of the ordinary meeting of Thursday 9 February 2012€¦ · 3. Adoption of the final draft agenda...

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PE 479.790/CPG

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PE-7/CPG/PV/2012-04

EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT

CONFERENCE OF PRESIDENTS

MINUTES

of the ordinary meeting of Thursday

9 February 2012

Paul-Henri SPAAK Building, room 6B 01

Brussels

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MINUTES

of the ordinary meeting of

Thursday, 9 February 2012

from 11:00 to 13:00 hours

Louis Weiss Building, Room R1,1

Strasbourg

CONTENTS

Page

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

2. Approval of the Minutes of the meetings of 19 January 2012 ................................................... 9

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

2012) in Strasbourg – Scheduling of key debates in plenary ................................................... 10

4. Communications of the President ............................................................................................. 11

4.1 Written communications by the President ................................................................................ 11

4.2 Representation of the non-attached Members on the Conference of Presidents ...................... 11

4.3 Implementation of the Code of Conduct for Members ............................................................. 11

4.4 Block votes in Plenary .............................................................................................................. 12

4.5 Invitation to send representatives to the first meeting of the EU-Jordan Task Force .............. 13

4.6 Meeting with the incoming Cypriot Presidency in Nicosia, Cyprus on 31 May - 1

June 2012 .................................................................................................................................. 13

A. DECISIONS/EXCHANGE OF VIEWS ............................................................................... 14

5. Parliament's contribution to address the crisis - Orientation debate on the way

forward after the informal meeting of the European Council of 30 January 2012 ................... 14

B. PROPOSALS FOR DECISIONS WITHOUT DEBATE ................................................... 19

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6. Designation of the three permanent members of the Conciliation Committee -

political composition of the 27 members of the delegation (Rule 68 of the Rules of

Procedure) ................................................................................................................................. 19

7. Request for the application of the procedure with associated committees (Rule 50) by

the Committees on Industry, Research and Energy and the Committee on Internal

Market and Consumer Protection with regard to the proposal for a "Regulation on

roaming on public mobile communications networks within the Union" - Letter from

Mr LEHNE, Chair of the Conference of Committee Chairs .................................................... 20

8. Request for association under Rule 50 by the Committee on the Development to a

non-legislative own-initiative report by the Committee on Foreign Affairs entitled

"The modalities for the possible establishment of a European Endowment for

Democracy" - Letter from Mr LEHNE, Chair of the Conference of Committee Chairs .......... 21

9. Request from the Committee on the Internal Market and Consumer Protection to

appoint two co-draftspersons for the proposal for a Regulation on a Common

European Sales Law - Letter from Mr HARBOUR, Chair of the Committee

concerned .................................................................................................................................. 22

10. Nomination of experts to the European panel for the "European Heritage Label"

2013-2014 - Letter from Ms PACK, Chair of the Committee on Culture and

Education .................................................................................................................................. 23

Visits outside the three places of work .............................................................................................. 24

11. Request from the Committee on Transport and Tourism to send a delegation to

Washington from 5 to 8 March 2012 - Letter from Mr SIMPSON, Chair of the

Committee concerned ............................................................................................................... 24

12. Request from the Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety to

send a delegation to the Rio+20 Summit in Rio de Janeiro from 20 to 22 June 2012 -

Letter from Mr LEINEN, Chair of the Committee concerned ................................................. 26

13. Request from the Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety to

send an ad hoc delegation to the 18th Conference on Climate change which will be

held in Qatar from 3 to 8 December 2012 - Letter from Mr LEINEN, Chair of the

committees concerned ............................................................................................................... 28

14. Request from the Committee on Fisheries to participate at the annual Conference of

the Western and Pacific Fisheries Commission in Guam, from 25 to 28 March 2012 -

Letter from Mr MATO ADROVER, Chair of the Committee concerned ................................ 29

15. Request to send a delegation to Belarus on 1 and 2 March 2012 - Letter from Mr

VIGENIN, Co-President of the Euronest PA and Mr SARYUSZ-WOLSKI, Co-Chair

of Euronest Working Group on Belarus ................................................................................... 31

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16. Request to send a delegation to attend meetings of the Bureau and the Enlarged

Bureau of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Union for the Mediterranean (PA-

UfM) in Rabat, Morocco, on 17 February 2012 - Letter from Ms SAÏFI, PA-UfM

Committee Chair....................................................................................................................... 33

17. Request from the EPP Group for authorisation to hold a Bureau group meeting on 17

and 18 May 2012 in Killarney, Ireland - Letter from Mr BIESMANS, Deputy

Secretary-General of the group ................................................................................................. 34

18. Request from the GUE/NGL Group for authorisation to hold a group meeting from 1

to 4 October 2012 in Cyprus - Letter from Mr BISKY, Chair of the group ............................. 35

19. Request from the EPP Group for authorisation to hold a Bureau group meeting from

4 to 6 October 2012 in the Rhine-Main region, Germany - Letter from Mr

BIESMANS, Deputy Secretary-General of the group.............................................................. 36

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

20.1 Consultation of the Legal Service on International agreements ............................................... 37

20.2 Participation of the President in a political debate from the President's chair ......................... 38

20.3 Invitation of Croatian observers to the EP................................................................................ 38

20.4 Admissibility of requests for oral questions and written statements ........................................ 38

21. Items for information ................................................................................................................ 40

21.1 Internal correspondence ............................................................................................................ 40

21.2 Interinstitutional correspondence ............................................................................................. 41

21.3 External Correspondence .......................................................................................................... 41

22. Date and place of next meeting ................................................................................................ 42

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MINUTES

of the meeting of Thursday 9 February 2012

from 11:00 to 13:00 hours

Brussels

The meeting opened at 11:05 hours with Mr Martin SCHULZ,

President of the European Parliament, in the chair.

