EN Official Journal of the European Union C 153/23

RULES OF PROCEDURE

adopted on 3 May 2011 in Brussels and amended on 3 April 2012 in Baku

2012/C 153/06

Article 1

Nature and objectives

1. The EURONEST Parliamentary Assembly is the parliamentary institution of the Eastern Partnership between the European Union and its Eastern European Partners, to which Article 49 of the Treaty on European Union in principle could be applied, founded on mutual interests and commitments as well as on the principles of differentiation, shared ownership and responsibility.

2. The EURONEST Parliamentary Assembly shall be the parliamentary forum promoting the necessary conditions to accelerate political association and further economic integration between the European Union and the Eastern European Partners. It shall contribute to the strengthening, development and visibility of the Eastern Partnership, as the institution responsible for parliamentary consultation, supervision and monitoring of the Partnership.

3. Participation in the EURONEST Parliamentary Assembly shall be voluntary, provided that the membership criteria established by the Constituent Act are fulfilled and the EURONEST Parliamentary Assembly shall maintain a spirit of integration and openness.

4. The EURONEST Parliamentary Assembly shall help to support, promote and consolidate in practical terms the Eastern Partnership by covering its four thematic platforms, namely:

(a) questions related to fundamental values, including democracy, the rule of law, respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms as well as questions related to market economy, sustainable development and good governance;

(b) further economic integration between the EU and its Eastern European Partners, supporting the socio-economic reforms of the Eastern European Partners, as well as trade and investment liberalization, leading to convergence with EU laws and standards with the objective of establishing a network of deep and comprehensive free trade areas;

(c) mutual energy support and security mechanisms and the harmonization of the Eastern European Partners’ energy policies and legislation;

(d) promoting people-to-people contacts and facilitating the interaction between the European Union and the Eastern European Partners citizens, in particular young people; promoting cultural cooperation and inter-cultural dialogue as well as supporting education, research, the development of the information and media society.

Article 2

Composition

1. The EURONEST Parliamentary Assembly shall be a joint Assembly and shall be comprised of:

(a) 60 members of the European Parliament;

(b) 10 members from each of the participating Parliaments of the Eastern European Partners.

2. The members of the EURONEST Parliamentary Assembly delegated by the European Parliament and by the Parliaments of the Eastern European Partners should be appointed in accordance with the procedures established, respectively, by the European Parliament and by each of the Parliaments of the Eastern European Partners, so that the distribution of the various political groups and delegations represented is reflected as far as possible. In accordance with the same procedures, each participating Parliament may decide to appoint substitute members to the EURONEST Parliamentary Assembly.

3. The EURONEST Parliamentary Assembly shall be organised on the basis of parliamentary delegations established by its two components. The members may also organise themselves within the framework of their own political families within the EURONEST Parliamentary Assembly.

4. The participating Parliaments shall promote gender balance in the appointments to the EURONEST Parliamentary Assembly and its bodies.

5. The EURONEST Parliamentary Assembly shall ensure that the composition of all its bodies is balanced in respect of the breakdown of the political families and the nationality of members.

6. Any unfilled seat shall in all cases remain at the disposal of the Parliament to which it has been attributed.

Article 3

Responsibilities

The EURONEST Parliamentary Assembly shall be the forum for parliamentary discussion, consultation, supervision and monitoring in respect of all questions relating to the Eastern Partnership. For these purposes, the EURONEST Parliamentary Assembly shall inter alia adopt resolutions, recommendations and opinions addressed to the Eastern Partnership Summit, the institutions and ministerial conferences devoted to developing the Eastern Partnership as well as to the European Union and Eastern European Partners’ institutions. Similarly, it shall be responsible for drawing up reports and proposals for the adoption of specific measures related to the various spheres of activity of the Partnership, at the request of the Summit or the ministerial conferences.

