1.1 General considerations
1.2 Statutory Report
1.3 Joint Committee and other contacts
1.3.1 Joint Committee
1.3.2 Other contacts
1.4 Replying to Assembly Recommendations
1.4.1 Initial examination
1.4.2 Guidelines for drawing up draft replies
1.4.3 Adoption of replies: majority required
1.4.4 Titles of Assembly Recommendations
1.4.5 Information on the action taken on Assembly recommendations
1.5 Replying to written questions from members of the Assembly
1.5.1 Written questions addressed to the CM
1.5.1.1 General considerations
1.5.1.2 Procedure for replying
1.5.1.3 Adoption of replies: majority required
1.5.2 Written questions addressed to the Chair-in-office of the CM
1.5.2.1 Procedure for replying
1.6 Consultation with the Assembly on the admission/withdrawal of members
1.7 Consultation with the Assembly before the adoption of draft conventions and protocols
1.8 Consultation with the Assembly on budgetary matters
1.8.1 Budget of the Assembly
1.8.2 Programme and Budget of the Council of Europe
1.9 Participation in intergovernmental committees and in conferences of specialised ministers
1.1 General considerations
The Statute and the Rules of Procedure of the CM, as well as the Rules for the meetings of the Deputies and the Assembly, all contain provisions on relations between the two organs. In February 1994 the CM decided to use the denomination "Parliamentary Assembly" in all Council documents.
Ever since the inception of the Council, the Assembly and the CM have sought procedures and other means of improving relations and facilitating communication between them. The most recent are set out in document CM(2009)142.1 The SG was also tasked with drawing up a report on ways to enhance working relations between the two organs which he presented in the Joint Committee in June 2010.2
1.2 Statutory Report
Article 19 of the Statute requires the CM to supply regular reports of its activities to the Assembly, together with appropriate documentation. These reports have come to be known as the "Statutory Reports".
Information is provided to the Assembly as follows:
- the
Statutory report, prepared by the Secretariat of the CM, giving information on CM activities and decisions which are already available in a dispersed manner. The Statutory Report is produced in electronic form only, is regularly updated and contains links to appropriate documentation;3
- a written communication, prepared under the authority of the Chair on the occasion of each part-session, and in which the main developments that took place since the previous session are summarised, is published prior to his/her oral presentation;
- an oral communication by the Chair in which he/she addresses in detail a few issues of major political importance, often linked to action taken very recently, following which the Chair responds to oral questions.
1.3 Joint Committee and other contacts
1.3.1 Joint Committee
The Joint Committee is the organ of co-ordination between the CM and the Assembly. It is composed of the representatives on the CM and a corresponding number of representatives of the Assembly (the members of the Bureau and one representative of each parliamentary delegation of member States not represented on the Bureau).4 Its functions and rules of procedure are set out in Statutory Resolution Res(51)30 PartC. Meetings are held on an ad hoc basis, as necessary.
1.3.2 Other contacts
The President of the Assembly is invited to all Ministerial sessions.5
Meetings between the Chair of the Deputies and the President of the Assembly take place regularly to inform about each other’s work. Since 2009, informal meetings on questions of common interest between the Bureau of the CM and the Presidential Committee of the Assembly have been used for an exchange of information and discussion in a working and informal atmosphere. Working contacts and informal dialogue between Chairs of Rapporteur groups/thematic coordinators/working parties and Chairs and Rapporteurs of Assembly committees, and cross-participation in each others’ fora where appropriate, are encouraged.6
The SG of the Assembly regularly informs the Deputies of the preparation and results of the part sessions, as well as current and future activities of the Assembly.
1.4 Replying to Assembly Recommendations
1.4.1 Initial examination
When conducting their initial examination of the texts adopted by the Assembly, the Deputies adopt a reply common to all the texts, dealing with the procedure to be followed.7
1.4.2 Guidelines for drawing up draft replies
The following guidelines for drawing up draft replies apply:
8
- the Deputies rely on the expertise available within the Deputies, the relevant Rapporteur Group and the Secretariat, in preparing replies to Assembly recommendations;
- a steering committee should be consulted where there is a need for technical expertise which is not available within the Secretariat;
- the Deputies should concentrate on giving timely replies to Recommendations (within 3 months whenever possible);
- the Secretariat places immediately on the agenda any Assembly recommendation for which sufficient elements for a reply were available;
- where recommendations are to be examined, and the replies to them, prepared by a Rapporteur Group, care should be taken to ensure that they are given priority treatment in that Rapporteur Group's order of business;
- priority should be given to final replies (taking stock of the situation while at the same time informing the Assembly of the intentions of the CM with regard to the specific proposals);
- priority should be given to substance rather than procedure;9
- draft replies shall be as short, concise and result-oriented as possible;
- comments or opinions on a recommendation requested by the CM from steering committees or other bodies may assist the CM in drafting its reply and are not, unless agreed otherwise, appended;
- during the preparation of draft replies to recommendations, the Chair of the Deputies and/or Rapporteur Groups should take the necessary steps, especially when there is disagreement on the substance, to advance work by conducting consultations with delegations.
