11 May 2017 - European Parliament · Request from the Committee on Constitutional Affairs to...

PV CPG 11.05.2017

PE 602.172/CPG

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PE-8/CPG/PV/2017-09

EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT

CONFERENCE OF PRESIDENTS

MINUTES

of the ordinary meeting of Thursday

11 May 2017

Paul-Henry SPAAK, Room 06B01

Brussels

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MINUTES

of the ordinary meeting of

Thursday, 11 May 2017

from 11:00 to 13:00 hours

Paul-Henry SPAAK, Room 06B01

Brussels

CONTENTS

Page

1. Adoption of the draft agenda ............................................................................................................. 8

2. Approval of the draft Minutes of the meeting of 6 April 2017 ......................................................... 9

3. Adoption of the final draft agenda for the May I part-session (from 15 to 18 May 2017) and

the draft agenda for the May II part-session (from 31 May to 1 June 2017) – Scheduling of

key debates in plenary ..................................................................................................................... 10

4.1 UK withdrawal from the EU ........................................................................................................... 11

4.2 Conference of the Speakers of the EU Parliaments ........................................................................ 11

4.3 30th Anniversary of the Erasmus programme ................................................................................. 12

4.4 Review of the regulation on the statute and funding of European political parties and

foundations ...................................................................................................................................... 12

4.5 Extraordinary meeting with Mr GUTERRES, Secretary-General of the United Nations .............. 13

4.6 Conference on the EU strategy on migration .................................................................................. 13

4.7 Guests in forthcoming meetings of the Conference of Presidents .................................................. 14

4.8 Guest speakers in plenary ................................................................................................................ 14

5. Proposal for a mandate to negotiate an Inter-institutional Agreement establishing a mandatory

transparency register covering the Parliament, Council and Commission ...................................... 15

6. Requests from parliamentary committees to draw up own-initiative reports under Rule 52, and

requests for application of Rule 54, and related requests ................................................................ 16

7. Request for association under Rule 55 by the Committee on the Environment, Public Health

and Food Safety regarding a legislative report of the Committee on Industry, Research and

Energy on the governance of the energy union .............................................................................. 18

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8. Appointment of Parliament’s representative to the Administrative Board of the European

Global Navigation Satellite System Agency .................................................................................... 19

9. Composition of Parliament’s special committee for access to sensitive information in the field

of security and defence policy - replacement of a member ............................................................. 21

10. Request from the Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs to organise an

Inter-parliamentary Committee Meeting on the “Establishment of an EU mechanism on

democracy, the rule of law and fundamental rights” in Brussels on 22 June 2017 ......................... 22

11. Committee missions outside the three places of work during the second half of 2017 ................... 23

12. Request from the Committee on Constitutional Affairs to authorise a fact-finding mission to

Copenhagen, Denmark, from 22 to 23 May 2017, within the framework of the implementation

report on the implementation of the Treaty provisions concerning national parliaments ............... 33

13. Request from the Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs to send an ad hoc delegation

of the Financial Assistance Working Group to Athens, Greece, from 26 to 27 June 2017 ............ 35

14. Request from Committees for travel outside the European Union, the candidate countries and

the EEA during the second half of 2017 .......................................................................................... 36

15. Request from the Committee on Budgetary Control to increase the size of the delegation to

Washington DC, USA, from 22 to 26 May 2017 ............................................................................ 56

16. Activities of standing inter-parliamentary delegations for the second half of 2017 ........................ 57

17. Regular items for the scrutiny of the Conference of Presidents ...................................................... 77

17.1 Delegated and implementing acts - Screening of current files ........................................................ 77

17.2 Overview of delegated acts and draft RPS measures currently under EP scrutiny ......................... 78

17.3 First reading agreements - Committee decisions to enter into negotiations and state of play of

files currently under negotiation ...................................................................................................... 79

18.1 Request for the application of Rule 55 by the Committee on Transport and Tourism and

requests for association under Rule 54 by the Committees on the Environment, Public Health

and Food Safety and on Agriculture and Rural Development regarding a legislative report of

the Committee on Industry, Research and Energy on the promotion of the use of energy from

renewable sources ............................................................................................................................ 80

18.2 Request for the application of Rule 55 by the Committee on Transport and Tourism regarding

a legislative report of the Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety on

a proposal for a Regulation amending Directive 2003/87/EC to continue current limitations of

scope for aviation activities and to prepare to implement a global marked-based measure from

2021 .................................................................................................................................................. 81

18.3 Report on the evaluation of external aspects of customs performance and management as a

tool to facilitate trade and fight illicit trade ..................................................................................... 82

19.1 Internal correspondence ................................................................................................................... 83

19.2 Inter-institutional correspondence ................................................................................................... 84

19.3 External correspondence .................................................................................................................. 84

20. Date and place of next meetings ...................................................................................................... 85

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MINUTES

of the meeting of Thursday 11 May 2017

from 11:00 to 13:00 hours

Brussels

The meeting opened at 11:09 hours with Mr Antonio TAJANI,

President of the European Parliament, in the chair

Present

Mr TAJANI, President

Political Group Chairs

Mr WIELAND (Acting) (EPP)

Ms RODRIGUES (Acting) (S&D)

Mr KAMALL (ECR)

Mr VERHOFSTADT (ALDE)

Ms ZIMMER (GUE/NGL)

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

Mr LUNDGREN (Acting) (EFDD)

Mr DE GRAAFF (Co-Chair) (ENF)

Also Present

Mr WELLE, Secretary-General

Mr WINKLER, Deputy Secretary-General

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Invited:

Ms WIKSTRÖM, Chair of the Conference of Committee

Chairs

The Council1

represented by Ms TUTS

Mr KERLEROUX

The Commission1

represented by Mr PINE

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

Policy1

represented by Mr GONZATO

Mr VISENTIN

Mr SPANIER

The Economic and Social Committee1

represented by Mr DELEANU

Mr MITUTA

Office of the President Mr CANGA FANO

Mr CHIOCCHETTI

Mr CORAZZA

Mr WEISS

Office of the Secretary-General Mr MANGOLD

Ms FERNANDEZ PERLES

Ms FREDSGAARD

Mr DE FINANCE

Office of the Deputy Secretary-General

Mr JAVELLE Secretariat DG Presidency (PRES) Mr LANE/Ms ROBSON/Ms GANDOLFO/Mr NATCHERADETZ1/

Ms TARDIOLI-SCHIAVO1/Ms SAILIS1 DG Internal Policies (IPOL)

Mr RIBERA d’ALCALA/Ms VANDENBOSCH/Mr HUBER/

Ms FONTANILI1

1 Present for items 1-3

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DG External Policies (EXPO)

Mr STUTZMANN

DG European Parliamentary Research Services (EPRS)

Mr TEASDALE

DG Communication (COMM)

Mr DUCH GUILLOT/Ms VAN DEN BROEKE

DG Personnel (PERS)

Mr KNUDSEN

DG Infrastructures and Logistics (INLO)

Mr MACHMER

DG Translation (TRAD)

Mr MAVRIČ

DG Finance (FINS)

Mr KLETHI

DG Interpretation and Conferences (INTE)

Ms WALTER-DROP

DG Innovation and Technical Support (ITEC)

Mr DUBOIS

DG Security and Safety (SAFE)

Mr CAROZZA

Legal Service (SJ) Mr DREXLER/Ms MARTINEZ IGLESIAS

Directorate for relations with political groups

Mr SCHWETZ

Secretariat of the Bureau

Mr TZIORKAS

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Political groups

Mr RYNGAERT/Ms PHILIBERT/Ms LASKAVA (EPP)

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

Mr BARRETT/Mr BOYD (ECR)

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

Ms LEPOLA/Ms ASLETT-RYDBJERG (GUE/NGL)

Ms TSETSI/Mr BROUWER/Mr LINAZASORO (Greens/EFA)

Ms LALOUX/Mr TEUSCHER (EFDD)

Mr DE DANNE/Mr HOLZFEIND (ENF)

Mr BORDEZ (NI)

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

to the meeting.

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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 602.170/CPG).

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2. Approval of the draft Minutes of the meeting of 6 April 2017


- noted and approved the draft Minutes of the ordinary meeting of 6 April 2017 that was held

in Strasbourg (PE 599.236/CPG and annex).

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3. Adoption of the final draft agenda for the May I part-session (from 15 to 18 May 2017) and the draft

agenda for the May II part-session (from 31 May to 1 June 2017) – Scheduling of key debates in plenary


- noted the following documents:

the draft agenda for the May I part-session (from 15 to 18 May 2017) in Strasbourg, as

adopted by the Conference of Presidents on 6 April 2017 in Strasbourg;

a provisional table dated 11 May 2017 summarizing committee and delegation meetings

planned for the May I part-session (from 15 May to 18 May 2017) in Strasbourg

(PE 602.274/CPG);

- held an exchange of views with the participation of Mr WIELAND, acting Chair of the EPP

Group, Ms RODRIGUES, acting Chair of the S&D Group, Mr KAMALL, Chair of the ECR

Group, Mr VERHOFSTADT, Chair of the ALDE Group, Ms ZIMMER, Chair of the

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

Ms WIKSTRÖM, Chair of the Conference of Committee Chairs, and, after a vote, adopted

the final draft agenda for the May I 2017 part-session without modification;

- noted and adopted the draft agenda for the May II 2017 part-session with the following

modification:

Thursday, 1 June 2017

- after a vote, decided to add a Commission statement on the situation in the Czech Republic,

in the morning, with the exact title to be specified at a later stage, and invited the Committee

on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs to consider the subject-matter ahead of the

Commission statement in plenary;

- decided that a debate be added to the June 2017 part-session on the rule of law in Malta in

light of recent Panama paper revelations, and that Mr MUSCAT, Prime Minister of Malta, be

invited for that debate.

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4. Communications by the President

4.1 UK withdrawal from the EU


- heard the President report that he had met Ms MAY, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom

of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, in London, United Kingdom, on 28 April 2017, and

that he had conveyed Parliament’s position on the UK withdrawal, following the adoption of

its resolution of 5 April 2017;

- heard the President note that Ms MAY had assured him that the rights of citizens of the EU

and of the UK would be a priority in the negotiations, and that she had acknowledged the key

role of Parliament in the conclusion of the withdrawal agreement and of any agreements on a

future relationship;

- further heard the President report that he had met NGOs engaged in guaranteeing the rights of

EU citizens in the UK, and Mr ROLET, CEO of the London Stock Exchange Group;

- further heard the President report from his speech at the European Council on 29 April 2017,

where he had underlined the main points of Parliament’s resolution of 5 April 2017;

- heard Mr VERHOFSTADT, in his capacity as coordinator of the Conference of Presidents for

the negotiations on the UK withdrawal from the EU, report that Parliament’s steering group

on the UK withdrawal had prepared a letter to the Council Presidency, submitting

recommendations for the Council decision authorising the opening of negotiations for a

withdrawal agreement with the United Kingdom; further heard him highlight the main issues

raised in the letter and note that committee chairs had contributed to its content; and heard

him note that the letter would be circulated to the Group Chairs.

4.2 Conference of the Speakers of the EU Parliaments


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- heard the President report from the Conference of the Speakers of the EU Parliaments, held

in Bratislava, Slovakia, on 23 and 24 April 2017, and that the Conference of Speakers had

agreed to establish a Europol Joint Parliamentary Scrutiny Group, under the provisions set out

in annex to the conclusions of the Speakers’ Conference; and heard him thank Mr DÍAZ DE

MERA GARCÍA CONSUEGRA, Member, and Mr WELLE, Secretary-General, for their

accomplished work in reaching that agreement; and heard him note that the Conference of

Presidents would decide on the composition of Parliament’s delegation to the Joint

Parliamentary Scrutiny Group at a subsequent meeting;

- endorsed the President’s approach.

4.3 30th Anniversary of the Erasmus programme


- heard the President note that he had received a letter from Mr NAVRACSICS, Commissioner

for Education, Culture, Youth and Sport, submitting a proposal to hold an event in plenary on

the occasion of the 30th Anniversary of the Erasmus programme, and a letter from Ms

KAMMEREVERT, Chair of the Committee on Culture and Education, submitting a proposal

for the draft programme of such an event;

- heard the President note that he would make a proposal on the programme at the subsequent

meeting;


4.4 Review of the regulation on the statute and funding of European political parties and foundations


- heard the President report that he had discussed with Mr JUNCKER, President of the

European Commission, a review of the regulation on the statute and funding of European

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political parties and foundations, and that Mr JUNCKER had assured him that the

Commission would present a proposal for a review before the end of the year 2017;

- heard Mr WIELAND, acting Chair of the EPP Group, underline that only a timely proposal

from the Commission would allow for a conclusion of the legislative procedure in due time

to take effect before the European elections in 2019.

4.5 Extraordinary meeting with Mr GUTERRES, Secretary-General of the United Nations


- heard the President note that an extraordinary restricted meeting with Mr GUTERRES,

Secretary-General of the United Nations, would be held on 17 May 2017, from 15.00 to 16.00

hours.

4.6 Conference on the EU strategy on migration


- heard the President stress the necessity for a holistic approach to migration and for a coherent

EU strategy on migration, as stated in the Rome Declaration of 25 March 2017; and heard him

propose that Parliament organise a conference on migration, on 21 June 2017, as input to the

June European Council, showing that Parliament was at the heart of that holistic approach;

further heard him propose that the idea be discussed at a subsequent meeting;

- heard Ms RODRIGUES, acting Chair of the S&D Group, Ms ZIMMER, Chair of the

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

GRAAFF, Co-Chair of the ENF Group, focussed, inter alia, on the involvement of

Parliament’s committees and political groups in that conference, and on Parliament’s input to

the Commission’s work programme in that regard;


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4.7 Guests in forthcoming meetings of the Conference of Presidents


- heard the President note that Mr OETTINGER, Commissioner for Budget and Human

Resources, was invited to the subsequent meeting of the Conference of Presidents for an

exchange of views on the future of EU finances, and that Mr ARTHUIS, Chair of the

Committee on Budgets, would be invited to that exchange of views;

- heard him note that Ms MOGHERINI, High Representative of the European Union for

Foreign Affairs and Security Policy/Vice-President of the European Commission, would be

invited to discuss current international developments and the EU’s global strategy, at the

meeting on 29 June 2017, and that Mr McALLISTER, Chair of the Committee on Foreign

Affairs, and Ms AYALA SENDER, Chair of the Conference of Delegation Chairs, would be

invited to that meeting;

- further heard the President note that Mr LEHNE, President of the European Court of Auditors

(ECA), would be invited to discuss the reform of the ECA and cooperation with the European

Parliament, at the meeting on 28 September 2017;


4.8 Guest speakers in plenary


- heard the President note that he had invited Mr MACRON, President-elect of the French

Republic, to speak in plenary;

- further heard him note that Mr KISKA, President of Slovakia, had expressed his interest to

address plenary, and that he could be invited for the November I 2017 part-session;


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5. Proposal for a mandate to negotiate an Inter-institutional Agreement establishing a mandatory

transparency register covering the Parliament, Council and Commission

The item was postponed, by majority vote, to the subsequent meeting.

