CELEX: 52006DP0021
Language: mt
Date: 2006-01-19 00:00:00
Title: 258

C 287 E/254          MT                         Il-Ġurnal Uffiċjali ta' l-Unjoni Ewropea                                      24.11.2006

Il-Ħamis, 19 ta' Jannar 2006

                                                       TESTI ADOTTATI

              P6_TA(2006)0021

              Standards of conduct of Members (Amendment of the Rules of Procedure)

              European Parliament decision on the amendments to be made to the European Parliament's Rules
              of Procedure relating to standards for the conduct of Members of the European Parliament
                                                    (2005/2075(REG))

              The European Parliament,

              — having regard to the letter of 18 March 2005 from its President,

              — having regard to the amendments to its Rules of Procedure drawn up by the Bureau on 7 March 2005,

              — having regard to Rule 202 of its Rules of Procedure,

              — having regard to the report of the Committee on Constitutional Affairs (A6-0413/2005),

              A. whereas it must be possible for the business of the House to be conducted in a dignified atmosphere,
                 although the vibrancy of plenary debates must also be maintained,

              B. whereas the provisions currently included in its Rules of Procedure do not allow for an appropriate res-
                 ponse in the event of disruption of its business or of other activities taking place within its precincts,

              C. whereas, as is the case in all parliamentary assemblies, provision must be made for the possibility of
                 penalties being imposed on any Member or Members not complying with the standards of conduct, for
                 the definition of the major principles of which, as well as for the devising of an internal appeals proce-
                 dure that guarantees the right of defence of Members on whom penalties have been imposed, it bears
                 responsibility,

              1.   Decides to amend its Rules of Procedure as set out below;

              2. Decides that these amendments shall enter into force on the first day of the next part-session, pursuant
              to Rule 202(3) of its Rules of Procedure;

              3. Instructs its President to forward this decision to the Council, to the Commission and to the parlia-
              ments of the Member States, for information.

                          PRESENT TEXT                                                           AMENDMENTS

                                                             Amendment 1
                                              Rule 9, title and paragraph 1, subparagraph 1

Code of conduct                                                          Members' financial interests, standards of conduct and
                                                                         access to Parliament

1.   Parliament may lay down a code of conduct for its                   1.    Parliament may lay down rules governing the transpa-
Members. The code shall be adopted pursuant to Rule                      rency of its Members' financial interests, which shall be
202(2) and attached to these Rules of Procedure as an annex.             attached to these Rules of Procedure as an annex.
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                                                                                                          Il-Ħamis, 19 ta' Jannar 2006

                         PRESENT TEXT                                                         AMENDMENTS

                                                           Amendment 2
                                                     Rule 9, paragraph 1 a (new)

                                                                       1a. Members' conduct shall be characterised by mutual
                                                                       respect, be based on the values and principles laid down in
                                                                       the basic texts on which the European Union is founded, res-
                                                                       pect the dignity of Parliament and not compromise the
                                                                       smooth conduct of parliamentary business or disturb the
                                                                       peace and quiet of any of Parliament's premises.
                                                                       Failure to comply with these principles may lead to applica-
                                                                       tion of the measures provided for in Rules 146, 147 and
                                                                       148.

                                                           Amendment 3
                                                     Rule 9, paragraph 1 b (new)

                                                                       1b. The application of this Rule shall in no way detract
                                                                       from the liveliness of parliamentary debates nor undermine
                                                                       Members' freedom of speech.
                                                                       It shall be based on full respect for Members' prerogatives,
                                                                       as laid down in primary law and the Statute applicable to
                                                                       them.
                                                                       It shall be based on the principle of transparency and be so
                                                                       undertaken that the relevant provisions are made clear to
                                                                       Members, who shall be informed individually of their rights
                                                                       and obligations.

                                                           Amendment 4
                                                Interpretation of Rule 22, paragraph 3

                                                                       The term 'conduct of sittings' includes the matter of the
                                                                       conduct of Members within all of Parliament's premises.

