MINUTES EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT B U R E A U. Strasbourg. of the meeting of. Louise Weiss Building - Room R 1.1

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1 EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT PV BUR PE-7/BUR/PV/ B U R E A U MINUTES of the meeting of Louise Weiss Building - Room R Strasbourg PE /BUR/Rev

2 PE-8/BUR/PV/ BUREAU MINUTES of the meeting of Monday, 14 November 2011 from 18:30 to 20:30 hrs Louise Weiss Building Room R 1.1 Strasbourg Contents page 1. Adoption of draft agenda Approval of the Minutes of the meetings of 24 October Communications by the President Official visit to Libya and Tunisia Official visit to the Western Balkans Official visit to Estonia and Finland (a) Decision on purchase of the Montoyer 70 building (b) Leases for the buildings Arts/Lux (professional training) and Science/Montoyer (other institutions) Changes to the internal rules governing the reception of visitors' groups - Note from the Secretary-General - Letter from Ms GERINGER de OEDENBERG, Chair-in- Office of the Quaestors Proposal to amend the rules on travel by Committee delegations outside the three places of work - Letter from Vice-President ROTH-BEHRENDT, Chair of the Temporary Evaluation Group on the implementation of the Members' and Assistants' Statutes Amendments to the Implementing Measures of the Members' and Assistants' Statutes - further proposals from the Temporary Evaluation Group - Letter from Vice-President ROTH-BEHRENDT, Chair of the Temporary Evaluation Group on the implementation of the Members' and Assistants' Statutes Staff matters PE /BUR/Rev 2/28

3 9. Request from the Committee on International Trade to authorise a delegation visit on November 2011 to Denmark - Letter from Mr MOREIRA, Chair of the Committee concerned Request to send a delegation to the UN General Assembly in New York on 28 and 29 November Letter from Mr ALBERTINI, Ms JOLY and Ms LOCHBIHLER, Chairs of the committee and the subcommittee concerned Request from the Committee on Transport and Tourism to authorise a mini-hearing on "Recording equipment in road transport" on 20 December 2011 in Brussels - Letter from Mr SIMPSON, Chair of the committee concerned Request from the Subcommittee on Human Rights to authorise a public hearing on "The human rights situation of Turkmen in Iraq" on 5 December 2011 in Brussels - Letter from Ms LOCHBIHLER, Chair of the Subcommittee concerned Urgent matters and other business Items for information Interinstitutional mail External mail Internal mail Date and place of next meeting /28 PE /BUR/Rev

4 BUREAU MINUTES of the meeting of Monday, 14 November 2011 Strasbourg Mr Jerzy BUZEK, President of the European Parliament, opened the meeting at 18h38 hours. Present Mr Jerzy BUZEK, President* Vice-Presidents Excused Mr PITTELLA* Mr TİKÉS Ms KRATSA-TSAGAROPOULOU* Mr WIELAND Ms PODIMATA* Mr MARTÍNEZ MARTÍNEZ* Mr VIDAL-QUADRAS Ms ROTH-BEHRENDT* Mr ROUČEK Ms DURANT* Ms ANGELILLI* Ms WALLIS Mr McMILLAN-SCOTT* Mr CHICHESTER* Quaestors Ms GERINGER DE OEDENBERG Mr HIGGINS Ms LULLING* Mr MAŠTÁLKA* Mr NEWTON DUNN* Excused Also Present Mr WELLE, Secretary-General* * present for Item 8 in camera PE /BUR/Rev 4/28

5 List of officials present at the meeting: Private Office of the President Mr Ms Mr Mr Mr TEASDALE WORUM* HUBER FISCHER ALPERMANN Private Office of the Secretary-General Mr Mr Ms Mr Ms DREXLER* MANGOLD* LUEDDECKE SCHEIBA BLAU Secretariat DG Presidency (PRES) DG Internal Policies (IPOL) DG External Policies (EXPO) DG Information (COMM) DG Personnel (PERS) DG Infrastructure and Logistics (INLO) DG Translation (TRAD) DG Interpretation and Conferences (INTE) DG Finance (FINS) DG Innovation, Technical Support (ITEC) Legal Service Conference of President's Secretariat Relations with the secretariats of the political groups Ms RATTI*/ Mr O'BEARA/ Mr CARROZA Mr RIBERA d'alcalà/ Mr REY Mr AGUIRIANO/ Mr PENALVER GARCIA Ms LAHOUSSE/ Mr DUCH-GUILLOT/ Mr WARASIN/ Ms VAN DEN BROEKE/ Mr LÖFFLER Mr QUITIN* Mr STRATIGAKIS/ Mr CHAMPETTER Ms PITT Ms COSMIDOU Mr VANHAEREN/ Mr GUILLÉN ZANÓN Mr VILELLA Mr PENNERA*, Jurisconsult/ Mr PASSOS/ Mr PETTERSHEIM Mr HILLER Mr WINKLER * present for Item 8 in camera 5/28 PE /BUR/Rev

