4.4.

The ACRE has 5 membership categories: (i) the Member Parties, (ii) the Individual Members, (iii) the Affiliated Organisations, (iv) Global Members, (v) the Members of the ACRE board of directors (the ‘Board’ and the ‘Directors’). 4.4.1. Member Parties: Member Parties are Parties, as defined in Art 1.6 of the present Bylaws from countries that are members of the Council of Europe, which have applied for ACRE membership and been duly approved by the ACRE Council. Member Parties have a voting right as defined in article 6.5 of present Bylaws and count towards quorum. National confederations of Parties that fight European elections on a joint list or a common programme shall be treated as a single Member Party and will appoint, in accordance with article 4.3 of the Bylaws, one or more representative(s) who will act as proxy-holder(s) for the Parties which are members of the confederation concerned. In the event a Party or national confederation of Parties having been accepted as a Member Party, is divided for any reason (e.g. an internal division or other reasons), in various distinct Parties (whether or not legal successors of the original Party), the Parties resulting from such division will, pending Council approval within a period of 12 months after notification of the division by (one of) the Parties concerned to the Board, be automatically accepted as a Member Party on their own upon condition that they continue to meet the membership criteria (including the financial obligations) and it being understood that the voting rights of the original Member Party will be divided amongst the new Member Parties whereby each Party will have at the least one vote, the remaining votes, if any, being divided by the President on the basis of an equitable division between the Parties concerned using the number of Individual Members as the primary though not only criterion. In case the Parties concerned dispute the decision of the President, all Parties will be deemed having only one vote until the next meeting of the Council which will allocate the votes to the Parties. The Council's decision does not have to be motivated nor explained and this decision will be final. 4.4.2. Individual Members: The Council can grant an ‘Individual Membership’ among others, to (i) elected Members of the European Parliament (‘MEPs’) without national party affiliation or belonging to a national party that is not a Member Party of the ACRE, to (ii) European Commissioners or to (iii) national or regional parliamentarians and similarly situated individuals, who meet the membership criteria. The Individual Membership is granted for a period of one year at the time and, in any event, it automatically comes to an end if the individual concerned ceases to be a member of the European Parliament or, if granted on other grounds, if the reason or reasons for granting the Individual Membership as mentioned in the decision of the Council granting such membership, come to an end. Individual Members have a voting right as defined in article 6.5 of present Bylaws and count towards quorum. 4.4.3. Affiliated Organisations: The ACRE Council may accept and recognize foundations, groups in parliamentary assemblies, international youth groups and similar organisations and movements as Affiliated Organisations. Affiliated Organisations have a voting right as defined in article 6.5 of present Bylaws and count towards quorum. Notwithstanding article 4.5 of the Bylaws, the following organisations are automatically considered as Affiliated Organisations, unless they resign from such membership or are excluded by the Council: a) The European Conservative and Reformists Group in the European Parliament or any successor thereof (the ‘ECR Group’). The ACRE is exclusively represented in the European Parliament by the ECR Group or its successors. The Chairman of the ECR Group or its successors, in turn, represents the ECR Group and its members on the Council and the Conference and will act as the Delegate of the ECR Group or its successors. b) New Direction – Foundation for European Reform ASBL, a not for profit organisation, with registered seat at rue du Trône 4, 1000 Brussels, CBO 0820.210.719., which, as soon as possible, will convert to a European political foundation within the meaning of the Regulation. The ACRE works closely with its think-tank New Direction — Foundation for European Reform. New Direction – Foundation for European Reform is represented on the Council and the Conference by the Chairman of its board of directors who will act as its Delegate. c) The European Young Conservatives (EYC). The ACRE recognizes as its youth organisation the European Young Conservatives (EYC). The EYC is represented on the Council and the Conference by the Chairman of its board of directors who will act as its Delegate. 4.4.4. The Global Members: The Council can grant a ‘Global Membership’ to private individuals, companies or organisations from outside the European Union, who meet the membership criteria. The Global Membership is granted for a period of one year. Global Members have the right to attend the Council meetings. However they have no voting rights and do not count towards quorum. 4.4.5. The Directors. The Directors are automatically granted ACRE's membership upon their appointment as member of the Board. They have a voting right as defined in article 6.5 of present Bylaws and count towards quorum. Their Membership ends automatically and immediately when their mandate of Director ends.