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PV BUR. 28.03.2012
PE 482.815/BUR/Rev
EN EN
PE-7/BUR/PV/2012-7
EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT
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B U R E A U
MINUTES
of the meeting of
28-03-2012
Paul Henri Spaak Building - Room 6B001
- - -
Brussels
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BUREAU
MINUTES
of the meeting of Wednesday, 28 March 2012 from 18:00 to 20:00 hours
Paul Henri Spaak Building - Room 6B001
Brussels
CONTENTS
Page
1. Adoption of draft agenda .................................................................................................. 7
2. Adoption of the Minutes of the meeting of 12 March 2012 ............................................. 8
3. Communications by the President..................................................................................... 9
3.1 WWF - Earth Hour ........................................................................................................... 9
3.2 Parliamentary Assembly for the Union for Mediterranean in Rabat, 24-25 March 2012 .................................................................................................................................. 9
3.3 Reform of the administration ............................................................................................ 9
3.4 European Citizens' Initiative ........................................................................................... 10
4. Action Plan for the implementation of the President's Agenda and Conclusions from the Bureau Away-Days in La Hulpe on 26-27 January 2012 - Note from the Secretary-General ............................................................................................................................ 12
6. Staff matters .................................................................................................................... 17
7. Financial regime for Croatian observers - Note from the Secretary-General ................. 19
8. European Broadcast Union's General Assembly to be held in European Parliament in Strasbourg on 20-22 June 2012 - Note from the Secretary-General........................... 20
9. Citizen's Prize - Nomination of the Chancellery - Note from the Secretary-General ..... 22
10. Implementation of a recommendation of the Conference of Presidents on the adaptation of resources made available to the SEDE and DROI Subcommittees - Note from the Secretary-General .................................................................................... 23
11. Annual programme for travel by parliamentary committee delegations outside the three places of work during 2012 - Supplementary letters from Mr CASINI, Chair of the Committee on Constitutional Affairs and Mr DE CASTRO, Chair of the
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Committee on Agriculture .............................................................................................. 25
12. Request from the Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs to send a delegation to Cyprus from 7 to 8 June 2012 - Letter from Ms BOWLES, Chair of the committee concerned................................................................................................. 27
13. Request for authorisation of a STOA delegation to the Euro-Mediterranean Conference on Research and Innovation on 2 and 3 April 2012 in Barcelona - Letter from Mr RÜBIG, Chair of the STOA Panel ................................................................... 28
14. Request for authorisation of a STOA delegation to the 9th Annual Meeting of the Science and Technology in Society forum, which is to be held from 7 to 9 October 2012 in Kyoto - Letter from Mr RÜBIG, Chair of the STOA Panel .............................. 29
15. Request from the Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs to send a delegation to Lithuania from 25 to 27 April 2012 - Letter from Mr LÓPEZ AGUILAR, Chair of the committee concerned .............................................................. 30
16. Request from the Committee on the Legal Affairs to authorize a public hearing on "Review of the Accounting and Transparency Directives: the new country by country reporting requirements" on 26 April 2012 in Brussels - Letter from Mr LEHNE, Chair of the committee concerned ................................................................... 32
17. Request from the Committee on Budgetary Control to authorize a public hearing on "Budgetary Control of the European Financial Stability Facility (EFSF), the European Financial Stabilisation Mechanism (EFSM and the European Stability Mechanism (ESM)" on 24 April 2012 in Brussels - Letter from Mr THEURER, Chair of the Committee concerned ................................................................................. 33
18. Request from the European Economic and Social Committee to reserve the Chamber and certain adjoining rooms in the European Parliament in Brussels on 12 and 13 December 2012 - Letter from Mr NILSSON, President of the European Economic and Social Committee .................................................................................... 34
19. Urgent matters and any other business ........................................................................... 35
20. Items for information ...................................................................................................... 36
21. Date and place of next meeting....................................................................................... 37
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BUREAU
MINUTES
of the meeting of Wednesday, 28 March 2012
Brussels
Mr Martin SCHULZ, President of the European Parliament, opened the meeting at 18h05 hours.
