The European Parliament,

–  having regard to the letter from its President of 18 April 2011,

–  having regard to Rules 211 and 212 of its Rules of Procedure,

–  having regard to the report of the Committee on Constitutional Affairs and the opinion of the Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs (A7-0281/2012),

1.  Decides to amend its Rules of Procedure as shown below;

2.  Points out that the amendments will enter into force on the first day of the next part-session;

3.  Instructs its President to forward this decision to the Council and the Commission, for information.

Present text   Amendment Amendment 1 Parliament's Rules of Procedure Rule 70 – paragraph 1 1.  Negotiations with the other institutions aimed at reaching an agreement in the course of a legislative procedure shall be conducted having regard to the Code of Conduct for negotiating in the context of the ordinary legislative procedure. 1.  Negotiations with the other institutions aimed at reaching an agreement in the course of a legislative procedure shall be conducted having regard to the Code of Conduct laid down by the Conference of Presidents. Amendment 13 Parliament's Rules of Procedure Rule 70 – paragraph 2 2.   Before entering into such negotiations, the committee responsible should, in principle, take a decision by a majority of its members and adopt a mandate, orientations or priorities. 2.  Such negotiations shall not be entered into prior to the adoption by the committee responsible, on a case-by-case basis for every legislative procedure concerned and by a majority of its members, of a decision on the opening of negotiations. That decision shall determine the mandate and the composition of the negotiating team. Such decisions shall be notified to the President, who shall keep the Conference of Presidents informed on a regular basis. Amendment 3 Parliament's Rules of Procedure Rule 70 – paragraph 2 – subparagraph 1 a(new) The mandate shall consist of a report adopted in committee and tabled for later consideration by Parliament. By way of exception, where the committee responsible considers it duly justified to enter into negotiations prior to the adoption of a report in committee, the mandate may consist of a set of amendments or a set of clearly defined objectives, priorities or orientations. Amendment 4 Parliament's Rules of Procedure Rule 70 – paragraph 2 a (new) 2a.  The negotiating team shall be led by the rapporteur and presided over by the Chair of the committee responsible or by a Vice-Chair designated by the Chair. It shall comprise at least the shadow rapporteurs from each political group. Amendments 5 and 18 Parliament's Rules of Procedure Rule 70 – paragraph 2 b (new) 2b.  Any document intended to be discussed in a meeting with the Council and the Commission (‘trilogue’) shall take the form of a document indicating the respective positions of the institutions involved and possible compromise solutions and shall be circulated to the negotiating team at least 48 hours, or in cases of urgency at least 24 hours, in advance of the trilogue in question. After each trilogue the negotiating team shall report back to the following meeting of the committee responsible. Documents reflecting the outcome of the last trilogue shall be made available to the committee. Where it is not feasible to convene a meeting of the committee in a timely manner, the negotiating team shall report back to the Chair, the shadow rapporteurs and the coordinators of the committee, as appropriate. The committee responsible may update the mandate in the light of the progress of the negotiations. Amendment 6 Parliament's Rules of Procedure Rule 70 – paragraph 3 3.  If the negotiations lead to a compromise with the Council following the adoption of the report by the committee, the committee shall in any case be reconsulted before the vote in plenary. 3.  If the negotiations lead to a compromise, the committee responsible shall be informed without delay. The agreed text shall be submitted to the committee responsible for consideration. If approved by a vote in committee, the agreed text shall be tabled for consideration by Parliament in the appropriate form, including compromise amendments. It may be presented as a consolidated text provided that it clearly displays the modifications to the proposal for a legislative act under consideration. Amendment 7 Parliament's Rules of Procedure Rule 70 – paragraph 3 a (new) 3a.  Where the procedure involves associated committees or joint committee meetings, Rules 50 and 51 shall apply to the decision on the opening of negotiations and to the conduct of such negotiations. In the event of disagreement between the committees concerned, the modalities for the opening of negotiations and the conduct of such negotiations shall be determined by the Chair of the Conference of Committee Chairs in accordance with the principles set out in those Rules. Amendment 8 Parliament's Rules of Procedure Rule 70 a (new) – title Rule 70a Approval of a decision on the opening of interinstitutional negotiations prior to the adoption of a report in committee Amendment 9 Parliament's Rules of Procedure Rule 70 a (new) – paragraph 1 1.  Any decision by a committee on the opening of negotiations prior to the adoption of a report in committee shall be translated into all the official languages, distributed to all Members of Parliament and submitted to the Conference of Presidents. At the request of a political group, the Conference of Presidents may decide to include the item, for consideration with a debate and vote, in the draft agenda of the part-session following the distribution, in which case the President shall set a deadline for the tabling of amendments. In the absence of a decision by the Conference of Presidents to include the item in the draft agenda of that part-session, the decision on the opening of negotiations shall be announced by the President at the opening of that part-session. Amendment 16 Parliament's Rules of Procedure Rule 70 a (new) – paragraph 2 2.  The item shall be included in the draft agenda of the part-session following the announcement for consideration with a debate and vote, and the President shall set a deadline for the tabling of amendments where a political group or at least 40 Members so request within 48 hours after the announcement. Otherwise, the decision on the opening of the negotiations shall be deemed to be approved.