EN Official Journal of the European Union CE 87/186

Wednesday 11 March 2009

Rules of Procedure: extending the applicability of Rule 139

P6_TA(2009)0116

European Parliament decision of 11 March 2009 extending the applicability of Rule 139 of Parliament’s Rules of Procedure until the end of the seventh parliamentary term

2010/C 87 E/40

The European Parliament,

having regard to Article 290 of the EC Treaty,

having regard to Council Regulation No 1 of 15 April 1958 determining the languages to be used by the European Economic Community (1), as last amended by Council Regulation (EC) No 920/2005 (2),

having regard to the Code of Conduct on Multilingualism adopted by the Bureau on 17 November 2008,

having regard to the Bureau’s decision of 13 December 2006 on a derogation from Rule 138 and its subsequent decisions extending that derogation until the end of the current parliamentary term,

having regard to Rules 138 and 139 of its Rules of Procedure,

A. whereas, pursuant to Rule 138, all Parliament’s documents are to be drawn up in the official languages, and all Members have the right to speak in Parliament in the official language of their choice, with interpretation into the other official languages,

B. whereas, under Rule 139, derogations from Rule 138 are permissible until the end of the sixth parliamentary term if, and to the extent that, despite adequate precautions, the linguists required for an official language are not available in sufficient numbers; whereas with respect to each official language for which a derogation is considered necessary, the Bureau, on a proposal from the Secretary-General, shall ascertain whether the conditions are fulfilled, and the Bureau shall review its decision every six months,

C. whereas, on 13 December 2006, the Bureau accepted that the difficulties of providing sufficient language cover for Maltese, Romanian, Bulgarian and Irish were such that the conditions were fulfilled for a derogation from Rule 138 in respect of each of those languages; whereas by subsequent Bureau decisions those derogations have been extended such that, from 1 January 2009 until the end of the parliamentary term, a derogation applies in respect of Bulgarian and Romanian (interpretation), Czech (interpretation during the Czech Council Presidency), Maltese (interpretation and translation) and Irish (interpretation, translation and legal-linguistic verification),

D. whereas Council Regulation (EC) No 920/2005 provides for temporary (renewable) derogation measures for a five-year period in respect of Irish,

E. whereas, despite all adequate precautions, the capacity in Irish and Maltese is not expected to be such as to allow a full interpretation service in those languages from the beginning of the seventh parliamentary term; whereas, for certain other languages, although there will be sufficient capacity to cover the needs arising from the usual activities of Parliament, the number of interpreters may not be sufficient to allow full coverage of all the extra needs expected during the Council Presidencies of the Member States concerned during the seventh parliamentary term,

F. whereas, despite sustained and continuous interinstitutional efforts, the number of qualified translators and lawyer-linguists is still expected to be so limited as regards Irish that, for the foreseeable future, only a reduced coverage of that language can be assured; whereas Council Regulation (EC) No 920/2005 does not require legislation of the European Union adopted before 1 January 2007 (‘the Acquis’) to be translated into Irish; whereas, as a result of the derogation measures laid down in that Regulation, only Commission proposals for codecision regulations are currently being presented in Irish and, as long as this situation persists, it will not be possible for Parliament’s services to prepare Irish versions of other types of legal act,

G. whereas, during the seventh parliamentary term, other European States may become members of the European Union; whereas, for the new languages concerned, linguists may not be available in sufficient numbers from the day of accession, which will require transitional measures,

H. whereas Rule 139(4) provides that, on a reasoned recommendation from the Bureau, Parliament may decide, at the end of the parliamentary term, to extend that Rule,

I. whereas, in the light of the foregoing, the Bureau has recommended that Rule 139 be extended until the end of the seventh parliamentary term,

1. Decides to extend the applicability of Rule 139 of Parliament’s Rules of Procedure until the end of the seventh parliamentary term;

2. Instructs its President to forward this decision to the Council and the Commission for information.

(1) OJ 17, 6.10.1958, p. 385.

(2) OJ L 156, 18.6.2005, p. 3.