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6. Requests from parliamentary committees to draw up own-initiative reports under Rule 52, and requests

for application of Rule 54, and related requests

The Conference of Presidents, without debate

- took note of two letters from Ms WIKSTRÖM, Chair of the Conference of Committee Chairs

(CCC), dated 25 April 2017 (PE 602.213/CPG and annexes) and 2 May 2017

(PE 602.231/CPG and annex), submitting requests from parliamentary committees for

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

Rule 54 of Parliament’s Rules of Procedure (RoP);

- took note of the request for authorisation for one legislative own-initiative report under

heading A (subject to authorisation and out of quota) from the TRAN Committee entitled

“Odometer manipulation in motor vehicles: revision of the EU legal framework” and

authorised it to be drawn up;

- took note of the request for authorisation for five non-legislative own-initiative reports under

heading C (subject to authorisation and quota) from the INTA, ECON, LIBE, PETI and

TRAN Committees and authorised them to be drawn up;

- noted and endorsed the agreement on the application of Rule 54 reached between the PETI

and LIBE Committees, whereby the LIBE Committee was associated to the PETI own-

initiative report entitled “EU Citizenship Report 2017: Strengthening Citizens’ Rights in a

Union of Democratic Change”;

- noted the agreement reached between the INTA, ITRE, IMCO and LIBE Committees to

involve ITRE, IMCO and LIBE under the so-called “Rule 53+” procedure on the proposed

INTA own-initiative report entitled “Towards a digital trade strategy”;

- noted the agreement reached between the LIBE, ECON, ITRE and IMCO Committees on

the revised title of the LIBE own-initiative report to read “The fight against Cybercrime”;

- noted and endorsed the drawing up of three annual activity and monitoring reports under

heading D (under automatic authorisation, two of which out of quota) by the INTA, BUDG

and ECON Committees;

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- noted that, pursuant to Annex 1 of the rules on the procedure for granting authorisation to

draw up own-initiative reports, the ECON Committee would be associated under Rule 54 to

the BUDG own-initiative report on “Annual Report on the Financial Activities of the

European Investment Bank”;

- noted and endorsed the drawing-up of one implementation report under heading E (under

automatic authorisation and out of quota) by the IMCO Committee;

- noted and endorsed the drawing-up by the AFET and INTA Committees of two

Recommendations to the Council, the Commission and the EEAS on the negotiations on the

EU-Azerbaijan Comprehensive Agreement, and on the negotiations of the modernisation of

the trade pillar of the EU-Chile Association Agreement, respectively, pursuant to Rule 108

of Parliament’s RoP;

- noted the request from the ECON Committee to consider all ECON annual activity and

monitoring reports, listed in Annex 1 of the rules on the procedure for granting authorisation

to draw up own-initiative reports, notably the “Annual report on the financial activities of

the European Investment Bank” (ECON and BUDG Committees every second year), the

“European Central Bank annual report” and the “Annual report on Competition Policy”, as

out of quota;

- recalled that the rules on own-initiative reports had been recently amended by the

Conference of Presidents, on 7 April 2016 and by corrigendum on 15 July 2016, on the basis

of a recommendation from the CCC, and decided to deal with the ECON request in due

course, within the framework of a possible future revision of the relevant rules on

own-initiative reports.

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7. Request for association under Rule 55 by the Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Food

Safety regarding a legislative report of the Committee on Industry, Research and Energy on the

governance of the energy union


- took note of a letter dated 26 April 2017 from Ms WIKSTRÖM, Chair of the Conference of

Committee Chairs (CCC), submitting a request for association under Rule 55 by the Committee

on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety (ENVI) regarding a legislative report of the

Committee on Industry, Research and Energy (ITRE) entitled “Proposal for a Regulation of the

European Parliament and of the Council on the Governance of the Energy Union”

(COM(2016)0759/2 - 2016/0375(COD)) (PE 602.217/CPG and annexes);

- noted that it had not been possible to find a solution acceptable to all the committees concerned;

- took note of the recommendation from the Chair of the CCC that the ENVI Committee be

associated to the ITRE legislative report on the Governance of the Energy Union under Rule 55;

- endorsed the recommendation of the Chair of the CCC.

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8. Appointment of Parliament’s representative to the Administrative Board of the European Global

Navigation Satellite System Agency


- took note of a letter dated 27 April 2017 from Mr BUZEK, Chair of the Committee on

Industry, Research and Energy (ITRE), concerning the appointment of Parliament’s

representative to the Administrative Board of the European Global Navigation Satellite System

Agency (GNSS) (PE 602.229/CPG);

- recalled that, under Article 5 of Regulation (EU) No 912/2010 setting up the European GNSS

Agency, as amended by Regulation (EU) No 512/204, Parliament should appoint one

non-voting representative for a four-year term, renewable once;

- recalled that, at its meeting on 21 October 2014, the Conference of Presidents had endorsed

the nomination of Mr Antonio TAJANI as Parliament's representative on the Administrative

Board of the GNSS Agency, and Ms Krystyna ŁYBACKA as his substitute for a four-year

term;

- noted that, following the election of Mr TAJANI as Parliament’s President, the ITRE

coordinators had recommended appointing Mr Marian-Jean MARINESCU as Parliament’s

representative on the Administrative Board of the GNSS Agency, replacing Mr TAJANI, and

appointing Ms Constanze KREHL as his substitute;

- recalled that, in line with the rules on the designation by the European Parliament of members

of the management boards of the specialised agencies and bodies, the persons designated as

members of Management Boards of specialised agencies and bodies should be external

experts and not Parliament’s Members;

- recalled that, in line with established practice and under the relevant rules of the specialised

agencies and bodies of the European Union, the expenses incurred by representatives

appointed by Parliament to specialised agencies and bodies, when participating in meetings

of Administrative or Management Boards, were reimbursed by the specialised agencies

themselves;

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- nevertheless, on an exceptional basis, endorsed the appointment of Mr MARINESCU, full

member, and Ms KREHL, substitute member, as Parliament’s representatives on the

Administrative Board of the GNSS Agency for the remainder of the current term ending on

20 October 2018;

- invited the President to inform the Commission and the Chair of the Administrative Board of

the GNSS Agency accordingly.

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9. Composition of Parliament’s special committee for access to sensitive information in the field of

security and defence policy - replacement of a member


- took note of a letter dated 26 April 2017 from Mr McALLISTER, Chair of the Committee on

Foreign Affairs, submitting the nomination of a Member for Parliament's special committee for

access to sensitive information in the field of security and defence policy (PE 602.227/CPG);

- recalled its decisions of 27 November 2014 and 1 October 2015 on the composition of the special

committee;

- recalled that Mr HOWITT, former Member, had resigned from Parliament at the end of 2016;

- noted that Ms VALENCIANO had been nominated by the coordinators of the Committee on

Foreign Affairs to replace Mr HOWITT as a member of the special committee;

- recalled that members of the special committee needed to be duly authorised in order to access

classified information, in accordance with the applicable rules;

- endorsed the nomination and invited the President to communicate that decision to the High

Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy/Vice-President of the

Commission.

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10. Request from the Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs to organise an

Inter-parliamentary Committee Meeting on the “Establishment of an EU mechanism on democracy,

the rule of law and fundamental rights” in Brussels on 22 June 2017


- took note of a letter dated 18 April 2017 from Mr MORAES, Chair of the Committee on Civil

Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs (LIBE), requesting authorisation for an Inter-parliamentary

Committee Meeting (ICM) on the “Establishment of an EU mechanism on democracy, the rule

of law and fundamental rights”, in Brussels, on 22 June 2017 (PE 602.211/CPG, programme and

financial statement);

- noted that the meeting had not been included in the draft 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, pursuant to Parliament’s resolution of 25 October 2016 on the EU mechanism on

democracy, the rule of law and fundamental rights, and its annex on the conclusion of a Union

Pact on democracy, the rule of law and fundamental rights (EU Pact for DRF), an annual inter-

parliamentary debate on the European DRF report should take place;

- noted that the ICM was scheduled to take place within an ordinary meeting of the LIBE

Committee and that interpretation into four languages additional to the ordinary interpretation

regime of the Committee was requested;

- noted that the request was consistent with the recommendations set out by the steering group on

national parliaments concerning the planning of inter-parliamentary activities and, therefore,

approved the meeting.

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11. Committee missions outside the three places of work during the second half of 2017


- took note of a letter dated 12 April 2017 from Ms WIKSTRÖM, Chair of the Conference of

Committee Chairs, forwarding the draft programme for travel by committees outside the three

places of work and inside the European Union, candidate countries and EEA countries during

the second half of 2017 (PE 602.199/CPG, annexes and financial statement);

- recalled the Rules governing committee missions outside Parliament’s three places of work

within the European Union, candidate countries and the EEA countries, as last updated by the

Bureau at its meeting of 15 December 2014;

General principles and budgetary considerations

- recalled that committees should plan their missions during weeks set aside for external

parliamentary activities (week 29, 34, 38, 44 and 51) within the framework of a six-month

programme, and that additional requests could only be exceptional and in response to recent

unexpected and unpredictable events and circumstances;

- noted that the Rules did not oblige committees to use their entire quota for travel and

encouraged them to set aside part of it in order to be able to request an additional mission if

necessary, in line with Article 8(3) of these Rules;

- encouraged all committees to consider making greater use of the opportunities provided by

video-conferencing, with the objective of improving interaction and flexibility in their

contacts with their parliamentary counterparts as well as reducing costs and carbon emissions;

- recalled that available quota was not in itself a sufficient justification to plan a mission, and

underlined that committee missions outside the three places of work must be duly justified

and have a direct link with topics dealing with the current work of the committees concerned;

- recalled Parliament's resolution of 22 October 2014 on the Council position on the draft

general budget for the EU for the financial year 2015 in which Parliament "welcomes the

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decision of the Joint Working Group to recommend Members to use economy class flights for

short journeys";

- recalled that committee visits to the Agencies for which they were responsible should, in line

with Article 2(4) of the applicable Rules, be restricted to a maximum of three Members, and

should be scheduled during the weeks set aside for external parliamentary activities; and that

the committee chair could only join in addition subject to the provisions of Article 22(3) of

the Implementing Measures for the Statute for Members, governing additional travel

expenses;

- recalled that the provisions set out in Article 4 of the applicable Rules allowed accompanying

Members to travel with committees only on missions inside the European Union;

accompanying Members could not travel on missions outside the European Union or to

candidate countries, or join any ad hoc delegations or visits to Agencies; any authorisation for

accompanying Members to travel under Article 4(1)(b) and (c) of these Rules would be subject

to approval of the committee concerned, the availability of appropriations for the Members

concerned under Article 22(1) of the Implementing Measures for the Statute for Members and

prior authorisation by the Bureau;

- encouraged committees to restrict the number of accompanying staff to a minimum and

emphasised that, notwithstanding the provisions of Article 15(1) of the applicable Rules, the

number of accompanying staff should not exceed the number of Members travelling;

- recalled that Members' assistants (accredited and/or local) should neither participate in nor

accompany a mission, nor accompany a Member participating in such a mission, as stated in

Article 15(1) of the Rules in force and as reiterated in the Bureau decision of 7 October 2013;

- noted that security arrangements for all missions outside Parliament’s three place of work

should be consistent with the principles set out in Article 16 of the applicable Rules and

notably in its Annex (Protocol on emergencies arising during official travel activities outside

the three places of work);

- noted that for missions to countries identified as high alert and critical destinations (based on

the lists provided and regularly updated by the EEAS) as well as those with hostile security

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environments, a mission security assessment must be produced, including, where necessary,

mitigation measures or binding instructions adapted to the security situation on the ground, to

be respected in order to allow the mission to go ahead;

- requested the various committees, in application of Article 10 of the applicable Rules, to

forward to the President, in good time prior to the missions, the respective programmes,

indicating their total duration (including journey times) and providing full information

concerning the number of Members participating in the mission (both official and

accompanying) and the number of secretariat and group staff;

- underlined that, should committees decide to cancel one of their missions and replace it with

another, they should send a new request to the President, providing all necessary information

on the mission, as well as a new financial statement and information on the available quota at

the time of travel;

- emphasised the consistent position of both the Conference of Presidents and the Bureau, that

the duration of missions should be calculated on the basis of calendar days;

- recalled that, in principle, the duration of missions should not exceed three calendar days,

including journey times (Article 7(1) of the applicable Rules) and that only in exceptional

cases, if it was necessary to undertake a long journey or if links to the destination were poor,

a mission might be granted up to two calendar days additional journey time, as stipulated in

Article 7 (2) of the applicable Rules;

- pointed out that missions to locations “outside Parliament's three places of work” meant

missions outside Parliament's own premises and that visits to other places than the European

Parliament in Brussels, Strasbourg or Luxembourg, such as to the European Court of Justice

in Luxembourg or to the Council of Europe in Strasbourg, would be counted against the

respective committees' annual quota, with the exception of those visits which were based on

Treaty provisions (for example budgetary and legislative trilogues);

Calendar of committee travel for the second half of 2017 - welcomed the fact that 37 out of 39 missions requested were scheduled during the weeks set

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aside for external parliamentary activities;

- noted that a number of committee missions listed below had been planned in weeks set aside

for external parliamentary activities, with defined dates not exceeding three days including

travel time, nor exceeding the available quota as well as respecting all the applicable rules and

could therefore be recommended to be authorised;

o ECON, Lisbon, Portugal, 8 Members plus Chair, from 30 to 31 October 2017;

o EMPL, Bilbao, Spain, agency visit to the European Agency for Safety and Health at

Work (EU-OSHA), 3 Members (out of quota in line with Article 2 (4)), from 17 to 18

July 2017, for a maximum of three days including travel time;

o ENVI, Parma, Italy, agency visit to the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA), 3

Members (out of quota in line with Article 2 (4)), from 18 to 19 December 2017;

o TRAN, Region of Jämtland, Sweden, 6 Members plus Chair, from 17 to 19 July 2017

(3 days including travel);

o PECH, Rostock/Stralsund and Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany, 5 Members, from

17 to 19 July 2017;

o LIBE, Budapest, Hungary, agency visit to the European Agency for Law Enforcement

Training (CEPOL), 3 Members (out of quota in line with Article 2 (4)), from 18 to 19

September 2017;

o LIBE, The Hague, The Netherlands, agency visit to Eurojust, 3 Members (out of quota

in line with Article 2 (4)), from 20 to 21 September 2017;

o PETI, Taranto, Italy, 6 Members, from 17 to 19 July 2017;

o PETI, Lanarca, Cyprus, 6 Members, from 20 to 22 September 2017;

- noted that a number of committee missions had been scheduled to take place during weeks set

aside for external parliamentary activities without exceeding three days including travel time,

without specifying the exact dates of travel and/or the number of Members participating; and

agreed that, unless there were other specific remarks made in this decision under “Specific

comments” with respect to these missions, once the exact dates and the number of Members,

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respecting the annual quota of the committee concerned, as well as the mission programme

had been submitted by the respective committee to the President, in good time prior to the

mission, and under the condition that each request fully complied with the Rules in force, i.e.

