At its meeting on 24 June, the Bureau appointed me as rapporteur for this report, which covers its activities over the period from the last Bureau meeting of the third part-session of 2016 (Friday 24 June) to the first Bureau meeting of the fourth part-session of 2016 (Monday 10 October).
The following chapters include the decisions taken at the Bureau meetings of 24 June in Strasbourg and 5 September in Paris. Chapter 2 presents a list of decisions which do not require ratification. Chapter 3 lists the decisions taken on 5 September that require ratification at the opening of the fourth part-session of the Assembly.
An addendum to this report will be issued after the Bureau meeting of 10 October, which will also include decisions to be ratified on the same day. Another addendum will be issued after the Bureau meeting of 14 October. It will include only the decisions to be ratified by the Assembly on the same day, notably the references and transmissions which will have been approved by the Bureau.
The Bureau will hold its next meetings in Strasbourg on Friday 14 October at 8.30 am, then on Thursday, 24 November in Nicosia and on Friday, 16 December in Paris. The next meeting of the Standing Committee will be held in Nicosia on 25 November.
On 24 June, the Bureau approved the follow-up proposals made by the Secretary General of the Assembly to texts adopted by the Assembly as set out in Appendix 1. In addition, on the basis of a proposal by the Presidential Committee, the Bureau adopted a declaration on Reaffirming the role of the Assembly as a pan-European forum for inter-parliamentary dialogue and co-operation (Appendix 2).
On 24 June, the Bureau drew up the preliminary draft agenda, which it revised at its meeting of 5 September. It also authorised the Secretary General of the Assembly to proceed with the necessary modifications, to be submitted to the members of the Bureau for approval by written procedure.
On 5 September, the Bureau took note of the request for a current affairs debate on the Situation in Turkey in the light of the attempted coup d’Etat submitted by the chairpersons of the five political groups on behalf of their groups and proposed that the Assembly hold such a debate.
On 24 June, the Bureau took note of the memorandum by Mr Alain Destexhe (Belgium, ALDE), member of the Bureau of the Assembly, and by Mr Cezar Florin Preda (Romania, EPP/CD) and Mr Stefan Schennach (Austria, SOC), co-rapporteurs of the Monitoring Committee, who ensured the presence of the Assembly.
On 24 June, the Bureau approved the revised list of members of the ad hoc committee to observe these elections and appointed Ms Gisela Wurm (Austria, SOC) as its Chairperson (Appendix 3). On 5 September, the Bureau took note of the statement of the pre-electoral mission.
On 24 June, the Bureau approved the list of members of the ad hoc committee to observe these elections and appointed Mr René Rouquet (France, SOC) as its Chairperson (Appendix 4). On 5 September, the Bureau took note of the invitation letter to observe these elections.
On 5 September, the Bureau decided to ask the opinion of the Venice Commission on the amendments to the Constitution. It also constituted an ad hoc committee to conduct an assessment mission of the referendum composed of one representative of each political group as well as the co-rapporteurs of the Monitoring Committee, and authorised the President to approve its composition and to appoint its Chairperson. On 20 September, the President approved its composition (Appendix 5) and appointed Mr Aleksandar Nikoloski (“the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia”, EPP/CD) as Chairperson of the ad hoc committee.
On 24 June, the Bureau approved the revised list of members of the ad hoc committee to observe these elections and appointed Mr Ian Liddell-Grainger (United Kingdom, EC) as its Chairperson (Appendix 6).
On 24 June, the Bureau approved the revised list of members of the ad hoc committee to observe these elections and appointed Mr Emanuelis Zingeris (Lithuania, EPP/CD) as its Chairperson (Appendix 7). On 5 September, the Bureau took note of the invitation letter to observe these elections.
On 24 June, the Bureau approved the revised list of members of the ad hoc committee to observe these elections and appointed Mr Joseph O’Reilly (Ireland, EPP/CD) as its Chairperson (Appendix 8). On 5 September, the Bureau took note of the invitation letter to observe these elections.
