PV BUR. 08.03.2010

PE 439.615/BUR

PE-7/BUR/PV/2010-04

EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT

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B U R E A U

MINUTES

of the meeting of

08-03-2010

Room R1, 1, Louise Weiss Building - - -

Strasbourg

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PE-7/BUR/PV/2010-04

BUREAU

MINUTES

of the meeting of Monday, 8 March 2010 from 18:30 to 20:30

R1, 1 in the Louise Weiss Building

Strasbourg

Contents Page

1. Adoption of draft agenda.......................................................................................................... 7

2. Adoption of the minutes of the meeting of 24 February 2010 ................................................ 8

3. Statements by the President ...................................................................................................... 9

3.1 Behaviour of Mr FARAGE, Co-Chair of the EFD Group...................................................... 9

3.2 Attack on a Member in the vicinity of Parliament's premises in Brussels ............................ 10

3.3 Parliaments' participation in "Earth Hour 2010".................................................................... 11

3.4 Participation in the inauguration ceremony of the new Ukrainian President........................ 11

3.5 Official visit to Bulgaria ......................................................................................................... 12

4. The European Parliament's list of directly accessible documents (former Annex XV to the Rules of procedure) and the content of the European Parliament's register of documents - Note from the Secretary-General ...................................................................... 13

5. Parliament's future property needs and its buildings policy in the medium and long-term - Note from the Secretary-General................................................................................. 15

6. Report of the Secretary-General to the Bureau on the preliminary draft estimates of the European Parliament for the financial year 2011................................................................... 17

7. European Parliament's contribution to the secretariat and the budget of the Euro-Mediterranean Parliamentary Assembly (EMPA)................................................................. 21

8. Establishment of an Artistic Committee - Proposed amendment to the Rules - Revised proposal from Mr HIGGINS, Chair-in-Office of the Quaestors........................................... 23

9. Provision of IT and telecommunications equipment to Members - Proposed

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amendment to the Rules - Letter from Mr Higgins, Chair-in-Office of the Quaestors ........ 24

10. Use of official cars -Proposed amendment to the Rules - Letter from Mr Higgins, Chair-in-Office of the Quaestors ............................................................................................ 25

11. Availability of the Chamber in Strasbourg for the City of Strasbourg for the European week of biodiversity from 11 to 17 April 2010 ..................................................................... 26

12. Delegation of the ENVI Committee to Spain from 22 to 24 March 2010 - Letter from Mr LEINEN, Chair of the Committee concerned.................................................................. 28

13. Postponement from mid-February to 13 to 17 April 2010 (political group meetings week) of the visit to Washington by a delegation from the Subcommittee on Security and Defence- Letter from Mr DANJEAN, Chair of the Subcommittee concerned ............. 29

14. Request for authorisation to extend the duration of the visit to Brazil by a delegation from the INTA Committee, currently scheduled to take place from 7 to 10 April 2010 - Draft programme - Financial statement - Letter from Mr MOREIRA, Chair of the Committee concerned ............................................................................................................. 30

15. Urgent matters and other business.......................................................................................... 31

16. Items for information .............................................................................................................. 32

17. Date and place of next meeting .............................................................................................. 33

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BUREAU

MINUTES

of the meeting of Monday 8 March 2010

Strasbourg

Mr Jerzy BUZEK, President of the European Parliament, opened the meeting at 18.38.

Present

Mr Jerzy BUZEK, President

Vice-Presidents Excused Mr PITTELLA Ms KRATSA-TSAGAROPOULOU Mr LAMBRINIDIS Ms ANGELILLI Mr MARTÍNEZ Mr VIDAL-QUADRAS Ms ROTH-BEHRENDT Mr ROUČEK Ms DURANT Ms WALLIS Mr SCHMITT Mr McMILLAN-SCOTT Mr WIELAND Ms KOCH-MEHRIN Quaestors Ms GERINGER DE OEDENBERG Mr HIGGINS Ms LULLING Mr MAŠTÁLKA Mr NEWTON DUNN

Also Present M. WELLE, Secretary-General

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List of officials present at the meeting: Private Office of the President Mr POPOWSKI Mr TEASDALE Ms WORUM Ms ROSINSKA Mr POMES-RUÍZ Mr ALPERMANN Mr REIJNDERS Mr O'BEARA