duration of the mission, etc., the President might authorise those requests by letter; recalled

that all other requests required individual authorisation in line with the Rules in force;

o DROI, FYROM, 7 Members plus Chair (dates to be confirmed for a week set aside for

external parliamentary activities, without exceeding three days including travel time);

o SEDE, Rome, Catania and Naples, Italy, 3 Members plus Chair, during week 29 (dates

to be confirmed, provided it did not exceed three days including travel time); the mission

had been authorised for the first semester 2017 but needed to be postponed, and it was

now proposed to combine it with a visit to the headquarters of Frontex Triton in Rome

and to the Regional headquarters in Catania, Sicily;

o CONT, The Hague, The Netherlands, agency visit to Europol, 3 Members (out of quota

in line with Article 2 (4), during week 38 (dates to be confirmed for two days including

travel time);

o EMPL, Madrid, Spain, 7 Members, during week 38 (dates to be confirmed, not

exceeding three days including travel time);

o REGI, Cluj-Napoca, Romania, 9 Members plus Chair, during week 38 (exact dates to

be confirmed, not exceeding three days including travel time );

o REGI, Sofia and Burgas, Bulgaria, 9 Members plus Chair, during week 44 (exact dates

to be confirmed, not exceeding three days including travel time);

o EMPL, Sofia, Bulgaria, 6 Members, during week 44 (dates to be confirmed, not

exceeding three days including travel time);

o ENVI, Porto Marghera, Italy and Gardanne, France, 5 Members plus Chair, during week

29 or 38 (dates to be confirmed, not exceeding three days including travel time);

o ENVI, Warsaw, Katowice, Lodz, Lagiska, Poland, 5 Members plus Chair, during week

38 or 44 (dates to be confirmed, not exceeding three days including travel time);

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o ITRE, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, 10 Members plus Chair, during week 38

(dates to be confirmed, not exceeding three days including travel time);

o ITRE, Heraklion, Greece, agency visit to the European Union Agency for Network and

Information Security (ENISA), 3 Members (out of quota in line with Article 2 (4) during

week 38 (exact dates to be confirmed, not exceeding three days including travel time),

the mission had been authorised for the first half 2017 but had to be postponed;

o ITRE, Ljubljana, Slovenia, agency visit to the Agency for the Cooperation of Energy

Regulators (ACER), 3 Members (out of quota in line with Article 2 (4) during week 38

(dates to be confirmed, not exceeding three days including travel time);

Specific comments

Visits to the Member State holding the rotating EU Council Presidency

- noted that during the second half of 2017, IMCO, TRAN, REGI, CULT and LIBE

Committees had planned visits to Bulgaria holding the rotating EU Council Presidency for the

first half 2018;

- recalled that, at its meeting on 21 November 2016, the Bureau had taken the view that visits

to countries holding the EU Council Presidency were not always justified; recalled that,

therefore, it had invited committees in their future planning to favour meetings with the

relevant representatives within the framework of regular committee meetings instead, which

would also allow the increased participation of Members;

- noted that, in principle, committee missions to Member States holding or taking over the

rotating EU Council Presidency might be justified, if these missions were undertaken in

relation to major high-level conferences in these Member States;

Visits to the United Kingdom

- recalled that, at its meeting on 6 April 2017, the Conference of Presidents had decided that

committee travel to the United Kingdom should be suspended until further notice in order to

ensure the coherence of Parliament’s position in view of the negotiations of the withdrawal of

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the United Kingdom from the EU, in accordance with the principle of sequencing as adopted

by Parliament in its resolution of 5 April 2017;

- noted that the requests listed below had been included in the draft programme for the second

half 2017;

o ENVI, London, United Kingdom, 3 Members plus Chair, to attend the 71st session of

the IMO Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC 71) during week 27

(3 days including travel time), noted that even though it was being held in London, this

was an international conference and that the dates, set by the counterparts, coincided

with a period set aside for the July 2017 part-session;

o BUDG, Belfast, Northern-Ireland, 11 Members plus Chair, during week 38 (exact dates

to be confirmed), to give BUDG Members first-hand information on budgetary and

financial implications of the UK withdrawal; recalled that the Bureau, at its meeting on

21 November 2016, had authorised the sending of the mission to take place during week

21;

o AFCO, London and Edinburgh, United Kingdom, up to 7 Members, during week

29 (exact dates to be confirmed), to exchange views on the main constitutional and

institutional aspects of the negotiations on the withdrawal and on the future relationship

between the EU and the United Kingdom;

o AFCO, Dublin and Belfast, Ireland and Northern-Ireland, up to 7 Members, during week

44 (exact dates to be confirmed), to exchange views on the specific problems and

challenges that Ireland and the territory of Northern-Ireland could face in view of the

withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the EU;

- therefore, in line with its decision of 6 April 2017, withheld its recommendation to the Bureau

for the BUDG and AFCO requests;

- nevertheless, noted that the ENVI mission, independently from its venue, should be regarded

as Parliament’s participation at an international conference and could, therefore, be

recommended for authorisation, and that the absence of its participating Members from the

plenary could be excused, on the understanding that the mission would not exceed three days

including travel time;

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Subcommittee on Security and Defence (SEDE)

- SEDE, Saint-Louis, France and Freiburg, Germany, 3 Members plus Chair (dates to be

confirmed, following a Strasbourg part-session), recommended that the proposed mission be

authorised on the understanding that the participating Members would leave Strasbourg on

the Thursday after the end of the part-session and that it should be subject to a limited

interpretation regime, in line with Article 6(2) of the applicable Rules;

Committee on Budgetary Control (CONT)

- CONT, Budapest, Hungary, 7 Members plus Chair, during week 38 (exact dates to be

confirmed and four days including travel time requested); recommended to authorise provided

that the mission did not exceed three days including travel time, in line with the rules;

- CONT, Helsinki, Lapland, Finland, 7 Members plus Chair, from 31 October to 3 November

2017 (4 days including travel requested); recommended to authorise, provided that the mission

did not exceed three days including travel time;

Committee on Internal Market and Consumer Protection (IMCO)

- IMCO, Sofia, Bulgaria, up to 12 Members, from 18 to 21 December 2017 (4 days including

travel time requested); noted that the mission would focus on the Services package and the

IMCO's legislative agenda in 2018; recommended that the request be declined;

Committee on Transport and Tourism (TRAN)

- TRAN, Sofia, Varna and Burgas, Bulgaria, 6 Members plus Chair, from 18 to 20 September

2017; noted that the purpose of the mission, even if it took place in a country taking over the

Presidency in the first half 2018, would be to concentrate on scrutinising EU transport policy

in relation to intermodal transport terminals and to discuss the implementation of major

transport infrastructure projects with Bulgarian authorities, in particular those linked to the

TEN-T corridor Rhine-Danube; recommended to authorise, provided that the mission did not

exceed three days including travel time;

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Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development (AGRI)

- AGRI, Dubrovnik, Split, Zadar and Pula, Croatia, 11 Members, during week 38 (dates to be

confirmed, not exceeding three days including travel time); withheld its recommendation

pending the submission of a more detailed programme with consistent planning for the four

different venues;

Committee on Fisheries (PECH)

- PECH, Guadeloupe, France (DOM), 6 Members, from 30 October to 3 November 2017; noted

that two additional days travel time had been requested and that according to article 7 (2) of

the applicable rules, only in exceptional cases, if it were necessary to undertake a long journey

or if links to the destination were poor, a mission might be granted up to two days additional

journey time; therefore recommended to authorise it as requested;

Committee on Culture and Education (CULT)

- CULT, Veliko Tarnovo and Varna, Bulgaria, 7 Members plus Chair, from 18 to 20 September

2017; recommended to authorise the request;

Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs (LIBE)

- LIBE, exact destination to be confirmed, Bulgaria, 7 Members, from 30 October to

1 November 2017; withheld its recommendation pending the submission of a more detailed

programme;

Committee on Women's Rights and Gender Equality (FEMM)

- FEMM, Lisbon and Funchal, Portugal, 6 Members, during week 38 (exact dates to be

confirmed); recommended to authorise it, provided that the annual quota was respected and

that the mission did not exceed three days including travel time;

- FEMM, exact destination to be confirmed, Turkey, up to 7 Members, during week 44; noted

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that the mission had to be considered at a later stage, in the light of the evolution of the internal

situation in Turkey and on the basis of a more detailed programme;

- FEMM, Stockholm, to be confirmed, Sweden, up to 7 Members, during week 51 (subject to

the remaining available quota); recommended to authorise it, provided that the annual quota

was respected and that the mission did not exceed three days including travel time;

Committee of enquiry on Money laundering, tax avoidance and tax evasion (PANA)

- PANA, Nicosia, Cyprus, 11 Members, from 6 to 7 July 2017; recalled that a TAXE 2 nine

Member delegation had gone to Nicosia, Cyprus, on 15 April 2016; recalled that, at its meeting

on 6 April 2017, on an exceptional basis, it had already recommended authorisation for the

sending of a PANA mission, above the available annual quota, to Portugal, on 22 and 23 June

2017; noted that the dates coincided with the Thursday of the July 2017 part-session in

Strasbourg and with one day without parliamentary activity; nevertheless, on an exceptional

basis, recommended to authorise the mission to Nicosia, Cyprus, above the available annual

quota, provided that the interpretation regime would be limited to one language only;

* * *

- noted that the overall cost for missions by committees outside Parliament's three places of

work within the European Union, candidate and EEA countries for the period from July to

December 2017 had been calculated at € 945,831;

- recommended that the draft programme of committee missions within the European Union,

candidate and EEA countries for the period from July to December 2017 be endorsed, under

the conditions set out above;

- forwarded the draft programme to the Bureau, together with its recommendations and specific

comments, for final decision.

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12. Request from the Committee on Constitutional Affairs to authorise a fact-finding mission to

Copenhagen, Denmark, from 22 to 23 May 2017, within the framework of the implementation report

on the implementation of the Treaty provisions concerning national parliaments


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

Constitutional Affairs (AFCO), requesting authorisation for a fact-finding mission to

Copenhagen, Denmark, from 22 to 23 May 2017, within the framework of the implementation

report on the implementation of the Treaty provisions concerning national parliaments

(PE 602.184/CPG, annex and financial statement);

- noted that the requested fact-finding mission had been planned within the framework of the

drawing-up of the AFCO implementation report on the implementation of Treaty provisions

concerning national parliaments, which was endorsed by the Conference of Presidents on

7 July 2016;

- 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;

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

be authorised under the relevant rules governing the committee missions outside the three

places of work of the European Parliament, on the basis of individual requests including the

related programme and financial statement;

- 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, not to exceed interpretation into one language;

- noted that the dates of the fact-finding mission to Copenhagen coincided with two days set

aside for external parliamentary activities (Monday and Tuesday of week 21);

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- therefore, endorsed the request and forwarded its recommendation to the Bureau for final

decision.

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13. Request from the Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs to send an ad hoc delegation of the

Financial Assistance Working Group to Athens, Greece, from 26 to 27 June 2017


- took note of a letter dated 31 March 2017 from Mr GUALTIERI, Chair of the Committee on

Economic and Monetary Affairs (ECON), requesting authorisation to send a twelve Member

delegation, travelling out of quota, including four Members elected in Greece, to Athens,

Greece, from 26 to 27 June 2017 (including travel time), within the framework of an increased

parliamentary scrutiny of financial assistance programmes (PE 602.162/CPG and financial

statement);

- recalled its decision of 21 January 2016 to endorse the proposal from the ECON Committee

for modalities to ensure the democratic control of the implementation of macro-economic

adjustment programmes;

- further noted that the purpose of the Financial Assistance Working Group mission was to

follow-up on last year’s mission of March 2016 to Athens, to take stock of recent

developments since the year before;

- noted that the dates proposed coincided with one day set aside for parliamentary committee

activities (Monday) and one day set aside for political group activities (Tuesday);

- heard Mr LUNDGREN, acting Chair of EFDD Group;

- after a vote, endorsed, by a large majority, the sending of a mission of twelve Members of the

Financial Assistant Working Group, including four accompanying Members elected in

Greece, to Athens, Greece, counted against a specific quota for the FAWG, on the

understanding that the composition would take due account of Parliament’s political balance,

and forwarded its recommendation to the Bureau for final decision.

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14. Request from Committees for travel outside the European Union, the candidate countries and the EEA

during the second half of 2017


- took note of the following documents:

a letter dated 12 April 2017 from Ms WIKSTRÖM, Chair of the Conference of

Committee Chairs, forwarding the draft programme for travel by committees outside

the three places of work and outside the European Union, candidate countries and EEA

countries during the second half of 2017 (PE 602.200/CPG, annexes and financial

statement);

Implementing provisions governing the work of delegations and missions outside the

European Union (in its version applicable as of 1 January 2017, as per Conference of

Presidents decision of 29 October 2015);

General principles and budgetary considerations

- recalled the Implementing provisions governing the work of delegations and missions outside

the European Union, as adopted by the Conference of Presidents on 29 October 2015;

- noted that the Chair of the Conference of the Committee Chairs had underlined that the

submitted draft programme included Committees’ requests to respect the rules laid down by

the implementing provisions;

- stressed, however, that a number of requests were above the number of seven Members of

which, as a rule, ad hoc delegations should be made up, including the delegation chair and the

standing rapporteur(s) concerned;

- noted with concern that there was a significant number of requests for missions and ad hoc

delegations and that, in addition to the activities proposed in the six-month programmes, over

the last few months requests for authorisation of additional missions or ad hoc delegations had

being submitted for approval throughout the year;

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- recalled that committees and delegations should plan their missions during weeks set aside for

external parliamentary activities (week 29, 34, 38, 44 and 51) within the framework of a six-

month programme and that additional requests could only be exceptional and in response to

recent unexpected and unpredictable events and circumstances;

- recalled that committees had no quota for travel outside the European Union, candidate

countries and EEA countries; and underlined that committee missions outside the three places

of work should be duly justified and have a direct link with topics dealing with the current

work of the committees concerned;

- recalled the need to continue a policy of budgetary restraint without jeopardising Parliament's

capacity to fulfil its legal and political obligations, as set out in the Treaties and in international

law;

- stressed that a responsible and efficient use of resources implied that the cancellation of

meetings and missions would also be communicated in due time to the services concerned to

avoid unnecessary costs and possibly to allow re-allocation to other bodies and activities;

- noted that the overall estimated cost for travel by parliamentary committees outside the

European Union, outside candidate countries and EEA countries for the period from July to

September 2017 had been calculated at € 2,785,068;

- invited all committees to focus on missions linked to the on-going legislative or scrutiny

agenda, consequently limiting their numbers, in order to avoid future programming and

financial difficulties;

- encouraged all committees to consider making greater use of the opportunities provided by

video-conferencing, with the objective of improving interaction and flexibility in their

contacts with their parliamentary counterparts as well as reducing costs and carbon emissions;

and encouraged committee rapporteurs to attend incoming parliamentary meetings;

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- recalled Parliament's resolution of 22 October 2014 on the Council position on the draft

general budget for the EU for the financial year 2015 in which Parliament "welcomes the

decision of the Joint Working Group to recommend Members to use economy class flights for

short journeys"; recalled that, under Article 21 of the Implementing provisions, ad hoc

delegations should, as a rule, be made up of seven members appointed by the political groups

in accordance with the rolling d’Hondt system, which should also apply to non-attached

Members, and that the Conference of Presidents, however, might, under specific

circumstances, authorise the sending of an ad hoc delegation with more or fewer than seven

members;

- recalled that Article 21 (1) second indent of the implementing provision stated that ad hoc

delegation might include the Chair of any standing delegation concerned and where a

committee rapporteur had been appointed for the country or subject concerned, he or she

should also be included in the ad hoc delegation, and only if the political group to which the

delegation chair or committee rapporteur belonged had not received a place under the rolling

d’Hondt system, the corresponding place should be automatically added at the request of the

political group concerned; and stressed that there was no provision for the addition of

committee chairs nor for allowing accompanying Members;

- noted, however, that, following a request from the political groups, if committees had so

requested, their chair should be added to the ad hoc delegation, in addition to the seven

members; further noted that that decision was taken on an exceptional basis and for the

adoption of the draft programme for travel by committees outside the three places of work and

outside the European Union, candidate countries and EEA countries during the second half of

