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PE-5/CP/PV/2002-10
CONFERENCE OF PRESIDENTS
MINUTES
of the meetings of
Thursday, 4 April 2002
from 3 p.m. to 5.30 p.m.
Paul-Henri SPAAK Building, Room 6 B 01
BRUSSELS
and
Wednesday, 11 April 2002
from 3 p.m. to 5.30 p.m.
Louise Weiss Building, Room 1,1
STRASBOURG
PART TWO
11 April 2002
(3.00 - 5.30 p.m.)
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CONTENTS
Page
1. Adoption of draft agenda ......................................................................................................... 8
2. Approval of minutes of meeting of 13 March 2002 ................................................................ 9
3. Resolution winding up the debate on 24 April 2002 on the Council statement
on Council reform and transparency ........................................................................................ 10
4. Organisation of the part-session on 24 April 2002 .................................................................. 11
5. Adoption of the preliminary draft agendas for the May I (Monday 13 to
Thursday 16) and May II (Wednesday 29 and Thursday 30) 2002 part-sessions ................... 12
6. President’s announcements
6.1. Initiatives relating to the situation in the Middle East .................................................... 14
6.2. Report of the President’s visit to the Czech Republic .................................................... 15
6.3. Report on the meeting of 5 April 2002 of the interinstitutional working
group on EP-Council relations ....................................................................................... 16
6.4. Interinstitutional agreement on access by the Parliament to sensitive
information of the Council in the field of security and defence policy .......................... 18
6.5. Letter from Jim NICHOLSON, Chair of the US delegation, on holding
the interparliamentary meeting in Madrid from 20 to 22 April 2002 ............................ 20
6.6. Appointment of the Management Board and Executive Director of the
European Food Safety Authority .................................................................................... 21
7. Letter of 11 March 2002 from the Egyptian Ambassador to the European
Union to the President on the organisation of a seminar on security, peace and
human rights in the Middle East .............................................................................................. 22
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8. Letters of 12 March 2002 and 11 April 2002 from Mr BROK on the Election
Coordination Group's recommendations concerning the despatch of observers
to the elections to be held in Sierra Leone, Colombia and Algeria ......................................... 23
9. Proposals for decisions without debate
9.1. Letter of 4 March 2002 from Mr BROK on the despatch of a delegation
to Iran – Parliament resolution of 13 December 2001 on EU relations
with the Islamic Republic of Iran ................................................................................... 25
9.2. Letter from Mr MONTESA, Ambassador of the Philippines to the EC, on
a proposal from the Philippines Senate offering to host the ASEP II
meeting in Manila during the summer of 2002 – letter from Mr BROK
concerning the composition of Parliament's delegation ................................................. 26
9.3. Letter of 1 March 2002 from Mrs JACKSON, Chairman of the
Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Consumer Policy
requesting the President to ask the authorisation of the Council
Presidency and the President of the Commission of a parliamentary
delegation up to 25 Members to the EU delegation to the World Summit
on Sustainable Development to be held in Johannesburg from 26 August
to 4 September 2002 ....................................................................................................... 27
9.4. Letter of 9 April 2002 from Mrs PALACIO, Chair of the Conference of
Committee Chairs, requesting authorisation of an own-initiative report
and a "COS" report ......................................................................................................... 28
10. Urgent matters and any other business
10.1. Letter of 14 March 2002 from Mr GALEOTE, Chairman of the
delegation for the Maghreb countries and the Arab Maghreb Union
requesting authorisation that Libya be incorporated in the competencies
of the delegation for the Maghreb countries and that a working group of
the delegation could be sent to Libya from 15 to 22 June 2002 ..................................... 29
10.2. Letter of 3 April 2002 from Mr WESTENDORP and Mr SCHWAIGER
requesting authorisation for an ad hoc delegation to participate in a public
symposium on the "Doha development agenda and beyond" on 29-30
April 2002 in Geneva .................................................................................................... 30
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10.3. Letter from Sir Jack STEWART-CLARK of 25 March 2002 on sending a
delegation to the Interparliamentary Conference on Synthetic Drugs,
Tokyo, 23-25 April 2002 ................................................................................................ 31
10.4. Letter of 21 March 2002 from Mr PODESTÀ on the summary of the
preparatory Troika held on 8 March 2002 and proposals for the XXVIth
COSAC meeting on 12 to 14 May 2002 in Madrid ....................................................... 32
10.5. A note of 5 April 2002 from the President to the Conference of
Presidents on the President’s meeting on 20 March 2002 with
Mr AKYOL, the Head of the Mission of Turkey to the European Union .................... 33
11. Items for information ............................................................................................................... 34
12. Date and place of next meeting ................................................................................................ 35
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CONFERENCE OF PRESIDENTS
MINUTES
of the meeting of 11 April 2002
STRASBOURG
Mr Pat COX, President of the European Parliament, opened the meeting at 3.03 p.m.