Private Office of the Secretary-General Mr DREXLER Mr SUBELACK Ms KERGLONOU Mr CHIOCCHETTI Mr MANGOLD Ms BLAU Ms SCHADE Ms MALASOMMA Secretariat DG Presidency (PRES) Ms F. RATTI/Mr DE FEO/Mr CAHEN/

Ms JIMÉNEZ-LOZANO/Mr LANE Ms STRASSER

DG Internal Policies (IPOL) Mr RIBERA D'ALCALA DG External Policies (EXPO) Mr AGUIRIANO DG Information (COMM) Ms J. LAHOUSSE/Mr DUCH GUILLOT/ Mr WARASIN/Ms VAN DEN BROEKE DG Personnel (PERS) Mr QUITIN DG Infrastructure and Logistics (INLO) Mr STRATIGAKIS/Mr SKINNER DG Translation (TRAD) Ms PITT DG Interpretation and Conferences (INTE) Ms COSMIDOU DG Finance (FINS) Mr VANHAEREN/Mr GUILLEN-ZANÓN/ Ms WELLS-SHADDAD/Mr KLETHI DG Innovation, Technical Support (ITEC) Mr LAFOREST Legal Service Mr PENNERA/Mr CORSTENS/Mr VON

HERTZEN Mrs O. RATTI, Director for relations with the secretariats of the political groups. Political group secretariats

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Mr RIPOLL (EPP) Mr HORNAK (S&D) Mr BOUTER (ALDE) Mr DENKINGER (Greens/EFA) Mr WOODARD (ECR) Mr RAECK (GUE/NGL) Ms LAIKAUF (EFD) Vice-Presidents' and Quaestors' assistants Mr MARTINELLI Mr PITTELLA's assistant Mr TRAPOUZANLIS Ms KRATSA-TSAGAROPOULOU's assistant Ms ASTERIADI Mr LAMBRINIDIS's assistant Mr GUERRA REINA Mr MARTÍNEZ's assistant Ms CABANELAS ÁLVAREZ Mr VIDAL-QUADRAS's assistant Mr SCHWARZ Ms ROTH-BEHRENDT's assistant Ms ZANELLA Mr ROUCEK's assistant Mr VALETTE Ms DURANT's assistant Mr LOMBARDO Ms ANGELILLI's assistant Ms THIEL Ms WALLIS's assistant Ms NOVOTNY Mr SCHMITT's assistant Ms DERRINGTON CLARK Mr McMILLAN-SCOTT's assistant Mr BECKER Mr WIELAND's assistant Ms SOLTYSOVA Ms KOCH-MEHRIN's assistant Ms ZIELINSKA Ms GERINGER de OEDENBERG's assistant Ms KEARNEY Mr HIGGINS's assistant Mr LAMESCH Ms LULLING's assistant Ms ŘEHOŘOVÁ Mr MAŠTÁLKA's assistant Ms KONTÁR Mr NEWTON DUNN's assistant Ms LINNUS, Mr CALINOGLOU, Ms CASALPRIM, Ms SHEIL, Mr WILKINSON, Ms VIILUP and Mr PEGAZZANO acted as secretary to the meeting.

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1. Adoption of draft agenda

The Bureau

- noted the draft agenda (PE 438.613/BUR) and adopted it as shown in these minutes.

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2. Adoption of the minutes of the meeting of 24 February 2010

The Bureau

- noted the above-mentioned Minutes (PE 438.795/BUR) and approved them.

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3. Statements by the President

3.1 Behaviour of Mr FARAGE, Co-Chair of the EFD Group

The Bureau,

- heard the President:

• note that all the Group Chairs had been present in plenary on Wednesday, 24

February 2010, when Mr FARAGE had made a series of remarks to Mr VAN

ROMPUY, President of the European Council, regarding his appearance, his

personality and his nationality,

• inform the Bureau that he had met Mr FARAGE to discuss the incident and that

he had offered him a chance to apologise publicly, which the latter had refused,

• advise the Bureau that he had notified Mr FARAGE in writing of his decision

to impose on him the penalty of withholding ten days' daily subsistence

allowance, in line with Rule 153(3) of the Rules of Procedure, and that Mr

FARAGE had lodged an internal appeal with the Bureau, which it would

consider at its meeting of 24 March 2010, in conformity with Rule 154 of the

Rules of Procedure,

• note that he had spoken to the Belgian Prime Minister to apologise personally

and on behalf of Parliament for Mr FARAGE's disparaging remarks about

Belgium,

- heard Mr VIDAL-QUADRAS, Vice-President, express his full support for the action

taken by the President in relation to Mr FARAGE's misconduct during the

aforementioned plenary meeting.