6 Political group secretariats Mr RIPOLL Ms PEARSON Mr BOUTER Mr DENKINGER Mr WOODARD Mr RAECK Ms LAIKAUF Mr SERVELLÒN (EPP) (S&D) (ALDE) (Greens/EFA) (ECR) (GUE/NGL) (EFD) (Non-attached Members) Vice-Presidents' and Quaestors' assistants Mr MARTINELLI Ms TRAKADAS Ms ASTERIADI Mr GUERRA REINA Ms CABANELAS ÀLVAREZ Mr SCHWARZ Ms ZANELLA Mr VALETTE Mr LOMBARDO Ms THIEL Mr SZILAGYI Ms BIESEMANS Mr BECKER Ms MURPHY Ms ZIELINSKA Ms KEARNEY Mr ROMANOVSKIS Ms ŘEHOŘOVÁ Ms KONTÁR Mr PITTELLA's assistant Ms KRATSA-TSAGAROPOULOU's assistant Ms PODIMATA's assistant Mr MARTÍNEZ's assistant Mr VIDAL-QUADRAS's assistant Ms ROTH-BEHRENDT's assistant Mr ROUCEK's assistant Ms DURANT's assistant Ms ANGELILLI's aassistant Ms WALLIS's assistant Mr TİKÉS's assistant Mr McMILLAN-SCOTT's assistant Mr WIELAND's assistant Mr CHICHESTER's assistant Ms GERINGER de OEDENBERG's assistant Mr HIGGINS's assistant Ms LULLING's assistant Mr MAŠTÁLKA's assistant Mr NEWTON DUNN's assistant Ms LINNUS*, Mr WILKINSON, Mr CALINOGLOU and Mr TOPPING acted as secretary to the meeting. * present for Item 8 in camera PE /BUR/Rev 6/28

7 1. Adoption of draft agenda The Bureau - noted the draft agenda (PE /BUR) and adopted it as shown in these minutes. 7/28 PE /BUR/Rev

8 2. Approval of the Minutes of the meetings of 24 October 2011 The Bureau - noted the Minutes of the meeting of 24 October 2011 in Strasbourg (PE /BUR); - heard Ms DURANT, Vice-President, who clarified the recorded version of her remarks regarding the hotel situation in Strasbourg; - heard Ms WALLIS, Vice-President, state that the tone of item 3.5 of the Minutes did not fully reflect the tone of the discussion held, but that she did not wish to make any specific changes; - approved the Minutes with the clarifications made by Ms DURANT. PE /BUR/Rev 8/28

9 3. Communications by the President 3.1 Official visit to Libya and Tunisia The Bureau - heard the President, who informed the meeting that, from 29 to 31 October 2011, he had paid an official visit to Libya and Tunisia, noting in particular that: in Libya, he had met President JALIL, the Minister of Justice and the Minister of Defence, as well as with several representatives of civil society; in Tunisia, he had met the Prime Minister and the Governor of the Central Bank, representatives of the Independent Electoral Commission and the leading figures of the four major parties that would be represented in the new Assembly; Parliament should take a lead in providing practical assistance to help democratisation and strengthen respect for human rights, and this could be done at both administrative and political level through training of and the sharing of experiences with staff of the various political parties and civil servants; - held a brief exchange of views on the matter, with the participation of Mr McMILLAN-SCOTT who requested increasing support on administrative level, Mr PITTELLA and Ms Durant, Vice-Presidents and Mr HIGGINS, Quaestor, and expressed its support in principle for the approach proposed by the President. 3.2 Official visit to the Western Balkans The Bureau - heard the President, who informed the meeting that, from 2 to 5 November 2011, he had travelled through the Western Balkans, visiting Croatia, Serbia and Bosnia- Herzegovina and meeting the political leadership, civil society and young people. 9/28 PE /BUR/Rev

