Mr President, I have the honour of presenting this report on behalf of the Committee on Legal Affairs and the Internal Market which appointed me institutional rapporteur. This report on the verification of credentials has its roots and legal basis in Article 11 of the Act concerning the election of the representatives of the European Parliament annexed to the Council decision of 20 September 1976. In accordance with this legal basis it falls to the European Parliament to verify the credentials of its Members until the uniform electoral procedure comes into force. This report on the verification of credentials relates to the outcome of the fifth direct election to the European Parliament, which took place on 10 to 13 June 1999 and is based on the official notifications by all the Member States of the full election results and the names of any substitutes together with their ranking in accordance with the results of the vote. However, in accordance with Article 7(5) of our Rules of Procedure, any Member may attend sittings of Parliament and its bodies even if his credentials have not been verified or a ruling has not been given on a dispute. Accordingly, pending adoption of the report on the verification of credentials, – I hope with an overwhelming majority tomorrow in the plenary sitting – all of us, all Members elected in the fifth legislature, have been able to exercise our rights in full and with no restrictions. The Rules of Procedure also lay down that, should an elected Member resign from Parliament before this report has been adopted in plenary, the vacancy and the name of the new Member shall be verified, pursuant to Rule 8 of the Rules of Procedure in conjunction with the relevant provisions of the Act of 20 September 1976, in a separate procedure independent of this report and which will take place at a convenient time. Therefore, this report relates only to the acquisition of a mandate as a result of the fifth direct elections to the European Parliament. The competent national authorities of fourteen Member States sent their official notifications on 20 July 1999. As far as Luxembourg was concerned, there was a delay in declaring the candidates elected due to the fact that a general election was held at the same time as the European election. In these elections, some candidates stood for the European Parliament as well as for the national parliament and some were also potential Members of the future government of Luxembourg, which is incompatible, pursuant to Article 6(1) of the Act of 20 September 1976, with Membership of the European Parliament. Because the Luxembourg Government was not formed until early August 1999, the mandate of the now Commissioner Viviane Reding could not become effective, following notification from the competent Luxembourg authorities, until 7 August 1999. In turn, Mrs Reding’s resignation will be subject to verification in a separate decision as I previously stated. On the other hand, Rule 7(2) of the Rules of Procedure lays down that it is not possible to confirm the validity of the mandate of a Member unless the written declarations required on the basis of Article 6 of the Act of 20 September 1976 and Annex 1 to the Rules of Procedure have been made. These declarations – it is worth pointing out – are to the effect that the Member does not hold any of the offices listed in Article 6 which are incompatible with membership of the European Parliament. They also contain precise information on the Member’s professional activities, any other remunerated functions or activities and any support, whether financial or in terms of staff or material. I have to say that making these declarations is the sole responsibility of the Member, who must make them to the best of his or her knowledge. In this procedure and in the report that I am presenting today, what will be verified is only whether the formal requirements have been met. Therefore, Mr President, this is the background to the report on which we will vote tomorrow in plenary sitting in Parliament and for which, as rapporteur, I have presented two amendments which are justified by my explanation about the elections in Luxembourg and by what I have said. IN THE CHAIR: MR ONTAVice-President

Political group: PPE-DE