to keep adapting its programme to the latest risk analysis updates,

insisting that the EEAS recommendations and security instructions must be strictly

observed, and reserved its right to reconsider the sending of the mission, at a subsequent

meeting, if it appeared that a sufficient level of security could not be guaranteed for all

delegation participants and for the mission to go ahead.

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PE 595.288/CPG 30/42

EN

14. Request for modification of the D-US Bureau visit to Washington D.C. and Florida, USA, from 20 to

24 February 2017


- took note of a letter dated 31 January 2017 from Mr McALLISTER, Chair of the Delegation

for Relations with the United States of America (D-US), requesting authorisation to modify

the D-US Bureau visit to Washington D.C., initially authorised from 21 to 23 February 2017

(plus travel time), to include additional meetings in Florida, USA, constituency of the US

TLD Chairman (PE 599.046/CPG, annex and revised financial statement);

- recalled that, at its meeting on 17 November 2016, it had authorised a D-US Bureau visit to

Washington D.C., USA, from 21 to 23 February 2017 (plus travel time) during a week set

aside for external parliamentary activities;

- noted that the Congress would not be in session that week and that the US TLD Chairman

had invited the D-US Bureau to visit him in his District;

- recalled that, as a general principle, any mission undertaken by a standing inter-

parliamentary delegation to a third country should take place during weeks set aside for

external parliamentary activities, unless that was not possible on account of the calendar of

activities of their counterparts from a third country or a non-EU international organisation;

- noted that no interpretation had been requested;

- authorised the modification requested, provided that the duration of the mission did not

exceed five days including travel time.

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15. Request for authorisation to hold a meeting of the Euronest Parliamentary Assembly Working Group

on Rules of Procedure in Kiev, Ukraine, on 21 February 2017, a joint meeting of the standing

committees in Brussels on 23 March 2017 and a joint meeting of the standing committees and a

Bureau meeting, in Chisinau, Moldova, on 23 May 2017


- took note of a letter dated 20 January 2017 from Ms HAUTALA, Co-Chair of the Euronest

Parliamentary Assembly (Euronest PA), requesting authorisation to hold a meeting of the

Euronest PA Working Group on Rules of Procedure in Kiev, Ukraine, on 21 February 2017,

two joint meetings of the Euronest PA standing committees, in Brussels, on 23 March 2017,

and in Tbilisi, Georgia, on 22 May 2017, respectively, and a Euronest PA Bureau meeting,

in Chisinau, Moldova, on 23 May 2017, and informing of the postponement of the 6th

Ordinary Plenary Session (PE 599.039/CPG and financial statement);

- further took note of a letter dated 6 February 2017 from Ms HARMS, Co-Chair of the

Euronest Parliamentary Assembly, requesting authorisation to hold the second joint meeting

of the standing committees in Chisinau, Moldova, on 23 May 2017 (instead of May 22 in

Tbilisi, Georgia) and to hold the Bureau meeting in the afternoon of May 23 (instead of the

morning) in Chisinau, Moldova (PE 599.073/CPG and financial statement);

- recalled that, at its meeting on 17 November 2016, while examining the draft programme of

activities by standing inter-parliamentary delegations for the first half of 2017, it had

authorised the meetings of the four Euronest PA standing committees, the Working Group

on the Rules of Procedure, the Working Group on Belarus, and the 6th Plenary Session, to

be held in Kiev, Ukraine from 22 to 26 May 2017, while it had withheld its decision on the

request for a preparatory Bureau meeting six weeks ahead of the Euronest Plenary Session

due to the lack of information on date and location;

- noted the reasons to defer the 6th Euronest plenary session for which final authorisation

would be requested in the framework of the draft programme of activities for the second half

of 2017 with confirmation of the exact dates and venue, and insisted it should be scheduled

in accordance with Parliament’s calendar of activities;

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EN

- considered the following requests from the Euronest PA and decided as set out below:

- meeting of the Euronest PA Working Group on Rules of Procedure in Kiev, Ukraine,

on 21 February 2017, which coincided with a day set aside for external parliamentary

activities; authorised, provided that the security situation on the ground allowed for the

mission to go ahead, noting that in that case, a video-conference could have been

arranged;

- joint meeting of the Euronest PA Committee on Political Affairs, Human Rights and

Democracy (POL) with the Committee on Social Affairs, Education, Culture and Civil

Society (SOC), in Brussels, on 23 March 2017, which coincided with a day set aside

for parliamentary committee activities; authorised on an exceptionally basis, provided

that the resources were available;

- joint meeting of the Euronest PA Committee on Economic Integration, Legal

Approximation and Convergence with EU Policies (ECON) with the Committee on

Energy Security (ENER), in Chisinau, Moldova, on 23 May 2017, which coincided

with a day set aside day set aside for external parliamentary activities; authorised,

provided that the security situation on the ground allowed for the mission to go ahead;

- Euronest PA Bureau meeting in the afternoon of 23 May 2017, which coincided with a

day set aside for external parliamentary activities, in Chisinau, Moldova; authorised on

an exceptional basis, provided the security situation on the ground allowed for the

mission to go ahead.