Article 4

Presidency and Bureau

1. The two components of the EURONEST Parliamentary Assembly shall elect a Bureau from among their members, consisting of two Co-Presidents of equal status (one belonging to each of the two components of the EURONEST Parliamentary Assembly) and a number of Vice-Presidents (one from each of the participating Eastern European Partners different from the country of the relevant Co-President and an equal number from the European Parliament). The electoral procedures and terms of office shall be decided by each component separately.

2. Any member of the Bureau who is unable to attend the forthcoming Bureau meeting can be replaced by a member of the EURONEST Parliamentary Assembly belonging to the same political group in the European Parliament or to the same Eastern European Partner Delegation. The Co-Presidents must be informed in writing about the substitution in advance of the meeting. If the Co-President is replaced, the substitute will assume his/her functions as the Bureau member, but not those of the Co-President.

3. The Bureau shall be responsible for coordinating the work of the EURONEST Parliamentary Assembly, monitoring its activities, resolutions and recommendations, and establishing relations with the Eastern Partnership Summit, the ministerial conferences and the groups of high-level officials and ambassadors as well as representatives of civil society and other bodies. The Bureau represents the Assembly in relations with other institutions.

4. The Bureau shall meet, on the initiative of the Co-Presidents, at least twice a year, with one of these meetings coinciding with the EURONEST Parliamentary Assembly’s plenary session. A quorum of the Bureau shall be attained when at least half of the members from its Eastern European Partners component and half of the members from its European Parliament component are present.

5. The Bureau shall draw up the draft agenda for the EURONEST Parliamentary Assembly and lay down procedures for the running of the Assembly.

6. The Bureau shall be responsible for matters relating to the composition and responsibilities of committees and working groups. The Bureau shall also be responsible for authorising the committees to draw up reports, motions for resolutions and recommendations. It may also refer various matters for consideration to the committees, which may draw up reports on a particular topic.

7. The Bureau shall adopt its decisions by a two-thirds majority of the members present. If any Member or substitute Member of the Bureau representing an Eastern European Partner delegation declares on behalf of his/her delegation that the content of the decision to be adopted by the Bureau would have impact on his/her country's vital interest, and provides a written explanation with the description of the prejudice to support that, consensus amongst the Members of the Bureau is required for adoption. This option may be used only in exceptional cases when the survival, safety and vitality of the nation are specially affected by the proposed decision and must relate only to that part of a decision which would have impact on that Eastern European Partner country's vital interests. This option must not be used for provoking failure of the Bureau to adopt a whole decision or for decisions of technical or procedural nature.

Article 5

Relations with the Eastern Partnership Summit, the Council of Ministers, the European Commission and ministerial conferences

1. The Bureau shall forge closer ties in all areas with the institutions and bodies of the Eastern Partnership and with the Eastern Partnership organisations. The practical arrangements for that cooperation shall, where appropriate, be laid down in the corresponding memorandums and protocols of understanding.

2. The representatives of the Eastern Partnership Summit, the Council of Ministers, the European Commission and ministerial conferences devoted to the development and consolidation of the Eastern Partnership shall be invited by the Bureau to take part in the sessions and meetings of the EURONEST Parliamentary Assembly and its bodies.

Article 6

Observers

1. On a proposal from the Bureau, the EURONEST Parliamentary Assembly may allow representatives of Parliaments of the EU Troika to attend the meetings of the EURONEST Parliamentary Assembly as observers.

2. The Bureau may also invite representatives of other institutions and bodies, as well as other persons, to attend the sessions and meetings of the EURONEST Parliamentary Assembly, its committees and working groups.

Article 7

Plenary sessions of the EURONEST Parliamentary Assembly

1. The EURONEST Parliamentary Assembly shall be convened by its Co-Presidents and shall meet, in principle, once a year, alternately in an Eastern European Partner country and on the premises of the European Parliament in one of its places of work, at the invitation of the European Parliament or of the Parliament of the Eastern European Partner hosting the session.

2. At the request of the Bureau, the Co-Presidents may convene an extraordinary session of the EURONEST Parliamentary Assembly.

