Activities of the Assembly’s Bureau and Standing Committee (19 April 2024)

Progress report | Doc. 15959 Add. 3 | 19 April 2024

Committee

Bureau of the Assembly

Rapporteur :

Ms Petra BAYR, Austria, SOC

1 Decisions of the Bureau of 19 April 2024 requiring ratification by the Assembly

1.1 References and transmissions to committees

The Bureau considered and approved the following references:

• Promoting the Istanbul Convention and improving its implementation: building on lessons learnt, Doc. 15942 Motion for a resolution: reference to the Committee on Equality and Non-Discrimination for report
• A shared European approach to address migrant smuggling, Doc. 15963 Motion for a resolution: reference to the Committee on Migration, Refugees and Displaced Persons for report
• Violent pornography, Doc. 15972 Motion for a resolution: reference to the Committee on Equality and Non-Discrimination for report and to the Committee on Social Affairs, Health, and Sustainable Development for opinion

• Self-determination and territorial integrity in the 21st century, Doc. 15816 Motion for a resolution: transmission to the Committee on Political Affairs and Democracy for information.

1.2 Organisation of the Parliamentary Assembly’s part-sessions as from June 2024

Within the framework of its competence for the organisation of the Assembly’s part-sessions and plenary sittings, the Bureau of the Assembly approved the following modalities for the organisation of the work of the Assembly and of its part-sessions as from the June 2024 part-session.

1.2.1 Format of part-session related to the agenda

Plenary sittings will be held as follows:

• on Mondays from 11:30 to 13:00 and from 15:30 to 17:30,
• on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays from 10:00 to 13:00 and from 15:30 to 20:00,
• on Fridays from 10:00 to 13:00.

The Bureau reserves flexibility to optimise the time allocated to the discussion of reports submitted by committees and may decide, when considering a draft agenda, to adjust the number of sittings to reflect the number of reports to be debated.

1.2.2 Meetings of committees and political groups, non-official meetings (side-events)

The schedules of committee and political group meetings shall be revised in accordance with the standard calendar of meetings and sittings for the whole session week set out below.

The overall hourly volume of these meetings remains the same:

• up to four committee meetings may be held in parallel (24 one-and-a-half hour slots for an overall volume of 36 hours);
• the political groups shall continue to meet three times a week, on Mondays (two meetings) and Wednesdays (one meeting), for the same total time of 5.30 hours allocated to each group;
• side events/non official meetings may be held on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays from 13:00 to 14:00 (one per day, i.e. three non official meetings per part-session), unless the organisation of the Assembly’s work, for example the holding of a Joint Committee meeting, makes it impossible to maintain the availability of these slots. During these time slots, two Assembly networks may also meet in parallel.

1.2.3 Elections

On 14 September 2023 and again on 27 November 2023, the Bureau decided that the Assembly would proceed with the election of judges to the European Court of Human Rights and other high-level personalities of the Council of Europe in accordance with the procedure laid down in Rule 40.11 of the Rules of Procedure, by means of ballot papers, polling booths and ballot boxes, and to maintain the practice of appointing tellers by political groups. Since the January 2024 part-session, the attendance sheets have been replaced by a system of verification and electronic signature by validating the voting member’s badge. As of the June 2024 part-session, voting will take place in the perimeter of the rotunda of the Chamber behind the Presidency in accordance with the same arrangements.

The Bureau instructed the Secretariat to organise the elections to be held during the June 2024 part-session in such a way that a possible second round could be held on the same day.

1.2.4 Standard timetable for the session week

MONDAY	TUESDAY	WEDNESDAY	THURSDAY	FRIDAY
8:00-9:30: Bureau	8:30-10:00: 4 committees	8:30-10:00: political groups	8:30-10:00: 4 committees	8:30-10:00: Bureau
9:30-11:30: political groups
11:30-13:00: plenary sitting (opening, credentials, elections President and vice-presidents)	10:00-13:00: plenary sitting	10:00-13:00: plenary sitting	10:00-13:00: plenary sitting	10:00-13:00: plenary sitting
	13:00-14:00: parliamentary networks and side events	13:00-14:00: parliamentary networks and side events	13:00-14:00: parliamentary networks and side events
14:00-15:30: 4 committees	14:00-15:30: 4 committees	14:00-15:30: 4 committees	14:00-15:30: 4 committees
15:30-17:30: plenary sitting	15:30-20:00: plenary sitting	15:30-20:00: plenary sitting	15:30-20:00: plenary sitting
17:30-19:30: political groups

PM – Monday morning 10.00-11.00: meeting of secretaries of delegations.

1.3 Co-chairmanship in the Group of the Unified European Left (UEL)

On the understanding that only one of the co-chairpersons can participate in each meeting, the Bureau decided that the UEL Group will always inform about its representation ahead of the meetings of:

• the Presidential Committee
• the Bureau
• the Standing Committee.

The chairpersons of political groups are also ex officio members of:

• the Committee on Political Affairs and Democracy
• the Committee on Legal Affairs and Human Rights
• the Monitoring Committee
• the Committee on Rules of Procedure, Immunities and Institutional Affairs.

For the above-mentioned committees, the UEL Group will inform the Bureau of its decision as to which of its co-chairpersons will seat as an ex officio member.

The Assembly is invited to ratify these Bureau decisions.