Rules of Procedure
Date: 2006-12-06
Institutions: European Committee of the Regions
Subjects: European Committee of the Regions, rules of procedure

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IV

(Other acts)

RULES OF PROCEDURE

COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS

Rules of Procedure

CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION

PRELIMINARY COMMENT

TITLE 1

MEMBERS AND CONSTITUENT BODIES OF THE COMMITTEE

CHAPTER 1

CONSTITUENT BODIES

Rule 1 — Constituent bodies of the Committee

CHAPTER 2

MEMBERS OF THE COMMITTEE

Rule 2 — Status of members and alternates

Rule 3 — Term of office

Rule 4 — Privileges and immunities

Rule 5 — Attendance of members and alternates

Rule 6 — Delegation of vote

Rule 7 — National delegations and political groups

Rule 8 — National delegations

Rule 9 — Political groups and non-attached members

Rule 10 — Interregional groups

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TITLE II

ORGANISATION AND PROCEDURE OF THE COMMITTEE

CHAPTER 1

INITIAL CONVENING AND INSTALLATION IN OFFICE OF THE COMMITTEE

Rule 11 — Convening the first meeting

Rule 12 — Installation in office of the Committee and verification of credentials

CHAPTER 2

PLENARY ASSEMBLY

Rule 13 — Tasks of the Plenary Assembly

Rule 14 — Convening the Plenary Assembly

Rule 15 — Agenda for the Plenary Session

Rule 16 — Opening of the Plenary Session

Rule 17 — Admission of the public, guests and guest speakers, topical debate slot

Rule 18 — Speaking time

Rule 19 — List of speakers

Rule 20 — Points of order

Rule 21 — Quorum

Rule 22 — Voting

Rule 23 — Tabling of amendments

Rule 24 — Procedure for dealing with amendments

Rule 25 — Urgent opinions and reports

Rule 26 — Simplified procedures

Rule 27 — Closing of the Plenary Session

CHAPTER 3

THE BUREAU AND THE PRESIDENT

Rule 28 — Composition of the Bureau

Rule 29 — Replacements at Bureau meetings

Rule 30 — Election rules

Rule 31 — Election of the President and the first Vice-President

Rule 32 — Election of the members of the Bureau

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Rule 33 — Election of replacements

Rule 34 — By-elections for vacant Bureau seats

Rule 35 — Tasks of the Bureau

Rule 36 — Convening of the Bureau, quorum and decision

Rule 37 — The President

Opinions, reports and resolutions — Procedure in Bureau

Rule 38 — Opinions — Legal bases

Rule 39 — Opinions and reports — Designation of commission

Rule 40 — Appointment of a rapporteur-general

Rule 41 — Own-initiative opinions and reports

Rule 42 — Tabling of resolutions

Rule 43 — Promotion of opinions, reports and resolutions

CHAPTER 4

COMMISSIONS

Rule 44 — Composition and powers

Rule 45 — Chairman and vice-chairmen

Rule 46 — Tasks of commissions

Rule 47 — Convening of commissions and their agendas

Rule 48 — Admission of the public

Rule 49 — Time limits for drawing up opinions and reports

Rule 50 — Content of opinions and reports

Rule 51 — Rapporteurs

Rule 52 — Working parties

Rule 53 — Experts

Rule 54 — Quorum

Rule 55 — Voting

Rule 56 — Amendments

Rule 57 — Decision not to draw up an opinion or a report

Rule 58 — Written procedure

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CHAPTER 5

ADMINISTRATION OF THE COMMITTEE

Rule 59 — Secretariat-General

Rule 60 — Secretary-General

Rule 61 — Engagement of Secretary-General

Rule 62 — Staff Regulations of officials and Conditions of Employment of other servants

Rule 63 — Commission for Financial and Administrative Affairs

Rule 64 — Budget

TITLE III

GENERAL PROVISIONS

CHAPTER 1

COOPERATION WITH OTHER EU BODIES

Rule 65 — Cooperation agreements

Rule 66 — Forwarding and publication of opinions, reports and resolutions

CHAPTER 2

OPENNESS TO THE PUBLIC AND TRANSPARENCY

Rule 67 — Public access to documents

CHAPTER 3

RULES OF PROCEDURE

Rule 68 — Revision of Rules of Procedure

Rule 69 — Bureau instructions

Rule 70 — Entry into force of Rules of Procedure

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INTRODUCTION

On 6 December 2006 the Committee of the Regions adopted the
following Rules of Procedure on the basis of Article 264, second
paragraph, of the Treaty establishing the European Community
(EC Treaty):

the
4. A member or alternate whose term of office at
Committee ends because the electoral mandate, on the basis of
which he was appointed, expires shall immediately inform the
President of the Committee of the fact in writing.

In the cases referred to in Rule 3(2), a replacement shall be

5.
appointed by the Council for the remainder of the term.

PRELIMINARY COMMENT

The terms used in these Rules of Procedure for the various offices
are not gender-specific.

Rule 4

Privileges and immunities

TITLE I

MEMBERS AND CONSTITUENT BODIES OF THE COMMITTEE

shall enjoy
Members and their duly mandated alternates
privileges and immunities in accordance with the Protocol on
the Privileges and Immunities of the European Communities,
annexed to the Treaty of 8 April 1965 establishing a Single
Council and a Single Commission of the European Communities.

CHAPTER 1

CONSTITUENT BODIES

Rule 1

Constituent bodies of the Committee

The constituent bodies of the Committee shall be the Plenary
Assembly, the President, the Bureau and the commissions.

CHAPTER 2

MEMBERS OF THE COMMITTEE

Rule 2

Status of members and alternates

Pursuant to Article 263 of the EC Treaty, the members and
alternates shall be representatives of regional and local bodies.
They shall hold a regional or local authority electoral mandate or
shall be politically accountable to an elected assembly. They may
not be bound by any mandatory instructions and shall be
completely independent in the performance of their duties, in the
general interest of the Community.

