1976X1008 — EN — 01.01.1986 — 002.001 — 1
This document is meant purely as a documentation tool and the institutions do not assume any liability for its contents
►B ACT
concerning the election of the representatives of the Assembly by direct universal suffrage
(OJ L 278, 8.10.1976, p. 5)
Amended by:
Official Journal
No page date
►A1Act of Accession of Greece L 291 17 19.11.1979
►A2Act of Accession of Spain and Portugal L 302 23 15.11.1985
▼B
ACT
concerning the election of the representatives of the Assembly by
direct universal suffrage
Article 1
The representatives in the Assembly of the peoples of the States
brought together in the Community shall be elected by direct universalsuffrage.
Article 2
The number of representatives elected in each Member State is as
follows:
Belgium 24
Denmark 16Germany 81Greece 24Spain 60France 81Ireland 15Italy 81Luxembourg 6Netherlands 25Portugal 24United Kingdom 81
Article 3
1. Representatives shall be elected for a term of five years.2. This five-year period shall begin at the opening of the first
session following eachelection.
It may be extended or curtailed pursuant to the second subparagraph of
Article 10 (2).
3. The term of office of each representative shall begin and end at
the same time as the period referred to in paragraph 2.
Article 4
1. Representatives shall vote on an individual and personal basis.
They shall not be bound by any instructions and shall not receive a
binding mandate.
2. Representatives shall enjoy the privileges and immunities applic-
able to members of the Assembly by virtue of the Protocol on theprivileges and immunities of the European Communities annexed to
the Treaty establishing a single Council and a single Commission of
the European Communities.
Article 5
The office of representative in the Assembly shall be compatible with
membership of the Parliament of a Member State.1976X1008 — EN — 01.01.1986 — 002.001 — 2
▼A2
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Article 6
1. The office of representative in the Assembly shall be incompa-
tible withth at of:
— member of the Government of a Member State,
— member of the Commission of the European Communities,
— Judge, Advocate-General or Registrar of the Court of Justice of the
European Communities,
— member of the Court of Auditors of the European Communities,
— member of the Consultative Committee of the European Coal and
Steel Community or member of the Economic and SocialCommittee of the European Economic Community and of theEuropean Atomic Energy Community,
— member of committees or other bodies set up pursuant to the Trea-
ties establishing the European Coal and Steel Community, theEuropean Econ omic Community and the European Atomic EnergyCommunity for the purpose of managing the Communities' funds orcarrying out a permanent direct administrative task,
— member of the Board of Directors, Management Committee or staff
of the European Investment Bank,
— active official or servant of the institutions of the European
Communities or of the specialized bodies attached to them.
2. In addition, eachMember State may, in th e circumstances
provided for in Article 7 (2), lay down rules at national level relatingto. incompatibility.
3. Representatives in the Assembly to whom paragraphs 1 and 2
become applicable in the course of the five-year period referred to inArticle 3 shall be replaced in accordance with Article 12.
Article 7
1. Pursuant to Article 21 (3) of the Treaty establishing the European
Coal and Steel Community, Article 138 (3) of the Treaty establishing
the European Economic Community and 108 (3) of the Treaty estab-
lishing the European Atomic Energy Community, the Assembly shalldraw up a proposal for a uniform electoral procedure.
2. Pending the entry into force of a uniform electoral procedure and
subject to the other provisions of this Act, the electoral procedure shall
be governed in eachMember State by its national provisions.
Article 8
No one may vote more than once in any election of representatives to
the Assembly.
Article 9
1. Elections to the Assembly shall be held on the date fixed by each
Member State; for all Member States this date shall fall within thesame period starting on a Thursday morning and ending on thefollowing Sunday.
2. The counting of votes may not begin until after the close of
polling in the Member State whose electors are the last to vote withinthe period referred to in paragraph 1.
3. If a Member State adopts a double ballot system for elections to
the Assembly, the first ballot must take place during the period referredto in paragraph1.
Article 10
1. The Council, acting unanimously after consulting the Assembly,
shall determine the period referred to in Article 9 (1) for the first elec-tions.1976X1008 — EN — 01.01.1986 — 002.001 — 3
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2. Subsequent elections shall take place in the corresponding period
in the last year of the five-year period referred to in Article 3.
Should it prove impossible to hold the elections in the Community
during that period, the Council acting unanimously shall, afterconsulting the Assembly, determine another period which shall be notmore th an one monthbefore or one monthafter th e period fixedpursuant to the preceding subparagraph.
3. Without prejudice to Article 22 of the Treaty establishing the
European Coal and Steel Community, Article 139 of the Treaty estab-lishing the European Economic Community and Article 109 of theTreaty establishing the European Atomic Energy Community, the
Assembly shall meet, without requiring to be convened, on the first
Tuesday after expiry of an interval of one month from the end of theperiod referred to in Article 9 (1).
4. The powers of the outgoing Assembly shall cease upon the
opening of the first sitting of the new Assembly.
Article 11
Pending the entry into force of the uniform electoral procedure referred
to in Article 7 (1), the Assembly shall verify the credentials of repre-
sentatives. For this purpose it shall take note of the results declaredofficially by the Member States and shall rule on any disputes whichmay arise out of the provisions of this Act other than those arisingout of the national provisions to which the Act refers.