10 3.3 Official visit to Estonia and Finland The Bureau - heard the President, who informed the meeting that, from 21 to 22 November 2011, he would pay an official visit to Estonia and Finland. PE /BUR/Rev 10/28

11 A. DECISIONS - EXCHANGE OF VIEWS 4(a) Decision on purchase of the Montoyer 70 building The Bureau - noted the following document: a note from the Secretary-General, dated 8 November 2011, on the abovementioned matter (PE /BUR and annexes); - heard the President introduce the matter; - heard the Secretary-General note that the price of the building fell within the upper market range as a consequence of a difficult negotiation position, and that it could be bought from within the 2011 budgetary means, on account of which it would not be necessary to set aside extra money for the purchase from future budgets; - heard Mr VIDAL-QUADRAS, Vice-President with primary responsibility for buildings policy, stress the importance of maintaining full cooperation with the Committee on Budgets at all times and providing the Committee with all the necessary information at the earliest possible stage, and to express his support for the solution proposed in the note from the Secretary-General; - heard Mr PITTELLA, Vice-President with secondary responsibility for buildings policy, echoe Mr VIDAL-QUADRAS's remarks particularly as regards the importance of strengthening ties with the Committee on Budgets, and note that, if Parliament would rent the building without exercising the purchase option, it would - at the end of the lease period - have spent roughly EUR 12 million without having become the owner; - held an exchange of views on the matter, with the participation of Ms DURANT and Mr McMILLAN-SCOTT, Vice-Presidents, and Mr MAŠTÁLKA, Quaestor, and endorsed the comments made by the two Vice-Presidents responsible; - approved the signature, if all conditions are fulfilled, of the long-term rental (for 12 years at a rent of EUR /annum) of the MONTOYER 70 Building, with an 11/28 PE /BUR/Rev

12 option to purchase it at a price of 16.5 m which would have to be exercised before 30 April 2012 to enable Parliament to acquire full ownership of the building on 1 August 2012; - decided to refer the matter to the Committee on Budgets in order to seek its opinion on the financial aspects of its decision pursuant to Article 179(3) of the Financial Regulation. PE /BUR/Rev 12/28

13 4(b) Leases for the buildings Arts/Lux (professional training) and Science/Montoyer (other institutions) The Bureau - noted the following document: a confidential note from the Secretary-General, dated 11 November 2011, on the above-mentioned matter (PE /BUR and annexes); - heard the Secretary General introduce the matter; - heard Mr VIDAL-QUADRAS, Vice-President with primary responsibility for buildings policy, note that it made good sense to endorse the proposals set out in the Secretary-General's note, pointing out, in respect of the Science/Montoyer Building, that the cost of the operation would be borne by the other institutions, namely the European Ombudsman, the Court of Auditors and the European Data Protection Supervisor; - authorised the Secretary-General, if all conditions are fulfilled, to sign the lease contracts for the buildings Arts/Lux (professional training) and Science/Montoyer (other institutions); - decided to refer the matter to the Committee on Budgets for its opinion, pursuant to Article 179(3) of the Financial Regulation, on the financial aspects of the decisions taken; - authorised the Secretary-General to sign the two lease contracts provided that all conditions were fulfilled. 13/28 PE /BUR/Rev