Present
Mr Martin SCHULZ, President*
Vice-Presidents Excused Mr PITTELLA Mr ALVARO Mr MARTÍNEZ Ms PODIMATA* Mr VIDAL-QUADRAS Mr PAPASTAMKOS Ms ANGELILLI* Mr KARAS* Mr McMILLAN-SCOTT Ms DURANT Mr WIELAND* Mr VLASÁK Mr PROTASIEWICZ Mr SURJÁN Quaestors Excused Ms LULLING Mr HIGGINS Ms GERINGER DE OEDENBERG Mr LIBERADZKI* Mr MAŠTÁLKA
Also Present Mr WELLE, Secretary-General*
* present for item 6 in camera
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List of officials present at the meeting: Private Office of the President Mr WINKLER* Mr KAISER Ms MARTINEZ IGLESIAS Mr MANNELLI Ms STRASSER Mr FREEDMAN Private Office of the Secretary-General Mr MANGOLD* Ms LUEDDECKE Ms BLAU Mr SCHEIBA Secretariat DG Presidency (PRES) Ms RATTI* /Mr CAROZZA /Mr O'BEARA DG Internal Policies (IPOL) Mr RIBERA d'ALCALA DG External Policies (EXPO) Mr AGUIRIANO DG Communication (COMM) Ms LAHOUSSE/ Mr DUCH-GUILLOT DG Personnel (PERS) Mr QUITIN* DG Infrastructure and Logistics (INLO) Mr STRATIGAKIS DG Translation (TRAD) Ms PITT DG Interpretation and Conferences (INTE) Ms COSMIDOU DG Finance (FINS) Mr KLETHI DG Innovation, Technical Support (ITEC) Mr VILELLA Legal Service Mr PENNERA, Jurisconsult*/ Mr PASSOS Director for the Relations with Political Groups
Mr SCHWETZ
* present for item 6 in camera
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Political group secretariats Mr EVISON (EPP) Mr HORNAK (S&D) Mr BOUTER (ALDE) Mr PRUMMEL (Greens/EFA) Mr WOODARD (ECR) Mr RAECK (GUE/NGL) Mr VAUGIER (EFD) Mr BUGALHO (Non-attached Members) Vice-Presidents' and Quaestors' assistants Mr MARTINELLI Mr PITTELLA's assistant Mr GUERRA REINA Mr MARTÍNEZ's assistant Ms ZANELLA Ms PODIMATA's assistant Ms CABANELAS ALVAREZ Mr VIDAL-QUADRAS's assistant Mr CHATZIFOTIS Mr PAPASTAMKOS's assistant Mr LOMBARDO Ms ANGELILLI's assistant Ms WILHELM Mr KARAS's assistant Ms BIESEMANS Mr McMILLAN-SCOTT's assistant Mr LEMAIRE Ms DURANT's assistant Ms BAUER Ms ALVARO's assistant Mr BECKER Mr WIELAND's assistant Mr MÁTL Mr VLASÁK's assistant Ms KURANT Mr PROTASIEWICZ's assistant Mr PÁPÁI Mr SURJÁN's assistant Mr ROMANOVSKIS Ms LULLING's assistant Ms KEARNEY Mr HIGGINS's assistant Ms ZIELINSKA Ms GERINGER de OEDENBERG's assistant Ms MENES Mr LIBERADZKI's assistant Ms ŘEHOŘOVÁ Mr MAŠTÁLKA's assistant Ms WITHCOMBE Mr VAUGHAN's assistant Ms LINNUS, Ms KYST, Mr SCHROEDER, Mr BREIER and Mr TOPPING acted as secretary to the meeting.
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1. Adoption of draft agenda
The Bureau
- noted the draft agenda (PE 482.813/BUR) and adopted it as shown in these minutes.
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2. Adoption of the Minutes of the meeting of 12 March 2012
The Bureau
- heard Mr PITTELLA, Vice-President, request a modification to the Minutes
concerning the item 4;
- approved the Minutes of the meeting of 12 March 2012 in Strasbourg with this
modification (PE 479.887/BUR).
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3. Communications by the President
3.1 World Wildlife Fund - Earth Hour
The Bureau,
- heard the President inform the meeting that Parliament is participating in the World
Wildlife Fund's initiative Earth Hour, which will entail switching of the lights on 30
March from 20.30 to 21.30, and 31 March from 20.30 to 21.30, in Parliament's
buildings in as well as in its Information Offices.
3.2 Parliamentary Assembly for the Union for the Mediterranean in Rabat, 24-25 March 2012
The Bureau,
- heard the President inform the meeting that he was elected President of the
Parliamentary Assembly for the Union for the Mediterranean at its meeting held in
Rabat on 24-25 March 2012; heard the President state, that a reform of the
Parliamentary Assembly for the Union for the Mediterranean seems necessary if the
ambition of the Assembly is to go beyond a mere exchange of declarations, but that
the Assembly has the potential to be a forum for a contribution to the democratisation
of the Mediterranean area.
