National delegations and political groups
National delegations and political groups
Rule 18National
delegations
18.1. The representatives and substitutes
appointed by the national parliaments of each member state shall
form national delegations whose competencies shall be exercised
in accordance with the present Rules of Procedure.
Rule 19Political groups
19.1. Representatives
and substitutes may form political groups according to their political affinities.
To be acknowledged by the Bureau, political groups shall undertake,
in particular in their political charter, statutes and activities,
to promote and respect the values of the Council of Europe, notably
political pluralism, human rights and the rule of law.
19.2. A
political group shall have no fewer than 26 members of at least
eight national delegations. No Assembly member may belong to more
than one political group.
19.3. At
the time it is formed, each political group shall submit to the
Bureau of the Assembly a statement which shall include the name
of the group, the list of its members, the composition of its bureau,
a political charter setting out the purpose of the group, and its
statutes or rules of procedure, which shall conform to the European
Convention on Human Rights. All members of the group shall declare
in writing in an appendix to the statement that they share the same
political and ideological affinities.
Each group shall notify the Bureau of any subsequent changes
as soon as possible.
19.4. Any political group which
no longer satisfies the conditions set out in Rule 19.2 on the date
of 30 June, or which has fewer than 20 members for a period of three
successive months shall cease to exist. This shall be notified to
the Bureau by the Secretary General of the Parliamentary Assembly.
The Bureau shall take note thereof at its subsequent meeting.
19.5. Chairpersons
of political groups shall be ex officio members
of the Bureau and the Standing Committee with the right to vote.
19.6. Chairpersons
of political groups are ex officio members of the general committees,
except the Committee on the Election of Judges to the European Court
of Human Rights. Rule
44.7.
shall not apply to
them.
19.7. For
each ordinary session, the date of 30 June of the previous year
will serve as a reference date to verify that the conditions stipulated
in Rule 19.2 are met, as well as for establishing the number of
members of each political group, which is necessary for calculating
their budgetary allocation, the allocation of committee chairmanships
and seats on the Monitoring Committee, the Committee on Rules, Ethics
and Immunities and the Committee on the Election of Judges to the
European Court of Human Rights and for establishing the order of
speakers in debates.