Present:
Mr Pat COX, President
Political group chairmen
Mr POETTERING (PPE-DE)
Mr BARÓN CRESPO (PSE)
Mr WATSON (ELDR)
Mrs FRASSONI (Verts/ALE)
Mr WURTZ (GUE/NGL)
Mr BIGLIARDO (acting) (UEN)
Mr BLOKLAND (EDD)
Also present:
Mr PRIESTLEY, Secretary-General
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Invited for Item 3-5:
Mr DAUL replacing Mrs PALACIO VALLELERSUNDI, chairman of the Conference of
Committee Chairmen
Invited for Items 6.4, 8 and 9:
Mr BROK, Chairman of the Committee on Foreign Affairs, Human Rights, Common Security
and Defence Policy
Invited for Items 3-5:
The Council
represented by Mr WALL
Mrs LIPPE
The Commission
represented by Mr MASSANGIOLI
Mr SAGREDO
The Economic and Social Committee
represented by Mr de OLIVIEIRA
*
* *
Office of the President
Mr JENSEN
Mr SUAREZ MELLA
Mrs SUTTIE
Mrs DE VICENTE
Mrs ÅSENIUS
Office of the Secretary-General
Mr AGUIRIANO NALDA
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Secretariat
DG I Mr RØMER/Mr PORTA/Mrs STENSBALLE/Mr DREXLER/
Mrs DUCLOUX
DG II Mr NICKEL/Mr PERILLO/Mrs DAVIES
DG III Mr ROLVERING/Mr HARLEY/Mr DUCH GUILLOT
DG VIII Mr VANHAEREN
Legal Service Mr GARZÓN CLARIANA
Political groups
Mr WELLE/Mr PEDERSEN/Mr LICANDRO (PPE-DE)
Mrs VERGER/Mrs RYAN/Mr HILLER (PSE)
Mr BEELS (ELDR)
Mrs TSETSI/Mr BEHREND (Verts/ALE)
Mrs D'ALIMONTE/Mr SQUARCINA (GUE/NGL)
Mr PRETA (UEN)
Mrs VANGRUNDERBEECK/Mr BOYD (EDD)
Mr BUGALHO (NI)
Mr KYST, Mr LANE, Mrs VANDENBOSCH, Mr CALINOGLOU and Mrs PRODE acted as
secretary to the meeting.
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1. Adoption of draft agenda
The Conference of Presidents
- noted the draft agenda (PE 315.627/BUR.);
- adopted the agenda as shown in these minutes.
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2. Approval of minutes of meeting of 13 March 2002
This item was postponed to a forthcoming meeting.
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3. Resolution winding up the debate on 24 April 2002 on the Council statement on Council
reform and transparency
The Conference of Presidents
- noted a letter of 10 April 2002 to the President from Mr NAPOLITANO, Chair of
the Committee on Constitutional Affairs, on the above subject (PE 315.693/BUR.);
- heard statements by Mr POETTERING, Mr BARÓN CRESPO, Ms FRASSONI,
Mr BIGLIARDO, Mr WATSON, Mr WURTZ and Mr BLOKLAND;
- decided, on a proposal from the President, to authorise the Committee on
Constitutional Affairs to prepare, by 12.00 Tuesday, 19 April 2002, a draft
resolution winding up the debate on the Council statement on Council reform and
transparency, this draft resolution to be the subject, where necessary, of amendments
tabled by the political groups.