Rule 3

Term of office

Rule 5

Attendance of members and alternates

1. Any member prevented from taking part
in a Plenary
Session may be represented by an alternate from his national
delegation; he/she may also be represented for a period limited to
individual days of the Plenary Session. All members and their
duly mandated alternates shall sign an attendance list.

2. Any member prevented from taking part in a commission
meeting or any other meeting which has been approved by the
Bureau may be represented by another member or an alternate
from his national delegation, political group or interregional
group. All members and their duly mandated alternates shall sign
an attendance list.

3. A member or alternate appointed to the list of replacements
for the members of a working group, established on the basis of
Rule 35 or 52 of the Rules of Procedure, may replace any
member of that working group belonging to the same political
group.

4. An alternate or a member acting as an alternate can stand in
for one member only. They shall exercise the same powers as a
member at the relevant meeting. The Secretary-General must be
notified in writing of the delegation of vote before the relevant
meeting.

1. The term of office of a member or alternate shall commence
on the date on which his appointment by the Council takes
effect.

2. The term of office of a member or alternate shall be
terminated by resignation, the end of the electoral mandate on
the basis of which he was appointed, or death.

3. A resigning member or alternate must notify the President
of the Committee of his intention in writing, specifying the date
on which his resignation is to take effect, which must be no later
than three months after the date of notification. The President
shall inform the Council, which shall confirm the vacancy and
implement the replacement procedure.

5. At a Plenary Session the expenses of only the member or the
alternate shall be reimbursed. The detailed provisions shall be
laid down by the Bureau in the implementing arrangements
regarding travel and subsistence expenses.

6. An alternate who has been appointed rapporteur may
present the draft opinion or report for which he is responsible at
the Plenary Session at which the draft opinion or report is on the
agenda. This shall apply even if the member whom he has been
designated to replace is also at the meeting. The member may
delegate his vote to his alternate while the draft opinion or report
in question is being discussed. The Secretary-General must be
notified in writing of the delegation of vote before the relevant
meeting.

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Rule 6

Delegation of vote

Except as provided for in Rules 5 and 29, the right to vote may
not be delegated.

Rule 7

National delegations and political groups

National delegations and political groups shall help in a balanced
way with the organisation of the Committee's work.

Rule 8

National delegations

1. The members and alternates from each Member State shall
form a national delegation. Each national delegation shall adopt
its own internal rules and shall elect a chairman. The Committee
President shall be officially informed of the name of the person
elected.

2. The Secretary-General shall make arrangements, within the
Committee's administration, for national delegations to receive
assistance. These arrangements shall also permit each individual
member to receive information and assistance in his official
language. The arrangements shall form part of a specific service
consisting of Committee of
the Regions officials or other
servants and shall ensure that national delegations can make
appropriate use of the Committee's facilities. Specifically, the
Secretary-General shall provide the national delegations with
suitable means for holding meetings immediately before or
during Plenary Sessions.

contracts. The appointing authority shall make its decision after
consulting the chairmen of the political groups.

5. The Secretary-General shall provide the political groups and
their constituent bodies with adequate resources for meetings,
activities and publications and for the work of their secretariats.
The resources for each political group shall be earmarked in the
budget. The political groups and their secretariats may make
appropriate use of the Committee's facilities.

6. The political groups and their bureaux may meet immedi-
ately before or during Plenary Sessions. They may hold
extraordinary meetings twice a year. An alternate attending
these meetings is only entitled to travel and subsistence expenses
if he is representing a member from his political group.

7. Non-attached members shall be provided with adminis-
trative support. The detailed arrangements shall be laid down by
the Bureau on a proposal from the Secretary-General.

Rule 10

Interregional groups

Members and alternates may form interregional groups. They
shall inform the Committee President thereof.

TITLE II

ORGANISATION AND PROCEDURE OF THE COMMITTEE

CHAPTER 1

Rule 9

INITIAL CONVENING AND INSTALLATION IN OFFICE
OF THE COMMITTEE

Political groups and non-attached members

1. Members and alternates may form groups which reflect their
political affinities. The criteria for membership shall be laid down
in the internal rules of each political group.

2. At least 20 members/alternates from no fewer than three
Member States, 18 members/alternates from no fewer than four
Member States or 16 members/alternates from no fewer than
five Member States — half of whom at least, in all cases, must be
members — shall be needed to form a political group. A
member/alternate may belong to only one political group. A
political group shall be dissolved if its membership falls below
the required number.

3. The Committee President shall be notified in a statement
when a political group is set up, dissolved or otherwise changed.
The statement notifying the formation of a political group shall
specify the name of the political group, its members and its
bureau.

4.
Each political group shall be assisted by a secretariat staffed
by Secretariat-General personnel. The political groups may
submit proposals to the appointing authority for the selection,
appointment and promotion of such staff and for extending their

Rule 11

Convening the first meeting

The Committee shall be convened, after each four-yearly renewal,
by the oldest member and shall meet not later than one month
after the appointment of its members by the Council. The first
meeting shall be chaired by the oldest member present (interim
president) assisted by the four youngest members present and the
Secretary-General of
shall
constitute the interim bureau.

the Committee, who together

Rule 12

Installation in office of the Committee and verification of
credentials

1. At the first meeting, the interim president shall inform the
Committee of the communication from the Council concerning
the appointment of
the interim
president may decide to verify the appointment and credentials
of members, after which he shall declare the Committee installed
in office for the new term.

its members.

If requested,

2. The interim bureau shall remain in office until the results of
the elections of the members of the Bureau have been declared.