On 24 June, the Bureau approved the revised list of members of the ad hoc committee to observe this election and appointed Ms Elisabeth Schneider-Schneiter (Switzerland, EPP/CD) as its Chairperson (Appendix 9).
On 24 June, the Bureau approved the revised list of members of the ad hoc committee to observe this election and appointed Mr Luís Leite Ramos (Portugal, EPP/CD) as its Chairperson (Appendix 10). On 5 September, the Bureau took note of the invitation letter to observe this election.
On 24 June, in addition to the references and transmissions that were ratified by the Assembly on the same day within the addendum to the Progress report, the Bureau considered and approved the following extension of references:
On 5 September, the Bureau considered and approved the following extension of reference:
Following the resignation of Mr Jean-Claude Frécon (France, SOC), at its meeting on 5 September the Bureau approved the appointment of Lord Donald Anderson (United Kingdom, SOC) as substitute to the Council on Democratic Elections of the Venice Commission, as proposed by the Committee on Political Affairs and Democracy.
On 5 September, the Bureau took note of Mr Dick Marty’s resignation as member of the Selection Panel of the Prize as well as of the shortlist made by the Selection Panel at its meeting in Prague on 30 August 2016, consisting of (in alphabetical order):
On 5 September, the Bureau took note of the communications by the President, the Secretary General and the Deputy Secretary General of the Council of Europe.
On 24 June, the Bureau approved the composition of the ad hoc committee of the Bureau to participate in the Forum and appointed the President of the Assembly as its Chairperson (Appendix 11).
On 24 June, the Bureau took note of the opinion of the Committee on Rules of Procedure, Immunities and Institutional Affairs.
On 24 June, the Bureau took note of the relevant parts of the Council of Europe staff regulations.
On 24 June, the Bureau took note of the memorandum prepared by the Secretary General of the Assembly.
On 24 June and 5 September, the Bureau authorised:
On 5 September, the Bureau appointed Mr Talip Küçükcan (Turkey, EC) to participate in the 62nd annual session of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly on 19-21 November 2016 in Istanbul, Turkey.
On 5 September, the Bureau took note of the draft programme.
On 5 September, the Bureau approved the proposals as set out in Appendix 12.
On 5 September, the Bureau considered and approved the following references and transmissions to committees, subject to ratification by the Assembly:
On 5 September, the Bureau decided, subject to receiving an invitation, to observe these elections and constituted an ad hoc committee for this purpose composed of 20 members (EPP/CD: 8; SOC: 7, ALDE: 2, EC: 2, UEL: 1 – in accordance with the D’Hondt system) as well as the co-rapporteurs on post-monitoring dialogue. It also authorised a pre-electoral mission.
On 5 September, the Bureau considered a memorandum prepared by the Secretary General of the Assembly in consultation with the Chairperson of the Committee on Political Affairs and Democracy and approved the draft decision contained therein, subject to ratification by the Assembly (Appendix 13). It also decided to come back to the issue of stepping up dialogue with the Assembly of Kosovo at one of its next meetings, on the basis of a memorandum to be prepared by the Secretary General of the Assembly.
On 5 September, the Bureau approved the draft guidelines submitted by the Committee on Rules of Procedure, Immunities and Institutional Affairs, subject to ratification by the Assembly (Appendix 14).
On 5 September, the Bureau approved the proposals submitted by the Committee on Rules of Procedure, Immunities and Institutional Affairs, subject to ratification by the Assembly (Appendix 15).
The Assembly is invited to ratify these Bureau decisions.
Paragraph 35: “Finally, while the Assembly welcomes the establishment of regional courts, it notes that the draft law on the restructuring of the Court of Cassation and Council of States raises questions. It therefore asks the Venice Commission for an opinion on this draft law and the constitutional aspects on the appointments of members of high judicial bodies.”
Follow-up: to ask for the opinion of the Venice Commission.
Paragraph 14: “Recalling Resolution 1640 (2008) on the use by Parliamentary Assembly members of their dual parliamentary role – both national and European, the Assembly urges national parliaments to review their rules of procedure and their practice relating to the participation of delegations in Assembly sessions and the meetings of Assembly committees and other bodies, and calls on them to revise any provisions which hinder the effective participation of members in the activities of the Assembly, in particular of substitutes when they are assigned specific functions in the Assembly and its committees.”