Article 12
1. Pending the entry into force of the uniform electoral procedure
referred to in Article 7(1) and subject to the other provisions of thisAct, eachMember State sh all lay down appropriate procedures for
filling any seat which falls vacant during the five-year term of office
referred to in Article 3 for the remainder of that period.
2. Where a seat falls vacant pursuant to national provisions in force
in a Member State, the latter shall inform the Assembly, which shall
take note of that fact.
In all other cases, the Assembly shall establish that there is a vacancy
and inform the Member State thereof.
Article 13
Should it appear necessary to adopt measures to implement this Act,
the Council, acting unanimously on a proposal from the Assembly afterconsulting the Commission, shall adopt such measures after endea-vouring to reachagreement withth e Assembly in a conciliation
committee consisting of the Council and representatives of the
Assembly.
Article 14
Article 21 (1) and (2) of the Treaty establishing the European Coal and
Steel Community, Article 138 (1) and (2) of the Treaty establishing theEuropean Economic Community and Article 108 (1) and (2) of theTreaty establishing the European Atomic Energy Community shalllapse on the date of the sitting held in accordance with Article 10 (3)by the first Assembly elected pursuant to this Act.
Article 15
This Act is drawn up in the Danish, Dutch, English, French, German,
Irish and Italian languages, all the texts being equally authentic.
Annexes I to III shall form an integral part of this Act.
A declaration by the Government of the Federal Republic of Germany
is attached hereto.1976X1008 — EN — 01.01.1986 — 002.001 — 4
▼B
Article 16
The provisions of this Act shall enter into force on the first day of the
month following that during which the last of the notifications referred
to in the Decision is received.
Udfærdiget i Bruxelles, den tyvende september nitten hundrede og
seksoghalvfjerds
.Geschehen zu Brüssel am zwanzigsten September neunzehnhundert-
sechsundsiebzig
.Done at Brussels on the twentieth day of September in the year one
thousand nine hundred and seventy-six
.Fait à Bruxelles, le vingt septembre mil neuf cent soixante-seize.Arna dhéanamh sa Bhruiséil, an fichiú lá de mhí Mhéan Fómhair, míle
naoi gcéad seachtó a sé
.Fatto a Bruxelles, addì venti settembre millenovecentosettantasei.Gedaan te Brussel, de twintigste september negentienhonderd-zesenze-
ventig.1976X1008 — EN — 01.01.1986 — 002.001 — 5
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Pour le royaume de Belgique, son représentant
Voor het Koninkrijk België, zijn Vertegenwoordigerle ministre des affaires étrangères du royaume de BelgiqueDe Minister van Buitenlandse Zaken van het Koninkrijk België
For kongeriget Danmark, dets repræsentantkongeriget Danmarks uden-
rigsøkonomiminister
Für die Bundesrepublik Deutschland, ihr VertreterDer Bundesminister
des Auswärtigen der Bundesrepublik Deutschland
Pour la République française, son représentantle ministre des affairesétrangères de la République française
For Ireland, its Representative
Thar ceann na hÉireann, a hIonadaíThe Minister for Foreign Affairs of
Ireland
Aire Gnóthaí Eachtracha na hÉireann
Per la Repubblica italiana, il suo rappresentanteil ministro degli Affari
esteri della Repubblica italiana1976X1008 — EN — 01.01.1986 — 002.001 — 6
▼B
Pour le grand-duché de Luxembourg, son représentant,membre du
gouvernement du grand-duché de Luxembourg
Voor het Koninkrijk der Nederlanden, zijn VertegenwoordigerDeStaatssecretaris van Buitenlandse Zaken van het Koninkrijk der Neder-
landen
For the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, theirrepresentativeThe Minister for Foreign Affairs and of the Common-
wealth of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
1976X1008 — EN — 01.01.1986 — 002.001 — 7
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ANNEX I
The Danish authorities may decide on the dates on which the election of
members to the Assembly shall take place in Greenland.1976X1008 — EN — 01.01.1986 — 002.001 — 8
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ANNEX II
The United Kingdom will apply the provisions of this Act only in respect of the
United Kingdom.1976X1008 — EN — 01.01.1986 — 002.001 — 9
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ANNEX III
Declaration on Article 13
As regards the procedure to be followed by the Conciliation Committee, it is
agreed to have recourse to the provisions of paragraphs 5, 6 and 7 of the proce-
dure laid down in the joint declaration of the European Parliament, the Council
and the Commission of 4 March 1975(1).1976X1008 — EN — 01.01.1986 — 002.001 — 10
(1) OJ No C 89, 22. 4. 1975, p. 1.
▼B
Declaration by the Government of the Federal Republic of Germany
The Government of the Federal Republic of Germany declares that the Act
concerning the election of the members of the European Parliament by direct
universal suffrage shall equally apply to Land Berlin.
In consideration of the rights and responsibilities of France, the United Kingdom
of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, and the United States of America, the
Berlin House of Deputies will elect representatives to those seats within the
quota of the Federal Republic of Germany that fall to Land Berlin.1976X1008 — EN — 01.01.1986 — 002.001 — 11