3.3 Reform of the administration
The Bureau,
- heard the President recall the exchange of views held concerning the matter at the
previous meeting and suggest that the initial work commenced by Ms ROTH-
BEHRENDT, Member, in collaboration with the Secretary-General to analyse the
strengths and weaknesses of the administration will be followed by a Working Group
of the Bureau under the leadership of the President and with the participation of Mr
PITTELLA, Mr KARAS, Ms ALVARO, Ms DURANT and Mr VLASÁK, Vice-
Presidents; the Secretary-General will act as the project coordinator; heard the
President suggest this Working Group would meet once a month where Ms ROTH-
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BEHRENDT, Member, would report back on her findings; heard the President
suggest that Ms ROTH-BEHRENDT, Member, would report to the Bureau every
three months on the findings and that the analysis of strengths and weaknesses and
final suggestions should be submitted to the Bureau by the end of the year following
which a debate would take place on whether changes are necessary and which ones;
- heard Ms LULLING, Quaestor, request that the Quaestors should be fully involved in
this process and that a Quastor should participate in the Working Group;
- heard the President agree with Ms LULLING on the participation of a Quaestor in the
Working Group.
3.4 European Citizens' Initiative
The Bureau,
- heard the President inform the meeting about his joint press conference with Mr
ŠEFČOVIČ, Commissioner for Inter-Institutional Relations and Administration and
Mr WAMMEN, Danish Minister for European Affairs and President-in-Office of the
Council concerning the launch of the European Citizens' Initiative on the 1 April
2012 where he in this context had thanked Ms GURMAÏ and Mr LAMASSOURE,
Members, for their work; heard the President recall that there are still outstanding
issues concerning certain internal procedures related to the Initiative and that this
should be closely followed by the responsible Vice-President, Mr PAPASTAMKOS;
- heard Mr PAPASTAMKOS, Vice-President, inform the meeting that he had held
initial discussions with the Chair of the Committee of Petitions and that he would
continue discussions with other relevant stakeholders; further recall that this Initiative
has raised a lot of expectations amongst the public as well as amongst Members and
that it would improve visibility of the Parliament; underline that it would require the
necessary training and support facilities to implement the procedures;
- heard Mr McMILLAN-SCOTT, Vice-President, recall that the Committee on
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Petitions has particular experience dealing with the mass-public;
- heard Ms DURANT, Vice-President, underline that the European Citizens' initiative
is only one of a number of instruments falling under the heading of relations with the
citizens, and that a coherent approach in this area would be required;
- heard Ms ANGELILLI, Vice-President, enquire about the Member States who still
need to transpose the directive concerning the Initiative;
- heard the President suggest that Mr PAPASTAMKOS, Vice-President responsible
should continue to follow the matter and that an in-depth discussion could take place
at a later meeting.
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A. DECISIONS/EXCHANGES OF VIEWS
4. Action Plan for the implementation of the President's Agenda and Conclusions from the Bureau
Away-Days in La Hulpe on 26-27 January 2012 - Note from the Secretary-General
The Bureau,
- took note of the following documents:
• a note of 19 March 2012 from the Secretary-General on implementation of the
10 point Action (PE 482.864/BUR and annex);
• a note of 1 February 2012 from the Secretary-General on the 10 point Action
Plan "Strengthening the European Parliament" (PE 479.816/BUR);
- heard the President introduce the issue and particularly underline the main aim of this
Action Plan to strengthen Parliament's role, securing the legitimacy of Parliament and
bridging the democratic gap, and invite the Secretary-General to introduce the
suggestions of the administration brought forward to implement this Action Plan;
- heard the Secretary-General introduce the 10 priorities in the Action Plan and further
introduce the corresponding concrete measures suggested by the Administration as
food for thought and a basis for proposals to be decided by the Bureau at a later stage
following a debate;
- held an in depth and wide-ranging debate with the participation of Mr PITTELLA,
Mr MARTÍNEZ, Ms PODIMATA, Mr VIDAL-QUADRAS, Mr PAPASTAMKOS,
Ms ANGELILLI, Mr KARAS, Mr McMILLAN-SCOTT, Ms DURANT, Mr
WIELAND, Mr VLASÁK, Mr PROTASIEWICZ and Mr SURJÁN, Vice-Presidents,
and Ms LULLING and Mr HIGGINS, Quaestors, in particular noting the following:
• welcoming in general the initiatives set out in the Action Plan;
• the need for the Information Offices in the Member States to be fully used as a
tool for communication with the Citizens and a forum for debate;
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• the importance of human rights and democracy and in particular the importance
of the urgency resolutions and possible ways to improve this procedure as well
as the possibility to engage former Presidents of the Parliament and make use
of their expertise and prominence as democracy ambassadors;
• the possible issues relating to the nomination of one candidate for the office of
President of the European Commission;