                                                           Amendment 5
                                                        Rule 96, paragraph 3

3.    Committees shall normally meet in public. They may               3.    Committees shall normally meet in public. They may
decide, however, at the latest when the agenda of a meeting is         decide, however, at the latest when the agenda of a meeting is
adopted, to divide the agenda for that meeting into items open         adopted, to divide the agenda for that meeting into items open
to the public and items closed to the public. However, if a            to the public and items closed to the public. However, if a
meeting is held in camera, the committee may, subject to               meeting is held in camera, the committee may, subject to
Article 4(1) to (4) of European Parliament and Council Regula-         Article 4(1) to (4) of European Parliament and Council Regula-
tion (EC) No 1049/2001, open documents and minutes from                tion (EC) No 1049/2001, open documents and minutes from
the meeting to public access.                                          the meeting to public access. Rule 147 shall apply in the
                                                                       event of any breach of the rules governing confidentiality.
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Il-Ħamis, 19 ta' Jannar 2006

                          PRESENT TEXT                                                                 AMENDMENTS

                                                               Amendment 6
                                                    Title VI, Chapter 3 a (new), title (new)

                                                                             CHAPTER 3a
                                                                             MEASURES TO BE TAKEN IN THE EVENT OF NON-
                                                                             COMPLIANCE WITH THE STANDARDS OF CONDUCT
                                                                             OF MEMBERS
                                                                             (to be inserted before Rule 146)

                                                               Amendment 7
                                                       Rule 146, title and paragraph 1

Order in the Chamber                                                         Immediate measures

1.    The President shall call to order any Member who crea-                 1.   The President shall call to order any Member who dis-
tes a disturbance during the proceedings.                                    rupts the smooth conduct of the proceedings or whose con-
                                                                             duct fails to comply with the relevant provisions of Rule 9.

                                                               Amendment 8
                                                           Rule 146, paragraph 3

3.     If a further offence is committed, the President may exc-             3.    Should the disturbance continue, or if a further offence
lude the offender from the Chamber for the remainder of the                  is committed, the President may deny the offender the right
sitting. The Secretary-General shall see to it that this discipli-           to speak and exclude him from the Chamber for the remain-
nary measure is carried out immediately, with the assistance                 der of the sitting. He may also resort to the latter measure
of the ushers and, if necessary, of Parliament's Security Ser-               immediately and without a second call to order in cases of
vice.                                                                        exceptional seriousness. The Secretary-General shall, without
                                                                             delay, see to it that such disciplinary measures are carried
                                                                             out, with the assistance of the ushers and, if necessary, of Par-
                                                                             liament's Security Service.

                                                               Amendment 9
                                                       Rule 146, paragraph 3 a (new)

                                                                             3a. Should disturbances threaten to obstruct the business
                                                                             of the House, the President shall close or suspend the sitting
                                                                             for a specific period to restore order. If he cannot make him-
                                                                             self heard, he shall leave the Chair; this shall have the effect
                                                                             of suspending the sitting. The President shall reconvene the
                                                                             sitting.

                                                               Amendment 10
                                                       Rule 146, paragraph 3 b (new)

                                                                             3b. The powers provided for in paragraphs 1 to 3a shall
                                                                             be vested, mutatis mutandis, in the presiding officers of
                                                                             bodies, committees and delegations as provided for in the
                                                                             Rules of Procedure.
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                                                                                                                Il-Ħamis, 19 ta' Jannar 2006

                         PRESENT TEXT                                                               AMENDMENTS

                                                           Amendment 11
                                                     Rule 146, paragraph 3 c (new)

                                                                             3c. Where appropriate, and bearing in mind the serious-
                                                                             ness of the breach of the Members' standards of conduct, the
                                                                             Member in the Chair may, no later than the following part-
                                                                             session or the following meeting of the body, committee or
                                                                             delegation concerned, ask the President to apply Rule 147 .

                                                           Amendment 12
                                                                  Rule 147

Exclusion of Members                                                         Penalties

1.    In serious cases of disorder or disruption of Parliament,              1.    In exceptionally serious cases of disorder or disruption
the President may after giving formal notice, move, either                   of Parliament in violation of the principles laid down in Rule
immediately or no later than the next part-session, that Par-                9, the President, after hearing the Member concerned, shall
liament pass a vote of censure which shall automatically                     adopt a reasoned decision laying down the appropriate
involve immediate exclusion from the Chamber and suspen-                     penalty, which he shall notify to the Member concerned and
sion for two to five days.                                                   to the presiding officers of the bodies, committees and dele-
                                                                             gations on which the Member serves, before announcing
                                                                             them to plenary.