Present

Mr SCHULZ, President

Political Group Chairs

Mr M. WEBER (acting) (EPP)

Mr SWOBODA (S&D)

Mr VERHOFSTADT (ALDE)

Ms DURANT (acting) (Greens/EFA)

Mr FOX (acting) (ECR)

Mr BISKY (GUE/NGL)

Mr SPERONI (Co-Chair) (EFD)

Non attached Member

Ms WERTHMANN1 (Non-attached Member)

Also Present

Mr WELLE, Secretary-General

1 Present pursuant to Rule 24 (2) of the Rules of Regulations of Procedure

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Invited:

Mr LEHNE, Chair of the Conference of Committee Chairs

Also invited:

The Council1

represented by Ms ARPIO

Mr MILTON

Mr DE HERT

The Commission1

represented by Mr NYMAND-CHRISTENSEN

Mr BARANY

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

Security Policy1

represented by Mr MATTHIESSEN

Mr HEIRBAUT

The Economic and Social Committee1

represented by Mr OLIVEIRA

The Committee of the Regions1

represented by Ms ESTEBAN AGUT

Ms KATOVA

Office of the President

Mr WINKLER

Mr KAISER

Ms MARTINEZ IGLESIAS

Mr MANNELLI

Mr MACHMER

1 Present for items 1-3 of the agenda

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Mr FREEDMAN

Ms WOLLNY

Office of the Secretary-General

Mr MANGOLD

Ms BLAU

Ms FREDSGAARD

Mr SORENSEN

Secretariat

DG Presidency (PRES) Ms F. RATTI/Mr DUNSTAN/Mr LANE/Mr KNUDSEN/

Mr SANCHEZ RODRIGUEZ/Mr SCOTT/ Mr BROGGI/

Ms JIMENEZ LOZANO/Mr O'BEARA/Mr URBIETA/

Mr MARINAI

DG Internal Policies (IPOL) Mr RIBERA D'ALCALA/Ms VANDENBOSCH/

Mr CHIOCCHETTI/Mr HANSEN/Ms SAILIS/Ms KERR/

Ms ILARIO

DG External Policies (EXPO) Mr AGUIRIANO/Mr C. HUBER/Mr PENALVER

DG Communication (COMM) Ms LAHOUSSE/Mr DUCH GUILLOT/Mr WARASIN/

Ms VAN DEN BROEKE

DG Interpretation and Conferences Ms COSMIDOU

(INTE)

DG Finance (FINS) Mr VANHAEREN

DG Innovation, Technical Sup(ITEC) Mr VILELLA

Legal Service Mr PENNERA/Mr PASSOS

Directorate for relations with Mr SCHWETZ

political groups

Secretariat of the Bureau Ms LINNUS

Political groups

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

Ms COLOMBO/Mr BURU/Ms BAPTISTA/Ms PEREIRA/Mr HORNAK (S&D)

Mr BEELS/Ms COLERA/Mr RASMUSSEN/Mr MCLAUGHLIN (ALDE)

Mr DENKINGER/Mr LINAZASORO (Greens/EFA)

Mr BARRETT/Mr BOYD (ECR)

Ms D'ALIMONTE/Ms LEPOLA (GUE/NGL)

Mr BORDEZ/Mr VAUGIER/Ms GHILARDI (EFD)

Mr BUGALHO (NI)

Mr HILLER, Mr PEGAZZANO, Ms CASALPRIM, Ms SHEIL and Mr HUBER acted as

secretaries to the meeting.

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1. Adoption of draft agenda

The Conference of Presidents

- noted the draft agenda (PE 479.788/CPG/REV) and adopted it as shown in these

minutes.

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2. Approval of the Minutes of the meetings of 19 January 2012


- noted and approved the Minutes of the meetings of the meeting of 19 January 2012

held in Strasbourg (PE 479.714/CPG and Annex).

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3. Adoption of the final draft agenda for the February II part session (13 to 16 February 2012)

in Strasbourg – Scheduling of key debates in plenary


- noted the following documents:

a final calendar, dated 9 February 2012, of the committee and delegation meetings

scheduled in Strasbourg for the February II part-session in 2012

(PE 479.836/CPG/DEF);

a letter dated 3 February 2012 from Mr LEHNE, Chair of the Conference of

Committee Chairs, on recommendations concerning the agenda for the February II

part-sessions in 2012 (PE 479.829/CPG and annex);

- considered the final draft agenda for the February II part-session (13 to 16 February

2012 in Strasbourg) in the light of notes drafted by DG Presidency setting out the

various options, distributed after the preparatory meetings of 7 and 8 February 2012

with the Secretaries-General of the political groups, and adopted the proposals

contained in those notes,

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4. Communications of the President

4.1 Written communications by the President


- heard the President announce that, henceforth, the Conference of Presidents will be

provided with a written overview on the diplomatic contacts and meetings the

President has had and, therefore, these meetings will not be mentioned under the

President's communications in the future.