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3.2 Attack on a Member in the vicinity of Parliament's premises in Brussels

The Bureau

- heard the President:

• announce that Ms SAVISAAR, Member, informed him by email that she had

been attacked and robbed on 2 March 2010 at 19.50 hrs, when walking home

through the Parc Léopold;

• list the action he had taken following this incident, namely that he had:

a) met Ms SAVISAAR and assured her of Parliament's support,

b) met with Parliament's Director for Security ahead of the latter's meeting

with the Chief of Ixelles Police on the Friday following the incident; during

that meeting aimed at finding swift solutions to the security problem around

the European Parliament; the Police underlined that it intended to make

every effort to ensure security in the vicinity of the Institution,

c) suggested a number of preventive measures to be taken including the

creation of an European Parliament-Police liaison office and police

patrolling in Parliament's vicinity,

• note that Mr NEWTON DUNN, Quaestor in charge of security issues on

Parliament's premises, was also involved in the effort to find a solution to this

problem,

• thank Ms DURANT, Vice-President in charge of relations with the Belgian

authorities, for her numerous contacts with the local and federal authorities in

order to find practical measures to increase security in Parliament's vicinity;

- heard Ms KOCH-MEHRIN, Vice-President, request clarification on the above-

mentioned liaison office;

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- heard Ms ROTH-BEHRENDT, Vice-President, deplore the lack of security in

Parliament's vicinity, which has been the case for a long time, despite various efforts

made by Parliament's office-holders to invite the host Member State to examine the

matter in an efficient manner;

- heard Ms DURANT, Vice-President, condemn the attack against Ms SAVISAAR,

suggest not to over-dramatise the situation and point out that a sustainable answer to the

problem will have to be found in cooperation with the other Brussels-based EU

Institutions and the Belgian authorities;

- heard Mr VIDAL-QUADRAS, Vice-President, express optimism that a solution

could be found and suggest that what was needed was permanent police surveillance

in Parliament's vicinity;

- heard the President point out that progress is now being made and that the Bureau

will be informed of the outcome of the measures taken.

3.3 Parliaments' participation in "Earth Hour 2010"

The Bureau

- heard the President refer to a letter dated 18 February 2010 from Ms DURANT, Vice-

President, suggesting that Parliament participates in "Earth Hour 2010" on Saturday 27

March 2010, by switching off the lights on its premises both in the three places of work and

in the Information Offices;

- agreed to that proposal.

3.4 Participation in the inauguration ceremony of the new Ukrainian President

The Bureau

- heard the President inform the meeting that, on 25 February 2010 in Kiev, he

participated in the inauguration ceremony of Mr YANUKOVYCH, newly-elected

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President of Ukraine, along with Baroness ASTHON, High Representative of the

Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, and Mr FÜLE, Commissioner in

charge of Enlargement and the European Neighbourhood Policy. Moreover, on 1

March 2010, he met Mr YANUKOVYCH in Brussels, during his first official visit

abroad, where they discussed EU-Ukraine relations, negotiations on the signing of a

Free Trade Agreement, the roadmap on visa liberalisation, Ukraine's gas

infrastructure, economic recovery, the EURONEST parliamentary assembly, the

cancellation of local elections in Ukraine, the situation in Belarus, and Ukraine's

position on Montenegro's accession to the World Trade Organisation.

3.5 Official visit to Bulgaria

The Bureau

- heard the President inform the meeting that, at the invitation of Ms TSACHEVA,

Speaker of the Bulgarian National Assembly, he had paid an official visit to Bulgaria

on 3 March 2010, Bulgarian National Day, and that, in addition to holding

discussions with her and the Presiding Body of the National Assembly, he had met

Mr PARVANOV, President of Bulgaria, and Mr BORISSOV, Prime Minister.