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4. Organisation of the part-session on 24 April 2002
The Conference of Presidents
- decided that a debate on the situation in the Middle East, with the participation of
Mr SOLANA and Mr PATTEN, would be held from 15.00 to 16.00 hours, and the
debate on Council reform, also with the participation of Mr SOLANA be held from
18.00 hours.
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5. Adoption of the preliminary draft agendas for the May I (Monday 13 to Thursday 16) and
May II (Wednesday 29 and Thursday 30) 2002 part-sessions
The Conference of Presidents
- noted the following documents;
- a note from Mr RØMER of 11 April 2002 on the 2002 part-sessions
(PE 315.692/BUR.)
- a letter from Mrs PALACIO of 9 April 2002 on the recommendations of the
Conference of Presidents for the forthcoming part-sessions (PE 315.684/BUR. +
annex);
- considered, on an item-by-item basis, the preliminary draft agenda for the May I
(13-16) and the May II (20-30) 2002 part-sessions and adopted it, with the following
changes:
MAY I (13-16)
Monday
- decided to advance the debate on the BOUWMAN Report on the protection of
workers in the event of the insolvency of their employer
Wednesday
- confirmed that the debate on Council and Commission statements on small nuclear
weapons would be wound up with a resolution
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May II (29-30)
Wednesday
- decided that the Commission be asked to make a statement on the outcome of the
EU-Latin America Summit
*
* *
- decided that the CORBETT Report on general reform of the Rules of Procedure
would be voted not later than the June part session (10-13 June), with the political
group chairs to inform the President, following their meeting on 24 April 2002,
whether or not there was a consensus to table the Report in either the May I
(13-16 May) or May II (29-30 May) part-session.
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6. President’s announcements
6.1. Initiatives relating to the situation in the Middle East
The Conference of Presidents
- noted information given by the President on the possibilities of a visit by Mr BURG,
President of the Knesset, and Mr ALA, President of the Legislative Council of the
Palestinian Authority, to the European Parliament on 24 April 2002 and agreed that
the President could convene, prior to the mini-session on that day, a meeting of the
Conference of Presidents open to all Members should this visit materialise;
- invited, on a proposal of the President, the secretaries general of political groups to
contact the President’s Private Office with proposals on implementing Parliament’s
resolution to send a high-level delegation to the region.
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6.2. Report of the President’s visit to the Czech Republic
The Conference of Presidents
- noted the President’s report on his visit to the Czech Republic on 21-22 March 2002;
- heard Mr BROK, Chair of the Committee on Foreign Affairs, Human Rights,
Common Security and Defence Policy, on the Committee’s strategy vis-à-vis its
Report on progress in the enlargement negotiations due to be adopted in the June
part-session and its proposal that an external study be commissioned to examine
certain legal aspects relating to compliance by the Czech Republic with the acquis
communautaire;
- heard statements by Mr POETTERING, Mr BARÓN CRESPO and Mr WURTZ in
support of the proposal of Mr BROK and the Committee on Foreign Affairs, Human
Rights, Common Security and Defence Policy on the commissioning of an external
study;
- recommended that the Bureau authorise an external study on certain legal aspects
relating to compliance by the Czech Republic with the acquis communautaire.