2.    Parliament shall decide whether to take such discipli-                 2.    When assessing the conduct observed account shall be
nary action at a time to be decided by the President, which                  taken of its exceptional, recurrent or permanent nature and
shall be either at the sitting during which the events in                    of its seriousness, on the basis of the guidelines annexed to
question occurred or, in the case of disruption outside the                  these Rules of Procedure. (*)
Chamber, when the President was informed, or at the latest
at the next part-session. The Member concerned shall be
entitled to be heard by Parliament before the vote. His spea-
king time shall not exceed five minutes.

3.   An electronic vote shall be taken without debate on the                 3.   The penalty may consist of one or more of the follo-
request for disciplinary action. Requests submitted pursuant                 wing measures:
to Rule 149(3) or 160(1) shall not be admissible.                            (a) a reprimand;
                                                                             (b) forfeiture of entitlement to the daily subsistence allo-
                                                                                 wance for a period of between 2 and 10 days;
                                                                             (c) without prejudice to the right to vote in plenary, and
                                                                                 subject, in this instance, to strict compliance with the
                                                                                 Members' standards of conducts, temporary suspension,
                                                                                 for a period of between 2 and 10 consecutive days on
                                                                                 which Parliament or any of its bodies, committees or
                                                                                 delegations meet, from participation in all or some of
                                                                                 the activities of Parliament;
                                                                             (d) submission to the Conference of Presidents, pursuant to
                                                                                 Rule 18, of a proposal for the Member's suspension or
                                                                                 removal from one or more of the elected offices held by
                                                                                 the Member in Parliament.

                                                                             (*) See Annex XVIa.
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Il-Ħamis, 19 ta' Jannar 2006

                          PRESENT TEXT                                                               AMENDMENTS

                                                               Amendment 13
                                                                   Rule 148

Disturbances                                                                  Internal appeal procedures

Should disturbances in Parliament threaten to obstruct the                    The Member concerned may lodge an internal appeal with
business of the House, the President shall close or suspend                   the Bureau within two weeks of notification of the penalty
the sitting for a specific period to restore order. If he cannot              imposed by the President. Such an appeal shall have the
make himself heard, he shall leave the Chair. This shall have                 effect of suspending the application of that penalty. The
the effect of suspending the sitting. The President shall                     Bureau may, not later than four weeks after the lodging of
reconvene the sitting.                                                        the appeal, annul, confirm or reduce the penalty imposed,
                                                                              without prejudice to the external rights of appeal open to
                                                                              the Member concerned. Should the Bureau fail to take a
                                                                              decision within the time-limit laid down, the penalty shall be
                                                                              declared null and void.

                                                               Amendment 14
                                                              Annex XVI a (new)

                                                                              ANNEX XVIa
                                                                              Guidelines for the interpretation of the standards of conduct
                                                                              of Members
                                                                              1. A distinction should be drawn between visual actions,
                                                                                 which may be tolerated, provided they are not offensive
                                                                                 and/or defamatory, remain within reasonable bounds and
                                                                                 do not lead to conflict, and those which actively disrupt
                                                                                 any parliamentary activity whatsoever.
                                                                              2. Members shall be held responsible for any failure by per-
                                                                                 sons whom they employ or for whom they arrange access
                                                                                 to Parliament to comply on Parliament's premises with
                                                                                 the standards of conduct applicable to Members.
                                                                              The President or his representatives may exercise discipli-
                                                                              nary powers over such persons and any other outside person
                                                                              present on Parliament's premises.

              P6_TA(2006)0022

              Implementation of the European Charter for Small Enterprises

              European Parliament resolution on implementing the European Charter for Small Enterprises
                                                   (2005/2123(INI))

              The European Parliament,

              — having regard to its resolution of 9 March 2005 on the mid-term review of the Lisbon Strategy (1),

              — having regard to the Presidency Conclusions of the Lisbon European Council in March 2000;

              (1) OJ C 320 E, 15.12.2005, p. 164.