Bernard Wojciechowski had joined the IND/DEM Group with effect from 29.03.2007.
3. Documents received
The following documents had been received:
1) from the Council and Commission
- Proposal for a directive of the European Parliament and of the Council amending Council Directive 78/855/EEC concerning mergers of public limited liability companies and Council Directive 82/891/EEC concerning the division of public limited companies as regards the requirement for an independent expert's report on the occasion of a merger or a division (COM(2007)0091 - C6-0082/2007 - 2007/0035(COD))
referred to
responsible :
JURI
opinion :
ECON
- Proposal for a regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council amending Regulation No 11 concerning the abolition of discrimination in transport rates and conditions, in implementation of Article 79 (3) of the Treaty establishing the European Economic Community and Regulation (EC) No 852/2004 of the European Parliament and the Council on the hygiene of foodstuffs (COM(2007)0090 - C6-0086/2007 - 2007/0037(COD))
referred to
responsible :
TRAN
opinion :
ENVI
- Proposal for a Council directive on the marketing of fruit plant propagating material and fruit plants intended for fruit production (Recast version) (COM(2007)0031 - C6-0093/2007 - 2007/0014(CNS))
referred to
responsible :
AGRI
- Proposal for a Council regulation on the conclusion of a Fisheries Partnership Agreement between the Democratic Republic of São Tomé and Príncipe and the European Community (COM(2007)0085 - C6-0098/2007 - 2007/0034(CNS))
referred to
responsible :
PECH
opinion :
DEVE, BUDG
- Council recommendation concerning the discharge to be given to the Commission in respect of the implementation of the operations of the European Development Fund (Sixth EDF) for the financial year 2005 (06061/2007 - C6-0094/2007 - 2006/2169(DEC))
referred to
responsible :
CONT
opinion :
DEVE, BUDG
- Council recommendation concerning the discharge to be given to the Commission in respect of the implementation of the operations of the European Development Fund (Seventh EDF) for the financial year 2005 (06062/2007 - C6-0095/2007 - 2006/2169(DEC))
referred to
responsible :
CONT
opinion :
DEVE, BUDG
- Council recommendation concerning the discharge to be given to the Commission in respect of the implementation of the operations of the European Development Fund (Eighth EDF) for the financial year 2005 (06063/2007 - C6-0096/2007 - 2006/2169(DEC))
referred to
responsible :
CONT
opinion :
DEVE, BUDG
- Council recommendation concerning the discharge to be given to the Commission in respect of the implementation of the operations of the European Development Fund (Ninth EDF) for the financial year 2005 (06064/2007 - C6-0097/2007 - 2006/2169(DEC))
referred to
responsible :
CONT
opinion :
DEVE, BUDG
4. Texts of agreements forwarded by the Council
The Council had forwarded a certified true copy of the following:
Protocol to the Euro-Mediterranean Agreement between the European Communities and their Member States, of the one part, and the State of Israel, of the other part, to take account of the accession of the Czech Republic, the Republic of Estonia, the Republic of Cyprus, the Republic of Hungary, the Republic of Latvia, the Republic of Lithuania, the Republic of Malta, the Republic of Poland, the Republic of Slovenia, and the Slovak Republic to the European Union
5. Prospects for the EU's Common Foreign Policy in 2007, including the deployment of anti-missile defence systems in Europe by the United States (debate)
Statement by the High Representative for CFSP: Prospects for the EU's Common Foreign Policy in 2007, including the deployment of anti-missile defence systems in Europe by the United States
Javier Solana (High Representative) made the statement.
The President expressed Parliament's solidarity with the 15 British sailors being held in Iran.
Meglena Kuneva (Member of the Commission) spoke.