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DECISIONS 4. The European Parliament's list of directly accessible documents (former Annex XV to the

Rules of procedure) and the content of the European Parliament's register of documents -

Note from the Secretary-General

The Bureau

- took note of the above-mentioned note dated 12 January 2010 (PE 432.279/BUR and

annexes);

- noted that, in accordance with the new Rules of Procedure (Rule 104(3) ), the Bureau

was responsible for adopting a list of Parliament's documents directly accessible to the

public in electronic form and therefore downloadable directly from Parliament's website;

- heard Ms WALLIS, Vice-President in charge of questions related to transparency (PE

439.674/BUR:

• emphasise that, under the proposed scheme, exactly the same documents will

still be directly accessible as before, but they will be defined by way of larger

categories, making it simpler and quicker to include new documents or

categories, instead of having to go through a cumbersome procedure as

previously,

• highlight that the guiding principle behind the proposal was the establishment

of a clear distinction between documents directly accessible on Parliament's

internet site and those accessible on request via the register.

- held a wide-ranging exchange of views on the matter, with the participation of Ms

ROTH-BEHRENDT, Messrs WIELAND and SCHMITT, Vice-Presidents and Ms

GERINGER de OEDENBERG, Quaestor, and Ms WALLIS, who responded to

comments made and questions asked by the previous speakers;

- heard the President thank Ms WALLIS for the work accomplished;

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- approved the new list of directly accessible documents, as proposed in Annex 1 to the

Secretary-General's note and requested him to update the implementing texts

accordingly.

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B. EXCHANGE OF VIEWS

5. Parliament's future property needs and its buildings policy in the medium and long-term - Note

from the Secretary-General

The Bureau

- took note of the above-mentioned note dated 3 March 2010 (PE 439.629/BUR and

annexes);

- heard Messrs VIDAL-QUADRAS and PITTELLA, respectively Vice-Presidents

with primary and secondary responsibility for Parliament's buildings policy:

• highlight the major items of the proposals submitted, through the Secretary-

General's note, by the Working Group on Buildings, Transport and Green

Parliament,

• underline the importance of a fruitful cooperation between the Bureau and the

Committee on Budgets in the area of buildings policy;

- heard Mr WIELAND, Vice-President:

• request that all possibilities be considered for the purpose of providing

additional office space to Members, in particular in Strasbourg,

• reiterate his request that lavatories be provided for visitors' groups in

Strasbourg, who are often made to wait outside Parliament's buildings before

the beginning of their visit;

- heard Mr NEWTON DUNN, Quaestor, indicate that a number of Members may

disagree with the idea of removing the shower facilities from Members' offices;

- heard Ms DURANT, Vice-President:

• thank the Directorate-General for Infrastructure and Logistics for the work

accomplished,

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• refer to the modalities of the inter-institutional cooperation in connection with

the "Houses of Europe" and place emphasis on the environmental aspects of the

buildings policy;

- heard Ms LULLING, Quaestor:

• share Mr WIELAND's view with regard to lavatories for visitors' groups,

• insist that a lift giving Members direct access to the LOW building's garage be

installed without delay, since a decision had already been taken to that effect by

the Bureau;

- heard Mr VIDAL-QUADRAS sum up the discussion;

- decided to adopt Parliament's medium-term property policy at its meeting of 24 March

2010, after which Parliament's final medium-term property policy will be forwarded to

the Committee on Budgets for information.

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6. Report of the Secretary-General to the Bureau on the preliminary draft estimates of the

European Parliament for the financial year 2011

The Bureau

- took note of the above-mentioned report, dated 3 March 2010 (PE 439.572/BUR and

annexes);

- heard the Secretary-General present his note, which was drawn-up in accordance with

the guidelines approved by the Bureau at its meeting of 24 February 2010, and

highlight the following points:

• the preliminary draft estimates are set at €1 722 021 425, a figure which represents

an increase of 6.51% over the 2010 budget and corresponds to 20.46% of heading

5 of the multiannual financial framework,

• the priority objectives to be achieved through the assignment of the necessary

resources are:

• improving the expertise services provided to Members:

- strengthening of the policy departments and increasing the expertise

budgets;

- development of the EP Library’s information and briefing service;

- provision of an increase of €1500 per month in the parliamentary

assistance allowance;

• coping with the institutional consequences of the entry into force of the Lisbon

Treaty and the enlargement of the Union to include Croatia:

- entry the appropriations needed to cover expenditure on an

additional 18 Members;

- provision for the appropriations and some of the staff needed in

connection with future enlargement;

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• making provision for future developments in the area of information and

communication policy:

- updating the medium-term strategy,

- optimising use of the facilities for visitors,

- broadening the scope for inviting visitors’ groups,

- earmarking resources for the House of European History;

• continuing to implement the multiannual programmes to rationalise and modernise

key parts of Parliament’s Administration:

- implementation of the three-year plan and medium-term strategy for

property policy,

- implementation of a new strategy in the ICT sector,

- optimising the resources allocated to the language services, by

making additional resources available in a targeted manner,

- conduct of an in-depth review of security;

• at this stage, it was necessary to authorise the creation of 177 new posts

directly linked to the following priority projects:

- 68 posts for staffing increases linked to the Lisbon Treaty,

- 62 posts in connection with the future enlargement,

- 17 posts in connection with DG INLO’s three-year plan,

- 30 posts to meet urgent operational needs which have not been

covered by means of redeployment,

and, parallel to this, note the redeployment of 20 other posts;

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• the posts in connection with career development planning, as outlined in Part I,

‘Staffing measures’ needed to be upgraded;

• for some items of expenditure, the nomenclature was to be brought into line with

the changes to the legal bases and the technical changes required;

- held a wide-ranging exchange of views on the issue, with the participation of Messrs

PITTELLA and VIDAL-QUADRAS, respectively Vice-Presidents with primary and

secondary responsibility for Parliament's budget, Mr WIELAND, Ms ROTH-

BEHRENDT, Vice-Presidents, Ms GERINGER de OEDENBERG, Quaestor, and Mr

ROUCEK and Ms DURANT, Vice-Presidents, who:

• thanked the Secretary-General for the work accomplished,

• focused on a number of points, including :

a) the part taken by Parliament's budget within Heading V of the multi-annual

financial framework (foreseen at 20.46% in 2011),

b) the need for the Policy Departments and the EP Library to be constantly upgraded,

more visible and easily accessible to Members and assistants,

c) the level of the secretarial assistance allowance, in order to provide each Member

with an additional assistant,

d) the House of European History,

e) the Visitors' Centre and the increase in the number of visitors that Members can

invite,

f) the amount of the Office holders' allowance,

g) the optimum use of resources allocated to multilingualism,

h) the Political Groups', DG INLO's, the Library of Parliament's and the Legal

Service's establishment plans,

i) the Medical Service,

j) the repercussions of the Union's possible enlargement to include Iceland,

k) appropriations allocated to EMAS;

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- heard Ms KOCH-MEHRIN, Vice-President:

• express serious concerns over the proposal to once more increase the

parliamentary assistance allowance and indicate the ALDE Group's opposition to

such a proposal,

• note her opposition to the proposal to extend the current arrangements concerning

entertainment and representation expenses for committee and delegation Chairs to

Members who are office-holders;

- heard the President:

• indicate that due consideration will be given to the comments made by Members,

• thank Messrs PITTELLA and VIDAL-QUADRAS, Vice-Presidents, the

Secretary-General and the Directorate-General for Finance for their work,

• recall that the final decision on this matter will be taken at a subsequent meeting of

the Bureau.

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7. European Parliament's contribution to the secretariat and the budget of the Euro-

Mediterranean Parliamentary Assembly (EMPA)

The Bureau

- took note of the following documents:

• a letter dated 19 February 2010 from Mr PITTELLA, Vice-President in charge of

EMPA, on the above-mentioned subject (PE 439.591/BUR and annex),

• a letter dated 8 March 2010 from Ms KRATSA-TSAGAROPOULOU, Vice-

President in charge of EMPA, supporting the proposals put forward by Mr.

PITTELLA (PE 439.673/BUR);

- heard Mr PITTELLA, Vice-President responsible for EMPA:

• elaborate on the proposals adopted by the EMPA Bureau concerning the

Assembly's permanent secretariat and budget and outline Parliament's

contribution thereof as follows:

(a) to the EMPA budget: EUR 176 319, as from the 2011 financial year,

(b) to the EMPA secretariat:

- creation, in Parliament's establishment plan, of one AD and one

AST post, to be made available to the EMPA secretariat for a

period of two years, renewable once, starting from 1 May 2010,

- location of the EMPA secretariat on Parliament's premises in

Brussels, by putting at its disposal six offices (four offices for the

four AD and two offices for the four AST staff members foreseen)

and provision of the necessary logistical facilities (telephones,

computers, fax machine, etc),

• indicate that the officials from the south of the Mediterranean, who will

be part of EMPA's secretariat, will have the same status as diplomats and

will not have direct access to Parliament's IT system;