• the importance of the community method and the full involvement of the
Parliament;
• the European Citizens' Initiative and the Year of the Citizen in 2013;
• the need for the individual Members to work closer with the citizens;
• the possibility to have a closer link with schools and universities in the Member
States;
• the need to engage with national Parliaments as allies in scrutinising the
executive and not as competitors;
• the importance of communicating in a coherent and positive way the work of
the Parliament;
• the possibility to improve the Visitors facilities in Strasbourg;
• the question of the next election date in 2014 and the thereto linked issues of
hearings of Commissioners and the Parliament being in a position to carry out
its work immediately following the elections without a summer break;
- heard Mr VIDAL-QUADRAS, Vice-President, express concerns over firstly the
proposal "Committees go local", whereby committees would organise hearings on the
spot, and secondly the creation of a visitors centre in Strasbourg, including the
proposal of a terrace on top of the Louise Weiss Building;
- heard the President thank the Members of the Bureau for their excellent contribution
and active participation in the debate; underline that there should be a distinction
between, on the one hand, the political concept of the Action Plan which involves a
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political debate, and on the other hand, the instruments and the concrete proposals to
be implemented in this respect; further recall that the main issue at stake should be to
strengthen democratisation and parliamentarianism on the European level, which at
the moment is under threat;
- underlined that the aim of the Action Plan should be to address the different questions
related to the political progress and functioning of Parliament on all levels;
- agreed that the different Working Groups of the Bureau as well as the Secretary-
General, together with the responsible Vice-Presidents, should elaborate concrete
proposals in their respective areas of the Action Plan with a view to submitting them
to the Bureau in due course.
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5. Preliminary draft estimates for 2013 - decision on results from the conciliation meeting -
Report from the Secretary-General
The Bureau,
- took note of the following documents:
• a note of 19 March 2012, from the Secretary-General on the preliminary draft
estimates for 2013 - decision on results from the conciliation meeting (PE
482.865/BUR and annexes);
• a report of 3 February 2012, from the Secretary-General on the preliminary
draft estimates of the European Parliament for the financial year 2013 (PE
479.831/BUR and annexes);
- recalled its exchanges of views on the Secretary-General's reports on the general
guidelines and the preliminary draft estimates for the financial year 2013, held at the
meetings of 1 and 13 February 2012;
- recalled its approval, at its meeting of 13 February 2012, of the headlines of the
general guidelines for the 2013 budget of the Secretary-General's report;
- recalled the decision in principle on the preliminary draft estimates for the financial
year 2013 and the approval of a mandate for the conciliation meeting with the
representatives of the Committee on Budgets at its meeting of 12 March 2012;
- heard Mr PITTELLA, Vice-President with primary responsibility for budgetary
matters, inform the meeting of the result of the conciliation meeting with
representatives of the Committee on Budgets on 13 March 2012, in particular the
agreement to increase Parliament's 2013 budget by 1,9%, not including the additional
costs resulting from the accession of Croatia to the European Union (or 2,42% with
the costs of Croatian accession included); stress that this result was made possible due
the cutting and freezing of expenditure in several areas;
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- heard Mr VIDAL-QUADRAS, Vice-President with secondary responsibility for
budgetary matters, underline that the negotiation with the representatives of the
Committee on Budgets took place on the basis of the formal mandate approved by the
Bureau at its previous meeting and invited the meeting to endorse the result of these
negotiations;
- took note that, in total, the downward adjustments proposed represent a net reduction
in appropriations of EUR 9 339 770, bringing the preliminary draft estimates for 2013
to a total of EUR 1 759 391 671 and the share of heading V to 19.16%, and
constituting an increase of 2.42% compared to the 2013 budget, or 1.9% excluding
the additional expenditure of EUR 8.9 million connected with accession of Croatia;
- heard the President thank the two Vice-Presidents responsible, the representatives of
the Committee on Budgets, in particular Mr VAUGHAN, Rapporteur on the
Guidelines for the 2013 budget – other sections, and Mr LAMASSOURE, Chair of
the Committee on Budgets, as well as the Secretary-General for the excellent work
done and underline the positive and constructive atmosphere in which the budgetary
negotiations were conducted, which would serve as a model for the future;
- adopted all the adjustments resulting from the conciliation on 13 March in addition to
the proposals already set out in the Secretary-General’s report on the preliminary
draft estimates for 2013 and the corrections and information contained in the
technical notes for the Bureau meeting of 12 March 2012;
- adopted the preliminary draft estimates for the financial year 2013.
