European Parliament decision on amendment of Rule 139 of Parliament's Rules of Procedure, Transitional Rules on Languages (2006/2244(REG))
Date: 2006-11-30
Institutions: Committee on Constitutional Affairs, European Parliament
Subjects: European language, enlargement of the Union, information profession, official language, translation

22.12.2006

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 316 E/115

Thursday 30 November 2006

P6_TA(2006)0508

Revision of Rule 139 of the Rules of Procedure

European Parliament decision on amendment of Rule 139 of Parliament's Rules of Procedure,
Transitional Rules on Languages (2006/2244(REG))

The European Parliament,

— having regard to the letter from its President of 20 July 2006,

— having regard to Rules 201 and 202 of its Rules of Procedure,

— having regard to the report of the Committee on Constitutional Affairs (A6-0391/2006),

A. whereas on 1 April 2004 Parliament incorporated into its Rules of Procedure a provision which, in
applying Parliament's rules on languages to the nine new languages added in May 2004, allows it, until
‘exceptionally, … of the availability in real terms and sufficient
31 December 2006, to take account,
numbers of the requisite interpreters and translators’,

B. whereas, however, the progress made in respect of those languages does not allow this provisional
arrangement to be discontinued without replacement at the end of this year, and whereas, on the
contrary, the possibility of extending it should be used,

C. whereas the same difficulties will be experienced for a certain period in the case of Bulgarian and
Romanian, the languages to be added on 1 January 2007, and whereas the Irish language, which is
also to become an official language on the same date, poses particular practical problems,

D. whereas the present transitional arrangements should be reformulated and extended until the end of the

current parliamentary term in order to take account of this state of affairs,

E. whereas the achievement of full multilingualism, as defined in Rule 138 of Parliament's Rules of Pro-

cedure, remains the ultimate goal,

1.

2.

3.

Decides to amend its Rules of Procedure as shown below;

Decides that this amendment will enter into force on 1 January 2007;

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

PRESENT TEXT

AMENDMENT

Amendment 1
Rule 139

1.
Exceptionally, in applying Rule 138, account shall be
taken, with regard to the official languages of the Member
States which acceded to the European Union on 1 May 2004,
as of that date and until 31 December 2006, of the availabil-
ity in real terms and sufficient numbers of the requisite inter-
preters and translators.

1.
During a transitional period extending until the end of
the sixth parliamentary term, derogations from the provisions
of Rule 138 shall be permissible if and to the extent that,
despite adequate precautions,
interpreters or translators for
an official language are not available in sufficient numbers.

C 316 E/116

Official Journal of the European Union

EN

22.12.2006

Thursday 30 November 2006

PRESENT TEXT

AMENDMENT

2.
The Secretary-General shall each quarter submit a
detailed report to the Bureau on the progress made towards
full application of Rule 138, and shall send a copy thereof to
all Members.

2.
The Bureau, on a proposal from the Secretary-General,
shall ascertain with respect to each of the official languages
concerned whether the conditions set out in paragraph 1 are
fulfilled, and shall review its decision at six-monthly intervals
on the basis of a progress report from the Secretary-General.
The Bureau shall adopt the necessary implementing rules.

2a.
The temporary special arrangements adopted by the
Council on the basis of the Treaties concerning the drafting
of legal acts, with the exception of regulations adopted jointly
by the European Parliament and the Council, shall apply.

3.
On a reasoned recommendation from the Bureau, Parlia-
ment may decide at any time to repeal this Rule early or, at the
end of the period indicated in paragraph 1, to extend it.

3.
On a reasoned recommendation from the Bureau, Parlia-
ment may decide at any time to repeal this Rule early or, at the
end of the period indicated in paragraph 1, to extend it.

P6_TA(2006)0509

European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights *

European Parliament legislative resolution on the proposal for a Council regulation establishing
a European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights (COM(2005)0280 — C6-0288/2005 —
2005/0124(CNS))

(Consultation procedure)

The European Parliament,

— having regard to the Commission proposal to the Council (COM(2005)0280) (1),

— having regard to Article 308 of the EC Treaty, pursuant to which the Council consulted Parliament

(C6-0288/2005),

— having regard to Rule 51 of its Rules of Procedure,

— having regard to the report of the Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs and the
opinions of the Committee on Foreign Affairs, the Committee on Budgets and the Committee on
Women's Rights and Gender Equality (A6-0306/2006),

1.

2.

3.

Approves the Commission proposal as amended on 12 October 2006 (2);

Calls on the Commission to alter its proposal accordingly, pursuant to Article 250(2) of the EC Treaty;

Calls on the Council to notify Parliament if it intends to depart from the text approved by Parliament;

Asks the Council to consult Parliament again if it intends to amend the Commission proposal sub-

4.
stantially;

5.

Instructs its President to forward its position to the Council and the Commission.

(1) Not yet published in OJ.
(2) Texts Adopted, P6_TA(2006)0414.