3. The first sitting of each session of the EURONEST Parliamentary Assembly shall be opened by the President of the European Parliament or by the President of the Parliament of the Eastern European Partner hosting the session.

Article 8

Chairing of sessions

1. The Co-Presidents shall jointly decide which of them will be the Chair of each session of the EURONEST Parliamentary Assembly. The Chair may choose to be replaced in the chair by another Co-President or by a Vice-President during the session.

2. The Chair shall open, adjourn and close the sessions. He/she shall ensure that the Rules of Procedure are observed, maintain order, call upon speakers, restrict speaking time, put matters to the vote and announce the outcome of votes.

3. The Chair shall decide on matters which arise during sessions, including those which are not provided for in the Rules of Procedure. If necessary, he/she shall consult the Bureau.

4. The Chair may speak in a debate only in order to introduce the topic or to call speakers to order. If he/she wishes to take part in a debate, he/she shall vacate the chair to another Co-President or to a Vice-President.

Article 9

Agenda

1. The Co-Presidents shall submit the draft agenda for the plenary session, drawn up by the Bureau, to the EURONEST Parliamentary Assembly for its approval.

2. The draft agenda of each plenary session shall include two categories of topics:

(a) reports submitted by the standing committees; these will be limited, in principle, to one report per committee per session. Motions for resolutions, which may also be contained in a report, must be tabled four weeks prior to the opening of the session. The maximum length of the motions for resolution is laid down in Annex II to the Rules of Procedure. The Bureau may decide, on request by the Committees' Co-Chairs, how many reports will be voted per session depending on the progress of work for their preparation.

(b) urgent topics proposed by a standing committee or submitted by the Bureau itself; urgent topics shall only be included on an exceptional basis and may not exceed three per session;

3. At least 10 members of the EURONEST Parliamentary Assembly, from at least two delegations or a political group in the European Parliament may table a motion for a resolution on an urgent topic. Motions for resolutions on urgent topics must be limited to the point ‘Urgencies’ entered on the agenda for the session and may not exceed 1 000 words. Motions for resolutions on urgent topics must be tabled 48 hours prior to the opening of the session at which they are to be debated and voted on.

4. Motions for resolutions on urgent topics shall be submitted to the Bureau, which shall ensure that each motion meets the criteria set out in paragraph 3, is entered on the agenda and is available in the working languages of the EURONEST Parliamentary Assembly. The Bureau’s proposals shall be submitted to the EURONEST Parliamentary Assembly for approval.

Article 10

Quorum

1. A quorum of the EURONEST Parliamentary Assembly shall be attained when at least one third of the members from its Eastern European Partners component and one third of the members from its European Parliament component are present.

2. All votes shall be valid whatever the number of voters, unless the Chair, at the request made before voting has begun by at least 15 members present, establishes at the time of voting that the quorum is not present. If the vote shows that the quorum is not present, the vote shall be placed on the agenda for the next session.

Article 11

Seating arrangements

1. All members shall be seated in alphabetical order, by name, without regard to their nationality. The Bureau will be seated at the front.

2. The representatives of the Eastern Partnership Summit, the Council of Ministers, the European Commission the ministerial conferences and observers shall be seated separately from members.

Article 12

Official and working languages

1. The official languages of the EURONEST Parliamentary Assembly shall be the official languages of the European Union and the official languages of the Eastern European Partners. The working languages shall be English, German, French and Russian. In any working place, any linguistic support requested as to ensure that each member of the EURONEST Parliamentary Assembly can participate fully in its proceedings may be delivered by the relevant services of the European Parliament, provided the Parliament of the country hosting the meeting agrees.

2. The Parliament hosting the meeting shall make the working documents available to the members of the EURONEST Parliamentary Assembly in its working languages and, whenever possible, in all the official languages.

3. In principle, and as far as possible, all members may speak in one of the official languages of the EURONEST Parliamentary Assembly during debates. Interventions shall be interpreted into the working languages of the EURONEST Parliamentary Assembly and, only if this will be possible according to the Code of Conduct on Multilingualism of the European Parliament, into the relevant official languages of the European Union when meetings of the EURONEST Parliamentary Assembly are held in one of the working places of the European Parliament.