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CHAPTER 2

PLENARY ASSEMBLY

Rule 13

Tasks of the Plenary Assembly

The Committee shall meet as a Plenary Assembly. Its main tasks
shall be:

(a)

to adopt opinions, reports and resolutions;

(b)

(c)

(d)

to adopt the draft estimates of expenditure and revenue of
the Committee;

to adopt the political programme of the Committee at the
beginning of every term;

the President,
to elect
remaining members of the Bureau;

the first Vice-President and the

(e)

to set up commissions;

decide to include a document requiring a decision on the draft
agenda provided the relevant document has been received by the
members and alternates in their official language not later than
one week before the opening of the Plenary Session. The reason
for the application of this procedure shall be indicated by the
the document requiring a
President on the cover page of
decision.

5. Written amendments to the draft agenda must be submitted
to the Secretary-General not later than three working days before
the opening of the Plenary Session.

6. The Bureau shall finalise the draft agenda at its meeting
immediately prior to the opening of the Plenary Session. At this
meeting the Bureau may decide, by a two-thirds majority of the
votes cast, to include on the agenda matters of an urgent or
topical nature whose discussion cannot be deferred until the next
Plenary Session.

Rule 16

Opening of the Plenary Session

(f)

to adopt and revise the Rules of Procedure of
Committee.

the

The President shall open the Plenary Session and call for the
adoption of the final draft agenda.

Rule 14

Convening the Plenary Assembly

1. The President of the Committee shall convene the Plenary
Assembly at least once every three months. The dates of the
Plenary Sessions are to be fixed by the Bureau during the third
quarter of the previous year. A Plenary Session can meet on one
or more days.

the President

least one quarter of

the written request of at

2. At
the
shall be obliged to convene an
members,
extraordinary Plenary Session, which shall take place not sooner
than one week and not later than one month after the date of the
request. The written request shall state the subject matter which
is to be discussed at the extraordinary Plenary Session. No other
matter may be dealt with.

Rule 15

Agenda for the Plenary Session

1. The preliminary draft agenda containing a provisional list of
the draft opinions, reports and resolutions to be discussed at the
next but one Plenary Session together with all
the other
documents requiring a decision shall be prepared by the Bureau.

2. The draft agenda accompanied by all
the documents
requiring a decision listed therein shall be sent by the President
to the members and alternates in their official language at least
four weeks before the opening of the Plenary Session. The
documents shall simultaneously be electronically retrievable.

3. The draft opinions, reports and resolutions shall in principle
be put on the agenda in the order in which they were adopted by
the commissions or submitted in accordance with the Rules of
Procedure. Account shall also be taken of agenda items which
deal with related subject matter.

In exceptional and duly motivated cases where the deadline
4.
referred to in paragraph 2 cannot be met, the President may

Rule 17

Admission of the public, guests and guest speakers, topical
debate slot

Plenary Sessions shall be open to the public, unless the
1.
Plenary Assembly decides otherwise in respect of the whole
meeting or a specific item on the agenda.

2. Representatives of the European Parliament, Council and
Commission may attend Plenary Sessions. They may be asked to
take the floor.

3. The President, acting on his own initiative or at the request
of the Bureau, may also invite other distinguished guests to
address the Plenary Assembly. A general debate may follow,
during which the general rules on speaking time shall apply.

4. The Bureau may, in accordance with Rule 15(1) and (6),
propose to the Plenary Assembly that a general debate be held on
topical political issues of regional and local relevance (topical
debate slot). The general rules on speaking time shall apply.

Rule 18

Speaking time

1. The Plenary Assembly shall, at the beginning of its meeting
and acting on a proposal from the Bureau, allocate speaking time
for every item on the agenda. During a Plenary Session the
President, acting on his own initiative or at the request of a
member, shall arrange for a decision to be taken to limit speaking
time.

2. The President, acting on a proposal from the Bureau, may
propose to the Plenary Assembly that when debates are held on
general or specific issues, speaking time should be divided among
the political groups and national delegations.

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3. As a general rule, speaking time shall be limited to two
minutes for comments on minutes, for points of order and for
comments on amendments to the final draft agenda or the
agenda.

If a speaker exceeds his allotted speaking time, the President

4.
may, after an initial call to order, forbid him to speak.

5. Any request by a member that the debate be brought to a
close shall be put to the vote by the President.

Rule 19

List of speakers

1. The names of members who ask to speak shall be entered in
a list in the order in which their requests are received. The
President shall call upon members to speak on the basis of this
list, ensuring as far as possible that speakers of different political
views and from different national delegations are heard in turn.

2.
Priority, may be given, however, to the rapporteur of the
commission concerned and to the representatives of the political
groups and national delegations wishing to speak on behalf of
their group or delegation.

3. No-one may take the floor more than twice on the same
subject, except by leave of the President. The chairman and the
rapporteur of the commission concerned shall, however, be
allowed to speak at their request for a period to be decided by the
President.

Rule 20

Points of order

1. A member shall be allowed to speak to raise a point of order
or to draw the attention of the President to any failure to respect
the Rules of Procedure. The point of order must concern the
agenda or the subject under discussion.

2. A request to raise a point of order shall take precedence over
all other requests to speak.

3. The President shall take an immediate decision on points of
order in accordance with the Rules of Procedure and shall
announce his ruling immediately after the Rules of Procedure
have been invoked. No vote shall be taken on the President's
ruling.

Rule 21

Quorum

1. A quorum shall exist at a Plenary Session if a majority of the
members is present. The quorum shall be verified at the request
of a member if at least 15 members vote in favour of the request.

If the verification of a quorum is not requested, all votes shall be
the number of members present. The
valid regardless of
President may interrupt
the Plenary Session for up to 10
minutes before proceeding with a verification of the quorum.
Members who have requested verification of the quorum but are
no longer present in the Plenary Session chamber shall be
considered to be present for the purposes of the count. If fewer
than 15 members are present, the President may rule that there is
no quorum.