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6.3. Report on the meeting of 5 April 2002 of the interinstitutional working group on EP-
Council relations
The Conference of Presidents
- noted a note from the Secretary-General on the meeting of 5 April 2002 of the
interinstitutional working group on EP-Council relations (PE 315.678/BUR. +
annexes);
- heard a statement by the Secretary-General who pointed out that the original EP-
Council working group had been extended to include the Commission and that
meetings at the political level would be preceded by preparatory meetings attended
by senior officials of the three institutions. The Secretary-General said that advance
information would be given to key Committee Chairs by the Commission on its
programme on better regulation, which it hoped to adopt before the end of May. The
Seville European Council meeting would decide on the next steps in this area. He
thought it highly probable that work on better regulation would need to be enshrined
in an interinstitutional agreement;
- heard Mr BARÓN CRESPO who welcomed progress made in the area of better
regulation and suggested that appointments to the working groups at the political
level with a view to holding a meeting with the Commission on this subject be
finalised at a subsequent meeting of the Conference of Presidents;
- heard Mr POETTERING who endorsed the proposal made by Mr BARÓN
CRESPO;
- heard Ms FRASSONI who said that interinstitutional dialogue would begin only at
the Seville European Council meeting and welcomed the idea that better regulation
be formalised in an interinstitutional agreement;
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- endorsed the setting up of a high-level technical group on interinstitutional
cooperation;
- invited the Spanish Presidency to an extraordinary meeting before the end of the six-
monthly term, in order to review the work carried out and decide on the further steps
to be taken;
- endorsed the holding of a meeting of the technical group followed by a meeting at
political level during which the Commission would set out the broad lines of its
better regulation action programme, in early May;
- decided to re-examine the possible composition, mandate and working methods of
an interinstitutional working group on better regulation at a subsequent meeting.
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6.4. Interinstitutional agreement on access by the Parliament to sensitive information of the
Council in the field of security and defence policy
The Conference of Presidents
- noted the following documents:
- a letter from Mr BROK of 11 April 2002 on an interinstitutional agreement on
access to documents (PE 315.694/BUR. + annex)
- a letter from Mr DE MIGUEL of 11 April 2002 on an interinstitutional
agreement on access to documents (PE 315.698/BUR.);
- heard Mr BROK who informed the Conference that he had reached agreement with
Mr DE MIGUEL the previous day on the text on access by the Parliament to
sensitive information of the Council in the field of security and defence policy. He
explained that as part of this agreement the Council would withdraw its declaration
in its minutes and he would recommend that Parliament discontinue its legal action
against the Council's security regulation. The agreement would only come into force
when security measures were adopted by Parliament comparable to those of the
other institutions;
- heard Mr WATSON who pointed out that the agreement negotiated with the Council
did not cover the third pillar and he hoped that this would be rectified in a future
agreement. He suggested that the President write to Mrs PALACIO, Chair of the
Civil Liberties Committee, requesting information on negotiations for an agreement
governing access to sensitive information in the third pillar;
- heard Mr BROK who confirmed that it was the intention of the Spanish Presidency
to proceed as soon as possible to a similar agreement covering the third pillar;
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- welcomed the agreement reached on 10 April 2002 by Mr BROK and
Mr DE MIGUEL on the above interinstitutional agreement;
- decided to give its formal approval to the draft interinstitutional agreement at its
meeting on 8 May 2002, subject to the Council having given its approval by then,
and to examine withdrawing Parliament's action before the Court of Justice against
the security regulations of the Council;
- invited the President to write to Mrs PALACIO, Chair of the Civil Liberties
Committee, requesting information on progress in negotiations for a similar
agreement governing access to sensitive information in the third pillar.
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6.5. Letter from Jim NICHOLSON, Chair of the US delegation, on holding the
interparliamentary meeting in Madrid from 20 to 22 April 2002
The Conference of Presidents
- noted a letter from Mr Nicholson, Chair of the US delegation, on holding the
interparliamentary meeting in Madrid from 20 to 22 April 2002 (PE 315.682/BUR.);
- decided to authorise, as a one-off case, the US delegation to hold its
interparliamentary meeting over the weekend of 20-22 April 2002 in Madrid only.
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6.6. Appointment of the Management Board and Executive Director of the European Food
Safety Authority
The Conference of Presidents
- noted a letter of 3 April 2002 to the President from Mrs JACKSON, Chair of the
Environment Committee, on the appointment of the Management Board and
Executive Director of the European Food Safety Authority (PE 315.690/BUR. +
annex);
- instructed the responsible committee to initiate the procedures relating to these
appointments with final decisions to be taken by the Conference of Presidents.