The following spoke: Joseph Daul, on behalf of the PPE-DE Group, Martin Schulz, on behalf of the PSE Group, Graham Watson, on behalf of the ALDE Group, Konrad Szymański, on behalf of the UEN Group, Daniel Cohn-Bendit, on behalf of the Verts/ALE Group, Francis Wurtz, on behalf of the GUE/NGL Group, Bastiaan Belder, on behalf of the IND/DEM Group, Daniela Buruiană-Aprodu, on behalf of the ITS Group, Jana Bobošíková, Non-attached Member, José Ignacio Salafranca Sánchez-Neyra, Jan Marinus Wiersma, Annemie Neyts-Uyttebroeck, Ģirts Valdis Kristovskis, Angelika Beer, Jiří Maštálka, Gerard Batten, Ashley Mote, Roger Helmer, Karl von Wogau, Véronique De Keyser, István Szent-Iványi, Mirosław Mariusz Piotrowski, Dimitrios Papadimoulis, Alessandro Battilocchio, Jacek Saryusz-Wolski, Hannes Swoboda, Anneli Jäätteenmäki, Seán Ó Neachtain, Charles Tannock, Ana Maria Gomes, Jan Zahradil, Libor Rouček, Stefano Zappalà, Adrian Severin, Elmar Brok, Justas Vincas Paleckis, Bogdan Klich, Giulietto Chiesa, Roberta Alma Anastase, Andrzej Jan Szejna, Jana Hybášková and Javier Solana.
The debate closed.
IN THE CHAIR: Alejo VIDAL-QUADRAS Vice-President
6. Approval of Minutes of previous sitting
Jan Mulder had informed the Presidency that he had been present but that his name was not on the attendance register.
The Minutes of the previous sitting were approved.
7. Verification of the credentials of the new Members of the European Parliament
Giuseppe Gargani, Chairman of the JURI Committee, gave an oral report giving the committee's proposal in respect of the verification of the credentials of the Bulgarian and Romanian Members (Minutes of 15.01.2007, Item 1 and Minutes of 15.01.2007, Item 3, and Annex 1 to that day's Minutes) and of Göran Färm, Søren Bo Søndergaard and Wolfgang Bulfon.
Parliament decided to confirm the validity of the mandates of the Members concerned.
8. Voting time
Details of voting (amendments, separate and split votes, etc.) appear in the 'Results of votes' annex to the Minutes.
8.1. Mediation in civil and commercial matters ***I (Rule 131) (vote)
Report on the proposal for a directive of the European Parliament and of the Council on certain aspects of mediation in civil and commercial matters [COM(2004)0718 - C6-0154/2004 - 2004/0251(COD)] - Committee on Legal Affairs. Rapporteur: Arlene McCarthy (A6-0074/2007)
(Simple majority)
(Voting record: 'Results of votes', Item 1)
COMMISSION PROPOSAL, AMENDMENTS and DRAFT LEGISLATIVE RESOLUTION
Arlene McCarthy (rapporteur) made a statement pursuant to Rule 131(4).
8.2. Community participation in the capital increase of the European Investment Fund * (Rule 131) (vote)
Report on the proposal for a Council decision on the Community participation in the capital increase of the European Investment Fund [COM(2006)0621 - C6-0426/2006 - 2006/0203(CNS)] - Committee on Budgets. Rapporteur: Esko Seppänen (A6-0065/2007)
8.3. Request for defence of the immunity of Giuseppe Gargani (Rule 131) (vote)
Report on the request for defence of the immunity and privileges of Giuseppe Gargani [2006/2300(IMM)] - Committee on Legal Affairs. Rapporteur: Diana Wallis (A6-0071/2007)
8.4. Review of the medical device directives ***I (vote)
Report on the proposal for a directive of the European Parliament and of the Council amending Council Directives 90/385/EEC and 93/42/EEC and Directive 98/8/EC of the European Parliament and the Council as regards the review of the medical device directives [COM(2005)0681 - C6-0006/2006 - 2005/0263(COD)] - Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety. Rapporteur: Thomas Ulmer (A6-0332/2006)
- Thomas Ulmer (rapporteur), who suggested a technical clarification for paragraph 4 and mentioned the split vote on paragraph 87.