If it is established that there is no quorum, all items on the
2.
agenda which require voting shall be postponed until
the
following meeting day, when the Plenary Assembly may hold a
valid vote on these items whatever the number of members
present.

Rule 22

Voting

1. The Plenary Assembly shall decide by a majority of the votes
cast, save where otherwise provided in these rules.

2. The valid forms of vote shall be ‘for’,
‘against’ and
‘abstention’. In calculating the majority, only the votes cast for
and against shall be taken into account. In the event of a tied
vote, the text or proposal shall be deemed rejected.

If the result of the count is queried, a fresh vote may be
3.
called for by the President or may take place at the request of a
member, provided that at least 15 members vote in favour of the
request.

4. At the proposal of the President the Plenary Assembly may
decide to hold a roll call vote.

5. Votes relating to persons shall be by secret ballot.

6. The President may at any time decide that a vote shall be
conducted by electronic means.

Rule 23

Tabling of amendments

1. Only members and duly mandated alternates may table
amendments to documents requiring a decision. These amend-
ments must be in writing.

to documents

Except as provided for in the first sentence of Rule 26(1),
2.
amendments
requiring a decision must be
submitted by at least six members or duly mandated alternates
and must bear their names. National delegations with fewer than
six members may submit amendments, provided that these
amendments are submitted by and bear the names of all the
members of the delegation or their duly appointed alternates.

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3. They must reach the Secretary-General not later than the
seventh working day before the opening of the Plenary Session
and shall be electronically retrievable as soon as they have been
translated, but not later than two working days prior to the
Plenary Session. The deadline for the submission of amendments
can be reduced to three working days by the President in cases
where Rule 15(4) is applied. The deadline shall also not apply in
the case of amendments
to
Rule 15(6).

to urgent matters pursuant

4. All amendments shall be distributed to members before the
beginning of the Plenary Session.

Rule 24

Procedure for dealing with amendments

1.
If more than 20 amendments are submitted to a document
requiring a decision, the Bureau or the Plenary Assembly may
refer
further
the document back to the commission for
consideration. This shall not apply in the case of documents
requiring a decision whose adoption cannot be deferred.

the President,

the rapporteur or the authors of

If one or more amendments have been tabled to a part of a
2.
text,
these
amendments may propose compromise amendments during the
debate. A compromise amendment shall be given priority when
voting takes place, as long as none of the authors of the original
invalidate any
shall
amendments object, and,
amendment on which the compromise is based.

if adopted,

3. Voting on amendments shall follow the order of the points
in the text. The President may order a joint vote on amendments
with a similar content and objective.

4. A rapporteur may draw up a list of amendments tabled to
his draft opinion or report which he recommends be adopted
(voting recommendation). If the rapporteur has made a voting
recommendation,
the
amendments covered by the recommendation are to be voted
on together. Any member may, however, object to the voting
recommendation, specifying amendments which should be voted
on separately.

the President may decide

that

all

5. Amendments shall have priority over the text to which they
relate and shall be put to the vote before that text.

6.
If two or more mutually exclusive amendments have been
tabled to the same part of a text, the amendment that departs
furthest from the original text shall have priority and shall be put
to the vote first.

7. The final vote shall be on the text as a whole, whether
amended or not. An opinion which does not obtain an absolute
majority of the votes cast shall be returned to the competent
commission or shall lapse.

Rule 25

Urgent opinions and reports

In urgent cases where a deadline set by the Council, Commission
or European Parliament cannot be met under the normal
procedure, and the relevant commission has adopted its draft
opinion or report unanimously, the President shall transmit this
to the Council, Commission and
draft opinion or
for information. The draft opinion or
European Parliament
report shall be submitted to the following Plenary Session for
adoption without amendment. All documents relating to the said
opinion or report must testify to the urgent nature of the
opinion or report.

report

Rule 26

Simplified procedures

1. Draft opinions or reports adopted unanimously by a (lead)
commission shall be submitted to the Plenary Assembly for
adoption without change unless at least 32 members or duly
mandated alternates or a political group table an amendment in
accordance with the first sentence of Rule 23(3). In this case, the
amendment shall be dealt with by the Plenary Assembly. The
draft opinion or report shall be presented by the rapporteur at
the plenary session and may be the subject of a debate. It shall be
forwarded to members together with the draft agenda.

2.
If the (lead) commission is of the view that the Committee
has no reason to comment on or propose changes to a
document referred to it by the Bureau, it may propose that no
objections be raised to the document. The proposal shall be
submitted to the Plenary Assembly for adoption without debate.

Rule 27

Closing of the Plenary Session

Before the closing of the Plenary Session, the President shall
announce the time and place of the following Plenary Session
together with any items already on the agenda.

CHAPTER 3

THE BUREAU AND THE PRESIDENT

Rule 28

Composition of the Bureau

The Bureau shall consist of:

(a)

the President;

(b)

the first Vice-President;

(c)

one Vice-President per Member State;

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(d) 27 seven other members;

(e)

the chairmen of the political groups;

3. The valid forms of vote shall be a vote for and an abstention.
In calculating the majority, only the votes cast for shall be taken
into account.

Seats on the Bureau (excluding the seats of the President, the first
Vice-President and the chairmen of the political groups) shall be
divided among the national delegations as follows:

If no candidate obtains a majority in the first ballot, a second
4.
ballot shall be held in which the candidate receiving the highest
number of votes shall be deemed to be elected. In the event of a
tied vote, a decision shall be taken by drawing lots.

— Three seats: Germany, Spain, France, Italy, Poland, United

Kingdom

— Two seats: Belgium, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Denmark,
the Netherlands,

Greece,
Austria, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Finland, Sweden

Ireland, Lithuania, Hungary,

— One seat: Estonia, Cyprus, Latvia, Luxembourg, Malta,

Slovenia.