4. Meetings of the committees and, where appropriate, working groups, as well as hearings, shall be held in the working languages, without prejudice to the possibilities provided for in the Rules of Procedure.

5. Texts adopted by the EURONEST Parliamentary Assembly shall be published in all the official languages of the European Union in the Official Journal of the European Union and by the Parliaments of the Eastern European Partners in their official languages in the form deemed appropriate by each of them.

Article 13

Public nature of debates

The sessions of the EURONEST Parliamentary Assembly shall be public unless it decides otherwise.

Article 14

Right to speak

1. A member of the EURONEST Parliamentary Assembly may speak when called upon to do so by the Chair.

2. Representatives of the Eastern Partnership Summit, the Council of Ministers, the European Commission, ministerial conferences and observers shall be given the floor upon receiving authorisation to speak from the Chair.

3. If a speaker departs from the subject, the Chair shall call the speaker to order. If the speaker persists, the Chair may forbid that speaker to speak for such time as he/she sees fit.

Article 15

Points of order

1. A Member may raise a point of order or move a procedural motion and shall have a prior right to speak for not more than two minutes.

2. The Chair may, on request, give the floor to one speaker against the procedural motion for not more than two minutes.

3. No further speakers shall be heard.

4. The Chair shall announce his/her decision on the point of order or procedural motion. If necessary, he/she shall consult the Bureau.

Article 16

Voting rights and voting procedures

1. Each member shall have a single, personal, non-transferable vote.

2. The EURONEST Parliamentary Assembly shall vote by show of hands. If the result of the show of hands is doubtful, a fresh vote shall be taken using coloured cards, or, where possible, electronically.

3. Counting of votes shall be made by the Counting Commission, which shall consist of two equal parts of representatives of the secretariats of the two components of the EURONEST Parliamentary Assembly. The Counting Commission shall be appointed by the Bureau before the beginning of each session and it shall report the result of the counting of votes directly to the Co-Presidents.

4. The EURONEST Parliamentary Assembly may decide to vote by secret ballot if at least 15 members of the Assembly submit a request to that effect in writing by 6.00 p.m. on the day preceding the vote.

5. The EURONEST Parliamentary Assembly shall take its decisions by a simple majority of the members present. If a request for a vote by separate components has been submitted before the beginning of the vote by a minimum of one tenth of the members belonging to at least two political groups in the European Parliament or to at least two delegations from the Eastern European Partner component of the EURONEST Parliamentary Assembly, a vote shall be taken in which the representatives of the Eastern European Partner component and the representatives of the European Parliament component shall vote separately, although simultaneously. The text in question shall be deemed to have been adopted if it secures a two-thirds majority of the votes cast separately in both components.

Article 17

Resolutions and recommendations of the EURONEST Parliamentary Assembly

1. The EURONEST Parliamentary Assembly may adopt resolutions and recommendations addressed to the Eastern Partnership Summit and the institutions, bodies, groups and ministerial conferences devoted to strengthening the Eastern Partnership or addressed to the European Union and the Eastern European Partners institutions, on matters related to the various fields covered by the Partnership.

2. The EURONEST Parliamentary Assembly shall vote on motions for resolutions included in reports submitted by the standing committees.

3. The EURONEST Parliamentary Assembly shall also vote, where appropriate, on motions for resolutions addressing urgent topics.

4. The Chair shall, where appropriate, invite the authors of similar motions for resolutions on urgent topics to draw up a joint motion for a resolution. At the end of the debate, the EURONEST Parliamentary Assembly shall first vote on each of those motions and the corresponding amendments. Once a joint resolution has been tabled, all other motions tabled on the same topic by the same authors shall fall. Similarly, once a joint resolution has been adopted, all the other texts on that topic shall fall. Should no joint resolution be adopted, the remaining motions for resolution shall be put to the vote in the order in which they were tabled.