4.2 Representation of the non-attached Members on the Conference of Presidents


- heard the President inform about his decision, in accordance with Rule 24 (2) on the

participation of the non-attached Members in the Conference of Presidents, inviting

as from February 2012 until April 2013, Ms WERTHMANN, and from May 2013

until July 2014, Mr SOSA WAGNER to attend meetings of the Conference of

Presidents; heard Ms WERTHMANN accepting this invitation on behalf of the non-

attached Members.

4.3 Implementation of the Code of Conduct for Members


- heard the President informing about the appointment of the following Members to

the Advisory Board:

Carlo CASINI (EPP)

Evelyn REGNER (S&D)

Cecilia WIKSTRÖM (ALDE)

Gerald HÄFNER (GREENS/EFA)

Sajjad KARIM (ECR)

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The substitute Members of the Advisory Committee shall be:

Jiří MAŠTÁLKA (GUE/NGL)

Francesco Enrico SPERONI (EFD);

- heard the President inform that Members would receive a message by the President

on the implementation of the Code of Conduct, including the information on the

composition of the Advisory Board.

4.4 Block votes in Plenary


- heard Mr SPERONI raise the decision by the President to proceed to a block vote

during the votes on the FISAS report in the last part-session on Thursday, 2 February

2012 and propose that the Committee on Constitutional Affairs should examine the

interpretation of the relevant Rules in force;

- heard the President note that he had applied Rules 20 and 161 (6) and (7) of

Parliament's Rules of Procedure, in order to improve efficiency while ensuring a

proper conduct of the vote;

- held an exchange of views with the participation of Mr FOX, Mr WEBER, Mr

SWOBODA and Mr VERHOFSTADT confirming the facts such as presented by the

President and recalling that with 40 Members or a political group opposing such a

procedure before the vote, the vote would have needed to be taken separately; heard

Mr FOX nevertheless express the ECR group's unhappiness with the President's

decision to take separate votes "en bloc";

- heard the President conclude by noting that the Rules had been applied correctly but

that he in the future, however, would communicate such decisions in a way which

would allow more time for interpretation in all languages.

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4.5 Invitation to send representatives to the first meeting of the EU-Jordan Task Force


- heard the President informing about a letter of the Commission Vice-President and

High Representative, Lady ASHTON, announcing that she would chair, together

with the Jordan Prime Minister, the first meeting of the EU-Jordan Task Force on 21-

22 February in Amman. Given the positive experiences made in the context of the

Tunisia Task Force, Lady ASHTON invites the EP to nominate three to five

Members to take part in this first meeting; heard the President suggest to decide on

the nominal composition of that delegation, composed of five Members, at the next

Conference of Presidents on 16 February 2012.

4.6 Meeting with the incoming Cypriot Presidency in Nicosia, Cyprus on 31 May - 1 June

2012


- heard the President announce that the Conference of Presidents will meet the

forthcoming Cypriot Council Presidency in Cyprus on 31 May - 1 June 2012 and

invite all group chairs to attend this meeting.

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A. DECISIONS/EXCHANGE OF VIEWS

5. Parliament's contribution to address the crisis - Orientation debate on the way forward after

the informal meeting of the European Council of 30 January 2012

The Conference of Presidents,


the EP Resolution dated 2 February 2012 on the Conclusions of the informal

meeting of the European Council of 30 January 2012 (P7_TA-PROV(2012)0023);

the speech by President SCHULZ at the informal meeting of the European

Council on 30 January 2012;

Statement of the Members of the European Council - 30 January 2012 - towards

growth-friendly consolidation and job-friendly growth;

Press Remarks by President VAN ROMPUY following the informal meeting of

Members of the European Council - 30 January 2012;

Communication by Euro-Area Member States - 30 January 2012;

President Barroso's presentation on growth at the informal European Council of

30 January 2012 - MEMO/12/57 (PE 479.853/CPG and annexes);

Final Treaty on Stability, Coordination and Governance in the Economic and

Monetary Union adopted by the Members of the European council - version dated

31 January 2012 (PE 479.726/DEF);

a response dated 17 January 2012 from President BUZEK to the letter dated 11

January 2012 of Mr BARROSO, President of the European Commission, on the

proposals for the fast-tracking of a number of legislative measures aimed at

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boosting growth and employment throughout the EU (PE 479.828/CPG and

annexes);

Extract of the Minutes of the Conference of Presidents of 10 March 2011 on the

first-reading agreements (amendment to rule 70);

Letter from President BUZEK to Mr CASINI, Chair of the Committee on

Constitutional Affairs, dated 18 April 2011 (PE 479.838/CPG);

Draft Report of the Committee on Constitutional Affairs on amendment of Rule

70 of Parliament's Rules of Procedure on interinstitutional negotiations in

legislative procedures (PE 473.959);

Annex XXI of the EP Rules of Procedures - code of conduct for negotiation in the

context of the ordinary legislative procedures;

- took note that Parliament in its resolution on the informal meeting of the European