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From 20:41 hours, in camera
6. Staff matters
The Bureau, meeting in camera,
- heard the Secretary-General suggest that the Bureau, following its decision of 10
January 2012 to establish a separate Directorate for Management for the new building
projects in DG Infrastructure and Logistics, would in the interest of the Institution
transfer Mr QUINTELA, current Director for Logistics in DG INLO, to the new
Directorate before the summer break;
- agreed, unanimously, to the proposal;
- heard the Secretary-General indicate that following the decision taken by the Bureau
on 12 December 2012 on the creation of a Directorate for Democracy Support in DG
External Policies, in a budget neutral manner through redeployment, it was now
opportune to publish this post as well as five other Director posts which had recently
been made vacant;
- held an exchange of views on the matter with the participation of the Mr VIDAL-
QUADRAS, Vice-President, and the Secretary-General;
- agreed unanimously to the opening of the following vacant Director posts:
− Directorate for Impact Assessment in DG Internal Policies,
− Directorate for Democracy Support in DG External Policies,
− Directorate for Logistics in DG Infrastructure and Logistics,
− Directorate for Organisation and Planning in DG Interpretation and Conferences,
− Directorate for Publishing and Distribution in DG Innovation and Technological
Support,
− Directorate for Relation with the Political Groups;
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- invited the Secretary-General to conduct the procedure for the appointment of the six
Directors according to Bureau decision of 16 May 2000 (amended by the Bureau
decision of 18 February 2008) laying down the steps in the procedure for appointing
senior officials.
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B. DECISIONS WITHOUT DEBATE
7. Financial regime for Croatian observers - Note from the Secretary-General
The Bureau, without debate,
- took note of the following document:
• a note of 15 February 2012, from the Secretary-General on the financial
arrangements applicable to Croatian observers (PE 482.844/BUR and annex);
- recalled that the Croatian Accession Treaty was signed on 9 December 2011, as a
result of which Croatia will become the 28th Member State of the EU on 1 July 2013;
- took note of the decision of the Conference of Presidents of 9 February 2012 to invite
the Croatian observers, with effect from 1 April 2012;
- approved the financial arrangements applicable to Croatian observers as set out in the
Annex to the aforementioned note of the Secretary-General;
- instructed the Secretary-General to implement this measure.
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8. European Broadcast Union's General Assembly to be held in European Parliament in
Strasbourg on 20-22 June 2012 - Note from the Secretary-General
The Bureau, without debate,
- took note of the following document:
• a note of 12 March 2012, from the Secretary- concerning the organisation of
the European Broadcast Union's (EBU) General Assembly, in collaboration
with the Audiovisual Unit of the Directorate-General for Communication, on
the premises of the European Parliament in Strasbourg on 20-22 June 2012 (PE
482.828/BUR and annex);
- took note that the EBU has a long-standing partnership with the European Parliament
in the audiovisual field, for example concerning the daily coverage of parliamentary
affairs, and is closely associated to key-events of the European Parliament,
particularly during previous European elections;
- took note that the partnership between the EBU and the European Parliament
constitutes one of the key elements of the Directorate-General for Communication's
Action Plan 2011-2014 in the audiovisual field;
- took note that the President, certain Vice-Presidents and some other Members of
Parliament will be invited by the EBU to address the General Assembly or to
participate in debates;
- took note that for the organisation of the aforementioned event several meeting rooms
in the Louise-Weiss building in Strasbourg will be required, as well as customary
services provided in this context by the Directorate-General for Interpretation, the
Directorate-General for Innovation and Technological Support and DG
Communication;
- took note that all additional costs, including interpretation, will be borne by the EBU;
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- granted the required facilities and services required for the organisation of the
aforementioned event.
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9. Citizen's Prize - Nomination of the Chancellery - Note from the Secretary-General
The Bureau, without debate,
- took note of the following document:
• a note of 19 March 2012, from the Secretary-General on the above-mentioned
subject (PE 482.860/BUR);
- took note of the proposal by the Secretary-General dated 19 March 2012 concerning
the naming of the European Citizen's Prize Chancellery;
- approved the new composition of the Chancellery of the European Citizen's Prize.
