3.4.1.
RULES ON THE TRANSPARENCY OBLIGATIONS OF INTERGROUPS
AND UNOFFICIAL GROUPINGS
BUREAU DECISION
OF 22 APRIL 2024
THE BUREAU OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT,
-
having regard to Rules 35 and 36 of the Rules of Procedure of the European Parliament,
(1)
whereas individual Members may form intergroups or unofficial groupings for the
purpose of holding informal exchanges of views on specific issues across different
political groups and of promoting contact with civil society; whereas they are subject
to transparency
obligations and may not engage in activities which might result in
confusion with the official activities of Parliament or of its bodies,
(2)
whereas, in addition to those transparency obligations, the Bureau Decision of 12 June
2023 on rules governing the participation of interest representatives in events held on
Parliament’s premises applies to meetings and events of intergroups and unofficial
groupings,
HAS ADOPTED THIS DECISION:
Article 1
Obligations to declare support as regards intergroups and unofficial groupings
Intergroups and Chairs of, or Members participating in, unofficial groupings shall be required
to declare all direct and indirect support, including in cash or in kind, received by or on behalf
of the intergroup or unofficial grouping as well as the identity of the third party providing that
support.
Article 2
Declarations of support received by intergroups
1.
Each intergroup established in accordance with Parliament’s internal rules1 shall submit
on an annual basis a declaration of support.
2.
Submitting the declaration shall be the individual responsibility of every office-holder
in the intergroup. The office-holders shall decide which of them will submit the
declaration on behalf of the intergroup. That office-holder shall be required to declare
any support, including in cash or in kind, which would have had to be declared pursuant
to Annex I to Parliament’s Rules of Procedure if it had been offered to the Members
as individuals.
1 Decision of the Conference of President of 16 December 1999.
PE 762.002/BUR
3.
The annual declarations of support received by the intergroups shall be submitted using
the form available in the e-Portal for Members as set out in Annex I to this Decision.
4.
The competent service shall keep, on behalf of the Quaestors, the register of the
intergroups and of their declarations of support. The documents on that register shall
be published online on the dedicated Parliament webpage.
5.
Before accepting and publishing a declaration of support received, the competent
service shall carry out a plausibility check of the declaration. If it is apparent from
information in the public domain that the declaration may be incomplete, it may request
any additional information required, or invite the relevant office-holder to revise the
declaration before it is published.
Article 3
Declarations of support received on behalf of unofficial groupings
1.
Chairs of, or any Members participating in, unofficial groupings shall be required to
declare any support, including in cash or in kind, in accordance with Rule 36(4) of the
Rules of Procedure. A declaration shall be made every time there is a change in the
support received.
2.
The initial and updated declarations of support received shall be submitted by the Chair
or the participating members through their declaration of private interests using the
form available in the e-Portal for Members as set out in Annex I (F) to the Implementing
Measures for the Code of Conduct for Members of the European Parliament regarding
Integrity and Transparency (Decision of the Bureau of 16 October 2023).
3.
The competent service shall keep, on behalf of the Quaestors, the register of the
declarations of support submitted on behalf of the unofficial grouping. The documents
on that register shall be published online.
4.
Before accepting and publishing a declaration of support received, the competent
service shall carry out a plausibility check of the declaration. If it is apparent from
information in the public domain that the declaration may be incomplete, it may request
any additional information required, or invite the Chair or the participating Member to
revise the declaration before it is published.
Article 4
Quaestor responsible
The Quaestors shall appoint from among their midst one Quaestor who shall be responsible,
on their behalf, for monitoring compliance with Rules 35 and 36 of the Rules of Procedure as
well as with these rules.
Article 5
Ban on using Parliament’s facilities
1.
In case of a breach of the obligations laid down in Rules 35(2), (4) and (5), and Rule
36(2), (3), (4) and (5), the Quaestors may decide to impose a ban on an intergroup or
an unofficial grouping on using Parliament’s facilities, for a period which may not
exceed the remainder of the parliamentary term. The decision of the Quaestors shall be
final.
This ban on using Parliament’s facilities is without prejudice to the possible penalties
to individual Members under Rule 183 of the Rules of Procedure for failure to comply
with the obligations laid down in Rules 35 and 36 of the Rules of Procedure.
2.
When considering a possible breach under paragraph 1, the Quaestors shall invite the
Member or Members concerned to a hearing or to submit written observations.
Article 6
Entry into force
This Decision shall enter into force on 16 July 2024.
Annex I
DECLARATION
Pursuant to Rule 35 of the European Parliament’s Rules of Procedure
I, the undersigned,
Surname: …………………………………………………………………………..
Forename: …………………………………………………………………………
in my capacity as chair office holder of the intergroup
……………………………………………………………………………………...
hereby declare that, in connection with the political activities of the intergroup, I have received
the following outside support:
(a) financial:
provided by *
(b) in terms of staff:
provided by *
(c) in terms of material:
provided by *
* Indicate the third parties from whom support has been received.
Any other information
