[ParlTrack]

Gabriele BISCHOFF, Paulo RANGEL, Rainer WIELAND, Gwendoline DELBOS-CORFIELD, Helmut SCHOLZ, Geert BOURGEOIS

Proposal for a decision
Paragraph 2

2. Stresses that the sanitary crisis caused by the Covid-19 pandemic has revealed that its Rules of Procedure ~~did not provid~~require fmor ~~all appropriate measures in order to facilitate the~~e developed procedures in order to ensure the unlimited functioning of Parliament in different types of extraordinary circumstances;

2020/09/24
Committee: AFCO

Gabriele BISCHOFF, Paulo RANGEL, Rainer WIELAND, Helmut SCHOLZ, Gwendoline DELBOS-CORFIELD, Geert BOURGEOIS

Proposal for a decision
Paragraph 3

3. ~~Takes not~~Underlines the importance of the temporary measures adopted, in compliance with the rule of law, by its President and its governing bodies in the current sanitary crisis, in order to cope with such extraordinary circumstances; ~~underlin~~stresses that there were no alternatives to those measures ~~were nee~~in ordedr to guarantee the continuity of Parliament’s business, as required by the Treaties, and that they allow~~ing~~ed Parliament to carry out its legislative, budgetary and political control functions during the crisis in accordance with the procedures provided for by the Treaties;

2020/09/24
Committee: AFCO

Gabriele BISCHOFF, Paulo RANGEL, Rainer WIELAND, Gwendoline DELBOS-CORFIELD, Helmut SCHOLZ, Geert BOURGEOIS

Proposal for a decision
Paragraph 4

4. ~~Recogni~~Stresses that those temporary measures were fully justified and that they ensured the validity of all votes taken during their period of application;

2020/09/24
Committee: AFCO

Helmut SCHOLZ

Title XIII a (new) – rule 237 a (new)

Rule 237a Extraordinary measures 1. This Rule applies to situations in which the European Parliament, due to exceptional and unforeseeable circumstances beyond its control, is hindered from carrying out its duties and exercising its prerogatives under the Treaties and a temporary derogation from Parliament’s usual procedures set out elsewhere in these Rules is necessary in order to adopt extraordinary measures to enable it to continue to carry out those duties and to exercise those prerogatives. Such extraordinary circumstances shall be considered to exist where the President comes to the conclusion, on the basis of reliable evidence confirmed, where appropriate, by Parliament’s services, that for reasons of security or safety or as a result of the non-availability of technical means it is or will be impossible or dangerous for Parliament to convene in accordance with its usual procedures as set out elsewhere in these Rules and its adopted calendar. 2. Where the conditions set out in paragraph 1 are fulfilled, the President may decide, with the agreement of the Conference of Presidents, to apply one or more of the measures referred to in Paragraph 3. If it is impossible, due to reasons of imperative urgency, for the Conference of Presidents to convene, the President may decide to apply one or more of the measures set out in paragraph 3, points (a), (b) and (c). Such a decision shall lapse five days after its adoption unless approved by the Conference of Presidents within that deadline. Following a decision by the President, approved by the Conference of Presidents, a political group or Members reaching at least the low threshold may, at any time, request that some or all of the measures addressed by that decision be submitted individually to Parliament for approval without debate. The vote in plenary shall be placed on the agenda of the first sitting following the day on which the request was tabled. No amendments may be tabled. If a measure fails to obtain a majority of the votes cast, it shall lapse after the announcement of the result of the vote. A measure approved by the plenary may not be the subject of a further vote during the same part-session. 3. The decision referred to in paragraph 2 may provide for all appropriate measures addressing the extraordinary circumstances referred to under paragraph 1, and in particular for the following measures: (a) postponement of a scheduled part- session, sitting or meeting of a committee to a later date and/or cancellation or limitation of meetings of inter- parliamentary delegations and other bodies; (b) displacement of the part-session, sitting or meeting of a committee from Parliament’s seat to one of its working places or to an external place or from one of its working places to Parliament’s seat, to one of Parliament’s other working places or to an external place; (c) holding of the part-session or the sitting on the premises of Parliament but fully or partially in separate meeting rooms allowing for appropriate physical distancing; (d) holding of the part session, sitting or meeting of bodies of Parliament under the remote participation regime laid down in Rule 237c; (e) in the event that the ad hoc replacement mechanism laid down in Rule 209(7) fails to provide sufficient remedies to the extraordinary circumstances under consideration, temporary replacement by political groups of Members in a committee unless the Member concerned opposes; (f) in the event that the remote participation regime laid down in Rule 237c cannot be applied, lowering of the quorum laid down in Rules 178 and 218 to a minimum of one quarter of Parliament’s component Members instead of one third as regards the necessary presence in the Chamber and/or to a minimum of one fifth of the members of a committee instead of one quarter as regards the necessary presence in a committee. 4. A decision referred to in paragraph 2 shall be limited in time and shall state the reasons on which it is based. It shall enter into force upon its publication on Parliament’s website or, if circumstances prevent such publication, by the best available means. All Members shall also be informed individually of the decision without delay. The decision may be renewed by the President in accordance with the procedure under paragraph 2 once or more for a limited time. A decision to renew shall state the reasons on which it is based. The President shall revoke a decision adopted under this Rule as soon as the extraordinary circumstances referred to in paragraph 1 that gave rise to its adoption have disappeared. 5. This Rule shall be applied only as a last resort, and only measures that are strictly necessary to address the extraordinary circumstances under consideration shall be selected and applied. When applying this Rule, due account shall be taken, in particular, of the principle of representative democracy, the principle of equal treatment of Members, the right of Members to exercise their parliamentary mandate without impairment, their right to work (speak, write and read) in one of the official languages of the European Union - if the extraordinary circumstances last longer than three months, Rule 167 must be fully applied - and their right to vote freely, individually and in person, as well as of Protocol No 6 to the Treaties.

