9. Agenda

CRE

The order of business had been established (Minutes of 13.03.2006, Item 15) and a corrigendum to the agenda had been distributed (PE 369.607/OJ/COR).

The following spoke: Martin Schulz, on behalf of the PSE Group, who requested, under Rules 103 and 130 of the Rules of Procedure, that a Commission statement on the situation in Belarus be included on the agenda for the next part-session (the President replied that the Conference of Presidents, which was responsible for setting the agenda, would discuss the matter at its next meeting).

The following spoke on the request: Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert, on behalf of the ALDE Group, who proposed that a debate on Belarus be held either that day or the following day (the President reminded her of the provisions of Rule 132(1), and stated that he could not agree to her request), Mario Borghezio, who mentioned the procedure via which 11 Members had been excluded from the IND/DEM Group (see Minutes of 16.03.2006, Item 2) (the President replied that it was an internal matter for the IND/DEM Group), Kathalijne Maria Buitenweg, who urged that Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert's request be put to the vote (the President replied that he was obliged to comply with the Rules), Hans-Gert Poettering, on behalf of the PPE-DE Group, who requested that a debate be added to the following day's agenda, Martin Schulz, on behalf of the PSE Group, who supported Hans-Gert Poettering's request but also expressed reservations over the procedure being followed, Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert, who pointed out that she was collecting the 37 signatures required to request that a debate be included on the agenda, Miloslav Ransdorf, Daniel Cohn-Bendit, Graham Watson and Hans-Gert Poettering.

The President indicated that if a request signed by 37 Members to include the item on the following day's agenda was submitted to the Presidency that evening, Parliament would vote on that request at the beginning of the sitting.

The agenda was thus established.