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- heard Ms ROTH-BEHRENDT, Vice-President:

• approve the budgetary aspects of the proposals,

• emphasise that she had concerns in connection with the various security

aspects related to permitting representatives of third countries on

Parliament's premises;

- heard Ms WALLIS, Vice-President, support Mr PITTELLA's proposals and request

that, at a future meeting, Parliament's proposed contribution to EMPA be compared

with that made to other geographical groupings, such as the Northern Dimension and

the Nordic Region;

- heard Mr MARTÍNEZ-MARTÍNEZ, Vice-President, indicate that, while he could

understand Ms ROTH-BERENDT's concerns, he was not of the opinion that the

presence of two third-country representatives would cause security problems for the

Institution;

- heard Mr WIELAND, Vice-President, share Ms ROTH-BEHRENDT's concerns

regarding the various security aspects;

- heard Mr PITTELLA indicate that, following the approval by the EMPA plenary

(expected on 13-14 March 2010, in Amman), of the Assembly's proposed permanent

secretariat and budget, all necessary guarantees will be taken in order to obviate the

concerns expressed;

- took a decision of principle on the proposal of establishing an EMPA-Secretariat,

including the Parliament's contribution to the EMPA's permanent Secretariat and

operational budget;

- decided to revert to this matter after the EMPA plenary, with a view to addressing

remaining practical issues, such as the location of the offices, security and IT

security measures to be taken.

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C. DECISIONS WITHOUT DEBATE

8. Establishment of an Artistic Committee - Proposed amendment to the Rules - Revised

proposal from Mr HIGGINS, Chair-in-Office of the Quaestors

The Bureau, without debate,

- took note of the afore-mentioned letter dated 3 March 2010, concerning the

modification of the rules governing donations and acquisition of works of art, with

regard to the composition of the Artistic Committee (PE 438.811/BUR/REV and

annex);

- endorsed the recommendation put forward by the Quaestors.

- Annex 1

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9. Provision of IT and telecommunications equipment to Members - Proposed amendment to

the Rules - Letter from Mr Higgins, Chair-in-Office of the Quaestors

The Bureau, without debate,

- took note of the afore-mentioned letter dated 18 February 2010 concerning

modification of the rules governing the provision of IT and Telecommunications

equipment to Members, with a view to providing local assistants with a generic e-

mail address and granting them remote access to the European Parliament's Intranet

site (PE 438.819/BUR and annexes);

- endorsed the recommendation put forward by the Quaestors.

- Annex 2

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10. Use of official cars -Proposed amendment to the Rules - Letter from Mr Higgins, Chair-in-

Office of the Quaestors

The Bureau,

- took note of the above-mentioned letter dated 2 March 2010, transmitting a draft

amendment to Article 3 c) of the "Rules governing the use of official cars by

Members of the European Parliament", as endorsed by the Quaestors at their meeting

of 10 February 2010 (respectively PE 438.818/BUR and annexes);

- heard Ms DURANT, Vice-President, indicate that priority should be given to

Members' requirements while official cars are allocated;

- adopted the amendment put forward by the Quaestors under the condition, that

priority is always given to Members.

- Annex 3

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11. Availability of the Chamber in Strasbourg for the City of Strasbourg for the European week of

biodiversity from 11 to 17 April 2010

The Bureau,

- took note of the following documents:

• a letter dated 14 January 2010 from the Mayor of Strasbourg, Mr RIES,

and the Chairman of "Réserves Naturelles de France", Mr

SCHWOEHRER, requesting authorisation for the use of

the Strasbourg Chamber on Friday, 16 April 2010, with a view to

holding a conference in the context of the European week of biodiversity

(PE 438.711/BUR and annexes),

• the opinions of the ENVI and REGI Committees (PE

438.711/BUR/Annex.1 and PE 438.711/BUR/Annex.2);

- noted that the conference will place special emphasis on the International Year of

Biodiversity 2010 and is expected to be attended by approximately 600 persons;

- noted that the requested date falls on a day with no parliamentary activity in

Strasbourg;