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7. Letter of 11 March 2002 from the Egyptian Ambassador to the European Union to the
President on the organisation of a seminar on security, peace and human rights in the
Middle East
The Conference of Presidents
- noted the following documents:
- a note of 10 April 2002 from the Secretary-General on sending a Parliamentary
delegation to attend the seminar on security, peace and human rights in the
Middle East to be held in Cairo (PE 315.689/BUR.)
- a letter of 13 March 2002 from Mr POETTERING on the seminar on security,
peace and human rights in the Middle East to be held in Cairo in May 2002
(PE 315.648/BUR.)
- a letter of 11 March 2002 from Mr AWAAD, the Egyptian Ambassador to the
European Union, to the President on the organisation of a seminar on security,
peace and human rights in the Middle East (PE 311.756/BUR. + annex);
- heard statements by Mr WURTZ and Mr POETTERING;
- decided to approve sending a delegation of three Members, appointed by the
political groups on the basis of the rolling d'Hondt system, to attend the seminar on
security, peace and human rights in the Middle East to be held in Cairo, this seminar
to be held during the first ten days of May but however so as not to coincide with the
May I part-session.
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8. Letters of 12 March 2002 and 11 April 2002 from Mr BROK on the Election Coordination
Group's recommendations concerning the despatch of observers to the elections to be held
in Sierra Leone, Colombia and Algeria
The Conference of Presidents
- noted the following documents:
- a letter of 11 April 2002 from Mr BROK concerning the despatch of observers to
the elections to be held in Algeria (PE 315.702/BUR.)
- a letter of 3 April 2002 from Mr BALFE on the possibility for the old Members
to participate in election observation missions (PE 315.674/BUR.)
- a letter of 2 April 2002 from Mr BROK on election observation in Timor, Sierra
Leone and Colombia (PE 315.675/BUR.)
- a letter of 18 March 2002 from Mr PATTEN asking Mr BOWIS to lead a
Parliamentary delegation to East Timor in April 2002 (PE 315.644/BUR.)
- a letter of 12 March 2002 from Mr BROK on the minutes of the "Elections
Coordination Group" (PE 315.625/BUR. + annexes);
- heard Mr BARÓN CRESPO who said that it was the view of his group that, despite
the volatility of the situation in Colombia, Parliament should send a delegation to
observe the elections. He pointed out that EU Ambassadors would be able to provide
the necessary logistical support for the delegation;
- heard Mr POETTERING and Ms FRASSONI who endorsed the proposal to send an
election observation delegation to Colombia;
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- heard Mr BROK who commended to the Conference of Presidents the decision
taken by the Election Coordination Group the previous day to recommend that a
Parliament delegation be sent to observe elections in Algeria. Mr BROK also
pointed out that the general rule was that Parliament election observation
delegations be composed of five Members appointed on the basis of the rolling
d'Hondt system;
- heard Ms FRASSONI who requested that a flexible approach be adopted in the
application of the rolling d'Hondt system in order to take account of the interests and
expertise of political groups;
- heard Mr BIGLIARDO who said that the d'Hondt system penalised smaller groups;
- heard Mr POETTERING who suggested that the secretaries-general of the political
groups consider how flexibility might be introduced into the rolling d'Hondt system;
- decided to send an observer team to Sierra Leone composed of five Members
appointed by the political groups on the basis of the rolling d’Hondt system;
- decided to send an observer team to Colombia composed of five Members appointed
by the political groups on the basis of the rolling d’Hondt system;
- decided to send an observer team to Algeria composed of five Members appointed
by the political groups on the basis of the rolling d’Hondt system;
- decided to refer the proposals on modifying Article 21, paragraph 3-6 of the
Implementing Provisions Governing the Work of Delegations to the Foreign Affairs
Committee.
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9. Proposals for decisions without debate
9.1. Letter of 4 March 2002 from Mr BROK on the despatch of a delegation to Iran –
Parliament resolution of 13 December 2001 on EU relations with the Islamic Republic of
Iran
The Conference of Presidents
- noted a letter of 3 March 2002 from Mr BROK on the despatch of a delegation to
Iran (PE 315.634/BUR. + annexes);
- decided, without debate, to send an ad hoc delegation to Iran before the summer, the
delegation to be composed of six members appointed by the political groups on the
basis of the rolling d’Hondt system, those six members to include Mr GAHLER,
rapporteur of the Foreign Affairs Committee on relations with Iran and Mr BROK
who would lead the delegation.