1.4.3 Adoption of replies: majority required
Replies to the Assembly are adopted by a two-thirds majority of the representatives casting a vote and a majority of the representatives entitled to sit on the CM,10 considering that every effort will be made to reach a consensus within a reasonable period of time. If a delegation should request, it is specified at the beginning of the text of a reply, that “this answer was adopted by a majority as provided by Article 20.d of the Statute”.11
1.4.4 Titles of Assembly Recommendations
The titles of Assembly Recommendations are quoted inside inverted commas within CM documentation.12
1.4.5 Information on the action taken on Assembly recommendations
Information on the action the CM has taken on Assembly recommendations is regularly included in the written reports prepared by the chairmanship at each session, and a comprehensive report on this action is forwarded to the Assembly every year.13
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1.5 Replying to written questions from members of the Assembly
1.5.1 Written questions addressed to the CM
1.5.1.1 General considerations
Questions should be in the remit of the Council in so far as they deal with controversial bilateral questions. Priority should be given to questions tabled by groups of Parliamentarians and to questions on subjects immediately relevant to the Council’s activities.14
1.5.1.2 Procedure for replying
On the understanding that the primary objective of the CM remains that of drafting a consensual reply to written questions of Parliamentarians and with a view to speeding up replies to written questions, the following procedure applies:15
- the item is placed on the agenda (as far as possible within 10 days of being submitted) for an exchange of views (oral and/or in writing), setting out the number of the written question, its author and its title, the latter in quotation marks16.
- delegations that so wish, are encouraged to submit their comments in writing before the discussion, to be held during the first consideration of the item in plenary. Depending on their nature, these written comments may provide a first indication as to what chances there are to end up with a consensual reply.
- an exchange of views (oral and/or in writing) on the question is held in the plenary meeting of the Deputies.
- in the light of this exchange of views, the CM:
i. either instruct the Secretariat to prepare a draft reply;
ii. or invite the Chair to hold informal consultations in order to explore the possibility of arriving at a consensual draft reply.
- written questions should receive a reply within 3 months whenever possible. Draft replies shall be as short, concise and result-oriented as possible17.
- the Secretariat makes use of the written procedure in the preparation of draft replies to written questions, before including a draft reply on the agenda for adoption by the Deputies18.
- if, in the light of consultations, the Chair notes that it appears impossible to prepare a consensual reply, he/she informs the CM accordingly. The CM may then decide, by a two-thirds majority of the representatives casting a vote and a majority of the representatives entitled to sit on the CM,19 to instruct the Chair to inform the President of the Assembly that, "owing to a lack of consensus it has not been possible to adopt a reply". The Chair’s letter would not be a reply of substance.
1.5.1.3 Adoption of replies: majority required
The practice is to require the unanimous vote of the representatives casting a vote and of a majority of the representatives entitled to sit on the CM.20
1.5.2 Written questions addressed to the Chair-in-office of the CM21
1.5.2.1 Procedure for replying
The following procedure with regard to written questions of parliamentarians to the Chair of the CM applies:22
- Distribution of the written question: upon reception, the written question shall be distributed to the delegations in the form of a CM document. It shall include a footnote stating that the Chair of the Deputies will, in due course, present to the CM the wording of his/her proposed reply.
- the item shall not be placed on the agenda before the reply has been drafted.
- Examination of the written question: once the text of the reply has been finalised by the Chair of the Deputies, it shall be distributed to the delegations and the written question shall be placed on the agenda of the Deputies.
- the delegations will thus have an opportunity to comment on the reply, it being understood that responsibility for the final wording lies with the Chair.
1.6 Consultation with the Assembly on the admission/withdrawal of members
The CM, before inviting a State to become a member or associate member of the Council, in accordance with Articles 4 and 5 of the Statute, or inviting a member of the Council to withdraw, in accordance with Article 8, shall first consult the Assembly.23
1.7 Consultation with the Assembly before the adoption of draft conventions and protocols
The CM has agreed to consult the Assembly on all draft treaties, except on a small number of treaties, of an exclusively technical nature, which may not require such consultation.24
Timetables for consultation on new draft treaties will be established allowing the Assembly to give its opinion without undue haste and within a reasonable timeframe (3 months).25
1.8 Consultation with the Assembly on budgetary matters
1.8.1 Budget of the Assembly
The SG submits the annual budget for adoption by the CM.26 He/She shall refer to the CM requests from the Assembly which involve expenditure exceeding the amount already allocated in the budget for the Assembly and its activities.
The Assembly's opinion on its part of the draft budget shall be transmitted to the CM at the same time as the draft budget.27
The budgetary package technique is applied to the Assembly's budget, excluding appropriations for staff related expenditure, thereby affording the Assembly considerable budgetary freedom within the budgetary package.28
1.8.2 Programme and Budget of the Council of Europe
The budgetary calendar is set so as to enable consultations with the Assembly to take place before a decision is taken by the Deputies on the priorities and the level of member States’ total contributions to the Ordinary Budget, with due regard to the role and prerogatives of both organs.29
In practice, the SG presents his/her report to the Assembly on the state of the Council at the beginning of the year. This report concentrates on the priorities of the Organisation and on the main trends having been identified. The SG also presents his/her proposals for budgetary priorities to the Assembly’s Committee on Economic Affairs and Development, at the beginning of the budgetary preparatory work (March), which allows the Assembly specialised Committee to take an active part in the budgetary discussions. The Chair of the Deputies' Rapporteur Group on programme, budget and administration (GR-PBA) may also participate at that meeting. The Assembly’s Rapporteur is also invited to an exchange of views in the GR-PBA before the Assembly adopts its budgetary opinion.
1.9 Participation in intergovernmental committees and in conferences of specialised ministers
The Assembly may send representatives to participate in intergovernmental committees and in conferences of specialised ministers.30
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