14 5. Changes to the internal rules governing the reception of visitors' groups - Note from the Secretary-General - Letter from Ms GERINGER de OEDENBERG, Chair-in-Office of the Quaestors The Bureau - noted the following document: a note from the Secretary-General, dated 19 October 2011 (PE /BUR and annexes); a letter from Ms GERINGER de OEDENBERG, Chair-in-Office of the Quaestors, dated 11 November 2011 (PE /BUR). - recalled the decision of the Plenary of 10 May 2011 on the 2009 European Parliament Discharge, as well as the observations of the European Court of Auditors concerning the 2010 financial year and the Internal Auditor's Annual Report for the 2010 financial year concerning the reimbursement of travel expenses incurred by visitors groups; - recalled the exchanges of views held on the matter at the previous Bureau meetings of 12 September, 12 October 2011 and 24 October 2011, in particular; - recalled that the amendments to the existing rules, as proposed by the Secretary- General, had been referred to the Quaestors for consultation; - took note of the overall support for the proposals made by the Secretary-General, expressed by the Quaestors at their extraordinary meeting of 9 November 2011; - heard the President introduced the matter, and the Secretary-General note that the proposals put forward would raise the cost of visitors' groups by 8%, but that the increase has to be seen against the backdrop that the overall accounts were not updated since 2006 and that this could be realised with existing appropriations; - heard Ms GERINGER de OEDENBERG present the outcome of the Quaestors' abovementioned extraordinary meeting, noting that they had decided to support the proposals contained in the note from the Secretary-General, with a few clarifications, PE /BUR/Rev 14/28

15 but had not been able to reach an unanimous agreement on the method of payment of subsidies, laid down in Article 18(1) of the applicable rules; - held an exchange of views on the matter, with Ms ROTH-BEHRENDT and Mr PITTELLA, Vice-Presidents, who requested a flexible approach involving the possibility of using either bank transfer or cash and expressed their disagreement with the proposed amendment to Article 18(1) of the revised rules, and Mr CHICHESTER, Vice-President, and Mr HIGGINS, Quaestor, who expressed their preference for all payments made by bank transfer, and Ms DURANT, Vice- President, and Ms LULLING and Mr MAŠTÁLKA, Quaestors; - expressed its overall support for the proposal submitted by the Secretary-General, with the adjustments suggested by the Quaestors; - decided to revert to the issue of the method of payment of the travel subsidies, with a view to taking a final decision on the matter at the following meeting so that the revised rules could come into force on 1 January /28 PE /BUR/Rev

16 6. Proposal to amend the rules on travel by Committee delegations outside the three places of work - Letter from Vice-President ROTH-BEHRENDT, Chair of the Temporary Evaluation Group on the implementation of the Members' and Assistants' Statutes The Bureau - noted the following documents: a cover note from the Secretary-General, dated 8 November 2011 (PE /BUR); a letter dated 7 November 2011 from Ms ROTH-BEHRENDT, Vice-President and Chair of the Temporary Evaluation Group on the implementation of the Members' and Assistants' Statutes, on the abovementioned proposals (PE /BUR and annexes); - took note of a proposal submitted by the Temporary Evaluation Group, to revise the rules on travel by committee delegations outside the three places of work of the European Parliament and to amend Article 21 of the Implementing Measures for the Assistants' Statute; - took note of the views and position taken by the Conference of Presidents at its meetings of 7 April 2011 and 7 July 2011 on the issue of travel by committee delegations; - heard Ms ROTH-BEHRENDT present the proposal, and in particular the main aspects thereof, namely that: Committee Chairs would be able to travel on their delegations outside the quota; certain categories of Members would be able to accompany committee delegations travelling within the European Union, provided they were authorised to do so by the committee itself and, in certain cases, also by the Bureau; assistants would not be able to participate in committee delegations, with this same point being added as a footnote to Article 21 of the Implementing Measures for the Assistants' Statute; PE /BUR/Rev 16/28

17 a Security Protocol would be annexed to the rules; She concluded by noting that she was not personally in favour of assistants being prevented from taking part in committee delegations, but that the relevant provision had been introduced at the unanimous request of the Conference of Presidents, and that the Temporary Evaluation Group had therefore agreed to follow that specific line; - heard the President on the same issue and held an exchange of views thereon, with the participation of Ms DURANT, Mr PITTELLA, Mr CHICHESTER, Ms KRATSA-TSAGAROPOULOU and Mr MARTÍNEZ MARTÍNEZ, Vice-Presidents, and Ms LULLING, Mr HIGGINS, Ms GERINGER de OEDENBERG, Quaestors; - took note that the right of Committee Chairs to travel on their committee's official delegations outside the quota - laid down in Article 2 of the proposal - was a nontransferable right to be enjoyed by the Chair alone; - adopted the proposal to revise the rules on travel by committee delegations outside the three places of work of the European Parliament and the amendment to Article 21 of the Implementing Measures for the Assistants' Statute; - invited the Conference of Presidents to amend Article 18(b) concerning security of the Implementing Provisions governing the work of interparliamentary delegations, to bring it into line with the wording of Article 14a(b) of the proposal to revise the committee travel rules. 17/28 PE /BUR/Rev