2017 only, without setting a precedent for forthcoming travel by committees;

- recalled its invitation to all committees to set up and use their own rolling d’Hondt system for

all requests for committee ad hoc missions which fall under Article 21 (2) of the Implementing

provisions;

- recalled that, under Article 21 (2) of the Implementing provisions, parliamentary committees

might also submit duly justified requests to the Conference of Presidents to send an ad hoc

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delegation to:

- international conferences;

- international organisations for which they were responsible according to Annex

VI of the Rules of Procedure;

- third countries to meet specialised counterparts on specific issues linked to the

ongoing legislative or scrutiny agenda provided that such delegations:

- dealt with a topic falling within the sphere of responsibility of the

committee concerned;

- were highly relevant to the future development of European policy or

legislation in the area concerned;

- enabled the members of the delegation to be fully involved in the programme,

taking account of the institutional rules in force;

- participating members came from the committees concerned;

- recalled that under Article 21 (4) of the Implementing provisions, it was requested to submit

a written report to the Conference of Presidents and to the committee(s) concerned detailing,

where relevant, the extent to which the objectives of the mission had been met;

- emphasised the importance of cooperation between parliamentary committees and

inter-parliamentary delegations, in particular when planning missions to third countries;

welcomed in this respect that the draft programme of committee missions had taken account

of the draft programme of inter-parliamentary delegations for the second half of 2017;

- welcomed that a number of committees had made efforts to coordinate their programme of

activities among each other, in order to limit the number of overlaps in missions;

- noted that most ad hoc delegations were scheduled in weeks set aside for external

parliamentary activities and that justifications had been provided for all ad hoc delegations in

line with Article 21(2) of the implementing provisions;

- restated that delegations should restrict the number of accompanying staff to a minimum, and

recalled that, notwithstanding the applicable provisions, the number of accompanying staff

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should not exceed the number of Members travelling;

- recalled that Members' assistants (accredited and/or local) should neither participate in, nor

accompany a mission, nor accompany a Member participating in such a mission, as stated in

Article 13 (1) of the applicable Rules;

- welcomed the fact that the draft programme of ad hoc delegations by parliamentary

committees clearly indicated either the departure and return dates or the number of days on

the ground and the number of days set aside for travel, and noted that the decision was based

solely on the information provided in the draft six-month programme;

- recalled that any additional request or amendment required a specific individual authorisation

by the Conference of Presidents, on the basis of a new request which should contain all the

necessary elements for authorisation, including a financial statement;

- noted that security arrangements for delegations in third countries should be consistent with

the principles set out in Article 17 of the Implementing provisions governing the work of

delegations and missions outside the European Union, notably in Annex IV of the Rules

(Protocol on emergencies arising during official travel activities outside the three places of

work);

- stressed that all delegations, including the Delegation to the ACP-EU JPA, as confirmed by

the opinion of Parliament’s legal service dated 24 November 2016, were only authorised to

travel on the condition that the security situation on the ground was satisfactory and that the

safety of Members and accompanying staff could be regarded as sufficiently guaranteed;






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- requested the various committees, in application of the Rules in force, to forward to the

President, in good time prior to the missions, the respective programmes, indicating their total

duration (including journey times) and providing full information concerning the number of

Members participating in the mission;

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

journey times (Article 10 (1) of the applicable Rules), and that only in exceptional cases, if it

was necessary to undertake a long journey or if links to the destination were poor, a mission

might be granted up to two days additional journey time, as stipulated in Article 10 (2) of the

applicable Rules;

Calendar of committee travel for the second half of 2017

- welcomed the fact that, out of the 39 ad hoc delegations for which authorisation was requested,

only four were not scheduled during weeks set aside for external parliamentary activities, and

three of those were related to international events for which the Parliament could not influence

the dates;

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

July

DEVE, New York, United States of America, 6 Members, from 16 to 20 July 2017 (5 days):

noted that the High-Level Political Forum (HLPF) on Sustainable Development was the

UN system’s central platform for the follow-up and review of the 2030 Agenda for

Sustainable Development and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs); noted the 2017

HLPF, convened by UN ECOSOC, would have as its theme ‘Eradicating poverty and

promoting prosperity in a changing world’ and that this theme was central to DEVE

committee work, presenting an important opportunity for DEVE Members to review global

progress and joining the EU delegation at the HLPF to represent Parliament; authorised the

sending of an ad hoc delegation of six Members, provided that the mission did not exceed

five days including travel time;

AFET, Rabat and possibly another location in central Morocco, Morocco, 7 Members plus

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Chair, from 17 to 21 July 2017 (5 days): noted that the AFET mission to Morocco aimed

at re-establishing dialogue at political level, in support of the VP/HR Mogherini and

Commissioner Hahn’s efforts to re-launch cooperation; noted that Morocco was the second

largest beneficiary of the European Neighbourhood Instrument (ENI) for the current

period; further noted that, as a result of recent developments, the programming of activities

of EU cooperation for the next period 2018-2020 had been postponed and that The Strategic

Dialogue on Morocco, organised with the European Commission on the political priorities

of EU cooperation financed by the ENI, had to be deferred to the second semester 2017;

noted that it was also requested to hold the 8th EU-Morocco JPC in Morocco during the

same week; therefore invited the AFET committee to liaise with the BUDG committee and

the Delegation for relations with Maghreb countries to include their standing rapporteurs,

and authorised the sending of an ad hoc delegation of seven Members plus Chair, provided

that the mission did not exceed five days including travel time;

DROI, Manila and other possible destination, The Philippines, 7 Members plus Chair,

during week 29, from 17 to 21 July 2017 (5 days plus travel time): recalled that a seven

Members plus Chair ad hoc delegation for five days, including travel time, was authorised

to take place during the first half of 2017 but had to be postponed; noted that the aim of the

ad hoc delegation remained to follow-up on Parliament’s resolutions on the Philippines of

June and September 2016 and March 2017, highlighting a number of serious human rights

shortcomings and underlining the importance of support from the EU for progress to be

made in these areas, and to allow for an in-depth assessment of the human rights situation

on the ground and for engagement with Filipino interlocutors, including parliamentarians,

on areas of mutual interest in the field of human rights and the rule of law; noted that after

the Delegation for relations with the countries of Southeast Asia and the Association of

Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) had decided to cancel its visit to the Philippines during

the first half of 2017 in response to political developments, it had not planned a visit for

the second half 2017; noted that, in view of the distances and the logistics involved, DROI

had requested authorisation for a seven-day mission, but that Manila was the only exact

destination confirmed; authorised the sending of an ad hoc delegation of seven Members

plus Chair to Manila, The Philippines, provided that DROI liaised with the ASEAN

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Delegation concerning their programme and that the mission did not exceed five days


BUDG, West-Bank and Gaza, Palestine, 7 Members plus Chair, during week 29, from 17

to 21 July 2017 (5 days, including travel time): noted that the purpose was to send a

follow-up delegation to visit projects in the West Bank and in Gaza and to hold exchanges

with the Israeli and Palestinian authorities; noted that the committee would liaise with the

EU-Palestine delegation before travelling; noted that the EU was a major donor and

financial partner for Palestinians and the Middle East Peace Process via the European

Neighbourhood Instrument, including support to UNRWA, as well as humanitarian aid, the

amount of which had been increased by Parliament’s amendments, building on the mission

carried out by the BUDG Chair on behalf of the President; welcomed the BUDG, AFET

and DEVE Committees’ early coordination in the preparation of that request; recalled that

the BUDG ad hoc delegation had already been authorised to take place during the first half

of 2017, but had to be postponed; authorised the sending of an ad hoc delegation as

requested, including one AFET Member and one DEVE Member, provided that the mission

did not exceed five days including travel time;

ECON, Washington D.C. and New York, United States of America, 7 Members plus Chair,

from 16 to 20 July 2017 (5 days): noted that the aim of the ad hoc delegation was to

continue the dialogue with the US counterparts in the area of financial services and

financial stability and that, according to ECON, that annual mission would also play an

important role in helping to achieve a successful outcome of the agenda set up by the G20;

authorised the sending of an ad hoc delegation of seven Members plus Chair;

IMCO, Ottawa, Canada, 7 Members including Chair, from 17 to 21 July 2017 (5 days,

including travel time); noted that, in the light of the strengthening of the EU-Canada

relationship, and given the changes that this would entail on several domains falling within

the IMCO competences, such as the effects on customs functioning following the removal

of customs duties, the opening of the Canadian services market to EU companies, the

mutual recognition of some qualifications, and the effects on consumers, IMCO intended

to set up meetings with key players in its fields of competences: customs representatives,

consumer representatives, regulatory authorities, government representatives,

parliamentary committees, high-tech companies, services companies, and professional

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qualifications representatives; authorised a seven Member ad hoc delegation, on the

understanding that the mission did not exceed five days including travel time, and provided

that IMCO liaised with the INTA Committee;

September

AFET, Mexico City, Mexico (tbc) or Havana, Cuba (tbc), 7 Members plus Chair, during

week 38 (from 18 to 22 September 2017):

o noted that, at AFET’s request, an ad hoc delegation of seven Members plus the Chair

of the Delegation for relations with the countries of Central America Delegation

Chair, to Havana, Cuba, had previously been rescheduled and authorised for the first

half 2017, from 2 to 6 January 2017, provided that the mission did not exceed five

days including travel time, but that the mission had to be postponed once more; noted

that, the EU and Cuba were in the process of ratifying a Political Dialogue and

Cooperation Agreement, which would considerably strengthen EU-Cuban ties and

that the AFET mission’s aim was to assess the political and economic situation as

well as to contribute to strengthening EU-Cuban relations and foster a political

dialogue on issues such as the protection of human rights, democracy and regional

issues; noted that the Delegation for relations with the countries from Central

America planned a visit to Havana, Cuba, from 30 October to 3 November 2017, to

follow-up on the ratification of the EU-Cuba Political dialogue and Cooperation

Agreement; pending the confirmation of the Delegation’s request, withheld its

decision at this juncture and invited the AFET Chair to coordinate with the DCAM

Chair in order to organise one single joint visit;

o noted the proposed option to send that same week a seven Member ad hoc delegation,

plus Chair, to Mexico; noted that the purpose of the mission was to help to strengthen

the institutional ties in the framework of the negotiations of the global agreement and

strengthen and develop the strategic partnership in a large number of areas of

common interests; noted that the EU and Mexico had agreed to speed up the

negotiations to update their agreement; noted that two EU-Mexico JPC were

exceptionally authorised in 2016, and that a second JPC was again requested in 2017;

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restated that, in line with the general principle in the applicable Rules, there should

be one inter-parliamentary meeting of the Delegation per year only; therefore,

authorised the sending of an ad hoc delegation of seven Members plus Chair, plus

the Chair of the Delegation to the EU-Mexico JPC, during week 38, provided that

the mission did not exceed five days including travel time and that the request for the

above ad hoc delegation to Cuba was not confirmed during the same week 38;

DROI, Riyadh, Manama and possibly another destination, Saudi Arabia and Bahrain, 7

Members plus Chair, during week 38 (5 days, plus two days travel time): noted that,

considering that the human rights situation in Saudi Arabia and Bahrain had deteriorated,

inter alia, with regard to freedom of expression, human rights defenders, the death penalty

and domestic workers, and that the authorities in Bahrain recently had carried out three

executions, ending a seven-year moratorium on the death penalty, the DROI mission would

follow-up on Parliament’s resolutions to engage with the local authorities, civil society and

with EU and Member State interlocutors, paying particular attention to the fate of Raif

Badawi (winner of the 2015 Sakharov Prize) as well as of human rights defenders,

including Nabeel Rajab in Bahrain; noted that the Delegation for relations with the Arab

Peninsula (DARP) had requested the outgoing inter-parliamentary meeting (IPM) to be

held either during that same week 38 (from 16 to 22 September 2017) or from 16 to 22

December 2017; therefore, declined authorisation and invited the DROI and DARP Chairs

to liaise and ensure that the standing rapporteur of the DROI Committee would be invited

to take part in the delegation to the IPM;

DEVE, Tegucigalpa, Honduras, 8 Members, from 18 to 22 September 2017: noted that the

mission would provide DEVE Members an opportunity to see on the ground which

elements of the programmes on areas such as democracy, human rights, rule of law,

institutional strengthening, social equality and resilience to climate change supported in

Honduras through the EU’s external financial instruments, the Development Cooperation

Instrument and the European Instrument for Democracy and Human Rights were working

well, what could be improved, and if a different approach was needed; invited the DEVE

committee to liaise with other committees concerned and the Delegation for relations with

Central America countries, and authorised the sending of a seven Member ad hoc

delegation, provided that the mission did not exceed five days including travel time;

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INTA, Bangkok and Naypyidaw, Thailand and Myanmar, 5 Members plus Chair and

2 standing rapporteurs, during week 38 (5 days, plus two days travel time): noted that the

mission aimed at allowing an assessment of progress made and pending issues as well as

gaining a clearer picture of the political circumstances and technical challenges with a view

to the launch of negotiations on a Free Trade Agreement with Thailand in February 2013

and the adoption of the negotiating directives for Myanmar in 2014; authorised a seven

Member ad hoc delegation plus Chair, provided that INTA Committee liaised with the

ASEAN Delegation, and on the understanding that the mission did not exceed five days


ECON, Shanghai and Beijing, China, 6 Members plus Chair, from 18 September to

22 September 2017 (5 days including travel time): recalled that the mission, originally

planned for September 2016 and then for the first semester 2017, had to be postponed due

to the unavailability of the Chinese authorities to host Parliament’s visits; noted that the

programme and participants were the same as those of the missions already authorised by

the Conference of Presidents on 4 May and 30 June 2016; noted that the mission would,

through a dialogue with Chinese counterparts in the area of financial services, financial

stability and on the situation of the Chinese economy, allow ECON Members to assess

with their counterparts the latest economic and financial developments in China and the

possible consequences for the European economy; noted that ENVI requested sending an

ad hoc delegation either during the same week or in week 44 but that they would not

thematically overlap nor would they be in Beijing at the same time; noted that the

Delegation for relations with the People’s Republic of China (D-CN) planned to hold the

41st EU-China IPM, in Beijing and another city (tbc), China, to be decided in coordination

with the National People’s Congress, from 17 to 21 July 2017; invited the Chairs of the

delegation and the committees concerned to liaise, and authorised the sending of a seven

Member ad hoc delegation, on the understanding that the mission did not exceed five days


ENVI, Beijing and Guangdong, China, 6 Members plus Chair, plus Chair of the Delegation

for relations with the People’s Republic of China, either during week 38 or during week 44

(3 days excluding travel time): recalled that the mission, originally planned for November

2016 and then for the first semester 2017 had to be postponed due to the unavailability of

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the Chinese authorities to host Parliament’s visits, the programme and participants were

the same as those of the missions already authorised by the Conference of Presidents on

4 May and 30 June 2016; noted that the mission’s purpose was to look at the Chinese

experience with Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS); noted that this was particularly

important in the context of the ongoing revision of the EU ETS; noted that the sending of

an ECON ad hoc delegation was requested during week 38, but both committees would not

be in Beijing at the same time and no thematic overlaps would occur; noted that the

Delegation for relations with the People’s Republic of China (D-CN) planned to hold the

