Present text Amendment

Rule 237 a

Extraordinary measures

1. This Rule applies to situations in which Parliament, due to exceptional and unforeseeable circumstances beyond its control, is hindered from carrying out its duties and exercising its prerogatives under the Treaties, and a temporary derogation from Parliament’s usual procedures, set out elsewhere in these Rules, is necessary in order to adopt extraordinary measures to enable Parliament to continue to carry out those duties and to exercise those prerogatives.

Such extraordinary circumstances shall be considered to exist where the President comes to the conclusion, on the basis of reliable evidence confirmed, where appropriate, by Parliament’s services, that for reasons of security, or safety or as a result of the non-availability of technical means it is, or will be, impossible or dangerous for Parliament to convene in accordance with its usual procedures as set out elsewhere in these Rules and its adopted calendar.

2. Where the conditions set out in paragraph 1 are fulfilled, the President may decide, with the approval of the Conference of Presidents, to apply one or more of the measures referred to in paragraph 3.

If it is impossible, due to reasons of imperative urgency, for the Conference of Presidents to convene in person or virtually, the President may decide to apply one or more of the measures referred to in paragraph 3. Such a decision shall lapse five days after its adoption unless approved by the Conference of Presidents within that period.

Following a decision by the President, approved by the Conference of Presidents, Members or a political group or groups reaching at least the medium threshold may, at any time, request that some or all of the measures provided for in that decision be submitted individually to Parliament for approval without debate. The vote in plenary shall be placed on the agenda of the first sitting following the day on which the request was tabled. No amendments may be tabled. If a measure fails to obtain a majority of the votes cast, it shall lapse after the end of the part-session. A measure approved by the plenary may not be the subject of a further vote during the same part-session.

3. The decision referred to in paragraph 2 may provide for all appropriate measures in order to address the extraordinary circumstances referred to under paragraph 1, and in particular for the following measures:

(a) postponement of a scheduled part-session, sitting or meeting of a committee to a later date and/or cancellation or limitation of meetings of inter-parliamentary delegations and other bodies;

(b) displacement of a part-session, sitting or meeting of a committee from Parliament’s seat to one of its working places or to an external place, or from one of its working places to Parliament’s seat, to one of Parliament’s other working places or to an external place;

(c) holding a part-session or a sitting on the premises of Parliament in whole or in part in separate meeting rooms allowing for appropriate physical distancing;

(d) holding a part session, sitting or meeting of bodies of Parliament under the remote participation regime laid down in Rule 237c;

(e) in the event that the ad hoc replacement mechanism laid down in Rule 209(7) fails to provide sufficient remedies to address the extraordinary circumstances under consideration, temporary replacement of Members in a committee by political groups, unless the Members concerned oppose such temporary replacement.

4. A decision referred to in paragraph 2 shall be limited in time and shall state the reasons on which it is based. It shall enter into force upon its publication on Parliament’s website or, if circumstances prevent such publication, upon its being made public by the best available alternative means.

All Members shall also be informed individually of the decision without delay.

The decision may be renewed by the President in accordance with the procedure under paragraph 2 once, or more than once, for a limited time. A decision to renew shall state the reasons on which it is based.

The President shall revoke a decision adopted under this Rule as soon as the extraordinary circumstances referred to in paragraph 1 that gave rise to its adoption have disappeared.

5. This Rule shall be applied only as a last resort, and only measures that are strictly necessary to address the extraordinary circumstances under consideration shall be selected and applied.