Council of 30 January 2012 has concluded that the final text of the new Treaty has

been improved in several points, including a number of proposals done by the EP

representatives; in this same resolution, Parliament insists, however, that "economic

recovery requires measures to strengthen solidarity and boost sustainable growth and

employment and welcomes the fact that the European Council now recognises this,

but insists on the need for concrete and far reaching measures";

- recalled that the mandate which the Conference of Presidents at its meeting of 10

March 2011 gave to the Committee on Constitutional Affairs (AFCO) consisted in

reviewing Rule 70 of the Parliament's Rules of Procedure, with a view of making the

1st reading procedure more effective, transparent and inclusive, namely by including

the key elements of the Code of Conduct in the binding part of the Rules of

Procedure;

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- noted the letter of 11 January 2012 from Commission President BARROSO to

former President BUZEK suggesting to "fast-track" some 35 legislative proposals

and actions aimed at stimulating growth and to create jobs in order to deliver on this

package by the end of 2012 and that President BUZEK, in his reply of 17 January

2012, underlined the importance of fully involving both the Council and Member

States, taking account of all phases of the legislative procedure, from preparation and

adoption through to implementation and announced that the Conference of Presidents

would return to this issue under the new President;

- heard the President introduce the item by outlining the key role played by the

European Parliament in giving visibility to European issues. He also made reference

to Mr BARROSO's proposal to "fast-track" certain proposals and actions whilst

underlining that in recent years it had rather been the Council or the Commission

than the Parliament that had slowed down the pace for adopting EU legislation, the

most extreme case being the proposal for a Community Patent. He underlined

different inconsistencies of the list annexed to President BARROSO's letter. The

President also remarked that a possible acceleration of the decision-making process

should not in any way endanger the Parliament's institutional prerogatives;

- held an initial exchange of views on the matter, with the participation of Mr WEBER,

acting Chair of the EPP Group, Mr SWOBODA, Chair of the S&D Group, Mr

VEHOFSTADT, Chair of the ALDE Group, Ms DURANT, acting Chair of the

Greens/EFA Group, Mr FOX, acting Chair of the ECR Group, Mr BISKY, Chair of

the GUE/NGL Group, Mr SPERONI, Co-Chair of the EFD Group, Ms

WERTHMANN, representing the non-attached Members and Mr LEHNE, Chair of

the Conference of Committee Chairs, focused, inter alia, on:

the Commission's proposal to 'fast-track" certain proposals and that the focus

should rather be on substance than on speed in the decision-making process;

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the Commission's right of initiative and the fact that a strategic use on legislative

own-initiative reports could allow the Parliament to influence the Commission's

already early phases of drafting;

the modalities for giving a mandate to a negotiation team to engage in

negotiations with the aim of reaching a first reading agreement;

the importance of harmonising first reading practices between parliamentary

committees and a thorough application of the Code of Conduct on first

reading agreements;

the possibility to focus own-initiative reports on key questions in order for the

Parliament and especially plenary to give more focus on its role as a co-legislator;

the importance of making Plenary debates more lively, thereby increasing the

Parliament's visibility;

the democratic legitimacy of the measures proposed by the Troika in order to

remedy the economic and social crisis in Greece;

- heard the President who, in conclusion, emphasised the steering role of the

Conference of Presidents for the Parliament and that key players should be invited

regularly to the various formats of the Conference of Presidents in order for the

Parliament to react quickly to new developments on the European or global stage and

thereby enhance its visibility. He also expressed his intention to write to the

Commission and to the Council arguing that the proposed "fast-track" procedure is

not excluded in very specific cases agreed by the three institutions jointly as such as

long as it does not encroach upon the Parliament's prerogatives and also noting that

the Parliament had not been the Institution that had delayed the adoption of

legislation in the past;

- decided to

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invite Mr GAUZÈS and Ms FERREIRA, Rapporteurs for the Committee on

Economic and Monetary Affairs (ECON) on the "two-pack" proposals, to

participate in an exchange of views at a future meeting of the Conference of

Presidents;

invite Mr GUERRERO, Rapporteur for the Committee on Constitutional Affairs

(AFCO) on the amendment of Rule 70, to participate in an exchange of views at

a future meeting of the Conference of Presidents;

invite Ms BOWLES, Chair of the ECON Committee and Ms BERÈS, Chair of the

EMPL Committee to organise a joint exchange of views with representatives of

the Troika as well as representatives of the Greek authorities.

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B. PROPOSALS FOR DECISIONS WITHOUT DEBATE

6. Designation of the three permanent members of the Conciliation Committee - political

composition of the 27 members of the delegation (Rule 68 of the Rules of Procedure)

The Conference of Presidents, without debate,


proposal from the political groups concerning the appointment of three Vice-

Presidents and the political composition of the 27-member EP delegation to the

Conciliation Committee (PE 479.843/CPG and annex);

extract from the Minutes of the Conference of Presidents of 10 September 2009

(PE 426.385/CPG);

- took note of and approve the nominations by the political groups of Vice Presidents

Mr Gianni PITTELLA, Mr Alejo VIDAL-QUADRAS and Mr Georgios

PAPASTAMKOS as permanent members of the delegation of the European

Parliament to the Conciliation Committee;

- took note of and approve the proposal from the political groups on the composition

of Parliament's delegation to the Conciliation Committee, corresponding to the

composition of Parliament by political groups and consisting of a number equal to

the number of members of the Council delegation.

