European Parliament decision of 16 April 2014 on amendment of Parliament's Rules of Procedure with regard to parliamentary questions (2013/2083(REG))
Date: 2014-04-16
Institutions: Committee on Constitutional Affairs, European Parliament
Subjects: parliamentary question, rules of procedure








C_2017443EN.01008901.xml










22.12.2017   


EN


Official Journal of the European Union


C 443/89





P7_TA(2014)0408
Amendment of Parliament's Rules of Procedure with regard to parliamentary questions
European Parliament decision of 16 April 2014 on amendment of Parliament's Rules of Procedure with regard to parliamentary questions (2013/2083(REG))
(2017/C 443/20)

The European Parliament,






—


having regard to the letter from its President of 13 February 2013,










—


having regard to Rules 211 and 212 of its Rules of Procedure,










—


having regard to the report of the Committee on Constitutional Affairs (A7-0123/2014),












1.


Decides to amend its Rules of Procedure as shown below;












2.


Decides that the amendments shall enter into force on the first day of the first part-session of the eighth parliamentary term;












3.


Decides that the ballot system established by the amendments for determining the Members allowed to put a question shall be assessed after a trial period of one year from the beginning of the eighth parliamentary term;












4.


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





Amendment 1


Parliament's Rules of Procedure


Rule 116








Present text




Amendment





1.   Question Time with the Commission shall be held at each part-session 
at times decided by Parliament on a proposal from
 the Conference of Presidents.


1.   Question Time with the Commission shall be held at each part-session 
for a duration of 90 minutes on one or more specific horizontal themes to be decided upon by
 the Conference of Presidents 
one month in advance of the part-session
.




2.   
No Member may put more than one question to the Commission at any given part-session.




2.   
The Commissioners invited to participate by the Conference of Presidents shall have a portfolio related to the specific horizontal theme or themes on which questions are to be put to them. The number of Commissioners shall be limited to two per part-session, with the possibility of adding a third being dependent on the specific horizontal theme or themes chosen for the Question Time.








3.
   
Questions shall be submitted in writing to the President, who shall rule on their admissibility and on the order in which they are to be taken. The questioner shall be notified immediately of this decision.




 






4.
   
The detailed procedure
 shall be 
governed by guidelines
 laid down in an annex to these Rules of Procedure (17).




3.
   
Question time
 shall be 
conducted in accordance with a ballot-system the details of which are
 laid down in an annex to these Rules of Procedure (17).






5.
   In accordance with guidelines established by the Conference of Presidents, specific question hours may be held with the Council, with the President of the Commission, with the Vice-President of the Commission/High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and with the President of the Eurogroup.




4.
   In accordance with guidelines established by the Conference of Presidents, specific question hours may be held with the Council, with the President of the Commission, with the Vice-President of the Commission/High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and with the President of the Eurogroup.





Amendment 2


Parliament's Rules of Procedure


Rule 117 — paragraph 1








Present text




Amendment





1.   Any Member may put questions for written answer to the President of the European Council, the Council, the Commission or the Vice-President of the Commission/High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy in accordance with 
guidelines
 laid down in an annex to these Rules of Procedure (18). The content of questions shall be the sole responsibility of their authors.


1.   Any Member may put questions for written answer to the President of the European Council, the Council, the Commission or the Vice-President of the Commission/High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy in accordance with 
criteria
 laid down in an annex to these Rules of Procedure (18). The content of questions shall be the sole responsibility of their authors.





Amendment 3


Parliament's Rules of Procedure


Rule 117 — paragraph 2








Present text




Amendment





2.   Questions shall be submitted 
in writing
 to the President 
who shall forward them to the addressees
. Doubts concerning the admissibility of a question shall be settled by the President. The questioner shall be notified of 
his
 decision.


2.   Questions shall be submitted to the President. Doubts concerning the admissibility of a question shall be settled by the President. 
The President's decision shall be based not exclusively on the provisions of the annex referred to in paragraph 1 but on the provisions of these Rules of Procedure in general.
 The questioner shall be notified of 
the President's
 decision.





Amendment 4


Parliament's Rules of Procedure


Rule 117 — paragraph 2 a (new)








Present text




Amendment





 




2a.
   
Questions shall be submitted in electronic format. Each Member may submit a maximum of five questions per month.






 




By way of exception, additional questions may be submitted in the form of a paper document tabled and signed personally by the Member concerned in the relevant service of the Secretariat.






 




After a period expiring one year from the beginning of the eighth parliamentary term, the Conference of Presidents shall carry out an assessment of the regime in respect of additional questions.