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9.2. Letter from Mr MONTESA, Ambassador of the Philippines to the EC, on a proposal from
the Philippines Senate offering to host the ASEP II meeting in Manila during the summer
of 2002 – letter from Mr BROK concerning the composition of Parliament's delegation
The Conference of Presidents
- noted the following documents:
- a letter of 7 March 2002 from Mr BROK on the composition of Parliament's
delegation in Manila (PE 315.632/BUR.)
- a letter of 11 December 2001 from Mr MONTESA, Ambassador of the
Philippines to the EC, on a proposal from the Philippines Senate offering to host
the ASEP II meeting in Manila during the summer of 2002 (PE 315.571/BUR.);
- decided, without debate, to approve holding the second Asia-Europe parliamentary
meeting (ASEP II) in the Philippines, this meeting to take place in July or August
2002.
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9.3. Letter of 1 March 2002 from Mrs JACKSON, Chairman of the Committee on the
Environment, Public Health and Consumer Policy requesting the President to ask the
authorisation of the Council Presidency and the President of the Commission of a
parliamentary delegation up to 25 Members to the EU delegation to the World Summit on
Sustainable Development to be held in Johannesburg from 26 August to 4 September 2002
The Conference of Presidents
- noted the above mentioned letter of 1 March 2002 from Mrs JACKSON
(PE 315.638/BUR.);
- decided, without debate, to agree to Mrs JACKSON’s request the President write to
the Council and Commission seeking the inclusion of 25 MEPs as members of the
EU delegation to attend the first part of the Johannesburg conference of 26 August
to 4 September so that their presence does not coincide with the September I plenary
session.
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9.4. Letter of 9 April 2002 from Mrs PALACIO, Chair of the Conference of Committee
Chairs, requesting authorisation of an own-initiative report and a "COS" report
The Conference of Presidents
- noted a letter of 9 April 2002 from Mrs PALACIO on the proposals of the
Conference of Committee Chairs requesting authorisation of two own-initiative
reports (PE 315.683/BUR.);
- noted, without debate, the above letter requesting authorisation, in derogation of
Article 2 of its decision of 9 December 1999 and Article 3, sub-paragraph 4, of its
decision of 15 June 2000, for the Agriculture Committee to draw up an own-
initiative report on agriculture and enlargement and the Development Committee to
draw up a "COS" report on global partnership and sustainable development.
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10. Urgent matters and any other business
10.1. Letter of 14 March 2002 from Mr GALEOTE, Chairman of the delegation for the
Maghreb countries and the Arab Maghreb Union requesting authorisation that Libya be
incorporated in the competencies of the delegation for the Maghreb countries and that a
working group of the delegation could be sent to Libya from 15 to 22 June 2002
The Conference of Presidents
- noted the above letter of 14 March 2002 from Mr GALEOTE, Chairman of the
delegation for the Maghreb countries and the Arab Maghreb Union
(PE 315.636/BUR.);
- heard Mr POETTERING who supported the two proposals put forward by
Mr GALEOTE and suggested that sending a Parliament delegation to Libya would
not incur the criticism of the United States;
- heard Mr WURTZ who also supported the proposals put forward by Mr GALEOTE;
- heard Mr WATSON, Mr BARÓN CRESPO and Mr BIGLIARDO who requested
more time to reflect on these proposals so that the Conference of Presidents could
take a decision at a subsequent meeting.