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7. Request for the application of the procedure with associated committees (Rule 50) by the

Committees on Industry, Research and Energy and the Committee on Internal Market and

Consumer Protection with regard to the proposal for a "Regulation on roaming on public

mobile communications networks within the Union" - Letter from Mr LEHNE, Chair of

the Conference of Committee Chairs



a letter dated 14 December 2011, from Mr LEHNE, Chair of the Conference of

Committee Chairs, on the above-mentioned subject (PE 479.696/CPG and

annexes);

- took note of the letter from Mr LEHNE, Chair of the Conference of Committee

Chairs, transmitting the agreement for the delimitation of competences under the

Rule 50 of the Rules of Procedure for the following item:

Proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and the Council on roaming on

public mobile communications networks within the Union (recast) - COM

(2011)0402 - 2011/0187(COD)

Committee responsible: ITRE

IMCO had requested application of Rule 50;

- approved the request in question.

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8. Request for association under Rule 50 by the Committee on the Development to a non-

legislative own-initiative report by the Committee on Foreign Affairs entitled "The

modalities for the possible establishment of a European Endowment for Democracy" -

Letter from Mr LEHNE, Chair of the Conference of Committee Chairs



a letter dated 10 January 2012 from Mr LEHNE, Chair of the Conference of

Committee Chairs, on the above-mentioned subject (PE 479.751/CPG and

annexes);

- took note of the request for association under Rule 50 by the Committee on

Development (DEVE) to a non-legislative own-initiative report by the Committee on

Foreign Affairs (AFET) entitled "The modalities for the possible establishment of an

European Endowment for Democracy (EED)";

- noted the recommendation of the Chair of the Conference of Committee Chairs that:

the DEVE Committee's request for association under Rule 50 to the AFET

report be dismissed;

the DEVE Committee be authorised to contribute to an opinion under Rule 49;

- endorsed the recommendation of the Chair of the Conference of Committee Chairs.

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9. Request from the Committee on the Internal Market and Consumer Protection to appoint

two co-draftspersons for the proposal for a Regulation on a Common European Sales Law

- Letter from Mr HARBOUR, Chair of the Committee concerned



a letter dated 3 January 2012 from Mr HARBOUR, Chair of the Committee

concerned, on the above-mentioned subject (PE 479.746/CPG);

- took note of the letter from the Chair of the Committee on the Internal Market and

Consumer Protection, requesting authorisation to appoint two co-draftspersons for

the proposal of the European Parliament and of the Council on a "Common European

Sales Law" (COM(2011)0635);

- recalled that while the Rules of Procedure make no specific provision for the

appointment of co-rapporteurs for an individual report, the Conference of Presidents

had on previous occasions made exceptions for reports which it considered to be of

major political importance, in particular on institutional or budgetary matters;

stressed that those few exceptions almost only relate to rapporteurs in the main

committee and not to draftpersons;

- authorised, by way of exception, the request to appoint two co-draftspersons for the

report in question.

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10. Nomination of experts to the European panel for the "European Heritage Label" 2013-2014

- Letter from Ms PACK, Chair of the Committee on Culture and Education



a letter dated 10 January 2012, from Ms PACK, Chair of the Committee on

Culture, on the above mentioned subject (PE 479.764/CPG and annexes);

- took note of the letter from Ms PACK, Chair of the Committee on Culture, in which

she transmited a proposal on the nomination of independent experts to serve in 2013-

2014 as members of the European panel established to carry out selection and

monitoring at Union level of sites to be awarded the European Heritage Label;

- noted the list of proposed experts as follows:

1. Mr Jean MUSITELLI, member of the permanent French UNESCO

Committee

2. Ms Beatrice KELLY, Head of Policy and Research at the Heritage Council

of Ireland

3. Mr Michele RAK, Italian Cultural Heritage Historian

4. Dr Roland BERNECKER, Secretary-General of the German Commission

for UNESCO;

- decided to appoint the above mentioned personalities and invite the President to

inform the European Commission accordingly.

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Visits outside the three places of work

11. Request from the Committee on Transport and Tourism to send a delegation to

Washington from 5 to 8 March 2012 - Letter from Mr SIMPSON, Chair of the Committee

concerned



a letter dated 19 January 2012 from Mr SIMPSON, Chair of the Committee

concerned, on the above-mentioned subject (PE 479.792/CPG/BUR, annexes and

financial statement);

- took note of the letter, dated 19 January 2012, from Mr SIMPSON, Chair of the

Committee on Transport and Tourism, requesting authorisation to send a four-person

delegation of senior committee members from 5 to 8 March 2012 to Washington

D.C. to hold talks on current topical issues in the committee's remit with

Representatives of the US Congress, the US Administration and Think Tanks;

- reiterated the importance it attaches to regular focused contacts between the

specialists on US and EU side on topics of common interest in the framework of the

Transatlantic Legislator's Dialogue; noted that the declared objective of the visit is

inter alia to have direct contact with the committee's opposite numbers in the US

Congress in preparation for the next TLD meeting, especially in relation to the issue

of transport security;

- noted however that the delegation is not part of the annual programme 2012 for

travel by committee delegations outside the three places of work of the European

Parliament such as approved by the Bureau at its meeting on 12 December 2011;

recalled that in adopting the programme for travel by parliamentary committee

delegations outside the three places of work during 2012 the Bureau emphasized the

necessity for budgetary restraint;