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16. Request from the Democracy Support and Election Coordination Group for authorisation for one

Member to travel to Tbilisi, Georgia, from 16 to 18 February 2017


- took note of a letter dated 30 January 2017 from Mr McALLISTER and Ms McAVAN, Co-

Chairs of the Democracy Support and Election Coordination Group (DEG), requesting

authorisation to send Ms GOMES, in her capacity as lead Member guiding Parliament's

democracy support activities for Georgia, to Tbilisi, Georgia, from 16 to 18 February 2017,

including travel time (PE 599.044/CPG, annex and financial statement);

- recalled that Georgia was included in the list of priority countries for the implementation of

the Comprehensive Democracy and Support Approach for 2017;

- recalled that, at its meeting of 11 June 2015, it had noted that all requests to travel to priority

countries should be submitted by the DEG to the Conference of Presidents for prior

authorisation;

- recalled that, as a general rule, all requests to travel to priority countries should be specific,

duly justified and submitted in good time;

- noted that the mission proposed coincided with one day of Parliament’s part-session in

Strasbourg (Thursday) and two days without parliamentary activity (Friday and Saturday);

- authorised the request on the understanding that the Member concerned only left after the

votes on 16 February 2017, the approval being subject to the security situation on the ground

not precluding the sending of such a mission.

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PE 595.288/CPG 34/42

EN

17. Request from the Democracy Support and Election Coordination Group to send a delegation to

observe presidential elections in Timor Leste to be held on 20 March 2017


- took note of a letter dated 23 January 2017 from Mr BROK and Ms McAVAN, Co-Chairs of

the Democracy Support and Election Coordination Group (DEG), requesting authorisation

to send a delegation to observe the presidential elections in Timor Leste, with the first round

of elections to be held on 20 March 2017, and a possible second round on 20 April 2017

(PE 599.040/CPG, annex and financial statement);

- recalled that Timor Leste was included in the list of priorities for Parliament's election

observation delegations for the first half of 2017, which had been approved by the

Conference of Presidents on 19 January 2017;

- noted that the mission proposed coincided with two days without parliamentary activity

(Saturday and Sunday of week 11) and three days set aside for parliamentary committee

activities (Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday of week 12);

- recalled that, in principle, the duration of missions might not exceed five days, including

travel time;

- approved the sending of a delegation to observe the elections in question, to be composed of

seven Members appointed by the political groups in accordance with the rolling d'Hondt

system, which should also apply to the non-attached Members, on the understanding that a

limited language regime of interpretation into one language only applied, the approval being

subject to the fulfilment of the relevant criteria for the sending of an election observation

mission and the security situation on the ground not precluding the sending of such a

mission;

- invited the President to excuse the concerned Members from the plenary sitting in

Strasbourg on 16 March 2017, in line with Article 31(3) of the Implementing measures for

the Statute of Members of the European Parliament.

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18. Request from the Democracy Support and Election Coordination Group to send a delegation to

observe parliamentary elections in Armenia to be held on 2 April 2017


- took note of a letter dated 23 January 2017 from Mr BROK and Ms McAVAN, Co-Chairs of

the Democracy Support and Election Coordination Group (DEG), requesting authorisation

to send a delegation to observe parliamentary elections in Armenia, to be held on 2 April

2017 (PE 599.042/CPG, annex and financial statement);

- recalled that Armenia was included in the list of priorities for Parliament's election

observation delegations for the first half of 2017, which had been approved by the

Conference of Presidents on 19 January 2017;

- noted that the mission proposed coincided with three days without parliamentary activity

(Friday, Saturday and Sunday of week 13) and one day set aside for Parliament’s part-

session in Strasbourg (Monday of week 14);

- recalled that, in principle, the duration of missions might not exceed five days, including

travel time;

- approved the sending of a delegation to observe the elections in question, to be composed of

seven Members appointed by the political groups in accordance with the rolling d'Hondt

system, which should also apply to the non-attached Members, on the understanding that a

limited language regime of interpretation into one language only applied, the approval being

subject to the fulfilment of the relevant criteria for the sending of an election observation

mission and the security situation on the ground not precluding the sending of such a

mission;

- invited the President to excuse the concerned Members from the plenary sitting in

Strasbourg on 3 April 2017, in line with Article 31(3) of the Implementing measures for the

Statute of Members of the European Parliament.