41st EU-China IPM, in Beijing and another city (tbc), China, to be decided in coordination

with National People’s Congress), from 17 to 21 July 2017; authorised the sending of a

seven Member ad hoc delegation, plus Delegation Chair, on the understanding that the

mission did not exceed five days including travel time;

ENVI, Geneva, Switzerland, 3 Members plus Chair, from 24 to 29 September 2017 (but

for 3 days including travel time) to attend the meetings of the COP1 of the Minamata

Convention on mercury: noted that the Minamata Convention was a global treaty to protect

human health and the environment from the adverse effects of mercury; noted that ENVI

Members attendance would be relevant in the light of the ENVI Committee’s involvement

in the shaping of the legislation transposing the Minamata Convention into EU law; noted

that the dates did not coincide with days set aside for external parliamentary activities but

could not be influenced by Parliament; therefore, authorised the sending of a four Member

ad hoc delegation, for three days including travel time as requested;

IMCO, Washington D.C. and Chicago, United States of America, 7 Members, including

Chair, from 18 to 22 September 2017 (5 days including travel time): noted that the purpose

of the mission was to establish contacts with Regulatory Agencies, the Federal Trade

Commission, the Consumer Product Safety Commission, the US Department of Justice,

and legislators; withheld its decision pending further information and details of the

programme of the mission;

PECH, Tokyo (Tsukiji) and Yokohama, Japan, 5 Members plus Chair, 18 to 22 September

2017 (3 days plus 2 days travel time): noted that the aim of the mission was to create

synergies for a sustainable fishery partnership and governance at international level in the

fight against illegal unreported and unregulated fishing, in accordance with EU regulation

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1005/2008; withheld its decision pending further information and details of the programme

of the mission;

JURI, San Francisco and the Silicon Valley, United States of America, 7 Members plus

Chair, 18 to 22 September 2017 (5 days): noted that the ad hoc delegation would focus on

intellectual property law (enforcement, copyright and patents) and company law falling

under JURI competences according to Annex V to the Rules of Procedure; noted that JURI

envisaged meetings to exchange with US companies, in particular on legislation on tax

disclosure obligations (CBC-R) and on insolvency practices in the US; invited JURI to

liaise with the EU-US Delegation and the TRAN Committee, which was also requesting

the sending of an ad hoc delegation to the Silicon Valley a few weeks later, and, therefore,

withheld its decision pending further information on the meetings and details of the

programme of the visit;

LIBE, exact destination tbc, Tunisia, 8 Members, 18 to 22 September 2017, (5 days

including travel time): noted that the aim of the mission was to cooperate with Tunisia and

Libya on migration management and border control; noted that the Delegation for relations

with the Maghreb countries and the Arab Maghreb Union planned to hold in the same week

the 5th EU-Libya IPM meeting, either in Tripoli, Libya, if the security situation allowed,

or, alternatively, a meeting with the EU Ambassador to Libya in Tunis, Tunisia, and

meetings with Members of the Libyan National Assembly and representatives from the

Libyan civil society in South Tunisia; invited the LIBE committee to liaise with the

Delegation concerned and withheld its decision pending further information;

AFCO, Ottawa, Canada, 7 Members plus Chair, week 38 (5 days including travel): recalled

that AFCO had planned to send an ad hoc delegation to Ottawa, Canada, in September

2016 but the visit, based on the information provided at that time, had not been authorised;

recalled that subsequently the sending of an ad hoc delegation of seven Members was

authorised for week 16 of the first half 2017, on the condition that AFCO coordinated its

programme with LIBE and provided a detailed programme prior to the mission, and

provided that the mission did not exceed five days including travel time; noted that the

objective of AFCO’s visit remained to exchange views with parliamentary and executive

authorities, as well as social partners, NGOs, think-tanks, and academia on the

constitutional and political process in Canada, on the functioning of the Canadian system

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of a transparency register, considered as a model at international level, on the electoral

system, and on the functioning of the Canadian party system, in view of the reform of the

European electoral system, Parliament’s right of enquiry, and the proposal for a mandatory

transparency register; authorised a seven Member ad hoc delegation plus Chair, on the

understanding that the mission did not exceed five days including travel time;

FEMM, Rabat and a rural area (tbc), Morocco, 7 Members, during week 38: noted that the

mission aimed at gathering information for the own-initiative report on Southern

Partnership States, with a particular focus on the socio-economic situation of women, the

legislation in place guarantying their equality and rights and the gaps that existed when it

came to its implementation in practice; withheld its decision pending further information

and details of the programme of the mission;

PANA, Bern, Switzerland, 11 Members, 14 to 15 September 2017, to discuss the

cooperation between Swiss and EU authorities with regard to the exchange of information

in the area of tax and anti-money laundering; noted that a number of meetings were planned

with business representatives, journalists, NGOs, FINMA (Swiss Financial Market

Supervisory Authority) and the Federal Office of the Police; noted that PANA was an

inquiry Committee with a time-limited mandate and that, due to summer recess and other

meetings already scheduled, the Swiss interlocutors would not be available during the

turquoise weeks of July and September; noted that PANA asked for a derogation to be able

to organise the ad hoc delegation outside the weeks set aside for external parliamentary

activities; nevertheless, exceptionally authorised an eleven Member ad hoc delegation as

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

language only would apply;

October

AFET, New York (with DROI) and Washington D.C. (with SEDE), United States of

America, 7 Members plus Chair, from 30 October to 3 November 2017 (5 days): noted that

AFET requested two separate missions to the US during week 44; the first one for the UN

General Assembly in New York with AFET/DROI Members which would be followed by

another mission to Washington D.C. and Norfolk, Virginia composed of AFET/SEDE

Members;

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DROI, New York (with AFET), United States of America, 4 Members plus Chair, from

30 October to 3 November 2017;

SEDE, Norfolk and Washington D.C. (with AFET), United States of America, 7 Members

plus Chair, from 30 October to 3 November 2017 (5 days);

o noted that the joint AFET/DROI visit to the UN Headquarters was part of the regular

political dialogue with UN components and agencies; noted that continuing with the

long-standing tradition of sending a joint AFET/DROI delegation to the UN General

Assembly in New York would provide continuity in Parliament’s contacts and

underline Parliament’s engagement with the UN; noted that the EU was a major

donor of funds to the UN; authorised an ad hoc delegation of seven AFET Members

plus Chair and four DROI Members plus Chair, on the understanding that the mission

did not exceed five days including travel time;

o noted that the aim of the AFET/SEDE mission to Washington D.C. (and Norfolk for

SEDE) was to establish political dialogue with the new US administration, and to

seek reassurances on international commitments made by the US; noted that the

mission would provide first-hand information and data for a future AFET own-

initiative report on EU Transatlantic relations; noted that the SEDE mission would

include a visit of the Norfolk based NATO Allied Command Transformation (ACT),

counterpart of European Defence Agency and key player when it came to the

implementation of measures agreed in the EU-NATO Warsaw Joint Declaration of

July 2016, and a visit of the US Fleet Forces Command in Norfolk with a focus on

strategic maritime issues in the Atlantic ocean; noted that the SEDE mission would

then be continued, together with AFET, in Washington, as set out in the relevant

letter of the AFET Chair, to establish political dialogue with the new US

administration and to deepen the existing dialogue with Congress on security and

defence related issues; authorised an ad hoc delegation of seven AFET Members plus

Chair and four SEDE Members plus Chair, on the understanding that the mission did

not exceed five days including travel time;

INTA, Canberra and Wellington, Australia and New Zealand, 7 Members (including Chair

and Standing Rapporteur), plus DANZ Delegation Chair, week 44 (5 days plus two days

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travel time): noted that the delegation for relations with Australia and New Zealand had

requested the EU-Australia IPM to be held in Strasbourg, on 4 and 5 October 2017;

authorised it as requested;

ECON, Washington D.C., United States of America, 8 Members plus Chair, from 11 to 15

October 2017, (5 days): recalled that the sending of ad hoc delegations to the 2015 and

2016 IMF Annual Meeting had been authorised for three Members, to Lima, Peru, and

seven Members, to Washington D.C., USA, respectively; noted that the dates coincided

with three days set aside for parliamentary committee activities and two days without

parliamentary activity, but that the meeting dates could not be influenced by Parliament;

therefore, exceptionally authorised the sending of a seven Member plus Chair ad hoc

delegation, in line with previous practice and the applicable rules, and on the understanding

that the mission did not exceed five days including travel time;

ITRE, Santiago, Chile, 9 Members plus Chair, week 44 (5 days including travel time):

noted that the aim of the ITRE ad hoc delegation would be to undertake a policy

fact-finding mission to Santiago, Chile covering all policy aspects within ITRE remits

(ICT/telecom, energy, R&D, industrial policies and SMEs); withheld its decision pending

further information and details of the programme of the mission;

IMCO, Tel Aviv, Israel, 7 Members, Chair included, from 30 October to 1 November 2017

(3 days including travel time): noted that the purpose of the mission was to set up meetings

with key players - high-tech companies, consumer representatives, regulatory authorities,

government representatives and Knesset members - in order to discuss how to address

today’s challenges in the digital world and overcome key obstacles to the Digital Single

Market; recalled that a similar request for a six Member ad hoc delegation had been

declined twice, at its meeting on 17 November 2016 and on 12 January 2017 respectively;

noted that an outgoing EU-Israel inter-parliamentary meeting (IPM) was planned in Israel

(exact destination to be confirmed) for the same dates; therefore, declined the request and

invite the IMCO Committee to liaise with the Delegation for relations with Israel and to

request the inclusion of its standing rapporteur(s) where justified by the agenda of the

scheduled IPM;

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TRAN, Silicon Valley, United States of America, 7 Members plus Chair, from 30 October

to 3 November 2017 (5 days): noted that the mission would allow TRAN Members to gain

first-hand insight into the newest developments, to meet with representatives of American

and, especially, European manufacturers, suppliers and developers working in Silicon

Valley to discuss current and future policy challenges; invited TRAN to liaise with the

EU-US Delegation and the JURI Committee, which was also requesting the sending of an

ad hoc delegation to the Silicon Valley a few weeks earlier, and, therefore, withheld its

decision pending further information and details of the programme of the mission;

LIBE, exact destination tbc, Japan/Korea, 8 Members, from 18 to 22 September 2017 (5

days including travel time): noted that the focus of the mission in the context of the

adequacy decisions negotiation with Japan and Korea would be on exchanging and

protecting personal data in a globalised world; withheld its decision pending further

information regarding the exact destination and the programme, to be liaised with the

delegation concerned, in particular ahead of the incoming EU-Japan IPM already

authorised to be held in Brussels on 8 June 2017;

November

DEVE, Abidjan, Ivory Coast, 5 Members, from 27 to 30 November 2017 (4 days): noted

that the EU-Africa Summits of Heads of States and Governments normally took place

every three years, alternatively in Africa and Europe, and that the 5th EU-Africa Summit

was scheduled to take place in Abidjan, Ivory Coast, on 28 and 29 November 2017; noted

that the theme for the Summit would be 'Youth', in the context of African demographic

evolution; noted that the Africa-EU Strategic Partnership is the formal channel through

which the EU and Africa worked together; noted that it was based on the Joint Africa-

Europe Strategy (JAES) adopted by Heads of State and Government at the 2nd EU-Africa

Summit in Lisbon in 2007; noted that the EU-Africa Summits were crucial to design and

possibly reshape the JAES; noted that they took stock of the progress in the implementation

of commitments made and provided political guidance for further work; noted that a

specific DEVE delegation to the 5th Summit in Abidjan, in addition to the foreseen usual

D-PAP mission, would provide an opportunity to express specific DEVE committee

concerns on the major challenges for young people given the demographic trends in Africa,

in terms of migration, security and employment; noted that the meeting dates could not be

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influenced by Parliament, coinciding with two days set aside for parliamentary committee

activities and the November II 2017 part-session in Brussels; invited to liaise with the D-

PAP Delegation and authorised a five DEVE Members ad hoc delegation, provided that

the mission did not exceed five days including travel time, and invited the President to

excuse those five Members’ absence in plenary;

PECH, Marrakech, Morocco, 5 Members plus Chair (tbc), from 16 to 19 November 2017

(4 days including travel time): recalled that, since 2010, Parliament has sent representatives

to the Annual International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT)

meeting, taking part in the EU Delegation, in view of the importance of the decisions taken

by the organisation in the tuna sector; noted that Parliament had no influence on setting the

calendar, the last three days of the meeting coinciding with days without parliamentary

activities; therefore authorised the sending of an ad hoc delegation of up to six Members,

provided that Members would leave after the votes on Thursday 16 November 2017 of the

November I Strasbourg part-session, and on the understanding that the mission did not

exceed four days as requested;

December

AFET, Addis-Ababa, Ethiopia and Niger (or another central African country), 7 Members

plus Chair, from 18 to 22 December 2017 (5 days);

SEDE, Addis-Ababa, Ethiopia and Niger (or another central African country), 7 Members

plus Chair, from 18 to 22 December 2017 (5 days);

o as set out in the relevant letter of the AFET Chair, a joint AFET-SEDE delegation

planned to visit the African Union headquarters in Addis Ababa to discuss and foster

EU-African Union cooperation and partnership, in particular in the areas of peace

and security, democracy, good governance and human rights, as well as global issues;

noted that the visit would take place in the wake of the fifth EU-Africa summit held

in November 2017, which would adopt a new roadmap for EU-Africa cooperation;

noted that meetings with Ethiopian authorities would allow AFET and SEDE to

discuss issues affecting regional stability; noted that in Niger the delegation would

assess the situation in the country where the EU was firmly engaged to support it in

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addressing numerous security and development challenges, including in the context

of the EUCAP Sahel Niger mission; authorised the sending of a joint ad hoc

delegation of seven Members plus Chairs, provided that the mission did not exceed

five days including travel time;

DROI, Khartoum, Sudan, plus possible other destination, 7 Members plus Chair, week 51

(5 days plus 2 days travel time): noted that the mission aimed to assess, in the light of

Sudan’s status as a ‘major irregular migrant route’, the human rights situation on the ground

and the impact of the EU’s cooperation with the country; authorised a seven Member plus

Chair ad hoc delegation to Khartoum, Sudan, on the understanding that the mission would

not exceed five days;

INTA, Tunis, Tunisia, 5 Members, plus Chair and Standing Rapporteur, week 51: noted

that the mission aimed to assess the monitoring of ongoing trade negotiations, following

up on the Emergency Trade Measures (free quota of olive oil import); noted that the

programme would include meetings with the civil society, the Tunisian National Assembly

and its committee in charge of trade negotiations, the government, trade unions and

businesses, and field visits (olive oil, port of Tunis); authorised a seven Member ad hoc

delegation, on the understanding that the mission would not exceed five days;

ITRE and JURI, Geneva, Switzerland, 2 Members per committee, from 18 to 21 December

2017 : noted that the Internet Governance Forum (IGF) was a direct outcome of the World

Summit on the Information Society (WSIS), held in Tunis in 2005, and that its main

purpose was to bring people together from all stakeholder groups to engage in a dialogue

on public policy issues related to the Internet and its governance; noted that Parliament had

stressed in its resolution of 11 February 2015 on the renewal of the mandate of the Internet

Governance Forum, that Parliament should continue to participate in future IGF meetings

with a substantial delegation in order to contribute effectively to formulating an

EU approach on internet governance together with the Member States and the Commission;

recalled that it had authorised an ad hoc delegation of 9 Members to the 2015 IGF in Brazil,

and that it had authorised, at its meeting on 8 September 2016, on an exceptional basis and

without creating a precedent, the sending of a joint ad hoc delegation of a total of

18 Members to the 11th IGF in Guadalajara, Mexico, from 6 to 8 December 2016

(excluding travel time), to be composed so that each political group was represented and

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the Members drawn exclusively from ITRE, IMCO, CULT, STOA, LIBE and JURI;

recalled that, under Article 21 of the Implementing provisions, ad hoc delegations should,

as a rule, be made up of seven members appointed by the political groups in accordance

with the rolling d’Hondt system, which should also apply to non-attached Members, and

that the Conference of Presidents, however, might, under specific circumstances, authorise

the sending of an ad hoc delegation with more or fewer than seven member; noted that once

the exact location and timing of the IGF meeting would have been confirmed by the UN, a

separate coordinated authorisation request (lead committee ITRE) would be submitted to

the Conference of Presidents including all the concerned committees (ITRE, CULT, JURI,

LIBE and IMCO) and the STOA Panel; until then withheld its decision.