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- noted that that the travel dates for this delegation fall into a "mixed week" reserved

for committee and political group meetings;

- noted that the Committee requests to travel as a four-Member delegation with the

Chair travelling outside the annual quota and one Member to be designated on behalf

of the EP-US Delegation on the basis of Article 9 of the Rules on travel by

Committee delegations outside the three places of work of the EP; recalled that

pursuant to these Rules the chair of the interparliamentary delegation concerned, or a

member of that delegation designated by the chair to represent it, may be invited to

accompany the committee delegation as an additional member; noted, however, that

no corresponding letter approving such a request has been provided yet by the Chair

of the interparliamentary delegation concerned;

- regretted the absence of precision of the submitted programme; note, however, that it

is intended, in principle, to hold meetings from 6 to 8 March with flights to

Washington scheduled to depart from Europe on 5 March 2012; recalled that Article

7 of the Rules in force limit the duration of missions to three days, however foresee

the possibility to grant up to two days additional journey time in case of a long

journey;

- suggested to decline the authorisation of the delegation, as it coincides with two days

set aside for political group meetings and is, therefore, not in line with Article 6 of

the applicable rules; invited the Committee to propose new dates for a delegation

visit which are in conformity with the applicable rules;

- referred the matter to the Bureau for final decision.

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PE 479.790/CPG 26/42

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12. Request from the Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety to send a

delegation to the Rio+20 Summit in Rio de Janeiro from 20 to 22 June 2012 - Letter from

Mr LEINEN, Chair of the Committee concerned



a letter dated 11 January 2012 from Mr LEINEN, Chair of the Committee

concerned, on the above-mentioned subject (PE 479.763/CPG, annex and


- noted the letter, dated 11 January 2012, from Mr LEINEN, Chair of the Committee

on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety, requesting authorisation to send

a delegation of twelve persons (eleven-persons on the basis of their available quota

and the chair travelling outside the quota) to the Rio+20 Summit in Rio de Janeiro

from 19 to 23 June 2012 (including travel time) to support the EU position in the

negotiations by networking with parties and stakeholders;

- noted that the delegation features in the annual programme 2012 for travel by

committee delegations outside the three places of work of the European Parliament,

albeit without any precise date and requesting 10 Members to travel, such as

approved by the Bureau at its meeting on 12 December 2011;

- noted that the dates of the visit including travel coincide with dates set aside for

committee activities and include a day without parliamentary activities (Friday);

- recalled the provisions, and especially point 27, of the Framework Agreement on

relations between the European Parliament and the European Commission;

- recalled that in adopting on 12 December 2011 the programme for travel by

parliamentary committee delegations outside the three places of work during 2012,

the Bureau emphasized the necessity for budgetary restraint; noted that after

authorisation of the current delegation as requested, the Environment Committee will

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have no quota left for any travel outside of the EU in 2012; noted that a further

request has been submitted by that committee to send a delegation to the 18th

Conference of the Parties to the United Nations framework Convention on Climate

Change taking place in Qatar from 26 November to 7 December which, following

the view of the Bureau of 12 December 2011, should, in principle, also be drawn

from within the annual quota(s) of the committee(s) concerned;

- nevertheless endorsed the sending of a delegation composed of a maximum of 11

Members plus the Committee Chair, in the understanding that the committee's annual

quota on travel outside the EU is respected and that no interpretation services are

requested; it being stressed that no further accreditations as part of the EU delegation

would be requested by Parliament; suggested that the President be invited to inform

the Commission and the Council on the inclusion of up to 12 Members in the Union's

delegation to the above-mentioned conference in Rio;


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PE 479.790/CPG 28/42

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13. Request from the Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety to send

an ad hoc delegation to the 18th Conference on Climate change which will be held in Qatar

from 3 to 8 December 2012 - Letter from Mr LEINEN, Chair of the committees concerned

This item was postponed.

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14. Request from the Committee on Fisheries to participate at the annual Conference of the

Western and Pacific Fisheries Commission in Guam, from 25 to 28 March 2012 - Letter

from Mr MATO ADROVER, Chair of the Committee concerned



a letter dated 26 January 2012 from Mr MATO ADROVER, Chair of the

Committee concerned, on the above-mentioned subject (PE 479.810/CPG, annex

and financial statement);

- noted the letter, dated 26 January 2012, from Mr MATO ADROVER, Chair of the

Committee on Fisheries requesting authorisation to send a delegation to Guam from

25 to 28 March 2012, including travel time, to participate in the Western and Central

Pacific Fisheries Commission's Eighth Regular Session taking place from 26 to 30

March 2012; noted that the number of Members requested to travel has not been

specified in the request, but that the draft financial statement lists one Member to

travel;

- noted the fact that that the travel dates for this delegation comprises one day without

parliamentary activities, days reserved for committees and one half day reserved for

political group meetings; noted that the delegation has expressed its firm

commitment to be back in time for the beginning of the plenary scheduled for 28

March 2012;

- noted that the delegation is not part of the annual programme 2012 for travel by

committee delegations outside the three places of work of the European Parliament

such as approved by the Bureau at its meeting on 12 December 2011 and that the

Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission's Eighth Regular Session was

initially scheduled to take place in Palau from 5 to 9 December 2011 and has been

included in the annual programme of the year 2011;

