Debates

Wednesday, 30 November 2011 - Brussels

12. Order of business

  President. – Ladies and gentlemen, the final draft agenda as drawn up pursuant to Rule 137 of the Rules of Procedure by the Conference of Presidents has been distributed. We have consulted the political groups, and in accordance with these consultations and with the full support of all the political groups I would like to give you details of the final changes and the draft agenda:

Wednesday 30 November/Brussels part-session:

The two reports by Mr Rapkay on the request for defence of the parliamentary immunity of Mr Uspaskich will be the subject of a joint debate as the first item on the agenda following establishment of the order of business, and so almost immediately.

Thursday 1 December/Brussels part-session:

The oral question on the EU global response to HIV/AIDS will be replaced by a Commission statement on the subject.

The report by Mr Rapkay on the request for defence of the parliamentary immunity of Mr de Magistris will be introduced at voting time.

Voting time will be extended to 14.00. This is a very important point: voting time will be extended to 14.00.

These changes have been agreed by all the political groups.

(The order of business was thus established)

  Peter van Dalen (ECR). - (NL) Mr President, thank you for allowing me to respond briefly to the items you mentioned. You have just mentioned Egypt. I attended the elections in Cairo myself, together with representatives from the Carter Institute who monitored the elections. I personally witnessed a number of irregularities. I will write a letter about that, for your attention, in which I will report on the irregularities, so that these concerns can either be addressed by the appropriate committee or passed on, by you, to the Egyptian authorities. I will fill you in on that in writing, though.

  President. – Thank you very much for that information. We will be glad to make use of the kind of observation you have made.

  Joseph Daul (PPE). – (FR) Mr President, am I right in thinking that tomorrow’s vote will only take place at 14.00?

  President. – No, no, no. It can continue until 14.00. It is starting earlier, but it can carry on for longer, because this also includes all the explanations of vote, and so it is not just the voting procedure itself, but all the explanations, which usually last about an hour. So I would like to make this clear: everyone will be able to give their explanations of vote if they give notice of their intention to do so.

  Sergio Paolo Francesco Silvestris (PPE). – (IT) Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, like Mr Daul, I did not understand properly either: all this is to be debated tomorrow during the vote on the request for defence of the immunity of Mr de Magistris, who, I might add, is no longer a Member of this House. In other words, if I am right, we shall be debating the immunity of a non-MEP during tomorrow’s vote. I just wanted to get that straight.

  President. – Mr Silvestris, this is in accordance with the applicable rules. We have to hold a discussion, because this is what we have to do if we want to act in accordance with the Rules of Procedure.

  Bernd Posselt (PPE). – (DE) Mr President, one of the most important votes of this parliamentary term will take place tomorrow, namely the legally valid and binding vote on the accession of Croatia, for which we require a qualified majority. I would ask you to ensure that this vote is scheduled for a time – as close to the start of voting time as possible – that will enable this House to achieve a qualified majority. I will be there in any case, because this is one of the most important votes of this parliamentary term.

  President. − Ladies and gentlemen, our voting time is at 12.00 as usual and it will probably be one of the first votes. Today, we have the discussion on the future membership of Croatia. Thank you for this remark: in the voting we should prepare for a qualified majority vote – if we agree, of course.

  Sergio Paolo Francesco Silvestris (PPE). – (IT) Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, clearly, what we are going to do tomorrow complies with the Rules of Procedure. There is just one thing that deeply concerns me, and that is why I am taking the liberty of addressing you now, to have your full understanding: since the debate that will be held during tomorrow’s vote on the request for defence of the immunity of Mr de Magistris could require many of us to take the floor, I would not like the fact that it is being held during the vote to be a reason for cutting it short.

Please ensure that there is sufficient time for the catch-the-eye procedure, because many of us – myself included – might wish to take the floor; the debate could be too short if it is closed during the vote. Therefore, in accordance with Parliament’s Rules of Procedure, Mr President, please ensure that there is sufficient time for the catch-the-eye procedure on this debate, because many of us might think it useful or necessary to take the floor.

  President. – I would like to assure you that this matter will be settled in the right way and there need be no fears that not all the conditions stipulated in the Rules of Procedure will be met. Please do not worry about that.

(The sitting was suspended at 15.15 and resumed at 15.55)