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10. Implementation of a recommendation of the Conference of Presidents on the adaptation of
resources made available to the SEDE and DROI Subcommittees - Note from the Secretary-
General
The Bureau, without debate,
- took note of the following document:
• a note dated 20 March 2012 from the Secretary-General on the Implementation
of a recommendation of the Conference of Presidents on the adaptation of
resources made available to the SEDE and DROI Subcommittees (PE
482.859/BUR and annexes);
- noted that the Treaty of Lisbon introduces a number of new provisions and
competences in the area of Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP) and
Human Rights and that the Subcommittee on Security and Defence (SEDE) and the
Subcommittee on Human Rights (DROI) therefore should be provided with the
necessary resources in order to meet their new tasks;
- noted the decision from the Conference of Presidents on 10 March 2011 during the
debate on the parliamentary scrutiny of the CFSP and CSDP to invite the Secretary-
General to make proposals on how to enhance the Parliament's working methods to
deal with the new developments in the field of the Common Security and Defence
Policy under the Lisbon Treaty;
- noted the decision from the Conference of Presidents on 15 December 2011 that the
SEDE and DROI Subcommittees respectively:
• be authorised to simultaneously draft up to three own-initiative reports;
• be authorised to invite up to 12 paid guests per year;
• be given increased appropriations for studies, at a level equal to those provided
for committees;
- endorsed the above decisions from the Conference of Presidents;
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- decided to modify the Rules on Public Hearings and the Guidelines on paid external
expertise respectively in order to incorporate the above mentioned changes.
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11. Annual programme for travel by parliamentary committee delegations outside the three
places of work during 2012 - Supplementary letters from Mr CASINI, Chair of the
Committee on Constitutional Affairs and Mr DE CASTRO, Chair of the Committee on
Agriculture
The Bureau, with debate,
- took note of the following documents:
• a letter dated 25 January 2012 from Mr CASINI, Chair of the Committee on
Constitutional Affairs, on the above-mentioned matter (PE 479.803/CPG,
annexes and financial statements);
• a letter dated 31 January 2012 from Mr DE CASTRO, Chair of the Committee
on Agriculture and Rural Development, on the above-mentioned matter (PE
479.837/CPG, annexes and financial statement);
- recalled that when taking its decision on 12 December 2011 upon the annual
programme of committee travel for 2012, the Bureau had invited the AGRI and
AFCO committees to provide further justifications for their proposed visits to
Argentina (AGRI) and to France and the United States (AFCO) prior to giving
authorisation for these visits to take place;
- took note of the further information and justifications transmitted by the chairs of the
committees concerned, as set out in the above-mentioned letters;
- recalled the decision of the Conference of Presidents of 8 March 2012, endorsing the
proposal that committee missions outside weeks set aside for external parliamentary
activity would only be provided with a limited language regime that may not exceed
interpretation into one language; noted that this rule change was approved by the
Bureau on 12 March 2012;
- noted the positive recommendation by the Conference of Presidents at its meeting on
15 March 2012 to endorse the AFCO request relating to the proposed visit to France;
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in that light authorised the delegation on question;
- noted the negative recommendation by Conference of Presidents at its meeting on 15
March 2012 concerning both the AFCO request relating to the proposed visit to the
US and the AGRI request relating to the proposed visit to Argentina; stating that the
subject matters of these visits could be dealt with in the context of future delegation
visits by, in the case of AFCO, the Delegation for relations with the United States
and, in the case of AGRI, either the Delegation for relations with Mercosur or the
EuroLat Delegation, in which visits one representative of the committees concerned
could be invited to participate in accordance with the existing rules;
- in light of the above, decided to decline the authorisation for the AFCO request to
send a delegation to the US and the AGRI request to send a delegation to Argentina,
it being underlined that all the relevant rules, in particular on quotas, travel periods,
travel duration and provision of interpretation, must be upheld;
- heard Mr VIDAL-QUADRAS, Vice-President, inform the meeting of a letter of Mr
CASINI, Chair of the Committee on Constitutional Affairs, dated 22 March 2012, to
the President, expressing concern about several of the committee's requests for
delegations and underline that other committees seem to have similar concerns;
- held an exchange of views on the matter with the participation of Mr VIDAL-
QUADRAS and Mr WIELAND, Vice-Presidents, and the Secretary-General;
- noted that the reasons for the negative recommendations by the Conference of
Presidents concerning the delegations, which were now confirmed by the Bureau,
were not linked to the recent decisions taken by the Bureau concerning the
implementation of resource-efficient multilingualism, but were related to various
other considerations (i.e. the timing of the visit and justifications brought forward).
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12. Request from the Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs to send a delegation to
Cyprus from 7 to 8 June 2012 - Letter from Ms BOWLES, Chair of the committee
concerned
The Bureau, without debate,
- took note of a letter dated 6 March 2012 from Ms BOWLES, Chair of the Committee
on Economic and Monetary Affairs, requesting authorisation to modify the dates of a
committee delegation to Cyprus to 7-8 June 2012 (a mixed committee/group
Thursday and a Friday), with outward travel on 6 June 2012 (a day reserved for
political group activities) (PE 482.776/CPG, annexes and financial statement);
- took note that in the annual programme of committee travel for 2012, as approved by
the Bureau on 12 December 2011, the committee concerned had originally foreseen a
delegation to Cyprus for the period of 3-4 May 2012 (week set aside for external
parliamentary activities), consisting of four Members;
- noted the negative recommendation by the Conference of Presidents at its meeting on
15 March 2012;
- in light of the above, decided to decline the request from the ECON committee as it
not in line with the rules in force, and invited the committee either to maintain the
initially-foreseen dates or to organise an exchange of views with the incoming
Cypriot EU Council Presidency in the framework of an ordinary committee meeting,
allowing for a larger number of committee members to participate.