Paragraph 15: “The Assembly calls on the national parliaments concerned to change the rules prohibiting the participation of delegation members when parliament has been dissolved or, following elections and pending the appointment of a new delegation, the participation of those members who have not sought re-election or not been re-elected.”
Follow-up:
Paragraph 18: “The Assembly decides to request the opinion of the Venice Commission on the suspension, by a provisional clause, of Article 83 of the Constitution of Turkey, which guarantees the parliamentary inviolability of members of the Grand National Assembly.”
Follow-up: to ask for the opinion of the Venice Commission.
The Bureau of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe reaffirms the Assembly’s role as a pan-European forum for political dialogue among democratically elected members of parliament from the Organisation’s 47 member states. As a statutory organ of the Council of Europe, the Assembly promotes co-operation among parliamentarians to achieve the goals of the Organisation to unite democracies, around common values and on the basis of their common heritage.
Today, when Europe is facing numerous political challenges, both within and around its borders, and the Council of Europe witnesses a growing lack of cohesion and mutual trust among its member States, the Assembly has an indispensable role to play in overcoming and preventing new divisions in Europe through bridge-building and parliamentary diplomacy.
Dialogue and co-operation among parliamentarians, which are the very essence of parliamentary diplomacy, make a positive contribution to easing inter-state tensions, building confidence and finding feasible solutions to complex problems, namely those in the field of human rights, parliamentary democracy and the rule of law.
In this respect, the Bureau highlights the Assembly’s contribution inter alia to counteracting terrorism and radical extremism, combating intolerance, hate and discrimination, protecting rights of national minorities, fostering social cohesion, as well as promoting inter-cultural dialogue. These numerous global challenges require a concerted and effective response by all the Council of Europe’s 47 member States.
Against such a background, the fact that, for two consecutive years, parliamentarians from one of the Organisation’s member States, the Russian Federation, have not participated in the Assembly’s work limits the capacity of the Assembly to represent the rich plurality of views from across Europe. It also prevents the Assembly from contributing to shaping a unifying agenda for our Continent and the Council of Europe in order to preserve our common heritage, values and legal standards.
The Assembly has to rebuild trust among parliamentarians from all 47 member States and reaffirm its role as a pan-European forum for inter-parliamentary cooperation, on a basis of mutual respect. In order to do so, it should find ways to keep open the communication channels with the Russian parliament and explore all possibilities for dialogue offered by parliamentary diplomacy. Our common interests in protecting human rights, democracy and the rule of law, both at national and international level, are stronger than the issues that divide us. We must shoulder our responsibilities to address – in a frank, open and committed manner – the difficult points and disagreements that exist among us in order to work together to resolve them and to continue building a Europe without dividing lines.
Chairperson: Gisela WURM (Austria, SOC)
Group of the European People’s Party (EPP/CD)
Substitutes
Socialist Group (SOC)
Substitutes
Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe (ALDE)
Substitutes
European Conservatives Group (EC)
Group of the Unified European Left (UEL)
Rapporteur of the Committee on Political Affairs and Democracy on “The situation in Belarus” (ex officio)
* members of the pre-electoral delegation
Chairperson: René ROUQUET (France, SOC)
Group of the European People’s Party (EPP/CD)
Substitutes
Socialist Group (SOC)
Substitute
Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe (ALDE)
Substitutes
European Conservatives Group (EC)
Substitutes
Group of the Unified European Left (UEL)
Rapporteur of the Committee on Political Affairs and Democracy on “Evaluation of the partnership for democracy in respect of the Parliament of Jordan”
Chairperson: Aleksandar NIKOLOSKI, “the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia” (EPP/CD)
Group of the European People’s Party (EPP/CD)
Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe (ALDE)
Socialist Group (SOC)