2020/09/24
Committee: AFCO

Helmut SCHOLZ, Leila CHAIBI

Title XIII a (new) – rule 237 c (new)

Rule 237c Remote participation regime 1. Where the President decides under Rule 237a(2), to apply the remote participation regime by adopting a measure under Rule 237a(3), point (d), Parliament may conduct its proceedings remotely inter alia by permitting all Members to exercise their parliamentary rights by electronic means. Where the President decides in accordance with Rule 237b that selected technical means under the remote participation regime are to be used, this Rule shall apply only to the necessary extent and only to the Members concerned. 2. The remote participation regime shall ensure that the European Parliament retains its ability to work under all circumstances and, in particular, that : – Members are able to exercise their parliamentary mandate, including, in particular, their right to speak in plenary and in the committees, to vote and to table texts, without impairment, to guarantee parliamentary scrutiny and the further development of European policies, e.g. right of initiative; – all votes are cast by Members individually and in person; – the remote voting system enables Members to cast ordinary votes, roll call votes and secret ballots; – a uniform voting system is applied for all Members, whether present or not on Parliament’s premises; – translation and interpretation services are provided to the greatest possible extent, in accordance with Rule 167; – the information technology solutions made available to Members and their staff are ‘technology neutral’; – participation of Members in parliamentary debates and votes takes place using secure electronic means that are managed and supervised by Parliament’s services. 3. When taking the decision referred to in paragraph 1, the President shall determine whether that regime applies to the exercise of Members’ rights in plenary only, or also to the exercise of Members’ rights in Parliament’s committees and/or other bodies. The President shall also determine in his or her decision how rights and practices which cannot be exercised appropriately without the Members’ physical presence are adapted for the duration of the regime. These rights and practices concern, inter alia: – the manner in which attendance at a sitting or meeting is counted; – the conditions under which a request for a check of the quorum is made, – the tabling of texts; – the allocation of speaking time; – the scheduling of debates; – the presentation of, and the objection to, oral amendments; – the order of votes; – the deadlines and time limits for the setting of the agenda and for procedural motions. 4. For the purposes of the application of the provisions of the Rules relating to quorum and voting in the Chamber, Members who are participating remotely shall be deemed to be physically present in the Chamber. By way of derogation from Rule 171(11), Members who have not spoken in a debate may, once per sitting, hand in a written statement, which shall be appended to the verbatim report of the debate. The President shall, where necessary, determine the manner in which the Chamber may be used by Members during the application of the remote participation regime, and in particular the maximum number of Members who can be physically present. 5. Where the President decides in accordance with paragraph 3, first subparagraph, to apply the remote participation regime to committees or other bodies, paragraph 4, first subparagraph, shall apply, mutatis mutandis. 6. The Bureau shall adopt measures concerning the operation and security of the electronic means used under this Rule, in accordance with the requirements and standards laid down in paragraph 2. 7. Parliament’s competent bodies shall take all measures, including financial measures, necessary to ensure the availability of state-of-the-art technology and optimal conditions for the effective implementation of Rules 237a to 237d. (This amendment corresponds to Amendment 4 of the Rapporteur, Rule 237c (new).)

2020/09/24
Committee: AFCO

Helmut SCHOLZ, Leila CHAIBI

Title XIII a (new) – rule 237 e (new)

Rule 237e Parliamentary business during a period of extraordinary circumstances 1. Without delay after the adoption of a decision by the President under Rule 237a(2), the Conference of Presidents shall identify those activities which are essential and urgent for Parliament during the period of extraordinary circumstances referred to in Rule 237a(1). Those activities shall include measures that need to be taken with regard to the extraordinary circumstances, to budgetary matters, to urgent legislative procedures, or to major political events. This list of activities should be continuously revised when the situation of extraordinary circumstances becomes the 'new normal'. 2. During the period of validity of a decision adopted under Rule 237a(2), the parliamentary business conducted in part- sessions and committee meetings shall be limited to the consideration and adoption of measures identified as essential and urgent by the Conference of Presidents in accordance with paragraph 1. (This amendment corresponds to Amendment 6 of the Rapporteur, Rule 237e (new).)

2020/09/24
Committee: AFCO

Activities of Helmut SCHOLZ related to 2020/2098(REG)

Shadow reports (1)

Amendments (6)

ParlTrack - 2011-2024