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15. Request from the Committee on Budgetary Control to increase the size of the delegation to

Washington DC, USA, from 22 to 26 May 2017

This item was withdrawn.

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16. Activities of standing inter-parliamentary delegations for the second half of 2017


- took note of the following documents:

a letter dated 5 April 2017 from Ms AYALA SENDER, Chair of the Conference of

Delegation Chairs, (CDC), forwarding the draft programme of activities by standing

inter-parliamentary delegations for the second half of 2017, accompanied by the

opinions of the Committees on Foreign Affairs (AFET), on Development (DEVE) and

on International Trade (INTA), as adopted by the CDC on 4 April 2017

(PE 602.175/CPG, annexes and financial statements);

Implementing provisions governing the work of delegations and missions outside the

European Union (Decision of the Conference of Presidents decision of 29 October

2015);

- recalled that the Implementing provisions governing the work of delegations and missions

outside the European Union, as adopted by the Conference of Presidents on 29 October 2015,

based on a proposal by the Conference of Delegation Chairs, applied to all standing

inter-parliamentary delegations as set out in the implementing provisions, including

delegations to parliamentary assembly referred to in Article 2 (1) last indent of the

Implementing provisions and to their inter-parliamentary meetings under Article 2 (3), and,

therefore, that, in line with Article 7 (1), all inter-parliamentary meetings should require prior

authorisation from the Conference of Presidents, as confirmed by the opinion of Parliament’s

legal service dated 24 November 2016 (PE 595.152/CPG);

- recalled its decision of 29 October 2015 on the work of inter-parliamentary delegations,

including its decision to increase the quota for inter-parliamentary delegations under Article

8 (6) of the Implementing provisions for those inter-parliamentary delegations that were

responsible for more than one country from 50 % to 75%, with effect as of 1 January 2017;

General remarks

- recalled that authorisation by the Conference of Presidents of ordinary activities of standing

inter-parliamentary delegations should be requested in the form of a six-month programme

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covering all the standing inter-parliamentary meetings, containing clear and specific

objectives for each delegation, taking account of the constraints of the calendar of missions,

and be drawn up on the basis of political priorities and the work programmes of the

parliamentary committees, in the light of all external missions by the various bodies of the

European Parliament;

- recalled that according to Annex V of Parliament’s Rules of Procedure, the Committee on

Foreign Affairs provided political oversight to, and coordinated the work of joint

parliamentary committees and parliamentary cooperation committees as well as that of the

inter-parliamentary delegations and ad hoc delegations falling within its remit;

- recalled that, as a general rule, inter-parliamentary delegations could hold one meeting per

year, alternately in one of Parliament’s places of work and in the third country concerned

(Article 8), and noted that the draft programme listed all proposals for inter-parliamentary

meetings, irrespective of whether they were to be held in or outside of one of Parliament's

places of work;

- emphasised the need for enhanced cooperation between the parliamentary committees and

inter-parliamentary delegations in their work, in particular in terms of making efforts to

coordinate their respective delegation visits to third countries;

- recalled that, under Article 12 (3) of the applicable Rules, the current rapporteur(s) should be

systematically invited to participate in a delegation travelling on mission outside Parliament’s

place of work, provided that this was justified by the agenda of the inter-parliamentary

meeting concerned;

- stressed that joint meetings of parliamentary committees and delegations in Parliament’s

places of work were strongly encouraged under Article 19 (5) of the applicable Rules to

intensify cooperation, facilitate synergies, to make the best possible use of combined

expertise, and to ensure efficient use of time and other resources;

- welcomed in this regard, the interest of the INTA Committee for its standing rapporteurs to

attend incoming or join outgoing inter-parliamentary meetings as well as INTA’s invitation

for delegation chairs concerned to attend its ordinary meetings and join its ad hoc delegations;

- encouraged delegations to restrict the number of accompanying staff to a minimum;

underlined that, notwithstanding the applicable provisions, the number of accompanying staff

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should not exceed the number of Members travelling; recalled that under no circumstances

could Members' assistants either participate in or accompany a delegation;

- recalled that the availability of quota for travel was not in itself a sufficient justification for

missions;

- recalled that, under Article 5 of the Code of Conduct on Multilingualism on the language

arrangements for meetings outside the places of work, for missions undertaken outside weeks

set aside for external parliamentary activities, a limited language regime that would not exceed

interpretation into one language from the delegation profile should be applied;

- recalled that, under the Rules, there was no provision for working group and bureau missions,

and that requests submitted for such missions would have to be considered as an inter-

parliamentary meeting of the respective Delegation for which the Rules apply fully, including

the provisions concerning a Delegation’s quota;

- recalled that, for any delegation meeting not authorised at this juncture, a specific

authorisation would be required; recalled that any request for individual authorisation to be

considered on a case-by-case basis should be submitted in due time and contain all the

necessary elements for authorisation, with clear reference to the applicable rules, in particular

the number of Members travelling, including Members entitled to participate outside of the

quota or joining a delegation by virtue of special provisions in the applicable rules, the

duration of the mission including travel time, the draft programme, and a financial statement;

- recalled that the same requirements apply to any request for modification of an authorised

delegation meeting, and agreed that the President could authorise by letter that request as long

as it would not affect the conditions on which the initial authorisation had been based nor

increased the overall costs at the time the authorisation had been granted;

- recalled that, under the Rules, in principle, the duration of missions might not exceed five

days, including travel time, and that only those delegations that were responsible for more

than one country or if links to the destination were poor, might exceptionally be granted up to

two days additional time, when duly justified;

- noted that a number of inter-parliamentary meetings outside Parliament's three places of work

had been planned for periods which include days without parliamentary activities (public

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holidays, Fridays, weekends preceding or following weeks set aside for external parliamentary

activities) and that those requests could be endorsed, in line with previous practice;

- recalled its decision of 29 October 2015, while complying with the Code of Conduct on

Multilinguism, particularly with regard to the scheduling arrangements set out in Article 7,

and on the condition that strict priority be given to requests from parliamentary committees,

to permit meetings of inter-parliamentary delegations in Brussels on Monday afternoons and

Thursday morning, noting, however, that availability for inter-parliamentary delegations to

meet on Thursday mornings in Brussels was likely to be extremely limited, as the number of

parallel meetings with interpretation would be limited to a maximum of 16 meetings per day;

Budgetary considerations

- recalled the need to continue a policy of budgetary restraint without jeopardising Parliament's

capacity to fulfil its legal and political obligations, as set out in the Treaties and in international

law;

- stressed that a responsible and efficient use of resources implied that the cancellation of

meetings and missions would be communicated in due time to the services concerned to avoid

unnecessary costs and possibly to allow reallocation to other bodies and activities;

- encouraged all standing inter-parliamentary delegations to consider making greater use of the

opportunities provided by video-conferencing, with the objective of improving interaction and

flexibility in their contacts with their parliamentary counterparts as well as reducing costs;

- noted that the estimated overall cost for the activities of the standing inter-parliamentary

delegations for the second half of 2017, as set out in the draft programme submitted, was

estimated at € 4,605,421, split into sections as follows:

Inter-parliamentary delegations: € 2,457,025,

Inter-parliamentary assemblies: € 2,148,396,

split into sections as follows:

ACP: € 983,231,

EUROLAT: € 623,859,

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EUROMED € 328,643,

EURONEST € 212,664;

Security

- noted that security arrangements for all standing inter-parliamentary delegations in third

countries must be consistent with the principles set out in Article 17 of the implementing

provisions governing the work of delegations and missions outside the European Union,

notably Annex IV of the Rules (Protocol on emergencies arising during official travel

activities outside the three places of work);

- stressed that all delegations, including the Delegation to the ACP-EU JPA, as confirmed by

the opinion of Parliament’s legal service dated 24 November 2016, were only authorised to

travel on the condition that the security situation on the ground was satisfactory and that the

safety of Members and accompanying staff could be regarded as sufficiently guaranteed;






Quotas

- recalled that Article 8(6) set out the general principles for determining the number of members

allowed to participate in standing inter-parliamentary delegations and delegations to the third

countries concerned, as well as the participation of members in Joint Parliamentary

Committees, Parliamentary Cooperation Committees and delegations to parliamentary

assemblies;

- recalled that, in principle, calculated over a period of two calendar years, the total number of

members allowed to participate in standing inter-parliamentary delegations and delegations to

the third country/countries concerned should not exceed 50% of the total number of full

members of each standing delegation concerned;

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- recalled, in that respect that, as of 1 January 2017, for those inter-parliamentary delegations

under Article 8 (6) of the Implementing provisions that were responsible for more than one

country, the total number of members allowed to participate in standing inter-parliamentary

delegations and delegations to the third countries concerned should not exceed 75% of the

total number of full members of each standing delegation concerned;

- recalled further that each parliamentary term should, in that regard, consist of two periods of

two calendar years;

- recalled that the chairs of the standing inter-parliamentary delegations should be entitled to

participate in each mission over and above the quota laid down in Article 8 (6);

- recalled the need to respect the travel quotas as set out above;

Meetings in Brussels on days set aside for parliamentary committee activities

- noted that a number of delegations had planned to organise their inter-parliamentary meetings

during weeks set aside for parliamentary committee activities and for both parliamentary

committee activities and political group activities in Brussels;

- recalled that, in line with the Code of Conduct on Multilingualism, during weeks set aside for

parliamentary committee activities, priority would be given to the legislative activity, and that,

therefore, on Tuesday and Wednesday afternoons of committee weeks, a certain number of

time slots for interpretation would be reserved for trilogues and committee meetings, with

delegation meetings in principle being scheduled during Thursday afternoon time slots;

further recalled that the Conference of Presidents, at its meeting on 29 October 2015, had

decided, while complying fully with the Code of Conduct on Multilingualism, particularly

with regard to the scheduling arrangements set out in Article 7, and on the condition that strict

priority be given to requests from parliamentary committees, to permit meetings of inter-

parliamentary delegations in Brussels on Monday afternoons and Thursday mornings; recalled

that the Conference of Presidents had also noted that availability for inter-parliamentary

delegations to meet on Thursday mornings in Brussels was likely to be extremely limited, as

the number of parallel meetings with interpretation would be limited to a maximum of

16 meetings per day;

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Meetings during Strasbourg part-sessions, in parallel with plenary

- noted that a number of inter-parliamentary meetings were scheduled to take place in

Strasbourg during Parliament's part-sessions, and recalled that, while plenary was the core

activity of Parliament, the provisions of Article 3(4) of the Rules governing the holding of

meetings simultaneously with plenary sittings, as approved by the Conference of Presidents

on 15 September 2010, would allow for Delegations to meet in Strasbourg on Wednesdays

from 15.00 to 19.00 and on Thursdays from 9.00 to 19:00 except during voting time, provided

that such meetings did not coincide with a key debate; and emphasised the importance of a

strict respect for these rules;

Missions to a third country or third countries during 'turquoise weeks'

- recalled that Article 6 (1) of the Rules stipulated that, as a general principle, any mission

undertaken by a standing inter-parliamentary delegation to a third country should take place

during the weeks set aside for external activities, unless it was not possible on account of the

calendar of activities of their counterparts from a third country or a non-Community

international organisation;

- noted that most missions to third countries had been planned to take place during weeks 29,

34, 38, 44 and 51, which were set aside for external parliamentary activities;

Activities without specification of date and/or venue

- recalled that meetings not specifying the place and/or exact date could not be deemed

authorised at that juncture and would require the submission in due time of an updated

individual authorisation request accompanied by an accurate financial statement, the same

applied for any other mission for which the dates and/or venues of the meetings deviated from

the draft programme;

Authorisation

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

PA-UfM

noted that, for the Delegation to the Parliamentary Assembly-Union for the Mediterranean

(PA-UfM), up to three alternative dates for the meetings of five PA-UfM Committees, its

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Bureau and its Working Group on Rules of Procedure, in a range covering the whole

six-month programme from July to December 2017, had been included and would be

confirmed after confirmation of the meeting venues by the PA-UfM Delegation’s

counterparts; appealed to Parliament’s representatives in the relevant PA-UfM bodies to make

every effort, as a matter of principle, to ensure that PA-UfM meetings would be scheduled

with respect to Parliament’s calendar of activities and take place during weeks set aside for

external parliamentary activities; decided to withhold its decision and invited the PA-UfM

delegation to submit requests with confirmation of the dates and destinations in due time;

nevertheless, noted that the following options for the earliest dates in the second half of 2017

had been tentatively proposed:

PA-UfM Working Group on Rules of Procedure meetings were foreseen for

Brussels on 10 July 2017 (tbc),

PA-UfM Economic Committee on 14 July 2017 (plus two days travel time) in

Lisbon, Portugal or Barcelona, Spain (tbc),

PA-UfM Culture Committee on 14 July 2017 (plus two days travel time) in Rabat,

Morocco or Barcelona, Spain (tbc),

PA-UfM Energy and Environment Committee on 14 July 2017 (plus two days

travel time) in Amman, Jordan or Barcelona, Spain (tbc),

PA-UfM Women’s rights Committee on 14 July 2017 (plus two days travel time)

in Tunis, Tunisia or Barcelona, Spain (tbc),

PA-UfM Bureau & Enlarged Bureau meeting, 3 Members, in Ankara, Turkey, or

Cairo, Egypt (tbc), on 17 July 2017 (plus two days travel time): noted that the venue

depended on which of the two countries would be holding the presidency;

agreed that the President could authorise the above missions by letter once the

relevant information was provided in good time prior to the missions, on the

condition that these missions would comply fully with the applicable Rules, noting

that Friday 14 July 2017 being a day without parliamentary activities, interpretation

would be limited into one language; and appealed, in principle, and in particular if

these meetings needed to be rescheduled, to Parliament’s representatives in the

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relevant PA-UfM bodies to make every effort, as a matter of principle, to ensure

that PA-UfM meetings would be scheduled with respect to Parliament’s calendar

of activities and take place during weeks set aside for external parliamentary

activities; and, where necessary, invited the Delegation to submit the rescheduling

requests for authorisation in due time and in line with the applicable Rules;

July 2017

Delegation for relations with the Arab Peninsula, EU-Qatar inter-parliamentary meeting

(IPM), Brussels, 13 July 2017; recalled that the meeting had been authorised to be held in

Brussels on 26 January 2017 but needed to be rescheduled; noted the interest of the INTA

Committee for its Standing Rapporteur to be invited to attend the meeting: authorised it,

provided that resources were available;

Delegation for relations with the People’s Republic of China (D-CN), EU-China, 41st IPM,

