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Assembly rules on current affairs and urgent debates

Doc. 10335
 15 October 2004

Motion for a resolution
 presented by Mrs de Zulueta and others

This motion has not been discussed in the Assembly and commits only the members who have signed it

1.       The  Assembly’s rules on current affairs and urgent debates (Rules 50-52) have had the effect of encouraging urgent debates in the Assembly and discouraging current affairs debates.  This is particularly due to the fact that a current affairs debate request must be submitted at the latest one week before the opening of the Part-Session or the meeting of the Standing Committee, whereas a request for a debate under urgent procedure can be submitted at the last moment.

2.       Each of these exceptional procedures has its respective merits and disadvantages. The Assembly therefore decides to review the current rules with a view to introducing more flexibility where that is needed in order to allow the Assembly and the Standing Committee to be able to use both procedures for debating ongoing or urgent political issues of concern.  One way of achieving this which should be considered is to allow the Bureau to propose to the Assembly the holding of a current affairs and/or urgent debate.

Signed [1]:
de ZULUETA, Tana, Italy, SOC
BARGHOLTZ, Helena, Sweden, LDR
�AVUSOGLU, Mevl�t, Turkey, EDG
COX, Thomas, United Kingdom, SOC
DORIC, Miljenko, Croatia, LDR
EINARSSON, Mats, Sweden, UEL
E�RSI, M�ty�s, Hungary, LDR
GROSS, Andreas, Switzerland, SOC
HANCOCK, Michael, United Kingdom, LDR
HOLOVATY, Serhiy, Ukraine, LDR
JUDD, United Kingdom, SOC
MATUŠIC, Frano, Croatia, EPP/CD
McNAMARA, Kevin, United Kingdom, SOC
MIMICA, Neven, Croatia, SOC
SEVERINSEN, Hanne, Denmark, LDR
STREB-HESSE, Rita, Germany, SOC
TOSHEV, Latchezar, Bulgaria, EPP/CD
van WINSEN, Bart, Netherlands, EPP/CD
VERMOT-MANGOLD, Ruth-Gaby, Switzerland, SOC
WESTERLUND PANKE, Majl�ne, Sweden, SOC
WILKINSON, John, United Kingdom, EDG

[1]

SOC
EPP
EDG
LDR
UEL
NR

Socialist Group
Group of the European People’s Party
European Democratic Group
Liberal, Democratic and Reformers’ Group
Group of the Unified European Left
Not registered in a group