Article 18

Messages to Eastern Partnership Summit meetings

The Bureau of the EURONEST Parliamentary Assembly shall submit a draft message to the summit meeting, or, where appropriate, to the Eastern Partnership ministerial meeting, based on the resolutions and recommendations adopted by the EURONEST Parliamentary Assembly. The message shall be forwarded to the relevant institutions jointly by the Co-Presidents.

Article 19

Statements

The Bureau may agree urgently on statements concerning any matter relating to the Eastern Partnership and in response to any natural emergency, the onset of a crisis or the outbreak of a conflict concerning which it is considered appropriate or necessary to issue an institutional call urging those involved to refrain from violence and/or to engage in political negotiations, or for solidarity with the persons and countries affected. Such statements should be based on any existing resolutions and recommendations adopted by the EURONEST Parliamentary Assembly and should be sent as soon as possible to all members of the EURONEST Parliamentary Assembly for information. Statements are to be made public by the Co-Presidents.

Article 20

Amendments

1. Amendments to texts debated during the session may be tabled by a minimum of 5 members of the EURONEST Parliamentary Assembly or by a political group as mentioned in art. 2.3. Amendments shall relate to the text they seek to alter and shall be submitted in writing. The Bureau may decide the amendment to be inadmissible, on the basis of these criteria.

2. The deadline for the tabling of amendments shall be announced at the beginning of the session.

3. When a vote is being taken, amendments shall have priority over the text to which they relate.

4. If two or more amendments have been tabled to the same part of the text, the amendment that departs furthest in content from the original text shall be put to the vote first. Only oral amendments which correct factual or language mistakes may be taken. No other oral amendments shall be taken.

5. The Assembly shall not consider any amendment (including oral amendments) regarding which a vital interest objection has been raised.

Article 21

Questions for written answer

1. Any member of the EURONEST Parliamentary Assembly may put questions for written answer to the ministerial bodies of the Eastern Partnership, the Presidency-in-Office of the Summit, the Council of Ministers of the European Union or the European Commission.

2. Those questions must relate to the Eastern Partnership and in particular to its four thematic platforms. The questions shall be submitted in writing to the Bureau, which shall decide whether they are admissible and, if such is the case, forward them to the relevant bodies, specifically requesting a written answer within two months from the date on which the question was forwarded.

Article 22

Questions for oral answer

1. At each session, question time to the ministerial bodies of the Eastern Partnership, the Presidency-in-Office of the Summit, the Council of Ministers of the European Union and the European Commission shall be held at such times as may be decided by the Bureau so as to ensure the presence of the above-mentioned institutions at the highest level.

2. Any member of the EURONEST Parliamentary Assembly may table one question for oral answer. Those questions must relate to the Eastern Partnership and in particular to its four thematic platforms. If a question is tabled by several members, only one of those members will be called to put the question orally. Questions, which must not exceed 100 words, shall be submitted in writing to the Bureau within the deadline set by the latter. The Bureau shall decide if they are admissible. In particular, the Bureau shall declare inadmissible the questions that are related to subjects which are already included in the agenda of the session. Questions declared admissible shall be forwarded to the relevant institutions. The Co-Presidents shall decide on the order in which oral questions are taken and the authors of the questions shall be notified of their decision.

3. The EURONEST Parliamentary Assembly shall set aside not more than two hours during each session for dealing with questions for oral answer. Questions that remain unanswered for lack of time shall be answered in writing, unless the author withdraws the question. An oral question may only be answered if its author is present.

4. The ministerial bodies of the Eastern Partnership, the Presidency-in-Office of the Summit, the Council of Ministers of the European Union and the European Commission shall be invited to give brief answers to questions. At the request of 20 or more members of the EURONEST Parliamentary Assembly, the answer may be followed by a debate. The Chair shall set a time limit for this debate.