Rule 29

Replacements at Bureau meetings

1. The national delegations shall appoint a member or alternate
from the delegation as ad personam replacement for each of their
members of the Bureau, except for the President and the first
Vice-President.

2.
For each political group chairman, the political group in
question shall name one of its members or alternates as ad
personam replacement.

3. An ad personam replacement shall be entitled to participate
in meetings with speaking and voting rights only when he is
replacing the Bureau member in question. The delegation of vote
must be notified in writing to the Secretary-General prior to the
relevant meeting.

Rule 30

Election rules

1. The Bureau shall be elected by the Plenary Assembly for two
years.

2. The election shall be held under the chairmanship of the
interim president in accordance with Rules 11 and 12. All
candidatures must be submitted in writing to the Secretary-
General at least one hour before the beginning of the Plenary
Session. The elections shall take place only if at least two-thirds
of the members are present.

Rule 31

Election of the President and the first Vice-President

1. Before the elections, candidates for the posts of President
and first Vice-President may make a short statement before the
Plenary Assembly. The speaking time for candidates shall be of
equal length and shall be laid down by the interim president.

2. The election of the President and the first Vice-President
shall take place separately. They shall be elected by a majority of
the votes cast.

Rule 32

Election of the members of the Bureau

1. A joint list may be drawn up for the candidates from those
national delegations which nominate only one candidate for each
of the seats allocated to them on the Bureau. This list may be
adopted in a single ballot if it obtains a majority of the votes cast.

In cases where a joint list of candidates is not adopted, or where
the number of candidates exceeds the number of seats allocated
to a national delegation on the Bureau, each of these seats shall
be decided in separate ballots; in this case the provisions on the
election of the President and the first Vice-President shall be
applicable in accordance with Rules 30 and 31(2) to (4).

2. With a view to the election of the chairmen of the political
groups as members of the Bureau, a list of their names shall be
submitted to the Plenary Assembly for adoption.

Rule 33

Election of replacements

When a candidate for a seat on the Bureau is elected, his ad
personam replacement shall also be elected automatically.

Rule 34

By-elections for vacant Bureau seats

In the event of termination of Committee membership or of
resignation from the Bureau, a member of the Bureau and/or his
ad personam replacement shall be replaced for the remainder of
his term of office in accordance with the procedures laid down in
Rules 28 to 33. The by-election for a vacant Bureau seat shall
take place at a Plenary Session chaired by the President or by his
representative, in accordance with Rule 37(3).

Rule 35

Tasks of the Bureau

The Bureau shall have the following tasks:

(a)

establishment and submission to the Plenary Assembly of
its policy programme at the beginning of its term, and
monitoring of its implementation; at the end of its term,
submission to the Plenary Assembly of a report on the
implementation of the programme;

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(b)

organisation and coordination of the work of the Plenary
Assembly and the commissions;

(c)

(d)

adoption, on the proposal of the commissions, of their
annual work programme;

responsibility for

overall
financial, organisational and
administrative matters concerning members and alternates;
its Secretariat-
internal organisation of
General, including the establishment plan, and its consti-
tuent bodies;

the Committee,

(e)

The Bureau may:

— set up working groups of Bureau members or of
Committee members to advise it in specific areas; such
working groups may have up to eight members,

— invite other members of the Committee, by virtue of
their expertise or mandate, and persons not belonging
to the Committee, to attend its meetings;

(f)

(g)

engagement of the Secretary-General and the officials and
other servants listed in Rule 62;

submission of
the draft estimates of expenditure and
revenue to the Plenary Assembly in accordance with Rule
64;

(h)

authorisation of meetings away from the usual place of
work;

(i)

drawing-up of provisions for the membership and working
methods of working groups and of joint committees with
applicant countries.

Rule 36

In preparation for the Bureau decisions, the President shall
4.
ask the Secretary-General to draw up discussion documents and
recommendations for a decision on each item to be discussed;
these documents and recommendations shall be enclosed with
the draft agenda.

5. Members must receive the documents at least 10 days before
the opening of the meeting. Amendments to Bureau documents
must be submitted in writing to the Secretary-General not later
than the third working day before the opening of the Bureau
meeting and shall be electronically retrievable as soon as they
have been translated.

Rule 37

The President

1. The President shall direct the work of the Committee.

2. The President shall be the Committee's representative. He
may delegate these powers.

3.
If the President is absent or unable to attend, he shall be
represented by the first Vice-President; if the first Vice-President
is absent or unable to attend, the President shall be represented
by one of the other Vice-Presidents.

Opinions, reports and resolutions — Procedure in Bureau

Rule 38

Opinions — Legal bases

The Committee shall adopt its opinions pursuant to Article 265
of the EC Treaty

(a)

on the basis of a referral from the Commission or the
Council in the cases provided for in the EC Treaty or on the
basis of a referral from these institutions or the European
Parliament in all other cases;

Convening of the Bureau, quorum and decision

(b)

on its own initiative;

1. The Bureau shall be convened by the President, who shall set
the date of the meeting and the agenda in agreement with the
first Vice-President. The Bureau shall meet at least once every
three months, or within 14 days following receipt of a written
request by at least one quarter of its members.

(c) when, in the event of the Economic and Social Committee
it

being consulted under Article 262 of the EC Treaty,
considers that specific regional interests are involved.

Rule 39

2. A quorum shall exist at a Bureau meeting if at least one half
of its members are present. The quorum shall be verified at the
request of a member, provided that at least six members vote in
favour of the request. If the verification of a quorum is not
requested, all votes shall be valid regardless of the number of
members present. If it is established that there is no quorum, the
Bureau may continue its discussions but voting shall take place at
the next meeting.

3. The Bureau shall decide by a majority of the votes cast, save
where otherwise provided for in these rules. Rule 22(2) shall also
apply.