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13. Request for authorisation of a STOA delegation to the Euro-Mediterranean Conference on
Research and Innovation on 2 and 3 April 2012 in Barcelona - Letter from Mr RÜBIG,
Chair of the STOA Panel
The Bureau, without debate,
- took note of the following document:
• a letter dated 5 March 2012, from Mr RÜBIG, Chair of the STOA Panel
requesting authorisation for Mr CORREIA DE CAMPOS, 1st Vice-Chair of
the STOA Panel, and Mr JOHANSSON, Member of the STOA Panel, to
participate in the Euro-Mediterranean Conference on Research and Innovation,
on 2-3 April 2012 in Barcelona (PE 482.807/BUR and annexes);
- took note that the conference takes place during a week set aside for external
parliamentary activities and that the organisers will cover all travel and
accommodation expenses of the aforementioned Members;
- granted the requested authorisation.
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14. Request for authorisation of a STOA delegation to the 9th Annual Meeting of the Science
and Technology in Society forum, which is to be held from 7 to 9 October 2012 in Kyoto -
Letter from Mr RÜBIG, Chair of the STOA Panel
The Bureau, without debate,
- took note of a letter dated 5 March 2012 from Mr RÜBIG, Chair of the STOA Panel,
requesting authorisation to send up to three of the STOA Panel's members to the 9th
annual meeting of the Forum on Science and Technology in Society (STS) in Kyoto,
Japan, from 7-9 October 2012 (PE 482.806/BUR, annex and financial statement);
- granted the requested authorisation, on an exceptional basis on the ground that the
visit is to take place neither in an EU Member State nor in an applicant country.
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15. Request from the Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs to send a
delegation to Lithuania from 25 to 27 April 2012 - Letter from Mr LÓPEZ AGUILAR,
Chair of the committee concerned
The Bureau, without debate,
- took note of the letter of 14 March 2012 from Mr LÓPEZ AGUILAR, Chair of the
Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs, in which he requests
authorisation for an eight-member committee delegation to travel to Lithuania from
25 to 27 April 2012 (these dates being a Wednesday and Thursday set aside for
committee activities and a Friday) in the context of ongoing work on the alleged use
of European countries by the CIA for the transportation and illegal detention of
prisoners (PE 482.834/CPG, annexes and financial statement);
- noted that this mission was not foreseen in the 2012 annual programme of committee
travel, as approved by the Bureau on 12 December 2011; noted that the committee
has not provided justification for the need to travel at the dates indicated and strongly
regret the late arrival of the request, making it impossible to respect the relevant
deadlines;
- recalled that the Bureau decided on 12 March 2012 to amend the rules on committee
travel, setting out that committee missions outside weeks set aside for external
parliamentary activity would only be provided with a limited language regime that
may not exceed interpretation into one language; noted that Mr LÓPEZ AGUILAR
has mentioned in his letter that the delegation dates could, if necessary, be
rescheduled to week 18 (a week set aside for external parliamentary activities);
- recalled that the Code of Conduct on Multilingualism requires that interpretation
requests for meetings taking place outside Parliament's places of work should be
submitted no later than six weeks prior to the date scheduled for the meeting in
question; also noted that the dates foreseen for travel coincide mainly with days set
aside for committee meetings with a scarcity of interpretation resources due to
committee meetings taking place at the Parliament's places of work, which have
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priority;
- noted the positive recommendation by the Conference of Presidents at its meeting on
15 March 2012;
- in light of the above authorised the request on a strictly exceptional basis as it is not
in line with the rules in force, on the understanding that, in particular, the relevant
rules on quotas and provision of interpretation are respected, implying that if the visit
takes place from 25 - 27 April 2012 interpretation into a maximum of one language
can only be provided.