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- recalled the Rules on travel by Committee Delegations outside the three places of

work of the E, and, in particular, Article 2 (1), Article 5 (3), Article 6 , Article 7 on

the use of the committees' annual quota for missions to countries outside the EU, the

dates of such missions and on their duration; note that one half-day of the dates

foreseen for travel is set aside for political group meetings and, therefore, not in line

with Article 6 of the relevant rules;

- referred to remarks contained in the decision of the Bureau of 12 December 2011

regarding the draft programme for travel by parliamentary committee delegations

outside the three places of work during 2012, underlining, "as far as the two PECH

requests are concerned, that these visits should be drawn from the committee's

annual quota for travel outside the EU, which must be respected" and conclude that,

in line with this decision, this principle has to applied also to any additional visit of

the same nature;

- endorsed the request, on a strictly exceptional basis and in the understanding that

only one committee Member is travelling, provided that the Committee's annual

quota for travel outside the EU is respected, which will require a modification of the

planned number of Members taking part in other visits of the same kind scheduled in

the annual programme, and underlining the strict need of the delegation ending in

time such as to ensure the participation of the Member concerned at the entire part-

session starting on 28 March 2012;

- invited the Committee on Fisheries to forward the name of the Member participating

in the delegation;

- invited the President to inform the Commission on the inclusion of this Member in

the Union's delegation to the above-mentioned conference;


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15. Request to send a delegation to Belarus on 1 and 2 March 2012 - Letter from Mr

VIGENIN, Co-President of the Euronest PA and Mr SARYUSZ-WOLSKI, Co-Chair of

Euronest Working Group on Belarus



a letter dated 26 January 2012 from Mr VIGENIN, Co-President of the Euronest

PA and Mr SARYUSZ-WOLSKI, Co-Chair of Euronest Working Group on

Belarus, on the above-mentioned subject (PE 479.794/CPG, annexes and financial

statement);

- took note of the request from Mr VIGENIN, Co-President of the Euronest PA and

Mr SARYUSZ-WOLSKI, Co-Chair of the Euronest Working Group on Belarus to

send a delegation to Belarus on 1 and 2 March 2012 to be composed of Mr

GODMANIS, MEP and one Member of the Moldovan Parliament tasked to hold

talks with the Belorussian authorities and other political stakeholders;

- noted that the dates in question coincide with a parliamentary committee day and a

Friday without parliamentary activity and that the request therefore is not in

conformity with Article 6 of the Implementing provisions governing the work of

Delegations;

- noted that this delegation was not included in the annual programme for travel by

standing delegations and Inter-parliamentary Assemblies for 2012, as adopted by the

Conference of Presidents on 8 December 2011;

- noted that the Euronest PA decision of 3 May 2011 on the creation of a Working

Group on Belarus foresees the possibility for the Working Group to organise visits to

the country in order to follow the preparations of the Belorussian parliamentary

elections foreseen for September 2012;

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- noted that, in principle, pursuant to Rule 6(1) of the Implementing provisions

governing the work of delegations, missions shall take place during the weeks set

aside for external parliamentary activities; note that the dates of the mission

requested coincide with a committee day and a day without parliamentary activities;

- accepted the request by way of exception.

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16. Request to send a delegation to attend meetings of the Bureau and the Enlarged Bureau of

the Parliamentary Assembly of the Union for the Mediterranean (PA-UfM) in Rabat,

Morocco, on 17 February 2012 - Letter from Ms SAÏFI, PA-UfM Committee Chair



a letter dated 31 January 2012 from Ms SAÏFI, Chair of the Political Affairs

Committee of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Union for the Mediterranean

(PA UfM), on the above-mentioned subject (PE 479.809/CPG, annexes and


- took note of the request of 31 January 2012 from Ms SAÏFI, Chair of the Political

Affairs Committee of Parliamentary Assembly of the Union for the Mediterranean

(PA UfM), to send a delegation composed of four Members to the meetings of the

Bureau and the enlarged Bureau of the PA UfM, to be held in Rabat, Morocco, on 17

February 2012;

- noted that this delegation featured in the PA UfM programme of activities for 2012,

as adopted by the Conference of Presidents on 8 December 2011, however without a

specific date;

- noted that the date in question coincides with a Friday without parliamentary activity

following a Strasbourg Plenary and that the request therefore is not in conformity

with Article 6 of the Implementing provisions governing the work of Delegations;

- approved the request by way of exception.

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PE 479.790/CPG 34/42

EN

17. Request from the EPP Group for authorisation to hold a Bureau group meeting on 17 and

18 May 2012 in Killarney, Ireland - Letter from Mr BIESMANS, Deputy Secretary-

General of the group



a letter dated 14 December 2011 from Mr BIESMANS, Deputy Secretary-General

of the group concerned, on the above-mentioned subject (PE 479.798/CPG and


- took note of the request from the EPP Group to hold a meeting of its Bureau in

Killarney, Ireland, from 17 to 18 May 2012 (17 May being a public holiday

(Ascension);

- authorised the request by way of exception.