Opinions and reports — Designation of commission

1. The President shall assign documents received from the
Council, Commission or European Parliament to the responsible
commission; the Bureau shall be informed of this at its next
meeting.

2.
If the subject of an opinion or report falls within the area of
competence of more than one commission, the President shall
designate a lead commission and, where necessary may propose
that the Bureau set up a working party comprising representa-
tives of the commissions concerned.

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If a commission does not agree with a decision of the
3.
President taken under Rule 39(1) and (2), it may via its chairman
submit an application for a Bureau decision.

Rule 40

Appointment of a rapporteur-general

2. Draft resolutions or applications for the drafting of a
resolution may be submitted to the Committee by at least 32
members or a political group. All drafts or applications,
indicating the names of
the members or political group
supporting them, shall be submitted to the Bureau in writing.
They must reach the Secretary-General not later than three
working days before the opening of the Bureau meeting.

the commission concerned cannot draw up a draft
1.
If
opinion or
report by the deadline set by the Council,
Commission or European Parliament, the Bureau may propose
that the Plenary Assembly appoint a rapporteur-general, who
shall submit his draft opinion or report straight to the Plenary
Assembly.

If the Bureau decides that the Committee is to discuss a draft
3.
resolution or an application for the drafting of a resolution, it
may

(a)

put the draft resolution on the Plenary Session preliminary
draft agenda in accordance with Rule 15(1);

2. When a deadline set by the Council, Commission or
European Parliament does not give the Plenary Assembly time to
appoint a rapporteur-general, the rapporteur-general may be
appointed by the President; when this is the case, the Plenary
Assembly shall be informed at its next meeting.

In both cases, the commission concerned shall meet, where

3.
possible, to hold a general exploratory debate on the subject.

(b)

(c)

appoint a commission to draw up a draft resolution by a
specific deadline under the procedure used for drawing up
draft opinions or reports. Rule 50 shall not apply in such
cases;

in urgent cases, in accordance with the second sentence of
Rule 15(6), place a draft resolution on the agenda for the
next Plenary Session. Such draft resolutions shall be dealt
with on the second day of the session.

Rule 41

Own-initiative opinions and reports

1. Applications for own-initiative opinions or reports may be
its members, by a
submitted to the Bureau by three of
commission via its chairman or by 32 members of
the
Committee. These applications must be submitted, with reasons,
and together with all
the other discussion documents in
accordance with Rule 36(4), wherever possible, before the
annual work programme is adopted.

resolutions

the expiry of

referring to an unforeseeable event
4. Draft
the deadline stipulated in
occurring after
Rule 42(2) (extremely urgent resolutions) and complying with
the provisions of Rule 42(1) may be submitted up to 3 hours
before the beginning of the Bureau meeting. If the Bureau decides
that the proposal concerns the key tasks of the Committee, the
proposal shall be dealt with under Rule 42(3)(c). Amendments to
extremely urgent resolutions may be tabled by any member
during the Plenary Session.

Rule 43

2. The Bureau shall decide on applications for own-initiative
opinions or reports by a majority of three quarters of the votes
cast. The opinions or reports shall be referred to the relevant
commissions in accordance with Rule 39. The President shall
inform the Plenary Assembly of all Bureau decisions approving
and allocating own-initiative opinions or reports.

Promotion of opinions, reports and resolutions

The Bureau shall be responsible for promoting the Committee's
opinions, reports and resolutions.

3. This rule shall apply mutatis mutandis in the case of opinions
which come under Rule 38(c).

Rule 42

Tabling of resolutions

CHAPTER 4

COMMISSIONS

Rule 44

Composition and powers

1. Resolutions are to be put on the agenda only if they refer to
the activities of
the European Union, deal with important
concerns of regional and local authorities and are of topical
interest.

1. At the beginning of each term, the Plenary Assembly shall
set up commissions to prepare its work. It shall decide on their
composition and powers on a proposal from the Bureau.

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2. The composition of
national composition of the Committee.

the commissions shall reflect

the

3. Members of the Committee must belong to at least one
commission but may not belong to more than two. Exceptions
may be made by the Bureau for members belonging to national
delegations which have fewer members than the number of
commissions.

Rule 45

Chairman and vice-chairmen

weeks after the submission of the request. The agenda for an
extraordinary meeting shall be set by the members submitting
the request for such a meeting. It shall be forwarded to members
together with the convening notice.

4. All draft opinions and other discussion documents to be
translated and distributed before a meeting shall be sent to the
secretariat of the commission in question not later than five
weeks before the date set for the meeting. They shall then be
forwarded to members not later than two weeks before the date
of the meeting. In exceptional cases the above time limits may be
amended by the chairman.

1. At its first meeting each commission shall appoint from
among its members a chairman, a first vice-chairman and no
more than two vice-chairmen.

Rule 48

Admission of the public

2. Where the number of candidates corresponds to the number
of seats to be filled, the election may take place by acclamation.
Where this is not the case, or one sixth of the members of the
commission so request, the election shall be in accordance with
the provisions laid down in Rule 31(2) to (4) for the election of
the Committee President and first Vice-President.

3.
If a commission bureau member terminates his Committee
membership or resigns as a commission chairman or vice-
chairman, the vacancy shall be filled in accordance with the
provisions of this rule.

Rule 46

Tasks of commissions

In accordance with the powers assigned to them by the
1.
Plenary Assembly on the basis of Rule 44, the commissions shall
debate Community policies. They shall in particular draw up the
draft versions of opinions, reports and resolutions. These drafts
shall be submitted to the Plenary Assembly for adoption.

2. They shall draw up their annual work programmes in
accordance with the Committee's political priorities and submit
them to the Bureau for adoption.