Article 23

Requests for the EURONEST Parliamentary Assembly’s opinion

At the request of the Eastern Partnership Summit, the ministerial conferences, the European Commission or other relevant EU of Eastern Partnership institutions, the EURONEST Parliamentary Assembly may, on a recommendation of the Bureau, decide to draw up opinions and proposals for the adoption of specific measures related to the various spheres of activity of the Eastern Partnership. In such cases, the request shall be submitted to the Bureau, which may place the matter before the EURONEST Parliamentary Assembly together with a recommendation.

Article 24

Minutes of Proceedings

The draft minutes of the plenary sessions and those of the meetings of the Bureau, standing committees and working groups, together with the records of attendance and the texts of the decisions adopted, shall be prepared and kept by the Secretariat of the Delegation which is hosting the sessions and meetings. Upon completion, the other Delegations will receive a copy of these draft minutes.

Article 25

Standing committees

1. In order to examine specific aspects of the Eastern Partnership in greater depth, the EURONEST Parliamentary Assembly shall set up the following four standing committees:

— Committee on Political Affairs, Human Rights and Democracy;

— Committee on Economic Integration, Legal Approximation and Convergence with EU Policies;

— Committee on Energy Security;

— Committee on Social Affairs, Education, Culture and Civil Society.

2. In line with the general arrangements for the functioning of the EURONEST Parliamentary Assembly, the standing committees shall be composed of members of the Assembly, in accordance with Article 2, and shall function in a strictly joint manner. Powers, responsibilities, membership and procedures of standing committees are laid down in Annex I.

3. The Rules of Procedure of the standing committees shall be adopted by the EURONEST Parliamentary Assembly on a proposal from the Bureau.

Article 26

Temporary and follow-up committees

At any time the EURONEST Parliamentary Assembly may, on a proposal from the Bureau or from members of the Assembly, including at least one third of the Eastern European Partners component and one third of the European Parliament component, set up temporary or follow-up committees and, when deciding to set them up, shall determine their responsibilities, composition and mandate. No more than two such committees may be operational at the same time. Follow-up committees must complete their work within one year, in special cases this term may be prolonged for another 6 months.

Article 27

Working groups and hearings

1. The Bureau may decide to set up working groups on a specific aspect of the Eastern Partnership or to send fact-finding missions to the Eastern European Partners or European Union countries or to international organisations, subject to budgetary constraints. In either case, the Bureau shall decide on their organisation, responsibilities and composition. These working groups or missions may be instructed to draw up reports and motions for resolutions or recommendations addressed to the EURONEST Parliamentary Assembly. The working groups created are to be confirmed by the next session of the EURONEST Parliamentary Assembly. The number of members of a working group shall be 10 (5 members from each component).

2. With a view to achieving greater understanding between the peoples of the European Union and those of the Eastern European Partners, and to raising public awareness of questions relating to the Eastern Partnership, the EURONEST Parliamentary Assembly may organise hearings at regular intervals. These shall be organised under the responsibility of the Bureau and shall provide an opportunity to invite persons able to give the EURONEST Parliamentary Assembly first-hand information about political, economic, social and cultural situations that are of concern.

Article 28

Relations with Parliamentary Cooperation Committees (PCCs) and Delegations

1. The EURONEST Parliamentary Assembly shall invite the Parliamentary Cooperation Committees (PCCs) and delegations set up under existing Agreements, and any others set up subsequently, to collaborate in its work.

2. That invitation may include, in particular, the meeting of existing Parliamentary Cooperation Committees (PCCs) and delegations during the session of the EURONEST Parliamentary Assembly.

Article 29

Funding of costs of organisation, participation, interpretation and translation

1. Without prejudice to Art. 12, § 1, the Parliament hosting a session of the EURONEST Parliamentary Assembly, a meeting of the Bureau or a meeting of one of the committees or working groups shall be responsible for the practical arrangements relating to the organisation of the session or meeting.

2. On a proposal from the Bureau, the EURONEST Parliamentary Assembly may recommend that a financial contribution from other Parliaments should be provided to cover expenditure on the organisation of a session of the EURONEST Parliamentary Assembly or a meeting of a committee or working group.

