Rules of the Administrative Commission on social security for migrant workers attached to the Commission of the European Communities (Adopted by the Administrative Commission at its meeting of 29 and 30 October 1981)

The government representatives forming the Administrative Commission set up under Article 80 of Council Regulation (EEC) No 1408/71 on the application of social security schemes to employed persons and their families moving within the Community,

Having regard to Article 80 (3) of the abovementioned Regulation,

In order to enable the Administrative Commission to fulfil the tasks conferred upon it by Regulation (EEC) No 1408/71 and Council Regulation (EEC) No 574/72, and in particular by Article 81 of Regulation (EEC) No 1408/71,

Have unanimously adopted the following rules of the Administrative Commission:

Article 1

The Administrative Commission is a specialized body of the Commission of the European Communities and has the same seat.

Article 2

1. When a member of the Administrative Commission is prevented from attending, he shall be replaced by the alternate designated for this purpose by his government.

2. Alternate members may accompany members at the meetings of the Administrative Commission.

3. Where this is necessary in view of the subjects to be dealt with or the measures to be taken at national level, each member may furthermore be accompanied by one or several expert advisers.

4. Each delegation may, as a rule, consist of not more than four persons.

5. The representative of the Commission of the European Communities may be accompanied by his alternate.

The meetings may furthermore be attended by a representative of the legal service and, where this is relevant to the question to be dealt with, a representative of another department of the Commission of the European Communities.

6. Within the framework of the agreements concluded between the International Labour Organization and the European Economic Community the representatives of the International Labour Office designated to assist in technical matters shall, in the manner set out in the said agreements, take part in the meetings of the Administrative Commission and may be instructed to carry out certain activities arising from the duties of the Administrative Commission.

7. The secretary-general of the Administrative Commission shall attend all meetings of the Administrative Commission and its working parties ; he shall be accompanied by members of the secretariat designated by him. If he is prevented from attending, he shall be replaced by the member or members of the secretariat designated by him.

Article 3

1. The office of chairman of the Administrative Commission shall be held by the member belonging to the State whose representative to the Council of the European Communities holds, for the same period, the office of President of the Council in accordance with Article 2 of the Treaty establishing a Single Council and a Single Commission of the European Communities. The chairman shall represent the Administrative Commission within the Advisory Committee set up under Article 82 of Regulation (EEC) No 1408/71, and on any other occasion.

2. If the chairman in office is prevented from attending, his alternate shall act as chairman.

3. When a member of the Administrative Commission holds the office of chairman, his alternate may vote in his place.

4. The Administrative Commission shall be convened by a letter of convocation sent, 10 days before the meeting, by the secretary-general in consultation with the chairman to members and to the persons mentioned in Article 2 (5) and (6) above.

5. Documents emanating from the Administrative Commission shall be signed by the chairman.

6. The chairman shall notify the decisions of the Administrative Commission, directly applicable in pursuance of the provisions of Regulation (EEC) No 1408/71 and Regulation (EEC) No 574/72, to the Commission of the European Communities and to the competent authorities of the Member States referred to in Article 1 (1) of Regulation (EEC) No 1408/71 and listed in Annex 1 of Regulation (EEC) No 574/72.

7. The chairman may give the secretary-general of the Administrative Commission any instructions for meetings to be held and for the performance of activities that are within the scope of the tasks of the Administrative Commission.

Article 4

1. The Administrative Commission may set up working parties and study groups for special problems. The names, functions and addresses of the experts designated as members of such working parties and study groups shall be communicated to the secretary-general by each member of the Administrative Commission on behalf of his country.

The meetings of the working parties and study groups may be attended by the persons mentioned in Article 2 (5) and (6) above.

2. The working parties and study groups shall be presided over by an expert designated by the chairman of the Administrative Commission in consultation with the representative of the Commission of the European Communities or, failing this, by an expert having the same nationality as the chairman of the Administrative Commission.

3. The chairman of the working party shall be summoned to the meeting of the Administrative Commission in the course of which the report of that working party is discussed.

Article 5

1. The Administrative Commission shall meet at least once every three months.

2. Every year one of its meetings shall be devoted to the examination of the statement of claims provided for in Article 101 (1) of Regulation (EEC) No 574/72 in the presence of the chairman in office of the Audit Board who shall, at the same time, report to the Administrative Commission in accordance with Article 102 (1) (b) of Regulation (EEC) No 574/72.

3. The Administrative Commission shall convene for an extraordinary meeting if at least three members or the representative of the Commission of the European Communities so request. The request should specify the purpose of the meeting.

4. By way of exception, the Administrative Commission may hold meetings away from its seat, in one of the Member States of the European Communities or on the premises of an international organization.

Article 6

1. The provisional agenda of each meeting shall be drawn up by the secretary-general in consultation with the chairman of the Administrative Commission and the representative of the Commission of the European Communities. Before proposing to include an item in the agenda, the secretary-general may, where this appears necessary, ask the delegations concerned to make their views on this question known in writing.

The provisional agenda shall be sent, at least 10 days before the beginning of each meeting, to the members and to the persons mentioned in Article 2 (5) and (6) above.

