Upload
others
View
0
Download
0
Embed Size (px)
Citation preview
PV CPG 11.05.2017
PE 602.172/CPG
EN
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
PV CPG 11.05.2017
PE 602.172/CPG 2/85
EN
CONFERENCE OF PRESIDENTS
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
PV CPG 11.05.2017
3/85 PE 602.172/CPG
EN
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
PV CPG 11.05.2017
PE 602.172/CPG 4/85
EN
CONFERENCE OF PRESIDENTS
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
PV CPG 11.05.2017
5/85 PE 602.172/CPG
EN
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
PV CPG 11.05.2017
PE 602.172/CPG 6/85
EN
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
PV CPG 11.05.2017
7/85 PE 602.172/CPG
EN
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.
PV CPG 11.05.2017
PE 602.172/CPG 8/85
EN
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).
PV CPG 11.05.2017
9/85 PE 602.172/CPG
EN
2. Approval of the draft Minutes of the meeting of 6 April 2017
The Conference of Presidents
- 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).
PV CPG 11.05.2017
PE 602.172/CPG 10/85
EN
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
The Conference of Presidents
- 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.
PV CPG 11.05.2017
11/85 PE 602.172/CPG
EN
4. Communications by the President
4.1 UK withdrawal from the EU
The Conference of Presidents
- 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
The Conference of Presidents
PV CPG 11.05.2017
PE 602.172/CPG 12/85
EN
- 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
The Conference of Presidents
- 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;
- endorsed the President’s approach.
4.4 Review of the regulation on the statute and funding of European political parties and foundations
The Conference of Presidents
- 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
PV CPG 11.05.2017
13/85 PE 602.172/CPG
EN
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
The Conference of Presidents
- 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
The Conference of Presidents
- 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;
- endorsed the President’s approach.
PV CPG 11.05.2017
PE 602.172/CPG 14/85
EN
4.7 Guests in forthcoming meetings of the Conference of Presidents
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;
- endorsed the President’s approach.
4.8 Guest speakers in plenary
The Conference of Presidents
- 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;
- endorsed the President’s approach.
PV CPG 11.05.2017
15/85 PE 602.172/CPG
EN
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.
PV CPG 11.05.2017
PE 602.172/CPG 16/85
EN
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;
PV CPG 11.05.2017
17/85 PE 602.172/CPG
EN
- 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.
PV CPG 11.05.2017
PE 602.172/CPG 18/85
EN
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
The Conference of Presidents, without debate
- 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.
PV CPG 11.05.2017
19/85 PE 602.172/CPG
EN
8. Appointment of Parliament’s representative to the Administrative Board of the European Global
Navigation Satellite System Agency
The Conference of Presidents, without debate
- 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;
PV CPG 11.05.2017
PE 602.172/CPG 20/85
EN
- 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.
PV CPG 11.05.2017
21/85 PE 602.172/CPG
EN
9. Composition of Parliament’s special committee for access to sensitive information in the field of
security and defence policy - replacement of a member
The Conference of Presidents, without debate
- 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.
PV CPG 11.05.2017
PE 602.172/CPG 22/85
EN
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
The Conference of Presidents, without debate
- 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.
PV CPG 11.05.2017
23/85 PE 602.172/CPG
EN
11. Committee missions outside the three places of work during the second half of 2017
The Conference of Presidents, without debate
- 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
PV CPG 11.05.2017
PE 602.172/CPG 24/85
EN
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
PV CPG 11.05.2017
25/85 PE 602.172/CPG
EN
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
PV CPG 11.05.2017
PE 602.172/CPG 26/85
EN
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,
PV CPG 11.05.2017
27/85 PE 602.172/CPG
EN
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);
PV CPG 11.05.2017
PE 602.172/CPG 28/85
EN
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
PV CPG 11.05.2017
29/85 PE 602.172/CPG
EN
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;
PV CPG 11.05.2017
PE 602.172/CPG 30/85
EN
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;
PV CPG 11.05.2017
31/85 PE 602.172/CPG
EN
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
PV CPG 11.05.2017
PE 602.172/CPG 32/85
EN
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.
PV CPG 11.05.2017
33/85 PE 602.172/CPG
EN
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
The Conference of Presidents, without debate
- 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);
PV CPG 11.05.2017
PE 602.172/CPG 34/85
EN
- therefore, endorsed the request and forwarded its recommendation to the Bureau for final
decision.
PV CPG 11.05.2017
35/85 PE 602.172/CPG
EN
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
The Conference of Presidents
- 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.