1. The proceedings of the commissions shall be open to the
public, unless a commission decides otherwise in respect of the
whole meeting or of a specific item on the agenda.

2. Representatives of the European Parliament, Council and
Commission as well as other visitors may be invited to
participate in the meetings of the commissions and to reply to
questions from members.

Rule 49

Time limits for drawing up opinions and reports

1. The commissions shall present
their draft opinions or
reports within the time limits set out in the interinstitutional
calendar. The discussion of a draft opinion or report shall require
no more than two meetings, not including the first meeting at
which the work shall be organised.

In exceptional cases the Bureau may authorise further
2.
meetings to discuss a draft opinion or report, or may extend the
time limit for the presentation of the draft.

Rule 50

Rule 47

Content of opinions and reports

Convening of commissions and their agendas

1. The dates of meetings and their agendas shall be set by the
chairman of each commission acting in agreement with the first
vice-chairman.

2. A commission shall be convened by its chairman. The
convening notice for an ordinary meeting together with the
agenda must reach members not later than four weeks before the
date of the meeting.

the
1. A Committee opinion or
Committee's views and recommendations on the question under
consideration, if appropriate together with specific proposals for
changes to the document under consideration.

set out

report

shall

2.
In assessing the document under consideration, the main
part of the Committee's text shall, wherever possible, address
compliance with the subsidiarity principle and the expected
impact on administration and regional and local finances.

3. At the written request of at least one quarter of its members,
the chairman shall be obliged to convene an extraordinary
commission meeting, which must be held not later than four

3.
If necessary, an explanatory statement shall be drawn up
under the responsibility of the rapporteur and shall not be put to
the vote. It must, however, accord with the text of the opinion
that was put to the vote.

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Rule 51

Rapporteurs

Rule 54

Quorum

Each commission, acting on a proposal from its chairman,
in duly motivated cases, two

1.
shall appoint a rapporteur or,
rapporteurs to draw up a draft opinion or report.

1. A quorum shall exist at a commission meeting if more than
one half of its members are present.

In appointing rapporteurs each commission ensures a fair

2.
and balanced allocation of opinions and reports.

In urgent cases the commission chairman may apply a
3.
written procedure to appoint a rapporteur. The chairman shall
ask the members of the commission to submit any objections to
the appointment of the proposed rapporteur in writing within
three working days. In the event of objection, the chairman and
first vice-chairman shall decide by mutual agreement.

If

the chairman or one of

4.
the vice-chairmen of a
commission is appointed rapporteur, he shall, during the
discussion of his draft opinion or
the
chairmanship of the meeting to a vice-chairman or to the oldest
member present.

report, hand over

Rule 52

Working parties

2. The quorum shall be verified at the request of a member if at
least 10 members vote in favour of the request. If the verification
of a quorum is not requested, all votes shall be valid regardless of
the number of members present. If it is established that there is
no quorum, the commission may address the remaining items on
the agenda that do not require a vote, postponing discussion and
voting on the suspended agenda items to the next meeting.

Rule 55

Voting

1. Decisions shall be taken by a majority of the votes cast. Rule
22(2) shall also apply.

If a commission has interrupted voting on an opinion, it
2.
may decide, by a majority of the votes cast, to resubmit the
amendments already adopted to a vote when it takes a decision
on the text as a whole.

1.
In duly motivated cases the commissions may set up
working parties, with the approval of the Bureau. Working party
members may also come from other commissions.

Rule 56

Amendments

2. A working party member who is unable to attend a meeting
may be represented by a member or alternate from the list of
replacements for the working party.

1. Amendments must be sent to commission secretariats not
later than the fifth working day before the date of the meeting. In
exceptional cases the above time limit may be amended by the
chairman.

Each working party can appoint a chairman and a vice-

3.
chairman from among its members.

Rule 53

Experts

2. Voting on amendments shall follow the order of the points
in the draft opinion or report under discussion. Thereafter the
whole text shall be voted on. If two or more mutually exclusive
amendments have been tabled to the same part of a text, the
amendment that departs furthest from the original text shall
have priority and shall be put to the vote first.

1. The members of the commissions may call on the services of
an expert.

3. Once a draft opinion or report has been adopted by a
commission, it shall be forwarded by the commission chairman
to the President of the Committee.

2. A commission may appoint experts to assist it in its work
and to assist any working parties which it has set up. At the
invitation of
the chairman, these experts may take part in
meetings of the commission or of one of its working parties.

Rule 57

Decision not to draw up an opinion or report

invited by the
3. Only rapporteurs' experts and experts
commission shall be entitled to travel and subsistence expenses.

Where the (lead) commission considers that a document referred
interest, or is not of political
to it has no regional or local
importance, it may decide not to draw up an opinion or report.

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Rule 58

Written procedure

2. The Secretary-General shall be engaged for five years. The
detailed provisions of his contract of employment shall be laid
down by the Bureau.

In exceptional circumstances,

1.
the commission chairman
may have resort to a written procedure for the adoption of a
decision on the operation of his commission.

2. The chairman shall send the proposal for a decision to the
members and ask them to send him any objections in writing
within three days.

3.

If there is no objection, the decision shall be adopted.

CHAPTER 5

ADMINISTRATION OF THE COMMITTEE

Rule 59

Secretariat-General

1. The Committee shall be assisted by a Secretariat-General.

2. The Secretariat-General shall be headed by a Secretary-
General.

3. The Bureau, acting on a proposal
from the Secretary-
General, shall organise the Secretariat-General in such a way that
it can ensure the efficient functioning of the Committee and its
constituent bodies and help the members of the Committee in
the performance of their duties. The services to be provided by
the Secretariat-General
for members, national delegations,
political groups and non-attached members shall be determined
in the process.

3. The powers which the Conditions of Employment of other
servants of the European Communities confer on the authority
responsible for concluding contracts shall be exercised, in the
case of the Secretary-General, by the Bureau.

