Use of data-procession for parliamentary work
- Author(s):
- Parliamentary Assembly
- Origin
- See Doc. 4312, report of the Committee on Science and Technology.
Text adopted by the Standing Committee, acting on behalf of the
Assembly, on 28 June 1979.
- Thesaurus
The Assembly,
1. Taking into account the Report and Final Statement
of the Round Table (
Doc.
4249) on the Use of Data-Processing for Parliamentary Work,
held in Strasbourg on 18-19 May 1978, pursuant to
Resolutions 576 (1974) and
634 (1976) ;
2. Welcoming the general endorsement given to the Final Statement
of the Round Table by the Conference of Presidents of European Parliamentary
Assemblies at its meeting in The Hague on 22-24 June 1978 ;
3. Convinced that national and European parliamentary assemblies
should be technically equipped to play a more effective role vis-à-vis
the executive branches of government both at national and European
levels, and to this end should strengthen their information capabilities
by having recourse to computer, communications and data-processing
technologies ;
4. Sharing the views of the Round Table that :
a data-processing facilities should
be made increasingly available for the work of national and European parliamentary
assemblies ;
b national and European parliamentary assemblies should
have access by means of terminals to the appropriate data banks
and networks of the European Communities- and in particular to the
Euronet/Diane network and to the CELEX (legislation) and CRONOS
(statistics) data banks, through which the computerised material
of the Council of Europe should also be made available ;
c the development of political co-operation in Europe makes
it increasingly important for national parliamentary assemblies
to have the rapid access which computer technology can provide to
the legislations of and to information on each other's countries
;
5. Noting with satisfaction the development of the activities
of the European Centre for Parliamentary Research and Documentation,
established under the auspices of the Conference of Presidents of
European Parliamentary Assemblies, and in particular its setting-up
of five working parties on data-processing, libraries, research,
microfiche recording, and thesauri and terminology,
6. Resolves :
6.1 to continue
to work for the introduction of data-processing technology in national
and European parliamentary assemblies ;
6.2 to convene, with a view to the co-ordination of parliamentary
data-processing policies throughout Europe, further meetings between
parliamentarians and experts to discuss information policies and
exchange information on new documentation systems ;
6.3 to call on national parliaments :
a to undertake feasibility studies, if they have not already
done so, on the introduction of data-processing facilities, paying
due regard to the agreed minimum standards for computer-based aids
for parliamentary work of the European Centre for Parliamentary
Research and Documentation ;
b to develop systems, following the example of the GESTA
system of the German Bundestag, showing the status of national legislations
and indicating when legislation has its origin in European initiatives
;
c to secure and improve access to governmental and appropriate
outside data bases, and in particular to arrange for access to the
data banks and networks of the European Communities ;
d to reach agreement on minimum standards for methods of
documentation, and in particular for the preparation of indices
and thesauri ;
e to call on the European Centre for Parliamentary Research
and Documentation :
a to intensify
the activities of its working party on data-processing ;
b to make specific proposals, with a view to their presentation
to the Madrid 1980 Conference of Presidents of European Parliamentary
Assemblies, for the setting-up of an advisory body to the Centre
composed of parliamentarians and information specialists ;
6.4 to call on the European Parliament to cooperate closely
with the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe in building
up computer-based information services with a common vocabulary
for the indexing and computerisation of their respective texts.