Amendment 7


Parliament's Rules of Procedure


Rule 117 — paragraph 4 — subparagraph 3








Present text




Amendment







Members shall indicate which type of question they are submitting. The final decision shall be taken by the President.






deleted







Amendment 8


Parliament's Rules of Procedure


Rule 117 — paragraph 5








Present text




Amendment





5.   Questions and answers shall be published 
in the Official Journal of the European Union
.


5.   Questions and answers shall be published 
on Parliament’s website
.





Amendment 9


Parliament's Rules of Procedure


Rule 118 — paragraph 1








Present text




Amendment





1.   Any Member may put questions for written answer to the European Central Bank in accordance with 
guidelines
 laid down in an annex to these Rules of Procedure (19).


1.   Any Member may put 
a maximum of six
 questions 
per month
 for written answer to the European Central Bank in accordance with 
criteria
 laid down in an annex to these Rules of Procedure (19). 
The content of questions shall be the sole responsibility of their authors.







Amendment 10


Parliament's Rules of Procedure


Rule 118 — paragraph 2








Present text




Amendment





2.   Such questions shall be submitted in writing to the Chair of the committee responsible, who shall 
forward
 them to the European Central Bank.


2.   Such questions shall be submitted in writing to the Chair of the committee responsible, who shall 
notify
 them to the European Central Bank. 
Doubts concerning the admissibility of a question shall be settled by the Chair. The questioner shall be notified of the Chair's decision.







Amendment 11


Parliament's Rules of Procedure


Rule 118 — paragraph 3








Present text




Amendment





3.   
The
 questions and answers shall be published 
in the Official Journal of the European Union
.


3.   Questions and answers shall be published 
on Parliament’s website
.





Amendment 12


Parliament's Rules of Procedure


Annex II








Present text




Amendment





Conduct of Question Time 
under Rule 116




Conduct of Question Time 
with the Commission














A.





Guidelines















1.





Members who put a question to one of the Commissioners shall be chosen by means of a ballot system in the following way:

















1.





Questions shall be admissible only where they













—




a ballot box shall be placed at the entrance to the Chamber one hour before the start of Question Time;
















—




are concise and are drafted so as to permit a brief answer to be given;














—




Members wishing to put a question write their name on a form and place it in the ballot box;
















—




fall within the competence and sphere of responsibility of the addressee and are of general interest;














—




Members wishing to put a question may submit no more than one form;
















—




concern in particular, in the case of specific questions to the Council, the exercise of its functions in defining, coordinating and implementing Union policies, or concern its powers relating to appointment procedures or the operation of the institutions, agencies and bodies of the European Union or a revision of the Treaties,














—




the President opens Question Time and closes the ballot box;
















—




do not require extensive prior study or research by the institution concerned;














—




the President draws one ballot at a time and calls on the chosen Member to put his or her question to the competent Commissioner.
















—




are clearly worded and relate to a specific matter;
















2.





The Member shall be given one minute in which to formulate the question and the Commissioner two minutes in which to reply. That Member may put a supplementary question of 30 seconds duration, having a direct bearing on the main question. The Commissioner shall then be given two minutes in which to give a supplementary reply.















—




do not contain assertions or opinions;
















3.





Questions and supplementary questions must be directly related to the specific horizontal theme chosen. The President may rule on the admissibility.















—




do not relate to strictly personal matters;








 










—




are not aimed at procuring documents or statistical information;








 










—




are interrogatory in form.








 












2.





A question shall be inadmissible if the agenda already provides for the subject to be discussed with the participation of the institution concerned, or if it relates to the exercise of the Council’s legislative and budgetary functions referred to in Article 16(1), first sentence, of the Treaty on European Union.







 












3.





A question shall be inadmissible if an identical or similar question has been put down and answered during the preceding three months, or to the extent that it merely seeks information on the follow-up to a specific resolution of Parliament of a kind which the Commission has already provided in a written follow-up communication, unless there are new developments or the author is seeking further information. In the first case a copy of the question and the answer shall be given to the author.







 






Supplementary questions




 












4.





Each Member may follow up the reply with a supplementary question to any question and may put in all two supplementary questions.







 












5.





Supplementary questions shall be subject to the rules of admissibility laid down in these Guidelines.







 












6.





The President shall rule on the admissibility of supplementary questions and shall limit their number so that each Member who has put down a question may receive an answer to it.







 






The President shall not be obliged to declare a supplementary question admissible, even if it satisfies the foregoing conditions of admissibility, if:




 












a)






it is likely to upset the normal conduct of Question Time, or








 












b)






the main question to which it relates has already been adequately covered by other supplementary questions, or








 












c)






it has no direct bearing on the main question.








 






Answers to questions




 












7.





The institution concerned shall ensure that answers are concise and are relevant to the subject of the question.







 












8.





If the content of the questions concerned permits it, the President may decide, after consulting the questioners, that the institution concerned should answer them together.







 












9.





A question may be answered only if the questioner is present or has notified the President in writing, before Question Time begins, of the name of a substitute.







 












10.





If neither the questioner nor a substitute is present, the question shall lapse.







 












11.