Beijing and another city (tbc), China, to be decided in coordination with the National People’s

Congress, 17 to 21 July 2017: noted the interest of the INTA Committee for its Standing

Rapporteur to be invited to join the mission; recalled that, as a general rule,

inter-parliamentary delegations should hold one meeting, alternately in one of Parliament’s

places of work and in the third country concerned (Article 8) noted that, on 17 November

2016, it had declined the D-CN Bureau visit to Beijing, China, 22 to 26 May 2017 but had

authorised the Chair of the Delegation to accompany the ad hoc delegation of AFET Members

that week and further authorised the rescheduling of the 40th IPM on 14 and 15 September

2016 in Strasbourg, to 15 and 16 February 2017, provided that the meeting would not coincide

with a key debate; noted, however, that the meeting had not taken place; therefore,

exceptionally authorised the next IPM to be held as requested, on the understanding that the

subsequent 2018 IPM would be held in one of Parliament’s places of work;

Delegation to the ACP-EU JPA – 14th Regional Meeting, Pacific region, Port-Vila, Vanuatu,

19 to 21 July 2017 (excluding travel time, derogation for a long journey requested): authorised

it, provided that the mission would not exceed seven days including travel time;

September 2017

SINEEA Delegation for relations with Switzerland and Norway and to the EU-Iceland Joint

Parliamentary Committee and the European Economic Area (EEA), 26th Baltic Sea

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Parliamentary Conference (BSPC) and its Standing Committee meeting, Hamburg, Germany,

2 Members, 3 to 5 September 2017: noted that the dates coincided with one day without

parliamentary activities, one day with committee parliamentary activity and one day with

political group activities, but could not be influenced by Parliament; noted that Parliament

was represented by the Chair of the SINEEA Delegation at the Baltic Sea Parliamentary

Conference as recalled by its decisions of 10 March 2016 and 9 March 2017; therefore,

exceptionally authorised the SINEEA Chair to attend the Conference in his capacity as Chair

of the delegation and on the understanding that interpretation would be limited into one

language;

Delegation to the Euronest Parliamentary Assembly (Euronest PA), Euronest PA Bureau

meeting, in Strasbourg, afternoon of Wednesday 13 September 2017; authorised it, provided

that it would not coincide with a key debate;

Delegation for relations with the Arab Peninsula, EU-Bahrain and Saudi Arabia, outgoing

inter-parliamentary meeting (IPM), in Manama, Bahrain, and Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, from

16 to 22 September 2017 or from 16 to 22 December 2017 (seven days travel included);

recalled that the outgoing IPM had been authorised to be held from 17 to 22 December 2016,

but had to be rescheduled; noted that the DROI Subcommittee requested authorisation for an

ad hoc delegation to Saudi Arabia and Bahrain during the same week 38, and invited the

Delegation to liaise with DROI to ensure that the standing rapporteur of the DROI Committee

would be invited to take part in the delegation; noted the interest of the INTA Committee for

its Standing Rapporteur to be invited to join the mission; noted that the delegation was

responsible for more than one country and would visit more than one of its countries;

therefore, in line with Article 10 (2), exceptionally authorised the mission during one of those

two weeks set aside for external parliamentary activities, granting two additional days for a

total of seven days, including travel time;

Delegation to the Euro-Latin American Parliamentary Assembly (Eurolat), 10th EuroLat

Ordinary Plenary Session and related meetings of the Executive Bureau, of the 4 EuroLat

Standing committees, of the Working Group on Organised violence, security and terrorism,

the Working Group on Organised violence, security and terrorism and of the EP-LAC political

families, El Salvador (tbc by LAC counterparts), 18 to 21 September 2017 (plus travel time);

noted that the Delegation for relations with the countries of Central America request to meet

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within the framework of the Eurolat meetings in El Salvador, on 21 September 2017, as well

as the EU-Chile JPC Bureau for which the INTA Committee had expressed interest for its

Standing Rapporteur to be invited to attend; recalled that the 9th Ordinary Plenary Session

and related meetings had taken place in Montevideo, Uruguay, from 19 to 22 September 2016,

and that the 10th Ordinary Plenary Session and related meetings, initially foreseen for the first

half of 2017, without destination, had to be rescheduled; recalled that, as a general rule and in

line with established practice, the Assembly would meet in principle once a year, alternately

in a Latin American or Caribbean country and on Parliament’s premises or, on an exceptional

basis, in the Member State holding the rotating EU Presidency of the Council as recalled in

its decision on 17 November 2016; noted that the destination remained to be confirmed,

recalling that a satisfactory security situation on the ground remained a crucial consideration

in choosing the destination; therefore, withheld its decision and invited Parliament’s

representatives in the relevant Eurolat bodies to make every effort, as a matter of principle, to

ensure that the venue was set in line with the rules and established practice, and invited the

Delegation to reconsider El Salvador as a potential meeting venue;

Delegation to the EU-Ukraine Parliamentary Association Committee (PAC), 6th EU-Ukraine

PAC, Kiev, Ukraine, and in government controlled parts of Eastern Ukraine (exact places to

be defined according to security situation/assessment), 18 to 22 September 2017; noted the

interest of the INTA Committee for its Standing Rapporteur to be invited to join the mission;

authorised, at this juncture, the mission to Ukraine, on the understanding that the mission

would not exceed five days including travel time;

Delegation to the EU-Armenia and EU-Azerbaijan Parliamentary Cooperation Committees

(PCC) and to the EU-Georgia Parliamentary Association Committee (PAC), 5th EU-Georgia

PAC meeting, Tbilisi, Zugdidi, Georgia, 18 to 22 September 2017: authorised it, provided that

the mission would not exceed five days including travel time;

Delegation for relations with the Maghreb countries and the Arab Maghreb Union (DMAG),

5th EU-Libya IPM meeting, either in Tripoli, Libya, if the security situation allowed, or

alternatively, a meeting with the EU Ambassador to Libya in Tunis, Tunisia, and meetings

with Members of the Libyan National Assembly and representatives from the Libyan civil

society in South Tunisia, 18 to 22 September 2017: noted that the 5th EU-Libya IPM had

already been authorised on 17 November 2016 during week 7 but had to be rescheduled; noted

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the LIBE Committee request for the sending of an ad hoc delegation that same week to discuss

cooperation with Tunisia and Libya on migration management and border control; noted the

interest of the INTA Committee for its Standing Rapporteur to be invited to join the mission;

invited the DMAG Chair to liaise with the LIBE Chair, and authorised it, on the understanding

that the mission would not exceed five days including travel time;

Delegation for relations with the countries of South-East Asia and the Association of Southeast

Asian Nations, ASEAN (DASE), 2 Members plus Chair, for a mission to the ASEAN-

Secretariat and the AIPA Secretariat in Jakarta, Indonesia, 3 days during week 38; noted that

it had been foreseen as a joint request together with the AFET Committee but that it had not

been included in the AFET request at that stage; therefore, withheld its decision;

Delegation to the EU-Albania Stabilisation and Association Parliamentary Committee, 12th

EU-Albania SAPC, Tirana, Albania, 19 and 20 September 2017: recalled that the 11th

EU-Albania SAPC had taken place on 7 and 8 November 2016, in Brussels, and that no

meetings had taken place in the first half 2017 due to the Albanian elections in June 2017;

authorised it;

Delegation for relations with Iran, EU-Iran IPM, Teheran, Iran, 19 and 20 September 2017:

recalled that the previous EU-Iran IPM initially authorised to be held from 10 to 12 December

2016 in Brussels, and rescheduled for 27 March 2017, had to be rescheduled once more;

therefore, authorised the rescheduling, noting that the authorisation for the 2018 EU-Iran IPM

should be requested for a meeting to be held in Brussels;


Parliamentary Committee and the European Economic Area (EEA), 36th EU-Switzerland

IPM, Zug, Switzerland, 21 and 22 September 2017: authorised it;

Delegation to the EU-Serbia Stabilisation and Association Parliamentary Committee, 7th

EU-Serbia SAPC, Belgrade, Serbia; 21 and 22 September 2017 (3 days including travel time):

authorised it;

Delegation to the Parliamentary Assembly-Union for the Mediterranean (PA-UfM), PA-UfM

Political Committee, Brussels (tbc), 28 September 2017: agreed that the President could

authorise the above-mentioned missions by letter once the relevant information complying

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with the applicable Rules was provided in good time prior to meeting and provided that the

resources were available;

Delegation to the EU-Turkey Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC), EU-Turkey JPC Bureau

meeting, Ankara, Turkey, 29 September 2017 (plus travel time); recalled that the JPC meeting

had to be rescheduled a number of times due to the political developments in Turkey and time

constraints on the Turkish counterparts; recalled its decision of 15 September 2016 that

Parliament’s Delegation to the EU-Turkey JPC should resume its usual activities; noted that,

in the above-mentioned letter dated 5 April 2017 from the Chair of the Conference of

Committee Chairs, agreement to discuss further the JPC Bureau request was given, and that

by a co-signed letter from AFET and DROI Chairs, dated 6 April 2017, a new request for

authorisation of a joint AFET/DROI ad hoc delegation to Ankara, Turkey, from 22 to 26 May

2017, had been made and needed to be considered by the Conference of Presidents; therefore,

withheld its decision, at that juncture, on the EU-Turkey JPC Bureau meeting authorisation

request;

October 2017

Delegation for relations with Canada, EU-Canada IPM, Strasbourg, 4 and 5 October 2017 (tbc

by the Canadian side); noted the interest of the INTA Committee for its Standing Rapporteur

to be invited to attend the meeting: authorised it, on the condition that the part of the meeting

on Wednesday would only start in the afternoon and provided that it did not coincide with a

key debate;

Delegation for relations with Australia and New Zealand, EU-Australia IPM, Strasbourg,

4 and 5 October 2017: authorised it, on the condition that the part of the meeting on

Wednesday would only start in the afternoon and provided that it did not coincide with a key

debate;

Delegation for relations with the NATO Parliamentary Assembly, Autumn Session of the

NATO Parliamentary Assembly, Bucharest, Romania, 6 to 9 October 2017: authorised it, as

the dates had been set by Parliament’s counterpart, on the understanding that the Members

concerned would leave Strasbourg after the end of the part-session on Thursday 5 October

2017;

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SINEEA Delegation, 5th Northern Dimension Parliamentary Forum, Brussels, 12 October

2017; authorised it, provided that resources were available;

Delegation for relations with the Arab Peninsula, EU-United Arab Emirates,

inter-parliamentary meeting (IPM), Brussels, 12 October 2017; noted the interest of the INTA

Committee for its Standing Rapporteur to be invited to attend the meeting: authorised the

meeting, provided that resources were available;

Delegation to the ACP-EU JPA, Bureau meeting, Brussels, 11 and 12 October 2017: noted

that the dates coincided with days set aside for parliamentary committee activities; authorised

it, provided that resources were available;

Delegation to the ACP-EU JPA, three Committee meetings, Brussels, 12 and 13 October 2017:

authorised it, provided that resources were available;


Parliamentary Committee and the European Economic Area (EEA), Standing Committee to

the Conference of Parliamentarians of the Arctic Region (SCPAR), 2 Members, Reykjavik,

Iceland, 19 and 20 October 2017 (plus travel time): noted that, in addition to the meeting in

Reykjavik, the SINEEA Delegation had also requested authorisation for its Chair to attend a

second SCPAR meeting in Helsinki, Finland, on 19 and 20 December 2017 (plus travel time);

noted that the dates proposed for the SCPAR meeting in Reykjavik coincided with at least two

days set aside for political group activities; therefore, declined the request;

Delegation for relations with the Maghreb countries and the Arab Maghreb Union, EU-Algeria

inter-parliamentary meeting (IPM), Brussels, 19 October 2017: authorised it, provided that

resources were available;

Delegation to the EU-Mexico Joint Parliamentary Committee, 23rd EU-Mexico JPC,

Brussels, 19 and 20 October 2017: recalled that inter-parliamentary delegations should hold

one meeting per year, alternately in one of Parliament’s places of work and in the third country

concerned; noted that, on an exceptional basis, two EU-Mexico JPC had been authorised in

2016, 20th JPC in Mexico (February 2016) and 21st JPC in Brussels (October 2016); further

recalled that it had authorised the 22nd JPC in Mexico City, in Mexico, from 20 to 24 February

2017: restating its view that there should only be one inter-parliamentary meeting of the

Delegation per year, in line with the general principle in the applicable Rules; nevertheless,

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exceptionally authorised the request to hold a second EU-Mexico JPC in 2017, and invited

the Chair of the Delegation to liaise with the AFET Chair to consider joining, in his capacity

as Delegation Chair, as well as the INTA Committee Standing Rapporteur, the ad hoc

delegation requested by AFET during week 38;

Delegation to the EU-Moldova Parliamentary Association Committee, 5th EU-Moldova PAC

meeting, Strasbourg, 25 and 26 October 2017: noted that the rules of procedure of the

EU-Moldova PAC allowed for two meetings which were to be held alternately, in the

European Parliament and in Moldova and that the 4th EU- Moldova PAC meeting had been

authorised to take place in Chisinau, Moldova, on 22 May 2017; noted the interest of the INTA

Committee for its Standing Rapporteur to be invited to attend the meeting; authorised it, on

the condition that the meeting on Wednesday would be held in the afternoon and provided

that it did not coincide with a key debate;

Delegation for relations with Bosnia and Herzegovina and Kosovo, 3rd meeting of the

EU-Bosnia and Herzegovina Stabilisation and Association Parliamentary Committee (SAPC),

Sarajevo, BiH, 30 and 31 October 2017 (3 days, including travel time): authorised it;

Delegation to the EU-Kazakhstan, EU-Kyrgyzstan, EU-Uzbekistan and EU-Tajikistan

Parliamentary Cooperation Committees, and for relations with Turkmenistan and Mongolia,

6th EU-Tajikistan PCC meeting in Dushanbe plus another location (tbc), Tajikistan, from

30 October to 3 November 2017; noted the interest of the INTA Committee for its Standing

Rapporteur to be invited to join the mission: authorised the PCC meeting to be held in

Dushanbe, Tajikistan, on the understanding that the mission would not exceed five days


Delegation for relations with the Mashreq countries, EU-Lebanon IPM, Beirut, Lebanon,

30 October to 3 November: noted that the IPM authorised for May 2017 had to be rescheduled

due to the Lebanese elections; noted the interest of the INTA Committee for its Standing

Rapporteur to be invited to join the mission; authorised it, provided that the mission would

not exceed five days including travel time;

Delegation for relations with Israel, EU-Israel IPM, Tel Aviv, Israel, 30 October to

1 November 2017 (3 days, including travel time); noted the interest of the INTA Committee

for its Standing Rapporteur to be invited to join the mission; authorised the mission;

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Delegation for relations with Iraq, Baghdad and Kurdistan region, Iraq, 30 October to

3 November 2017: recalled that the outgoing IPM in September 2016 had to be cancelled due

to the security situation, recalled that, at its meeting on 29 March 2017, an incoming IPM had

been authorised to be held on 8 June 2017; recalled that under Article 8 (3) of the applicable

Rules inter-parliamentary delegations could only hold one meeting per year; therefore,

authorised the outgoing IPM, on the strict condition that the IPM on 8 June 2017 would not

have taken place;

Delegation for relations with the Federative Republic of Brazil and Delegation for relations

with Mercosur countries, joint mission, Brasilia and Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, 30 October to