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18. Request from the GUE/NGL Group for authorisation to hold a group meeting from 1 to 4

October 2012 in Cyprus - Letter from Mr BISKY, Chair of the group



a letter dated 10 January 2012 from Mr BISKY, Chair of the GUE/NGL Group,

on the above-mentioned subject (PE 479.762/CPG and financial statement);

- took note of the request from the GUE/NGL Group to hold a group meeting in

Nicosia, Cyprus, from 1 to 4 October 2012 (4 October being a Thursday reserved for

committee meetings);


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PE 479.790/CPG 36/42

EN

19. Request from the EPP Group for authorisation to hold a Bureau group meeting from 4 to 6

October 2012 in the Rhine-Main region, Germany - Letter from Mr BIESMANS, Deputy

Secretary-General of the group



a letter dated 4 November 2011 from Mr BIESMANS, Deputy Secretary-General

of the EPP group, on the above-mentioned subject (PE 479.797/CPG and


- took note of the request from the EPP Group to hold a meeting of its Bureau in the

Rhin-Main region, Germany, from 4 October to 6 October 2012 (a Thursday reserved

for committee meetings, a Friday without parliamentary activity and a Saturday);


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20. Urgent matters and any other business

20.1 Consultation of the Legal Service on International agreements



the Bureau Decision on the consultation of the Legal Service, dated 28 January

2004 (PE 339.484/BUR);

- heard Mr VERHOFSTADT, Chair of the ALDE Group, recall that he had requested

at previous meetings that the Conference discuss the proposal that, as a general rule,

Parliament's Legal Service should provide an opinion on any draft international

agreement before that agreement was put to the vote. Mr VERHOFSTADT noted

that while this proposal might not find majority support it would be appropriate to

revisit the rules in force on consultation of the Legal Service, which dated from

2004, in order to make any necessary updates thereto;

- held a short exchange of views on the matter, with the participation of Mr WEBER,

Acting Chair of the EPP Group, Mr SWOBODA, Chair of the S&D Group, Ms

DURANT, Acting Chair of the Greens/EFA Group and Mr FOX, Acting Chair of the

ECR Group, as well as Mr LEHNE, Chair of the Conference of Committee Chairs,

who noted that in his experience the committees did not experience any practical

difficulties in consulting the Legal Service in any case when it was deemed

necessary;

- noted that the current rules provide committee chairs with the possibility to request

the drawing up of a legal opinion and that this possibility was also open to other

bodies or office-holders; agreed by a large majority that there was no need to move

towards a system of automatic referral of international agreements to the legal

Service, further agreed, nonetheless, that it could be appropriate to discuss the

relevant rules which were adopted by the Bureau.

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20.2 Participation of the President in a political debate from the President's chair


- noted the question of Mr SPERONI to the President whether he intended to intervene in

political debates from the President's chair or whether he would be replaced by a Vice-

Chair during such debates for his interventions;

- heard the President confirm that, should he participate in a political debate, he would not

do this from the Chair.

20.3 Invitation of Croatian observers to the EP


- noted the suggestion of Mr SWOBODA to enable the integration of Croatian observers

as swiftly as possible;

- heard the President informing that, should the Conference of Presidents express such a

wish, the services could make it possible to receive the Croatian observers already by 1

April 2012;

- decided to receive the Croatian observers as of 1 April 2012.

20.4 Admissibility of requests for oral questions and written statements


- heard Mr SPERONI informing that Members of his political group recently had been

refused to ask oral questions and written statements without specifying why they were

against the rules, such as pretended;

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- heard the President referring to the general framework defining the admissibility of

oral questions and written statements, ensuring that only clearly inadmissible requests

would not be forwarded and inviting Mr SPERONI to contact his Private Office in

order to study the issue.

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PE 479.790/CPG 40/42

EN

21. Items for information

21.1 Internal correspondence



a letter dated 7 February 2012 from President SCHULZ to Ms

WERTHMANN and Mr SOSA WAGNER on the representation of the Non-

attached Members in the Conference of Presidents from February 2012 until

July 2014 (PE 479.841/CPG);


Committee Chairs, on a list of requests from parliamentary committees to draw

up own-initiative reports under Rule 48 (PE 479.818/CPG and annexes);


Committee Chairs, on two requests for the application of Rule 50 concerning

the procedure with associated committees (PE 479.819/CPG and annexes);


Committee Chairs, on two requests for the application of Rule 51 concerning

the procedure with joint committee meetings (PE 479.822/CPG and annexes);

a note dated 24 January 2012 from Mr AGUIRIANO, Director-General for

External Policies, on a general overview of the programme of activities of the

Interparliamentary Delegations, JPC and Parliamentary Assemblies for 2011

(PE 489.811/CPG and annex).

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21.2 Interinstitutional correspondence

None

21.3 External Correspondence



an invitation letter dated 24 January 2012 from President Martin SCHULZ, to

the President of Tunisia, on an official visit to the European Parliament in

February this year (PE 479.800/CPG);

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22. Date and place of next meeting


- noted that the next ordinary meeting of the Conference of Presidents will be held on

Thursday 16 February 2012 from 10.00 to 12.00 hours in Room R1.1 of the Louise

Weiss Building in Strasbourg.

* *

*

The meeting closed at 12:44 hours.

of the ordinary meeting of Thursday 9 February 2012€¦ · 3. Adoption of the final draft agenda...

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