PV CPG 11.05.2017
PE 602.172/CPG 36/85
EN
14. Request from Committees for travel outside the European Union, the candidate countries and the EEA
during the second half of 2017
The Conference of Presidents, without debate
- 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;
PV CPG 11.05.2017
37/85 PE 602.172/CPG
EN
- 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;
PV CPG 11.05.2017
PE 602.172/CPG 38/85
EN
- 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
PV CPG 11.05.2017
39/85 PE 602.172/CPG
EN
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
PV CPG 11.05.2017
PE 602.172/CPG 40/85
EN
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;
- 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
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;
PV CPG 11.05.2017
41/85 PE 602.172/CPG
EN
- 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
PV CPG 11.05.2017
PE 602.172/CPG 42/85
EN
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
PV CPG 11.05.2017
43/85 PE 602.172/CPG
EN
Delegation concerning their programme and that the mission did not exceed five days
including travel time;
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
PV CPG 11.05.2017
PE 602.172/CPG 44/85
EN
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;
PV CPG 11.05.2017
45/85 PE 602.172/CPG
EN
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;
PV CPG 11.05.2017
PE 602.172/CPG 46/85
EN
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
including travel time;
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
including travel time;
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
PV CPG 11.05.2017
47/85 PE 602.172/CPG
EN
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
PV CPG 11.05.2017
PE 602.172/CPG 48/85
EN
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
PV CPG 11.05.2017
49/85 PE 602.172/CPG
EN
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;
PV CPG 11.05.2017
PE 602.172/CPG 50/85
EN
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
PV CPG 11.05.2017
51/85 PE 602.172/CPG
EN
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;
PV CPG 11.05.2017
PE 602.172/CPG 52/85
EN
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
PV CPG 11.05.2017
53/85 PE 602.172/CPG
EN
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
PV CPG 11.05.2017
PE 602.172/CPG 54/85
EN
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
PV CPG 11.05.2017
55/85 PE 602.172/CPG
EN
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.
PV CPG 11.05.2017
PE 602.172/CPG 56/85
EN
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.
PV CPG 11.05.2017
57/85 PE 602.172/CPG
EN
16. Activities of standing inter-parliamentary delegations for the second half of 2017
The Conference of Presidents, without debate
- 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
PV CPG 11.05.2017
PE 602.172/CPG 58/85
EN
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
PV CPG 11.05.2017
59/85 PE 602.172/CPG
EN
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
PV CPG 11.05.2017
PE 602.172/CPG 60/85
EN
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,
PV CPG 11.05.2017
61/85 PE 602.172/CPG
EN
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;
- 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
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;
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;
PV CPG 11.05.2017
PE 602.172/CPG 62/85
EN
- 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;
PV CPG 11.05.2017
63/85 PE 602.172/CPG
EN
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
PV CPG 11.05.2017
PE 602.172/CPG 64/85
EN
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
PV CPG 11.05.2017
65/85 PE 602.172/CPG
EN
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
PV CPG 11.05.2017
PE 602.172/CPG 66/85
EN
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
PV CPG 11.05.2017
67/85 PE 602.172/CPG
EN
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
PV CPG 11.05.2017
PE 602.172/CPG 68/85
EN
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;
SINEEA Delegation for relations with Switzerland and Norway and to the EU-Iceland Joint
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
PV CPG 11.05.2017
69/85 PE 602.172/CPG
EN
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;
PV CPG 11.05.2017
PE 602.172/CPG 70/85
EN
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;
SINEEA Delegation for relations with Switzerland and Norway and to the EU-Iceland Joint
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,
PV CPG 11.05.2017
71/85 PE 602.172/CPG
EN
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
including travel time;
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;
PV CPG 11.05.2017
PE 602.172/CPG 72/85
EN
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;
PV CPG 11.05.2017
73/85 PE 602.172/CPG
EN
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
PV CPG 11.05.2017
PE 602.172/CPG 74/85
EN
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;
SINEEA Delegation for relations with Switzerland and Norway and to the EU-Iceland Joint
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;
PV CPG 11.05.2017
75/85 PE 602.172/CPG
EN
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;
PV CPG 11.05.2017
PE 602.172/CPG 76/85
EN
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
including travel time;
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;
SINEEA Delegation for relations with Switzerland and Norway and to the EU-Iceland Joint
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.
PV CPG 11.05.2017
77/85 PE 602.172/CPG
EN
17. Regular items for the scrutiny of the Conference of Presidents
17.1 Delegated and implementing acts - Screening of current files
The Conference of Presidents, without debate
- 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;
PV CPG 11.05.2017
PE 602.172/CPG 78/85
EN
17.2 Overview of delegated acts and draft RPS measures currently under EP scrutiny
The Conference of Presidents, without debate
- 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.
PV CPG 11.05.2017
79/85 PE 602.172/CPG
EN
17.3 First reading agreements - Committee decisions to enter into negotiations and state of play of files
currently under negotiation
The Conference of Presidents, without debate
- 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.
PV CPG 11.05.2017
PE 602.172/CPG 80/85
EN
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.
PV CPG 11.05.2017
81/85 PE 602.172/CPG
EN
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
The Conference of Presidents, without debate
- 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.
PV CPG 11.05.2017
PE 602.172/CPG 82/85
EN
18.3 Report on the evaluation of external aspects of customs performance and management as a tool to
facilitate trade and fight illicit trade
The Conference of Presidents
- 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.
PV CPG 11.05.2017
83/85 PE 602.172/CPG
EN
19. Items for information
19.1 Internal correspondence
The Conference of Presidents
- noted the following documents:
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);
PV CPG 11.05.2017
PE 602.172/CPG 84/85
EN
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
The Conference of Presidents
- noted the following documents:
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.
PV CPG 11.05.2017
85/85 PE 602.172/CPG
EN
20. Date and place of next meetings
The Conference of Presidents
- 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.