Rule 62

Staff Regulations of officials and Conditions of Employment
of other servants

1. The powers which the Staff Regulations of officials of the
European Communities confer on the appointing authority shall
be exercised as follows:

— for officials in Grades 5 to 12 of function group AD and for
officials in function group AST, by the Secretary-General,

— for other officials, by the Bureau, acting on a proposal from

the Secretary-General.

2. The powers which the Conditions of Employment of other
servants of the European Communities confer on the authority
competent
to conclude contracts of employment shall be
exercised as follows:

— for temporary staff in Grades 5 to 12 of function group AD
and for temporary staff in function group AST, by the
Secretary-General,

4. The Secretariat-General shall draw up the minutes of the
meetings of the Committee's constituent bodies.

— for other temporary staff, by the Bureau, acting on a

proposal from the Secretary-General,

Rule 60

Secretary-General

— for temporary staff in the private office of the President or

the first Vice-President:

1. The Secretary-General shall be responsible for giving effect
to the decisions taken by the Bureau or the President pursuant to
these Rules of Procedure and the applicable legal provisions. The
Secretary-General shall attend the meetings of the Bureau in an
advisory capacity and shall keep the minutes of those meetings.

2. The Secretary-General shall discharge his duties under the
direction of the President, representing the Bureau.

Rule 61

Engagement of Secretary-General

— for grades 5 to 12 of function group AD and function
group AST, by the Secretary-General, acting on a
proposal from the President,

— for other grades in function group AD, by the Bureau,

acting on a proposal from the President.

Temporary staff employed in the private office of
the
President or the first Vice-President shall be engaged until
the end of the President's or the first Vice-President's term
of office:

1. The Bureau shall engage the Secretary-General on the basis
of a decision adopted by a two-thirds majority of its members,
pursuant to the provisions of Article 2 and related provisions of
the Conditions of Employment of other servants of the European
Communities.

— for auxiliary staff, contract staff, special advisers and local
staff, by the Secretary-General
in accordance with the
conditions set out in the Conditions of Employment of
other servants of the European Communities.

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Rule 63

TITLE III

Commission for Financial and Administrative Affairs

GENERAL PROVISIONS

1. The Bureau shall, in accordance with Rule 35, set up an
advisory Commission for Financial and Administrative Affairs,
chaired by a member of the Bureau.

CHAPTER 1

COOPERATION WITH OTHER EU BODIES

2. The Commission for Financial and Administrative Affairs
shall have the following responsibilities:

Rule 65

Cooperation agreements

(a) Advising on and adopting, in accordance with Rule 64, the
preliminary draft estimates of the Committee's expenditure
and revenue submitted by the Secretary-General.

In the framework of the powers of the Committee, the Bureau,
acting on a proposal from the Secretary-General, may conclude
agreements with other organisations and bodies.

Rule 66

(b) Drawing up draft Bureau implementing provisions and
decisions in the financial, organisational and administrative
areas, including those relating to members and alternates.

Forwarding and publication of opinions, reports and
resolutions

3. The chairman of
the Commission for Financial and
Administrative Affairs shall represent the Committee vis-à-vis
the budget authorities of the Union.

Rule 64

Budget

1. The Commission for Financial and Administrative Affairs
shall submit the preliminary draft estimates of the Committee's
expenditure and revenue for the following financial year to the
to the Plenary
Bureau. The Bureau shall submit
Assembly for adoption.

the draft

2. The Plenary Assembly shall adopt the draft estimates of the
Committee's expenditure and revenue and forward them to the
Commission, Council and European Parliament in good time to
ensure that the deadlines laid down in the financial provisions are
met.

the statement of revenue and expenditure,

3. The Committee President, after consulting the Commission
for Financial and Administrative Affairs, shall execute, or cause to
be executed,
in
accordance with the internal
financial rules adopted by the
Bureau. He shall perform these functions in accordance with the
provisions of the Financial Regulation applicable to the general
budget of the European Communities.

1. The Committee's opinions and reports, as well as any
communication relating to the use of a simplified procedure
under Rule 26 or a decision not to draw up an opinion or report
under Rule 57, shall be addressed to the Council, Commission
and European Parliament. As in the case of resolutions, they shall
be forwarded by the President.

2. The opinions, reports and resolutions of the Committee
shall be published in the Official Journal of the European Union.

CHAPTER 2

OPENNESS TO THE PUBLIC AND TRANSPARENCY

Rule 67

Public Access to Documents

1. Any citizen of the Union and any natural or legal person
residing or established in a Member State has a right of access to
the documents of the Committee of the Regions in accordance
with the provisions of the EC Treaty, subject to the principles,
conditions
(EC)
No 1049/2001 of the European Parliament and of the Council
and to the arrangements laid down by the Committee Bureau.
Access to Committee documents shall as far as possible be
granted in the same way to other natural or legal persons.

in Regulation

down

limits

and

laid

2. The Committee shall establish a register of Committee
documents. The Bureau shall adopt the internal rules governing
access and shall draw up a list of directly accessible documents.

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CHAPTER 3

RULES OF PROCEDURE

Rule 68

Revision of Rules of Procedure

1. The Plenary Assembly shall decide by a majority of its
members if there is a need to amend these Rules of Procedure,
either in part or in full.

It shall appoint an ad hoc commission to draw up a report
2.
and a draft text as a basis for the adoption of new rules by a
majority of its members. The new rules shall enter into force the
day after their publication in the Official Journal of the European
Union.

Rule 69

Bureau instructions

The Bureau may give instructions determining the procedure for
in
implementing the provisions of these Rules of Procedure,
compliance with the latter.

Rule 70

Entry into force of Rules of Procedure

These Rules of Procedure shall enter into force the day after their
publication in the Official Journal of the European Union.