Terms of reference of Assembly committees (implementation of Resolution 1220)

Resolution 1235 (2000)

Author(s):

Parliamentary Assembly

Origin

See Doc. 8869, report of the Committee on Rules of Procedure and Immunities, rapporteur: Mr Sinka. Text adopted by the Standing Committee, acting on behalf ofthe Assembly, on 9 November 2000.

Thesaurus

1. The Assembly recalls its Resolution 1220 (2000) on the reform of the Assembly’s working methods and its committee structure;

2. The Assembly considers that Resolution 1176 (1998) on the terms of reference of Assembly committees has to be revised for the committees that are directly affected by the reform of the committee structure.

3. As far as the committees whose responsibilities have been transferred to other bodies are concerned, that is the Committee on the Budget and the Committee on Parliamentary and Public Relations, the parts of their current terms of reference which Resolution 1220 assigned to other committees are incorporated in the terms of reference of those committees.

4. The Assembly therefore decides to add the following paragraph to the existing terms of reference of the Political Affairs Committee: “The (Political Affairs) Committee shall consider questions relating to the functioning and development of democratic institutions in Europe”.

5. The existing terms of reference of the Committee on Economic Affairs and Development are supplemented as follows:

5.1 “The Committee (on Economic Affairs and Development) shall report on all budgetary and financial matters. It prepares in particular the Assembly’s opinions on the Council of Europe’s draft budget and on Assembly expenditure, considers the budgetary and financial aspects of future activities proposed by the Assembly and examines questions related to the Assembly’s budgetary competences.

5.2 The committee shall consider questions concerning the Council of Europe’s role in the co-ordination of conditions of service in the European international organisations and in the establishment of a European civil service.

5.3 The committee shall consider developments in European energy policy, and, in particular, energy co-operation.

5.4 The committee shall follow the activities of, and maintain relations with, the Council of Europe Development Bank.”

6. As far as the two committees that are the result of a merger are concerned, namely the Committee on Culture, Science and Education and the Committee on the Environment and Agriculture, it is necessary to determine their new terms of reference. The Assembly therefore adopts the terms of reference of the Committee on Culture, Science and Education and of the Committee on the Environment and Agriculture set out in the appendix to this resolution.

7. The Assembly also decides to modify its Rules of Procedure as follows: in Rule 44, add the following paragraph: “44.5. Each committee may develop relations with non-governmental organisations which carry out activities within the committee’s terms of reference”.

8. This resolution shall enter into force at the first part of the 2001 Ordinary Session of the Parliamentary Assembly (22 January 2001).

Appendix Appendix

Committee on the Environment and Agriculture

Number of seats: 76

History:

This committee results from the merger of the Committee on the Environment, Regional Planning and Local Authorities with the Committee on Agriculture, Rural Development and Food.

The Committee on the Environment, Regional Planning and Local Authorities was established in 1952 as a Special Committee on Municipal and Regional Affairs.

The subject of regional planning was added in 1968. The environment was added to the committee’s title in 1986. The Committee on Agriculture, Rural Development and Food was first appointed in 1951, as a special committee. It became a general committee in 1956. Its title was changed to “Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development” on 18 May 1994 by Order No. 496. The committee was renamed “Committee on Agriculture, Rural Development and Food” by the Assembly’s decision of 3 April 2000.

Terms of reference

1. The committee shall consider issues related to sustainable development in all its aspects (regional planning, the protection of the environment, rural development and natural resources’ management), as well as all sectoral policies that contribute to a sustainable and well-balanced spatial planning of the European continent.

2. The committee shall consider issues relating to agricultural policies and to fisheries, including issues relating to food (such as the agri-food sector and food safety), and issues of consumer protection.

3. The committee shall consider issues relating to local and regional authorities, such as regional and local democracy and autonomy, and cross-border and interregional co-operation.

4. The committee shall, on behalf of the Assembly, select the candidates for, and the winners of, the Europe Prize.

5. The committee shall follow the activities of, and will maintain close relations with, the international and European organisations that operate in the field of activities falling within the committee’s terms of reference. It shall be represented in the relevant intergovernmental committees and bodies of the Council of Europe.

6. The committee may organise conferences and other events in areas covered by these terms of reference.

Committee on Culture, Science and Education

Number of seats: 76

History:

This committee results from the merger of the Committee on Culture and Education with the Committee on Science and Technology. The Committee on Culture and Education was appointed in 1949 as the Committee on Cultural and Scientific Questions. Resolution 326 (1966), established a separate committee on science and technology, with specific terms of reference. The Committee on Cultural and Scientific Questions became at that time the “Cultural Committee”. In 1968, the Cultural Committee was renamed, to become the “Committee on Culture and Education”.

Terms of Reference

1. The committee shall consider issues relating to culture, science and education in Europe and shall encourage co-operation in these fields.

2. The committee shall, in particular, consider: the preservation of Europe’s cultural heritage; education and youth policy; sport; and the media, including, in particular, questions of media ethics.

3. The committee shall promote education and scientific research in Europe.

4. The committee shall examine the impact of scientific and technological developments in society.

5. The committee shall, on behalf of the Assembly, decide on the annual Council of Europe Museum Prize.

6. The committee shall follow the activities of, and will maintain close relations with, the international and European organisations that operate in the field of activities that fall within the committee’s terms of reference. The committee shall be represented in the relevant intergovernmental steering committees of the Council of Europe, including the Council for Cultural Co-operation (CDCC) and its four committees, the Committee for the Development of Sport (CDDS), the European Steering Committee for Youth (CDEJ), the Steering Committee on the Mass Media (CDMM) and the Steering Committee on Bioethics (CDBI). The committee shall follow and participate in the work of all other bodies of the Council of Europe that operate in its field of activities, such as European Youth Centres, the European Youth Foundation, the European Commission Against Racism and Intolerance (ECRI), and other relevant European institutions such as the European Science Foundation (ESF), the European Parliamentary Technology Assessment Network (Epta) and Eureka.

7. The committee may organise conferences and other events on subjects within its terms of reference.