European Conservatives Group (EC)
Rapporteurs of the Monitoring Committee (ex officio)
Chairperson: Ian LIDDELL-GRAINGER (United Kingdom, EC)
Group of the European People’s Party (EPP/CD)
Substitutes
Socialist Group (SOC)
Substitutes
Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe (ALDE)
Substitutes
European Conservatives Group (EC)
Substitutes
Group of the Unified European Left (UEL)
Chairperson: Emanuelis ZINGERIS (Lithuania, EPP/CD)
Group of the European People’s Party (EPP/CD)
Substitutes
Socialist Group (SOC)
Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe (ALDE)
Substitutes
European Conservatives Group (EC)
Group of the Unified European Left (UEL)
Co-Rapporteurs of the Monitoring Committee (ex officio)
* members of the pre-electoral delegation
Chairperson: Joseph O’REILLY (Ireland, EPP/CD)
Group of the European People’s Party (EPP/CD)
Substitutes
Socialist Group (SOC)
Substitutes
Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe (ALDE)
Substitutes
European Conservatives Group (EC)
Group of the Unified European Left (UEL)
Co-Rapporteurs of the Monitoring Committee (ex officio)
Chairperson: Elisabeth SCHNEIDER-SCHNEITER (Switzerland, EPP/CD)
Group of the European People’s Party (EPP/CD)
Substitutes
Socialist Group (SOC)
Substitutes
Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe (ALDE)
Substitutes
European Conservatives Group (EC)
Substitute
Group of the Unified European Left (UEL)
Substitute
Co-rapporteurs of the Monitoring Committee (ex officio)
Chairperson: Luís LEITE RAMOS (Portugal, EPP/CD)
Group of the European People’s Party (EPP/CD)
Substitutes
Socialist Group (SOC)
Substitute
Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe (ALDE)
Substitutes
European Conservatives Group (EC)
Substitute
Group of the Unified European Left (UEL)
Co-rapporteurs of the Monitoring Committee (ex officio)
Chairperson: Mr Pedro Agramunt, President of the Assembly
Presidential Committee
Committee on Political Affairs and Democracy
Committee on Legal Affairs and Human Rights
Committee on Social Affairs, Health and Sustainable Development
Committee on Migration, Refugees and Displaced Persons
Committee on Culture, Science, Education and Media
Committee on Equality and Non-Discrimination
Proposals for datesNote
Decision
With a view to implementing paragraph 13 of Resolution 2094 (2016) on The situation in Kosovo and the role of the Council of Europe, the Bureau decides to invite the Assembly of Kosovo to designate a delegation to participate in the work of the Assembly and its bodies, according to the modalities and conditions set out below:
1. On 4 March 2016, the Standing Committee adopted Resolution 2102 (2016) amending the Rules of Procedure. The new provisions, which entered into force upon their adoption, include the amendments made to Rule 34.9 of the Rules of Procedure concerning the procedure for examining amendments in committee or in a plenary sitting.
2. Rule 34.9 of the Rules of Procedure is now worded as follows:
“When an amendment or sub-amendment is called, only the following shall be heard: one of the signatories (or, if none of them do so, any other member of the Assembly) in order to move it, one member to speak against and the chairperson or rapporteur of the committee seized for report to express the committee’s opinion.1 An amendment or sub-amendment which is not moved shall not be considered. An amendment or sub-amendment which has been withdrawn by its signatories may be moved by any other member of the Assembly. A rapporteur may not sign or move any amendment or sub-amendment to a draft text presented by the committee on whose behalf he or she is reporting except for amendments or sub-amendments tabled on behalf of that committee.”
1 footnote: “The committee's position shall only be given by ‘in favour’ or ‘against’, together with the result of the vote in the committee; where appropriate, the Assembly shall be informed when ‘the committee has not taken any position’.”
3. The objective of this provision is clear and legitimate as it undoubtedly answers a demand from Assembly members for greater transparency with regard to decisions taken by committees on amendments. On the other hand, its effective implementation raises a number of problems of a completely practical nature.
4. Consequently, at its meeting on 18 April 2016, the Bureau of the Assembly decided to postpone the implementation of the new provision and asked the Committee on Rules of Procedure “to draft guidelines on the implementation of paragraph 2.3.1 of Resolution 2102 (2016) on Modifications to the Assembly's Rules of Procedure”.