If a Member tables a question, but neither that Member nor a substitute is present at Question Time, the President shall remind the Member in writing of his or her responsibility to be present or substituted. If the President has to send such a letter three times in the space of any twelve-month period, the Member concerned shall lose the right to table questions at Question Time for a six-month period.







 












12.





Questions that remain unanswered for lack of time shall be answered in accordance with Rule 117(4), first subparagraph, unless their authors request the application of Rule 117(3).







 












13.





The procedure for answers in writing shall be governed by Rule 117(3) and (5).







 






Time limits




 












14.





Questions shall be tabled at least one week before Question Time begins. Questions not tabled within this time limit may be taken during Question Time with the consent of the institution concerned.







 






Questions declared admissible shall be distributed to Members and forwarded to the institutions concerned.




 












B.





Recommendations







 






(extract from resolution of Parliament of 13 November 1986)




 






The European Parliament,




 












1.





Recommends stricter application of the guidelines for the conduct of Question Time under Rule 43

 (27)

, and in particular of point 1 of those guidelines concerning admissibility;







 












2.





Recommends more frequent use of the power conferred on the President of the European Parliament by Rule 43(3)

 (28)

to group questions for Question Time according to subject; considers, however, that only the questions falling within the first half of the list of questions tabled for a given part-session should be subject to such grouping;







 












3.





Recommends, as regards supplementary questions, that as a general rule the President should allow one supplementary question from the questioner and one or at most two supplementaries put by Members belonging preferably to a different political group and/or Member State from the author of the main question; recalls that supplementary questions must be concise and interrogatory in form and suggests that their duration should not exceed 30 seconds;







 












4.





Invites the Commission and the Council, pursuant to point 7 of the guidelines, to ensure that answers are concise and relevant to the subject of the question.







 





Amendment 13


Parliament's Rules of Procedure


Annex III — title








Present text




Amendment







Guidelines
 for questions for written answer under Rules 117 and 118




Criteria
 for questions for written answer under Rules 117 and 118





Amendment 14


Parliament's Rules of Procedure


Annex III — paragraph 1 — indent 2








Present text




Amendment











—


fall within the 
competence
 and sphere of responsibility of the addressee and be of general interest;












—


fall 
exclusively
 within the 
limits of the competences of the institutions as laid down in the relevant Treaties
 and 
within the
 sphere of responsibility of the addressee, and be of general interest;









Amendment 15


Parliament's Rules of Procedure


Annex III — paragraph 1 — indent 3 a (new)








Present text




Amendment





 








—




not exceed 200 words;











Amendment 16


Parliament's Rules of Procedure


Annex III — paragraph 1 — indent 5 a (new)








Present text




Amendment





 








—




not contain more than three sub-questions.











Amendment 17


Parliament's Rules of Procedure


Annex III — paragraph 2








Present text




Amendment











2.




If a question does not comply with these guidelines
, the Secretariat shall provide 
the author
 with advice on how 
the question may be drafted in order to be admissible
.












2.




Upon request
, the Secretariat shall provide 
authors
 with advice on how 
to comply in an individual case with the criteria laid down in paragraph 1
.









Amendment 18


Parliament's Rules of Procedure


Annex III — paragraph 3








Present text




Amendment











3.


If an identical or similar question has been put and answered during the preceding six months, or to the extent that a question merely seeks information on the follow-up to a specific resolution of Parliament of a kind which the Commission has already provided in a written follow-up communication, the Secretariat shall transmit a copy of the previous question and answer to the author. The renewed question shall not be forwarded to the addressee unless the 
author invokes new significant developments or is seeking further information
.












3.


If an identical or similar question has been put and answered during the preceding six months, or to the extent that a question merely seeks information on the follow-up to a specific resolution of Parliament of a kind which the Commission has already provided in a written follow-up communication, the Secretariat shall transmit a copy of the previous question and answer to the author. The renewed question shall not be forwarded to the addressee unless the 
President so decides in the light of significant new developments and in response to a reasoned request by the author
.









Amendment 19


Parliament's Rules of Procedure


Annex III — paragraph 4








Present text




Amendment











4.


If a question seeks factual or statistical information that is already available to Parliament's 
library, the latter shall inform the Member, who may withdraw the question
.












4.


If a question seeks factual or statistical information that is already available to Parliament's 
research services, it shall not be forwarded to the addressee but to those services, unless the President decides otherwise upon request by the author
.









Amendment 20


Parliament's Rules of Procedure


Annex III — paragraph 5








Present text




Amendment











5.


Questions concerning related matters may be answered together.












5.


Questions concerning related matters may be 
merged into a single question by the Secretariat and
 answered together.










(17)  See Annex II.

(17)  See Annex II.

(18)  See Annex III.

(18)  See Annex III.

(19)  See Annex III.

(19)  See Annex III.

(27)  
Now Rule 116.



(28)  
Now Rule 116(3).