3. Travel, subsistence and local transport expenses of participants shall be met by the institution of which they are members.

4. The costs of organisation shall be met by the Parliament hosting a session of the EURONEST Parliamentary Assembly, a meeting of the Bureau or a meeting of one of the committees or working groups, with the provisos set out in the paragraphs below.

5. When a session of the EURONEST Parliamentary Assembly, a meeting of the Bureau or a meeting of one of the committees or working groups is held in the places of work of the European Parliament, the latter shall, without prejudice of Article 12, paragraph 1 and owing to its own linguistic diversity, provide interpretation into the official languages of the European Union, depending on the requirements of each meeting and according to the Code of Conduct on Multilingualism of the European Parliament.

6. When a session of the EURONEST Parliamentary Assembly, a meeting of the Bureau or a meeting of one of the committees or working groups is held outside the places of work of the European Parliament, the latter shall, without prejudice of Article 12, paragraph 1 and owing to its own linguistic diversity, provide interpretation solely into the working languages of the EURONEST Parliamentary Assembly and into official languages of the European Union which are to be used by the members of the European Parliament in accordance with the Code of Conduct on Multilingualism of the European Parliament.

7. The European Parliament shall assume responsibility for translating the official documents adopted by the EURONEST Parliamentary Assembly into the official languages of the European Union. That institution shall also, provided the Parliaments of the Eastern European Partners would agree and owing to its own linguistic diversity, take charge of the translation into the working languages of the EURONEST Parliamentary Assembly of documents produced in preparation for, or during, the meetings of the EURONEST Parliamentary Assembly and its bodies. The Parliaments of the Eastern European Partners shall assume responsibility for translating the official documents adopted by the EURONEST Parliamentary Assembly into the respective official languages of their countries.

Article 30

Secretariat

1. The EURONEST Parliamentary Assembly shall be assisted in the preparation and smooth running of the Assembly’s work by a Secretariat consisting of officials drawn from each of the two components of the EURONEST Parliamentary Assembly.

The Secretariat shall provide assistance to the plenary sessions, to the Bureau, to the committees and to the working groups. In order to guarantee professional and impartial assistance to the Assembly, the two components will facilitate close cooperation and capacity building, as well as mutual exchange of professional experience between the various components of the Secretariat.

2. Salaries and other expenses of the staff of the secretariat shall be borne by their respective Parliaments.

3. The Parliament hosting a session of the EURONEST Parliamentary Assembly or a committee meeting shall provide assistance with the organization of the session or meeting in question.

Article 31

Interpretation of the Rules of Procedure

The Co-Presidents or, at their request, the Bureau shall rule on questions relating to the interpretation of the Rules of Procedure.

Article 32

Amendment of the Rules of Procedure

1. Amendments to the Rules of Procedure shall be adopted by the EURONEST Parliamentary Assembly on the basis of proposals from the Bureau.

2. Amendments shall be adopted by a two-thirds majority of the members present. If a request for a vote by separate components has been submitted before the beginning of the vote by a minimum of one tenth of the members belonging to at least two political groups in the European Parliament or to at least two delegations from the Eastern European Partner component of the EURONEST Parliamentary Assembly, a vote shall be taken in which the representatives of the Eastern European Partner component and the representatives of the European Parliament component shall vote separately. The text in question shall be deemed to have been adopted if it secures a two-thirds majority of the votes cast separately in both components.

3. Unless otherwise specified when the vote is taken, the amendments to the Rules of Procedure shall enter into force on the first day of the session following their adoption.