- recalled the Bureau decision of 19 October 2009, regarding fire safety in the

European Parliament's buildings in Strasbourg and the use of the LOW building,

which called for the "strictest possible enforcement of the temporary risk-reduction

measures during plenary sessions and decided on a ban on the public using the

relevant part of the LOW Building outside part-sessions";

- heard Mr VIDAL-QUADRAS, Vice-President responsible, support the afore-

mentioned request, in view of the positive opinions from the ENVI and REGI

Committees and of the organisers' willingness to bear the costs related to the fire

safety measures;

- decided, by way of exception and without creating a precedent, that authorisation to

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use the Strasbourg Chamber should be granted for this event, as the relevant criteria

have been met and provided that:

• the extra financial costs deriving from the additional fire safety measures

and all other costs of using the Chamber would be borne by the

organisers, as laid down in the rules,

• the final number of participants would be sufficiently large to make use

of the Chamber essential,

• the strictest fire safety measures, as imposed by the 'Commission de

Securité' would be applied.

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12. Delegation of the ENVI Committee to Spain from 22 to 24 March 2010 - Letter from Mr LEINEN,

Chair of the Committee concerned

The Bureau, without debate,

- took note of the above-mentioned letter dated 4 February 2010, requesting

authorisation for the sending of a four- member delegation to Spain for meetings with

the Spanish Presidency of the Council from 22 to 24 March 2010 (PE 438.779/BUR);

- noted that 24 March was a day set aside both for group meetings and for a part-

session;

- endorsed the favourable opinion put forward by the Conference of Presidents at its

meeting of 4 March 2010, authorising by way of exception the afore-mentioned

delegation, on the understanding that the Members concerned will be returning on

time for the opening of the part-session on 24 March 2010.

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13. Postponement from mid-February to 13 to 17 April 2010 (political group meetings week) of

the visit to Washington by a delegation from the Subcommittee on Security and Defence-

Letter from Mr DANJEAN, Chair of the Subcommittee concerned

The Bureau, without debate,

- noted the above-mentioned letter dated 27 January 2010, requesting authorisation for

the change of dates of the planned visit of four Members to the United States from

15-18 February 2010 (week set aside for external parliamentary activities) to 13-17

April 2010 (week set aside for group and committee meetings), with 16 April falling

on a 'white' Friday and 17 April on a Saturday (PE 438.741/BUR and annex);

- endorsed the favourable opinion put forward by the Conference of Presidents, at its

meeting of 4 March 2010, authorising by way of exception the afore-mentioned

delegation, the calendar being imposed by the US Congress.

PV BUR. 08.03.2010

PE 439.615/BUR 30/33

14. Request for authorisation to extend the duration of the visit to Brazil by a delegation from

the INTA Committee, currently scheduled to take place from 7 to 10 April 2010 - Draft

programme - Financial statement - Letter from Mr MOREIRA, Chair of the Committee

concerned

The Bureau, without debate,

- took note of the above-mentioned letter dated 28 January 2010, requesting that the

delegation to Brazil be granted both additional journey time and a special extension to

allow the delegation to take up four working days (PE 438.807/BUR and annexes);

- recalled that, pursuant to the rules in force, committee delegation missions should

take place during committee weeks and weeks set aside for external parliamentary

activities and may not exceed three days, including journey times, except in

exceptional cases where they may be granted up to two days' additional journey time;

- endorsed the favourable opinion put forward by the Conference of Presidents, at its

meeting of 4 March 2010 authorising by way of exception, the delegation to Brazil

from the Committee on International Trade to travel in part on days with no

parliamentary business;

- endorsed the opinion of the Conference of Presidents that, in application of the rules,

the delegation mission should be limited to three days, with two days' additional

journey time.

PV BUR. 08.03.2010

31/33 PE 439.615/BUR

15. Urgent matters and other business

PV BUR. 08.03.2010

PE 439.615/BUR 32/33

16. Items for information

The papers for the meeting include:

Interinstitutional mail

External mail

Internal mail - took note of a letter from Ms WALLIS (PE 439.659/BUR) on her visit to Iceland.

PV BUR. 08.03.2010

33/33 PE 439.615/BUR

17. Date and place of next meeting

The Bureau

- decided to hold its next meeting on. Wednesday, 24 March 2010, from 18:00 to

20:00 hours, in Room 6B 01, Paul Henri Spaak Building in Brussels.

*

* *

The meeting closed at 21.25