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10.2. Letter of 3 April 2002 from Mr WESTENDORP and Mr SCHWAIGER requesting
authorisation for an ad hoc delegation to participate in a public symposium on the "Doha
development agenda and beyond" on 29-30 April 2002 in Geneva
The Conference of Presidents
- noted the above mentioned letter of 3 April 2002 from Mr WESTENDORP and
Mr SCHWAIGER (PE 315.676/BUR.);
- heard statements by Mr BARÓN CRESPO and Mr POETTERING;
- decided to authorise a delegation of three members chosen from among those MEPs
who participated at the WTO Ministerial Conference in Doha (Qatar) in November
2001 to attend the session of the symposium on WTO and the role of
parliamentarians scheduled for 10.00 to 13.00 hours on 30 April 2002.
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10.3. Letter from Sir Jack STEWART-CLARK of 25 March 2002 on sending a delegation to
the Interparliamentary Conference on Synthetic Drugs, Tokyo, 23-25 April 2002
The Conference of Presidents
- noted a letter from Sir Jack Stewart-Clark of 25 March 2002 on sending a delegation
to the Interparliamentary Conference on Synthetic Drugs, Tokyo, 23-25 April 2002
(PE 315.681/BUR. + annex);
- decided as a matter of principle to turn down the request of Sir Jack STEWART-
CLARK, former MEP, to represent Parliament at the Interparliamentary Conference
on Synthetic Drugs, Tokyo, 23-25 April 2002.
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10.4. Letter of 21 March 2002 from Mr PODESTÀ on the summary of the preparatory Troika
held on 8 March 2002 and proposals for the XXVIth COSAC meeting on 12 to 14 May
2002 in Madrid
The Conference of Presidents
- noted the following documents:
- a letter of 1 April 2002 from Mr BORREL inviting Mr PODESTÀ to the next
COSAC meeting 12 to 14 May 2002 in Madrid (PE 315.668/BUR.)
- a letter of 21 March 2002 from Mr PODESTÀ on the summary of the preparatory
Troika held on 8 March 2002 and proposals for the XXVIth COSAC meeting on
12 to 14 May 2002 in Madrid (PE 315.640/BUR.);
- heard Ms FRASSONI who suggested that a rotation system be set up to allow
smaller groups to be represented on Parliament's delegations to COSAC meetings;
- decided that Parliament’s delegation to the XXVIth COSAC meeting, to be held in
Madrid from 12 to 14 May 2002, be composed of the three permanent members
(two Vice-Presidents responsible for relations with the parliaments of the Member
States and the chairman of the Committee on Constitutional Affairs), with the three
other members appointed by the political groups on the basis of the rolling d’Hondt
system taking account of the committees competent for matters foreseen on the
agenda of the COSAC meeting.
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10.5. A note of 5 April 2002 from the President to the Conference of Presidents on the
President’s meeting on 20 March 2002 with Mr AKYOL, the Head of the Mission of
Turkey to the European Union
The Conference of Presidents
- noted the above note of 5 April 2002 (PE 315.673/BUR);
- noted information provided by the President on his meeting with Mr AKYOL, the
Head of the Mission of Turkey to the European Union as well as the programme of
the ad hoc delegation, due to visit Turkey from 7 to 10 May 2002.
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11. Items for information
The Conference of Presidents
- noted the following documents:
ANNEX 1
- a letter from Mrs PALACIO VALLELERSUNDI dated 9 April 2002 requesting
authorisation to draw up own-initiative (INI) reports (PE 315.685/BUR.)
In accordance with the Conference of Presidents' decision of 9 December 1999
laying down the procedure for the authorisation of own-initiative reports
within the meaning of Rule 163 of the Rules of Procedure, requests which the
Conference of Committee Chairmen has referred to the Conference of
Presidents 'shall be deemed to have been authorised, save where the
Conference of Presidents delivers an opinion to the contrary, one month at the
latest following the referral'.
ANNEX 2
- letter from Mrs PALACIO VALLELERSUNDI dated 9 April 2002 requesting
authorisation to draw up reports based on documents transmitted for information
(COS-reports) (PE 315.686/BUR.).
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12. Date and place of next meeting
The Conference of Presidents
- decided to hold its next meeting in Brussels on Thursday, 8 May 2002, from 3.00 to
5.30 p.m.
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*
The meeting closed at 5.18 p.m. on Thursday, 11 April 2002.
*
* *