5. At its meeting on 20 June 2016, the Committee on Rules of Procedure unanimously approved guidelines on the implementation of paragraph 2.3.1 of Resolution 2102 (2016), aimed at guaranteeing that the procedure envisaged under Rule 34.9 will be implemented by committees in a rational, efficient and consistent manner.
6. It is therefore important that the committees provide members attending plenary sittings with comprehensive but not necessarily exhaustive information. Systematically enforcing an obligation to disclose the exact result of the vote in committee is not advisable, since it will inevitably lead to a significant increase in the time allocated to examining amendments during meetings. On the contrary it is desirable for information provided to members in plenary regarding the committees’ positions to be supported by the detailed results of the voting in committee when such an obligation brings real added value. In order to facilitate rational implementation by the committees of the new provision included in Rule 34.9, the rule shall be interpreted as follows:
7. On 5 September 2016, the Bureau of the Assembly approved the above guidelines. These guidelines could be reassessed in the light of the practice actually applied during the forthcoming part-sessions of the Assembly.
Elections by the Parliamentary Assembly – Procedure adopted by the Bureau of the Assembly on 22 May 1995 (which the Assembly took note of on 26 June 1995)
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Current version |
Rules Committee’s proposal |
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All elections will be held in the Chamber. 2. A time will be set for the elections, but: – the sitting will not be interrupted; – members (representatives and authorised substitutes) will not be called individually to vote; during the voting time they will cast their vote when they wish. 3. A voting register and a ballot box will be placed in the area behind the Chair. A member of the Table Office will be in attendance. 4. Members being either representatives or authorised substitutes will sign the register. 5. By signing the register in place of a representative a substitute will prevent that representative from voting and from substituting for any other representative. 6. A member entitled to vote will receive a ballot paper and an envelope. The ballot paper should be placed in the envelope and put in the ballot box. 7. Any question of eligibility to vote shall be referred, if necessary, to the President, whose decision shall be final; no points of order may be raised. 8. At the end of the scheduled time the President will ask whether any other member still has to vote and, when any such vote has been cast, the President shall announce that the voting is closed. 9. The count shall take place outside the Chamber immediately after the voting, under the supervision of the tellers. 10. The result will be announced by the President at the beginning of the following sitting. 11. The notice papers shall give detailed advance information about the whole procedure. |
1. All elections will be held in the Chamber. 2. The agenda of a part-session sets down the schedules for the elections. One election takes place over two successive sittings on the same day. 3. Assembly members (representatives and authorised substitutes) will not be called individually to vote. 4. A voting register and a ballot box will be placed in the area behind the Chair. A member of the Table Office will be in attendance. 5. Assembly members (representatives and authorised substitutes) shall present their identity badge to the member of the Table Office before signing the voting register and receiving a ballot paper and an envelope. 6. By signing the register in place of a representative, a substitute shall prevent that representative from voting and from substituting for any other representative. A same Assembly member (representative or authorised substitute) can only vote once during a ballot. 7. A member entitled to vote shall place the ballot paper in the envelope and put it in the ballot box. 8. Any question of eligibility to vote shall be referred, if necessary, to the President, whose decision shall be final; no points of order may be raised. 9. Each political group may appoint an observer whose identity shall be notified to the President of the Assembly in advance. 10. Access to the voting operations zone (around the voting booths and the table on which the ballot box and voting register are placed) shall be restricted to voting Assembly members, members of the Table Office and duly notified political groups’ observers. 11. At the end of the scheduled time the President will ask whether any other member still has to vote and, when any such vote has been cast, the President shall announce that the voting is closed. 12. Four tellers chosen by lot shall be responsible for checking the voting register, collating and counting the votes, assisted by the secretariat. These operations shall take place outside the Chamber immediately after the ballot is declared closed. 13. The result will be announced by the President at the beginning of the following sitting, at the latest. 14. The list of members who took part in the vote shall be published as an appendix to the report of debates of the particular sitting. 15. The voting register shall be made available to any Assembly member on request. A copy of the voting register shall be addressed to any candidate for election on request. |