ANNEX I POWERS, RESPONSIBILITIES, MEMBERSHIP AND PROCEDURES OF STANDING COMMITTEES Article 1 There shall be four standing parliamentary committees with the following powers and responsibilities: — Committee on Political Affairs, Human Rights and Democracy; — Committee on Economic Integration, Legal Approximation and Convergence with EU Policies; — Committee on Energy Security; — Committee on Social Affairs, Education, Culture and Civil Society. This committee shall be responsible for matters relating to: 1. the development of stable democratic institutions, questions of governance and the role of political parties; 2. the promotion of political dialogue, multilateral confidence building measures and contribution to peaceful conflict settlement; 3. relations with other national and international organisations and parliamentary assemblies for matters falling within its terms of reference; 4. peace, security, stability; 5. electoral standards, regulation of the media and combating corruption. This committee shall be responsible for matters relating to: 1. monitoring economic, financial and commercial relations between the EU and the Eastern European Partners, with third countries and with regional organisations; 2. relations with relevant international organisations (specifically the World Trade Organization) and with organisations working at regional level to promote economic and trade integration; 3. technical harmonisation or standardisation measures in sectors covered by international legal instruments; 4. questions relating to the funding of the Partnership, including follow-up to the implementation of facilities of the European Investment Bank and other instruments and mechanisms of this type; 5. social and human development, social infrastructures and services, including health issues; 6. migration and human exchanges; 7. sustainable development, natural resources, global warming and energy policy; 8. environmental governance, investment in a regional context, climate change; 9. facilitating the interconnection of transport and telecommunications networks; 10. harmonisation of the regulatory environment. 11. transborder cooperation This committee shall be responsible for matters relating to: 1. monitoring the development and implementation of a mutual energy support and security mechanism; 2. supporting the strengthening of contacts in relation to energy security and energy crisis preparedness; 3. supporting the work of the energy security panel; 4. monitoring the harmonisation of partners’ energy policies and legislation and the diversification of supply and transit routes; 5. supporting the creation of an interconnected and diversified energy market. This committee shall be responsible for matters relating to: 1. the promotion of cooperation in the fields of culture and education and relations with relevant international organisations and agencies; 2. matters relating to young people and gender equality; 3. monitoring the development of the information society and the role of media; 4. supporting cooperation in the area of education, language learning, youth and research; 5. relations with the Civil Society Forum and with the NGOs from the EU and the Eastern European Partners; 6. the promotion of cultural cooperation and inter-cultural dialogue. Article 2 1. Each of the standing committees shall have a maximum of 30 members and shall consist as far as possible of equal numbers of Members from both components and reflect the composition of the EURONEST Parliamentary Assembly. The size and composition of the committees shall be decided by the EURONEST Parliamentary Assembly on a proposal from the Bureau. 2. Each member of the EURONEST Parliamentary Assembly shall have the right to be a member of one of the standing committees. In exceptional cases, a member may belong to two standings committees. 3. Members are appointed in accordance with the procedures to be established by each Parliament in such a way as to reflect as far as possible the distribution of the various political groups and delegations represented, respectively, in the European Parliament and in the Eastern European Partner component. Article 3 1. Each committee shall elect a Bureau from among its members consisting of two Co-Chairs of equal status (one from each of the two components of the EURONEST Parliamentary Assembly) and four Vice-Co-Chairs (two from each of the two components of the EURONEST Parliamentary Assembly), in respect of whom the electoral procedures and terms of office shall be decided by each component. 2. The Co-Chairs shall jointly decide which of them is to preside at each meeting of the committee. 3. The committees may appoint rapporteurs to examine specific questions within their competence and prepare reports to be submitted to the EURONEST Parliamentary Assembly, subject to authorisation from the Bureau, in accordance with the Rules of Procedure. 4. The standing committees may discuss their agenda items without a report and may inform the Bureau in writing that the items in question have been discussed. 5. The committees shall report to the EURONEST Parliamentary Assembly on their activities. Article 4 1. Committees shall meet when convened by their Co-Chairs and for a maximum of two meetings per year, one of which is to be held during the session of the EURONEST Parliamentary Assembly. 2. Any member may table amendments for consideration in committee. 3. As far as procedure is concerned, the Rules of Procedure of the EURONEST Parliamentary Assembly shall apply mutatis mutandis to committee meetings. In particular, the quorum of a committee shall be reached when at least one third of the members of each component are present. 4. Unless a committee decides otherwise, all meetings shall be public.