The documents relating to the items on the agenda shall be sent to them as soon as they are available.

2. The provisional agenda shall, in principle, comprise items for which a request submitted by a member or by the representative of the Commission of the European Communities and, where appropriate, notes relating to it have been received by the secretariat at least 20 days before the beginning of the meeting.

3. The agenda shall be approved by the Administrative Commission at the beginning of each meeting. Except in cases of urgency, members of the Administrative Commission may reserve their final position until the following meeting with regard to items appearing on the provisional agenda for which they have not received the relevant documents in their own language five days before the beginning of the meeting.

A unanimous vote of the Administrative Commission is required for the inclusion in the agenda of any items other than those appearing on the provisional agenda.

4. Unless the Administrative Commission expressly decides to fix a different period, the notes requested from the delegations should be sent to the secretariat within a period of not longer than two months. If, at the expiry of this period, the secretariat has not received all the notes, the question concerned must be discussed at the first meeting of the Administrative Commission following the expiry of the said period.

Article 7

Subject to the provisions of Article 8 hereinafter, a decision can only be valid if it is taken in the presence of at least seven members or their alternates.

Article 8

1. Decisions shall be taken either by a unanimous vote of the members forming the Administrative Commission or by a unanimous vote of the members present or by an affirmative vote of at least seven members of the Administrative Commission.

2. A unanimous vote of the members forming the Administrative Commission shall be required for: (a) decisions concerning the interpretation of regulations made to implement Article 81 (a) of Regulation (EEC) No 1408/71;

(b) decisions concerning the revision of the rules.

3. A unanimous vote of the members present shall be required for: (a) decisions relating to the implementation of Article 81 (e) of Regulation (EEC) No 1408/71 and of Articles 94,95 and 98 of Regulation (EEC) No 574/72;

(b) decisions on proposals for a revision of the Regulations.

4. The abstention of members present or represented shall not preclude the adoption of the decisions referred to under paragraph 3 above if they receive seven affirmative votes.

Article 9

1. Voting shall be by roll-call in alphabetical order, beginning with the country following that whose representative is chairman of the Administrative Commission.

2. Any member present when a vote is taken who abstains from voting shall be invited by the chairman after the roll-call to state his reasons for abstaining, should the member so desire.

3. When the majority of members present abstain, the proposal put to the vote shall be considered as not having been taken into consideration.

Article 10

1. Decisions taken to implement Article 81 (a) of Regulation (EEC) No 1408/71 shall state the reasons on which they are based and shall be published in the Official Journal of the European Communities, save where a majority of the members of the Administrative Commission decide otherwise.

2. If the Administrative Commission considers that a decision should be published in the Official Journal of the European Communities, the secretary-general shall take the necessary steps to this effect.

3. As regards decisions not published in the Official Journal of the European Communities, the members of the Administrative Commission shall see to it that appropriate instructions are given at national level to ensure that these decisions are duly implemented.

4. An original copy of each decision of the Administrative Commission, drawn up in the languages of the Community and signed by the chairman, shall be kept in the archives of the secretariat.

5. Each decision shall apply from the date specified therein or, if no such date is mentioned, from the 20th day following its publication in the Official Journal of the European Communities or, as the case may be, from the date on which it is notified.

Article 11

1. For each meeting minutes are recorded which are, in principle, to be approved at the following meeting.

Members who have not received the minutes in their own language may reserve their final approval until they have received the minutes in that language.

2. For decisions of particular urgency, a declaration holding their definitive adoption may be drawn up in the course of the meeting in which they are taken.

Article 12

1. Every year the Administrative Commission shall discuss its programme of work and, after having heard the opinion of the representative of the Commission of the European Communities, draw up a draft estimate of the corresponding expenditure and forward it to the Commission of the European Communities.

2. Any decision of the Administrative Commission involving expenses to be borne by the Commission of the European Communities is subject to the approval of the representative of that institution.

Article 13

1. The Administrative Commission shall periodically draw up a general report on its activities and on the implementation of the regulations on social security for migrant workers.

2. The chairman of the Administrative Commission shall send the report to the President of the Commission of the European Communities and to the competent authorities of the Member States and to the Director-General of the International Labour Office.

Article 14

Where the provisions of these rules require interpretation, such interpretation shall be given by the Court of Justice in accordance with Article 177 of the Treaty establishing the European Economic Community.

Article 15

The rules governing the languages of the Administrative Commission shall be the same as those laid down by Council Regulation No 1 of 15 April 1958 as amended by Annex I to the Act concerning the conditions of accession and the adjustments to the treaties of 1972 and by Annex I to the Act concerning the conditions of accession of the Hellenic Republic and the adjustments to the treaties of 1979.

Article 16

These rules shall be communicated to the member of the Commission of the European Communities responsible for employment, social affairs and education and supplemented with an exchange of letters between him and the chairman of the Administrative Commission.

The rules and the exchange of letters shall enter into force three days after their publication in the Official Journal of the European Communities and shall replace the analogous documents published in the Official Journal of the European Communities of 21 August 1973.

Done at Brussels, 30 October 1981.

The Chairman

of the Administrative Commission

Kathryn E. W. BLUNT