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PE 595.288/CPG 36/42

EN

19. Request from the Steering Group of the Parliamentary Conference on the WTO to hold its next

meeting in Brussels, on 9 March 2017


- took note of a letter dated 9 January 2017 from Mr LANGE, Chair of the Steering Group of

the Parliamentary Conference on the World Trade Organisation (PCWTO), requesting

authorisation to organise the next session of the Steering Committee of the PCWTO in

Brussels, on 9 March 2017 (PE 595.285/CPG and financial statement);

- recalled that most of the sessions of the Steering Committee had taken place on the premises

of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) in Geneva, and that Parliament’s Members had

participated as ad hoc delegations;

- recalled further that the Steering Committee had held some of its recent meetings in the

European Parliament in Brussels;

- noted that the date requested for the PCWTO Steering Committee meeting coincided with

one day set aside for both parliamentary committee and political group activities (Thursday

of week 10);

- endorsed the request.

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20. Urgent matters and any other business

20.1 Request from the S&D Group to hold a meeting of a delegation of the Group in Rome, Italy, on

24 March 2017


- took note of a letter dated 1 February 2017 from Mr PITTELLA, Chairman of the S&D Group,

requesting authorisation to hold a meeting of a delegation of the Group in Rome, Italy, on 24

March 2017;

- noted that the meeting coincided with a day without parliamentary activities (Friday of week

12);

- noted that interpretation into 5 languages had been requested;

- authorised the meeting as requested by way of exception.

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21. Regular items which are requested by the Conference of Presidents

21.1 Delegated and implementing acts - Screening of current files


- recalled its decision of 19 April 2012 to request the competent services to carry out an

ongoing screening procedure of upcoming legislative proposals in order to avoid placing on

the plenary agenda any vote(s) leading to a first-reading agreement on dossiers where such

decisions might be legally questionable;

- recalled its decision of 27 November 2014 to request a monthly overview of the delegated

acts (and draft RPS measures) under scrutiny, indicating also any possible action taken by

committees;

- took note of a letter of 2 February 2017 from Ms WIKSTRÖM, Chair of the Conference of

Committee Chairs, forwarding the results of screening files in view of the February II 2017

part-session; and noted that no legal concerns were raised in relation to any of the dossiers

scheduled for vote during that part-session (PE 599.058/CPG).

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21.2 Overview of delegated acts and draft RPS measures currently under EP scrutiny


- took note of a note dated 3 February 2017 from the Secretary-General, providing an

overview of the state of play on delegated and implementing acts at 1 February 2017

(PE 599.059/CPG and annex);

- recalled the horizontal guidance it had adopted on 19 April 2012 on the inclusion of

delegated acts in the basic legislative act; consequently, maintained its request to the

Conference of Committee Chairs to carry out a monthly screening of the agreements

reached;

- recalled its decision of 27 November 2014 to request a monthly overview of the delegated

acts (and draft RPS measures) under scrutiny, indicating also any possible action taken by

committees.

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PE 595.288/CPG 40/42

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21.3 First reading agreements - Overview and state of play


- took note of a letter of 7 February 2017 from Ms WIKSTRÖM, Chair of the Conference of

Committee Chairs, submitting recent decisions adopted by committees in view of first, early

second and second reading as well as the state of play of files currently under negotiation

(PE 599.060/CPG and annexes I and II);

- recalled its decision of 12 March 2015 to request the competent services to ensure the

greatest degree of transparency in the legislative process possible and to request that an

overview of negotiating mandates for first reading agreements be made available to it on a

regular basis, and noted that the Conference of Committee Chairs would continue to provide

systematic information to the Conference of Presidents on all legislative files under

negotiation in first, early second and second reading, in accordance with the decision of the

Conference of Presidents of 10 March 2011;

- noted that under Rule 69c and Rule 69d of Parliament’s revised Rules of Procedure,

committee decisions to enter into first reading negotiations and early second reading

negotiations should be announced in plenary.

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22. Items for information

22.1 Internal correspondence


- noted a letter dated 24 January 2017 from Mr Manfred WEBER, Chair of the EPP Group,

proposing to invite Ms Theresa MAY, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom of Great

Britain and Northern Ireland, to hold a debate with the European Parliament

(PE 599.076/CPG).

22.2 Inter-institutional correspondence

There was none.

22.3 External correspondence


- noted a letter dated 23 January 2017 from Mr Jean-Marc AYRAULT, Minister of Foreign

Affairs and International Development of the French Republic, on the seat and the plenary

sessions of the European Parliament (PE 599.077/CPG).

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23. Date and place of next meetings


- noted that the next ordinary meeting would be held on Thursday 16 February 2016 from

9:00 to 10:45 hours in room R1.1, in Louise WEISS Building, in Strasbourg.

* *

*

The meeting closed at 13.09 hours

of the ordinary meeting of thursday 9 february 2017 · pv cpg 09.02.2017 pe 595.288/cpg 2/42 en...

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