3 November 2017 (5 days, including travel time): noted the interest of the INTA Committee

for its Standing Rapporteur to be invited to attend the meeting; authorised it, on the

understanding the mission would not exceed five days including travel time;

Delegation for relations with the countries from Central America, Havana, Cuba, 30 October

to 3 November 2017 (5 days, including travel time): noted the interest of the INTA Committee

for its Standing Rapporteur to be invited to attend the meeting; noted that the AFET

Committee had requested a rescheduling of the visit previously authorised to take place from

2 to 6 January 2017 to 18 to 22 September 2017 (5 days including travel time); noted that the

AFET mission’s aim was to assess the political and economic situation against the background

of the negotiations on the Political Dialogue and Cooperation Agreement, to contribute to

strengthening EU-Cuban relations and to foster a political dialogue on issues such as the

protection of human rights, democracy and regional issues; noted that, in the above-mentioned

letter dated 5 April 2017 from the Chair of the Conference of Committee Chairs, agreement

to coordinate further the forthcoming mission to Cuba had been expressed, thereby answering

positively to the AFET Chair’s letter dated 27 March 2017 containing the AFET Committee’s

opinion on the second half 2017 programme; withheld its decision on the request, at that

juncture;

Delegation for relations with the countries of South Asia, three Members plus Chair, EU-

Pakistan inter-parliamentary meeting, Islamabad, Pakistan, 30 October to 3 November 2017,

authorised it, on the understanding the mission would not exceed five days including travel

time;

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Delegation for relations with the countries of South East Asia and the Association of Southeast

Asian Nations (ASEAN), five Members plus Chair, Phnom Penh and another location,

Cambodia (3 days) Vientane and another location, Laos, (2 days), 30 October to 3 November

2017; authorised it, in line with Article 10 (2), noting the interest of the INTA Committee for

its Standing Rapporteur to be invited to join the mission;

Delegation to the Euronest Parliamentary Assembly (Euronest PA), Euronest PA 6th Plenary

Session and related meetings (Bureau meeting, meetings of the Euronest PA committees on

Energy Security, on Political Affairs, Human Rights and Democracy, on Economic

Integration, Legal Approximation and Convergence with EU Policies and on Social Affairs,

Education, Culture and Civil Society, meetings of the Euronest PA Working Group on the

Rules of Procedure and of the Working Group on Belarus), in Kiev, Ukraine, from 30 October

to 1 November 2017 (maximum 5 days, including travel time): noted that these meetings,

foreseen to take place during the first half of 2017, were proposed to be rescheduled during

week 44 (set aside for external parliamentary activities); authorised it, on the understanding

that the mission would not exceed five days including travel time;

SINEEA Delegation, 69th Session of the Nordic Council, Helsinki, Finland, 2 Members,

31 October to 2 November 2017: authorised the SINEEA Chair to attend the Conference in

his capacity as Chair of the delegation;

November 2017

Delegation to the EU-Turkey Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC), EU-Turkey JPC, Ankara,

Turkey, 1 and 2 November 2017 (plus travel time): recalled that the JPC meeting had to be

rescheduled a number of times due to political developments in Turkey and time constraints

on the Turkish counterparts; recalled its decision of 15 September 2016 that Parliament’s

Delegation to the EU-Turkey JPC should resume its usual activities; noted that the dates

coincided with a week set aside for external parliamentary activities; noted the interest of the

INTA Committee for its Standing Rapporteur to be invited to join the mission; noted that, in

the above-mentioned letter dated 5 April 2017 from the Chair of the Conference of Committee

Chairs, agreement had been given to discuss further the JPC Bureau requested to be held on

29 September 2017, and noted that, by a co-signed letter from the AFET and DROI Chairs,

dated 6 April 2017, a new request for authorisation of a joint AFET/DROI ad hoc delegation

to Ankara, Turkey, from 22 to 26 May 2017 had been made and needed to be considered by

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the Conference of Presidents; therefore, withheld its decision, at that juncture, to authorise the

EU-Turkey JPC meeting;

SINEEA Delegation, Baltic Sea Parliamentary Conference (BSPC), 2 Members, Mariehamn,

Aland Islands, 9 and 10 November 2017 (plus travel time): noted that the date proposed

coincided with a day set aside for parliamentary committee activities, and therefore declined

the request;

Delegation for relations with Bosnia and Herzegovina and Kosovo, 4th EU-Kosovo SAPC,

Strasbourg, 15 and 16 November 2017: authorised it, on the condition that the part of the

meeting on Wednesday would start in the afternoon, and provided that it did not coincide with

a key debate;


Parliamentary Committee and the European Economic Area Joint Parliamentary Committee

(EEA JPC), 49th EEA JPC, Strasbourg, 15 and 16 November 2017; noted the interest of the

INTA Committee for its Standing Rapporteur to be invited to attend the meeting; authorised

it, on the condition that the part of the meeting on Wednesday would start in the afternoon,

and provided that it did not coincide with a key debate;

Delegation to the EU-Kazakhstan, EU-Kyrgyzstan, EU-Uzbekistan and EU-Tajikistan

Parliamentary Cooperation Committees, and for relations with Turkmenistan and Mongolia,

13th EU-Uzbekistan PCC, Brussels on 23 November 2017; noted the interest of the INTA

Committee for its Standing Rapporteur to be invited to attend the meeting: authorised it,

provided that resources were available;

Delegation to the Pan-African Parliament, Abidjan, Ivory Coast, (no indication of dates, nor

FF available), the 5th EU-Africa Summit was scheduled to take place in Abidjan, Ivory Coast,

on 28 and 29 November 2017; noted the DEVE Committee’s request to send a delegation to

the 5th Summit in Abidjan from 27 to 30 November 2017 (4 days), in addition to the usual

D-PAP mission that was foreseen; noted that the expected dates for the meeting could not be

influenced by Parliament but could coincide with two days set aside for parliamentary

committee activities and the November II 2017 part-session in Brussels; withheld its decision

pending the confirmation of the dates and relevant information;

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December 2017

Delegation for relations with the Maghreb countries, EU-Tunisia JPC meeting, Brussels,

7 December 2017: noted that the LIBE Committee had requested the sending of an ad hoc

delegation to discuss cooperation with Tunisia and Libya on migration management and

border control; therefore, invited the DMAG Chair to liaise with the LIBE Chair and

authorised the meeting provided that resources were available;

Delegation for relations with Iraq, meeting in Brussels on Tuesday 5 December 2017

coinciding with a Tuesday of a week set aside for political group activities; inter-parliamentary

delegations could only hold one meeting per year, therefore declined it at that juncture, as

other earlier IPM dates had already been authorised for the second half 2017;

Delegation for relations with the United States of America, 14 Members plus Chair, plus

relevant committee Chairs and rapporteurs, 81st EU-US IPM/TLD, Washington D.C., United

States of America, 4 to 6 December 2017: noted the interest of the INTA Committee for its

Chair and Standing Rapporteur to be invited to join the mission; authorised it, on the

understanding that the 50% quota as defined in Article 8 (6) of the applicable rules would be

respected and that the mission would not exceed five days including travel time;

Delegation to the EU-Montenegro Stabilisation and Association Parliamentary Committee,

14th EP-Montenegro SAPC, Podgorica, Montenegro, 13 and 14 December 2017 (plus travel

time): recalled that the 13th EP-Montenegro SAPC, in Strasbourg, had been rescheduled to be

held on 14 and 15 June 2017 in Strasbourg; noted that, if the applicable Rules authorised a

second meeting in the same year, the dates of the second meeting would coincide with at least

three days set aside for the September 2017 part-session; therefore withheld its decision and

invited the delegation to make all efforts to reschedule the meeting during a week set aside

for external parliamentary activities;

Delegation to the ACP-EU Joint Parliamentary Assembly (JPA), ACP-EU JPA 34th Session

and related Committees and Bureau meetings, Caribbean region, Kingston (tbc), Jamaica, 16

to 20 December 2017: authorised it, granting two additional days for travel time in line with

Article 10 (2) of the Implementing provisions, provided that the mission would not exceed

seven days including travel time;

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Delegation for relations with the Arab Peninsula, EU-Bahrain and Saudi Arabia, outgoing

inter-parliamentary meeting (IPM), 16 to 22 September 2017 or 16 to 22 December 2017

(7 days): noted that the outgoing IPM had been authorised to be held from 17 to 22 December

2016, but had to be rescheduled on request from the Delegation’s counterparts; noted that the

delegation was responsible for more than one country and would visit more than one of its

countries, therefore, in line with Article 10 (2) of the Implementing provision, exceptionally

authorised the mission during one of those two weeks set aside for external parliamentary

activities, granting two additional days for a total of seven days including travel time;

Delegation to the EU-Armenia and EU-Azerbaijan Parliamentary Cooperation Committees

(PCC) and to the EU-Georgia Parliamentary Association Committee (PAC), 17th

EU-Armenia PCC meeting, Yerevan and region, Armenia, 18 to 22 December 2017: noted

the interest of the INTA Committee for its Standing Rapporteur to be invited to attend the

meeting: authorised it, on the understanding that the mission would not exceed five days


Delegation to the EU-Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia Joint Parliamentary

Committee, 15th EU-FYROM JPC, Skopje, FYROM, 19 to 20 December 2017 (travel time

not included): authorised it provided that the mission would not exceed five days including

travel time;


Parliamentary Committee and the European Economic Area (EEA), Standing Committee to

the Conference of Parliamentarians of the Arctic Region (SCPAR), 2 Members, Helsinki,

Finland, 19 and 20 December 2017 (plus travel time); authorised the SINEEA Chair to attend

the Conference in his capacity as Chair of the delegation.

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17. Regular items for the scrutiny of the Conference of Presidents

17.1 Delegated and implementing acts - Screening of current files


- took note of a note dated 4 April 2017 from Ms WIKSTRÖM, Chair of the Conference of

Committee Chairs, forwarding the results of the screening of files in view of the May I and II

2017 part-sessions; and noted that no legal concerns had been raised in relation to any of the

dossiers scheduled for vote during those part-sessions (PE 602.174/CPG);

- 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;

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


- took note of a note dated 5 May 2017 from the Secretary-General, providing an overview of

the state of play on delegated and implementing acts as at 4 May 2017 (PE 602.215/CPG);

- recalled the horizontal guidance it 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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17.3 First reading agreements - Committee decisions to enter into negotiations and state of play of files

currently under negotiation


- took note of a letter dated 5 May 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 602.216/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 the revised Parliament’s Rules of Procedure,

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

negotiations would be announced in plenary.

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18. Urgent matters and any other business

18.1 Request for the application of Rule 55 by the Committee on Transport and Tourism and requests for

association under Rule 54 by the Committees on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety and

on Agriculture and Rural Development regarding a legislative report of the Committee on Industry,

Research and Energy on the promotion of the use of energy from renewable sources

The item was postponed to the subsequent meeting.

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18.2 Request for the application of Rule 55 by the Committee on Transport and Tourism regarding a

legislative report of the Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety on a proposal

for a Regulation amending Directive 2003/87/EC to continue current limitations of scope for aviation

activities and to prepare to implement a global marked-based measure from 2021


- took note of a letter dated 4 May 2017 from Ms WIKSTRÖM, Chair of the Conference of

Committee Chairs (CCC), submitting a request for the application of Rule 55 by the Committee

on Transport and Tourism (TRAN) regarding a legislative report of the Committee on the

Environment, Public Health and Food Safety (ENVI) entitled “Proposal for a Regulation

amending Directive 2003/87/EC to continue current limitations of scope for aviation activities

and to prepare to implement a global market-based measure from 2021” (COM(2017)54 –

2017/0017(COD)) (PE 602.198/CPG and annexes);

- noted that it had not been possible to find a solution acceptable to all the committees

concerned;

- took note of the recommendation from the Chair of the CCC that:

- the TRAN Committee’s request for association under Rule 55 be dismissed;

- the TRAN Committee contribute with an opinion under Rule 53 to the ENVI report with

the additional provisions of cooperation as set out in the relevant letter;

- endorsed the recommendations of the Chair of the CCC.

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18.3 Report on the evaluation of external aspects of customs performance and management as a tool to

facilitate trade and fight illicit trade


- heard Mr WIELAND, acting Chair of the EPP Group, note that the inclusion of the INTA

report on the evaluation of external aspects of customs performance and management as a tool

to facilitate trade and fight illicit trade on the final draft agenda of the May I 2017 part-session

should be without prejudice to the powers and responsibilities of the standing committees as

set out in Annex V of Parliament’s Rules of Procedure;

- heard the President note that he had sent a letter to Ms FORD, Chair of the IMCO Committee,

in response to her letter dated 5 April 2017 concerning the above-mentioned INTA report and

IMCO’s competences in the field of the customs union.

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19. Items for information

19.1 Internal correspondence



a letter dated 4 April 2017 from Ms WIKSTRÖM, Chair of the Conference of Committee

Chairs, on the summer recess period 2017 of the European Parliament and Commission

(PE 602.176/CPG and annex);

a letter dated 5 April 2017 from Ms FORD, Chair of the Committee on the Internal Market

and Consumer Protection (IMCO), submitting observations on the INTA report on “The

Evaluation of external aspects of the customs performance and management as a tool to

facilitate trade and fight illicit trade” (2016/2075(INI)), with a view to IMCO’s

competences for the customs union (PE 602.225/CPG and annex);

a letter dated 24 April 2017 from Mr PANZERI, Chair of the Subcommittee on Human

Rights, on a visit of the Subcommittee to Uzbekistan planned for May 2017 and other

visits also scheduled for the same period (PE 602.226/CPG);

a letter dated 25 April 2017 from Mr HÄNDEL, Chair of the Committee on Employment

and Social Affairs, submitting the EMPL report on “The mainstreaming of the UN

Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities within the Parliament”

(PE 602.223/CPG and annex);

Written Procedure dated 2 May 2017 on a request from the Committee on Foreign Affairs

to send an ad hoc delegation to Azerbaijan, Armenia and Georgia from 22 to 26 May

2017 (PE 602.214/CPG);

Conclusions of the Presidency on the Conference of Speakers of the EU Parliaments, held

in Bratislava on 23-24 April 2017 (PE 602.265/CPG);

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a letter dated 5 May 2017 from Ms KAMMEREVERT, Chair of the Committee on

Culture and Education, submitting the draft programme for a ceremony marking the 30th

Anniversary of the Erasmus programme (PE 602.277/CPG and annex).

19.2 Inter-institutional correspondence



a letter dated 24 April 2017 from Mr RATAS, Prime Minister of Estonia, inviting the

Conference of Presidents to Tallinn, Estonia, for a working session with the Estonian

government, in its capacity as incoming Council Presidency, on 30 May 2017

(PE 602.228/CPG);

a letter dated 30 March 2017 from Mr NAVRACSICS, Member of the European

Commission, on the celebration of two anniversaries in 2017, the 60th Anniversary of

the Treaty of Rome and the 30th Anniversary of the Erasmus programme

(PE 602.278/CPG).

19.3 External correspondence

There was none.

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20. Date and place of next meetings


- noted that an extraordinary restricted meeting would be held on Wednesday 17 May 2017

from 15.00 to 16.00 hours in room R1.1, in Louise WEISS Building, in Strasbourg.

- noted that the next ordinary meeting would be held on Thursday 18 May 2017 from 10:00 to

12:00 hours in room R1.1, in Louise WEISS Building, in Strasbourg.

* *

*

The meeting closed at 12.10 hours.

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