18 7. Amendments to the Implementing Measures of the Members' and Assistants' Statutes - further proposals from the Temporary Evaluation Group - Letter from Vice-President ROTH-BEHRENDT, Chair of the Temporary Evaluation Group on the implementation of the Members' and Assistants' Statutes The Bureau - noted the following documents: a cover note from the Secretary-General, dated 8 November 2011 (PE /BUR); a letter dated 8 November 2011 from Ms ROTH-BEHRENDT, Vice-President and Chair of the Temporary Evaluation Group on the implementation of the Members' and Assistants' Statutes, on the above mentioned proposals (PE /BUR and annexes); Decision of the Bureau of 14 November 2011 amending the Implementing Measures for the Statute for Members of the European Parliament (PE /BUR/Amending Decision 6); - heard Ms ROTH-BEHRENDT present the proposals, and in particular the main aspects thereof, namely that: Members would benefit from repatriation insurance when on official travel; Members would be able to defray expenses relating to redundancy payments to local assistants that were above the statutory minimum, provided certain conditions were met; taxi expenses incurred in the three places of work during white weeks would be reimbursed in the same way as expenses incurred in other weeks and a legal basis was established for the reimbursement of visa costs and related expenses; a draft set of rules on Members' access to the Medical Service had been drawn up, which laid down the services Members could expect to receive; PE /BUR/Rev 18/28

19 the provisions of the Staff Regulations relating to work beyond the age of 65 could possibly be applied to accredited assistants; - held an exchange of views on the proposals, with the participation of Mr VIDAL- QUADRAS and Mr McMILLAN-SCOTT, Vice-Presidents, and Ms GERINGER de OEDENBERG, Mr HIGGINS and Ms LULLING, Quaestors; - adopted the proposals from the Temporary Evaluation Group to amend the Implementing Measures for the Members' Statute and the decision to be published in the Official Journal; - noted that the amendments included in that decision would enter into force and apply from the dates fixed therein; - adopted the new set of rules on Members' access to the Medical Service; - recalled the decision taken by a previous Bureau on 26 September 2005 to approve the possible application to political group staff of the provisions of the Staff Regulations relating to work beyond the age of 65 and approved likewise their possible application to accredited assistants; - heard the President express his thanks to the Chair and the members of the Temporary Evaluation Group, whose work had made it possible to undertake a major revision of the Implementing Measures for the Members' and Assistants' Statutes, and endorsed those remarks wholeheartedly. 19/28 PE /BUR/Rev

20 From 21h15, in camera 8. Staff matters The Bureau, meeting in camera, - took note of a note from the Secretary-General on request for application of Article 52(b) of the Staff Regulations, distributed to the Members of the Bureau under a separate and confidential cover; - heard the Secretary-General recommend that the Bureau, in the interest of the Institution, should prolong until 31 January 2013 the employment of Ms Clare WELLS-SHADDAD, Director currently in the Parliament's Liaison Office with the US Congress in Washington DC; - held an exchange of views with the participation of Ms ROTH-BEHRENDT, Vice- President responsible for staff policy, and Mr McMILLAN-SCOTT, Vice-President, and Ms LULLING, Quaestor; - heard Ms ROTH-BEHRENDT stress that applications for Article 52(b) should always be considered as individual requests and decided on a case by case basis; - agreed, unanimously, to these proposals. PE /BUR/Rev 20/28

21 B. DECISIONS WITHOUT DEBATE 9. Request from the Committee on International Trade to authorise a delegation visit on November 2011 to Denmark - Letter from Mr MOREIRA, Chair of the Committee concerned The Bureau, without debate, - noted the letter from the Committee on International Trade, requesting authorisation to replace the delegation initially planned for Romania and Bulgaria, by a six-member delegation to Denmark on November 2011, including journey times; (PE /BUR, programme and financial statement); - noted that the delegation was not included in the 2011 programme of committee delegations outside Parliament's three places of work, which had been approved by the Bureau on 13 December 2010; - noted the recommendation given by the Conference of Presidents on 27 October 2011; - granted the request on the understanding that the committee's annual quota for travel in 2011 was respected and that the Members concerned would be back before the start of the plenary session in Brussels on 30 November /28 PE /BUR/Rev