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16. Request from the Committee on the Legal Affairs to authorize a public hearing on "Review
of the Accounting and Transparency Directives: the new country by country reporting
requirements" on 26 April 2012 in Brussels - Letter from Mr LEHNE, Chair of the
committee concerned
The Bureau, without debate,
- took note of the letter dated 5 March 2012, from Mr LEHNE, Chair of the Committee
on Legal Affairs, requesting authorisation to hold a public hearing on 26 April 2012
in Brussels, during committee meeting time, on "Review of the Accounting and
Transparency Directives: the new country-by-country reporting requirements" (PE
482.818/BUR and annex);
- took note that the hearing is not included in the 2012 annual programme of hearings,
approved by the Bureau at its meeting of 12 December 2011;
- recalled that for public hearings not included in the annual programme approved by
the Bureau, specific individual authorisation must be requested at the latest four
weeks in advance;
- granted the authorisation requested, it being understood that the committee concerned
should notify the President prior to the public hearing of all relevant information, in
particular the final programme and the names and capacities of the invited guests, as
required by Article 3 of the applicable rules, and that the committee will remain
within its 2012 quota for invited experts.
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17. Request from the Committee on Budgetary Control to authorize a public hearing on
"Budgetary Control of the European Financial Stability Facility (EFSF), the European
Financial Stabilisation Mechanism (EFSM and the European Stability Mechanism (ESM)"
on 24 April 2012 in Brussels - Letter from Mr THEURER, Chair of the Committee
concerned
The Bureau, without debate,
- took note of the letter dated 20 February 2012, from Mr THEURER, Chair of the
Committee on Budgetary Control, requesting authorisation to hold a public hearing
on 24 April 2012 in Brussels, during committee meeting time, on "Budgetary control
of the Financial Stability Facility (EFSF), the European Financial Stabilisation
Mechanism (EFSM) and the European Stability Mechanism (ESM)" (PE
482.747/BUR);
- took note that the hearing is not included in the 2012 annual programme of hearings,
approved by the Bureau at its meeting of 12 December 2011;
- recalled that for public hearings not included in the annual programme approved by
the Bureau, specific individual authorisation must be requested at the latest four
weeks in advance;
- granted the authorisation requested, it being understood that the committee concerned
should notify the President prior to the public hearing of all relevant information, in
particular the final programme and the names and capacities of the invited guests, as
required by Article 3 of the applicable rules, and that the committee will remain
within its 2012 quota for invited experts.
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18. Request from the European Economic and Social Committee to reserve the Chamber and
certain adjoining rooms in the European Parliament in Brussels on 12 and 13 December
2012 - Letter from Mr NILSSON, President of the European Economic and Social
Committee
The Bureau, without debate,
- took note of the request from the President of the European Economic and Social
Committee (EESC) to hold a plenary session in the Parliament's Chamber and to use a
number of adjoining rooms in Brussels on 12 and 13 December 2012 during which it
is intended to hold the award ceremony for the Civil Society Prize (PE
482.824/BUR);
- took note that the requested dates fall within a week, during which there is a part-session
of Parliament in Strasbourg;
- recalled that the Bureau on 17 November 2008 decided that plenary sessions of the
European Economic and Social Committee and of the Committee of the Regions should
be held during the less busy weeks in Brussels, i.e. preferably during the Strasbourg part-
sessions or weeks of external parliamentary activities, so as not to interfere with
parliamentary work, which takes priority;
- took note that this is the only request for the use of the Hemicycle made by the European
Economic and Social Committee (EESC) during 2012;
- took note that the Brussels hemicycle is currently available on the requested dates;
- approved the request in question, by way of exception, on the condition that all costs
arising directly or indirectly from this event are borne by the European Economic and
Social Committee (EESC) in line with the rules in force.
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19. Urgent matters and any other business
The Bureau,
- heard Mr VIDAL-QUADRAS, Vice-President, request clarifications concerning a
delegation of the Committee on Fisheries going to China, which had not been granted the
requested language regime;
- heard Mr MARTÍNEZ, Vice-President, request the same clarifications;
- heard the President ask the Secretary-General to clarify this bilaterally with the two Vice-
Presidents concerned.
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20. Items for information
The Bureau
- noted the following documents:
Interinstitutional mail
- a letter dated 8 March 2012 from José Manuel BARROSO, President of the European Commission on the submitted Report on the Application of Title VII of the Conditions of Employment of other Servants of the European Communities to Accredited Parliamentary Assistants (PE 482.857/BUR).
External mail
Internal mail
- a note dated 12 March 2012 from the Secretary-General on budgetary and financial management for the financial exercise 2011 (PE 482.833/BUR and annex available upon request);
- a note dated 22 March 2012 from the Secretary-General on Brussels - State of play
with regard to the purchase of the TREBEL Building (PE 482.786/BUR and annexes).
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21. Date and place of next meeting
The Bureau
- decided to hold its next meeting on Tuesday, 17 April 2012, from 18:30 to 20:30
hours, in Room R1.1 in the Louise WEISS Building in Strasbourg
*
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The meeting closed at 20:48 hours
*
* *