RULES OF PROCEDURE

 

 

 

European Association of former members of parliament

 

of the member states of the Council of Europe or the European Union

 

 

RULES OF PROCEDURE

Approved by the General Assembly of 23 September 2023

 

 

 

1.  Purpose of the Association

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Art. 1: The European Association submits reports, adopted texts as well as minutes of meetings and conferences that it organises to the European institutions and to national governments and parliaments and informs these institutions of texts concerning European integration adopted by its different member associations. It shall also ensure that its decisions are released to the public at large through the media, in particular via press agencies.

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2.  Membership of the Association

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Art. 2: The European Association of former members of parliament of the member countries of the Council of Europe consists of associations of former members of parliament of the member countries of the Council of Europe and of the European Parliament who have signed up to the statutes and who comply with the rules concerning financial participation, it being understood that these associations’ members must be former democratically-elected members of legislative bodies. 

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Art. 3: The associations of former members of parliament who have not yet signed up to the statutes may be granted observer status for a maximum period of two years, allowing them to participate in the proceedings and meetings of the European Association, but without any voting rights. This status is granted by the Council and approved by the General Assembly. 

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Art. 4: On the basis of a decision of the Council, members of the associations of former members of parliament from non-member countries of the Council of Europe may be invited to attend meetings of the European Association in an advisory capacity only.

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3.  Membership

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Art. 5: Applications for membership must be addressed to the President of the European Association and must be accompanied by the association’s statutes, a list of the association’s members and the address of the association’s headquarters. Applications for membership with observer status must also be sent to the President of the European Association. Applications for membership are examined by the Council, whose members shall issue a favourable or unfavourable opinion. Applications are then sent to the General Assembly for a decision.

 

4.  General Assembly

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Art. 6: The General Assembly of the European Association consists of delegates of member associations.

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Art. 7: In accordance with Article 6 of the statutes, every member association shall be represented by three delegates appointed for this purpose for a two-year term of office. Each of these three delegates may, if prevented from fulfilling his or her duties, be replaced by another delegate appointed by his or her association. No later than two months prior to the end of the two-year term of office, the member associations must inform the secretariat of the names of their delegates. 

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Art. 8: The ordinary General Assembly shall be held once yearly during the first six months of the year.

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Art. 9: The invitation to the General Assembly shall be sent by the President to the presidents of the member associations and to the former presidents of the European Association. The invitation shall be sent along with the agenda and the time and venue of the meeting. It must be sent at least 30 days before the scheduled date. The member associations may submit proposals for changes and additional questions during the two weeks following the invitation’s mailing date. A draft agenda shall be submitted for approval to the General Assembly during its plenary meeting before examining any other matter. 

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5. Council

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Art. 10: In accordance with Article 7 of the statutes, the two-year term of office of the Council’s delegates shall be approved by the General Assembly on the proposal of the member associations. No later than two months prior to the end of the term of office, the member associations shall inform the secretariat of the names of their candidates, unless a shorter time period is justified in urgent cases.

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Art. 11: In accordance with Article 8 of the statutes, the General Assembly shall elect the President of the European Association on the proposal of the Council. The President’s term of office shall be limited to two years. 

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Art. 12: The General Assembly, on the proposal of the Council, shall elect a first Vice-President to replace the President in the event of his or her temporary absence.

For the purpose of electing the President and the First Vice-President, each association shall provide to the Council, no later than two months before the General Assembly, the name and curriculum vitae of its candidate. Candidacies for the presidency must be accompanied by a programme.

The Council shall also appoint a second, third and fourth vice-president. The term of office of the vice-presidents, whether elected or appointed, shall be two years. They cannot serve for more than two consecutive terms. One of the vice-presidents will be in charge of finances and will present the draft budget and the financial accounts to the General Assembly.

A vice-presidency will be granted by right to a delegate of the association from the country where the headquarters of the Association is established. The President and vice-presidents cannot come from the same association. Other Council members may be given particular assignments by the President.

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Art. 13: When the Bureau takes a decision, the President has the casting vote in the event of a tie.

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Art. 14: Every year the Council shall submit a draft budget to the General Assembly which must be approved by a two-thirds majority of the member associations present.

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Art. 15: In accordance with Article 13 of the statutes, the Council shall hold at least two meetings a year, one of which on the day of the General Assembly. These meetings shall be held in person. In exceptional cases, the Bureau may decide to hold these meetings by video conference. The meetings’ invitations shall be sent by the President to all members of the Council at least 30 days prior to the meeting. The invitations shall be sent along with the agenda, the date and the venue of the meeting.

 

6. Bureau

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Art. 16: The President and the Vice-Presidents, as well as the temporarily associated members, constitute the Bureau that is entrusted with day-to-day business. The Bureau distributes the tasks and missions among its members. It can meet between two Council meetings in person or by video conference and at any other time that is deemed appropriate.

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7.  General administrative secretariat

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Art. 17: The Council shall appoint a Secretary General, whose task is to coordinate the different activities of the European Association. This appointment must be confirmed by the General Assembly. The Secretary General shall attend the meetings of the Bureau, the Council and the General Assembly and shall prepare with the President the agendas for the meetings of the Bureau, the Council and the General Assembly. The Secretary General is responsible for the implementation of the budget under the supervision of the Vice-President acting as Treasurer. For this purpose, the Secretary General is authorized to open and manage, on behalf of the European Association, a current account in a bank requiring his signature up to an amount of 10,000 euros. The signature of the Vice-President acting as treasurer is required for any expenditure exceeding this amount.

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8.  Headquarters of the Association

Art. 18: The Council may organise its meetings either at the headquarters or in the country of one of the member associations. The schedule of meetings and events is periodically decided by the Council.

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Art. 19: The General Assembly may be held either in PARIS, BRUSSELS or STRASBOURG, or in a city of a member association’s country.

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9. Official languages

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Art. 20: French and English are the two official languages of the Association. All documents and meetings shall be translated into these two languages.

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10.  Financial arrangements

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Art. 21: All member associations shall deposit their annual membership fee into the account of the European Association during the first six months of the year.

 

In case of temporary financial difficulties experienced by a member association (or future member), the Bureau can decide, after hearing the opinion of the vice-presidency in charge of finances, to grant a deferment, relief or a temporary total exemption. 

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11.  Other provisions

Art. 22: The present rules of procedure shall enter into force upon their approval by the General Assembly, whose members can amend them by simple majority.