22 10. Request to send a delegation to the UN General Assembly in New York on 28 and 29 November Letter from Mr ALBERTINI, Ms JOLY and Ms LOCHBIHLER, Chairs of the committee and the subcommittee concerned The Bureau, without debate, - noted the joint request from the Committees on Foreign Affairs and Development and the Subcommittee on Human Rights for authorisation to send a delegation comprising a total of sixteen Members (ten from the Committee on Foreign Affairs; three from the Committee on Development; and three from the Subcommittee on Human Rights) to the 66th session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in New York, on November 2011, excluding journey times (PE /BUR and financial statement); - noted that, as regards the Committee on Foreign Affairs and the Subcommittee on Human Rights, the visit featured (albeit foreseen for week 44 and involving seven and two Members respectively) in the 2011 programme of committee delegations outside Parliament's three places of work, which had been approved by the Bureau on 13 December 2010, on which occasion authorisation was granted for committee delegations which fell on, inter alia, weekends; - noted that, as regards the Committee on Development, the visit was not included in the abovementioned programme; - noted that the information subsequently provided by the Committee secretariats indicated that the visit, including journey times, would last from 26 to 30 November 2011 in the morning (in time for the Members concerned to attend the political group meetings); noted in this respect that, while this was in line with the provisions of Article 6(2) of the applicable Rules on account of the long distance involved, a specific request should have been made to that effect; - noted the recommendation given by the Conference of Presidents at its meeting of 10 November 2011; PE /BUR/Rev 22/28

23 - authorised, by way of exception, the sending of the joint delegation comprising a total of sixteen Members (ten from the Committee on Foreign Affairs; three from the Committee on Development; and three from the Subcommittee on Human Rights, including Ms LOCHBIHLER, under the conditions specified above) to the 66th session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in New York, on November 2011, including journey times, it being understood that the respective annual quotas were adhered to and that the Members concerned would be back to Brussels in time on 30 November 2011 for the political group meetings. 23/28 PE /BUR/Rev

24 11. Request from the Committee on Transport and Tourism to authorise a mini-hearing on "Recording equipment in road transport" on 20 December 2011 in Brussels - Letter from Mr SIMPSON, Chair of the committee concerned The Bureau, without debate, - noted the letter dated 27 October 2011, from Mr SIMPSON, Chair of the Committee on Transport and Tourism, requesting authorisation for a mini-hearing on "Recording equipment in road transport" (PE /BUR and draft programme); - noted that the hearing was not included in the annual programme of hearings, approved by the Bureau at its meeting of 22 November 2010; - approved the hearing in question, on condition that the committee concerned respected its 2011 quota for invited experts. PE /BUR/Rev 24/28

25 12. Request from the Subcommittee on Human Rights to authorise a public hearing on "The human rights situation of Turkmen in Iraq" on 5 December 2011 in Brussels - Letter from Ms LOCHBIHLER, Chair of the Subcommittee concerned The Bureau, without debate, - noted the letter dated 4 November 2011, from Ms LOCHBIHLER, Chair of the Subcommittee on Human Rights, requesting authorisation for a public hearing on "The human rights situation of Turkmen in Iraq" and for the reimbursement of an invited guest (PE /BUR and draft programme); - noted that the hearing was not included in the annual programme of hearings, approved by the Bureau at its meeting of 22 November 2010; - approved the hearing in question, on condition that the committee concerned respected its 2011 quota for invited experts. 25/28 PE /BUR/Rev

26 13. Urgent matters and other business There were none. PE /BUR/Rev 26/28

27 14. Items for information 14.1 Interinstitutional mail 14.2 External mail 14.3 Internal mail 27/28 PE /BUR/Rev

28 15. Date and place of next meeting The Bureau - decided to hold its next meeting on Wednesday, 30 November 2011, from to hours, in Room 6B001 in the PHS Building in Brussels. * * * The meeting closed at hours. * * * PE /BUR/Rev 28/28