8.5. Structural business statistics ***I (vote)
Report on the proposal for a regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council concerning structural business statistics [COM(2006)0066 - C6-0063/2006 - 2006/0020(COD)] - Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs. Rapporteur: Elisa Ferreira (A6-0062/2007)
- Reinhard Rack, on behalf of the PPE-DE Group, who requested during the vote that amendments 118 and 143 to 174 by the PSE Group be put to the vote collectively, and Hannes Swoboda, on behalf of the PSE Group, who agreed to the request.
8.6. Compliance with the obligations of Flag States ***I (vote)
Report on the proposal for a directive of the European Parliament and of the Council on compliance with flag State requirements [COM(2005)0586 - C6-0062/2006 - 2005/0236(COD)] - Committee on Transport and Tourism. Rapporteur: Marta Vincenzi (A6-0058/2007)
8.7. Civil liability and financial guarantees of shipowners ***I (vote)
Report on the proposal for a directive of the European Parliament and of the Council on the civil liability and financial guarantees of shipowners [COM(2005)0593 - C6-0039/2006 - 2005/0242(COD)] - Committee on Transport and Tourism. Rapporteur: Gilles Savary (A6-0055/2007)
8.8. Organic production and labelling of organic products * (vote)
Report on the proposal for a Council regulation on organic production and labelling of organic products [COM(2005)0671 - C6-0032/2006 - 2005/0278(CNS)] - Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development. Rapporteur: Marie-Hélène Aubert (A6-0061/2007)
Marie-Hélène Aubert (rapporteur) moved adjournment of the vote on the draft legislative resolution under Rule 53. Parliament agreed to the request. The matter was thereby deemed to be referred back to the committee responsible for reconsideration.
The following spoke on the vote:
- Roberta Angelilli, on behalf of the UEN Group, who withdrew her group's amendment 167 in favour of amendment 171.
8.9. Security at Football Matches * (vote)
Report on the initiative by the Republic of Austria with a view to the adoption of a Council decision amending Decision 2002/348/JHA concerning security in connection with football matches with an international dimension [10543/2006 - C6-0240/2006 - 2006/0806(CNS)] - Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs. Rapporteur: Giusto Catania (A6-0052/2007)
8.12. 2008 budget guidelines (Sections I, II, IV, V, VI, VII, VIII(A) and VIII(B)) (vote)
Report on the guidelines for the 2008 budget procedure - Sections II, IV, V, VI, VII, VIII and IX - and on the European Parliament's preliminary draft estimates (Section I) for the 2008 budget procedure [2007/2013(BUD)] - Committee on Budgets. Rapporteur: Ville Itälä (A6-0069/2007)
8.14. The integration of new Member States in the CAP (vote)
Report on the integration of the new Member States into the CAP [2006/2042(INI)] - Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development. Rapporteur: Csaba Sándor Tabajdi (A6-0037/2007)
Explanations of vote submitted in writing under Rule 163(3) appear in the Verbatim Report of Proceedings for the sitting.
Oral explanations of vote:
Report: Marta Vincenzi - A6-0058/2007: Bruno Gollnisch
Report: Marie-Hélène Aubert - A6-0061/2007: Richard Corbett
Report: Giusto Catania - A6-0052/2007: Andreas Mölzer
Report: Joost Lagendijk - A6-0067/2007: Eugen Mihăescu, Dimitar Stoyanov, Zita Pleštinská, Árpád Duka-Zólyomi and Andreas Mölzer
Report: Ville Itälä - A6-0069/2007: Astrid Lulling
Report: Alain Lamassoure - A6-0066/2007: Czesław Adam Siekierski
Report: Ivo Belet - A6-0036/2007: Jaroslav Zvěřina and Richard Corbett
Report: Csaba Sándor Tabajdi - A6-0037/2007: Danutė Budreikaitė
10. Corrections to votes and voting intentions
Corrections to votes and voting intentions appear on the 'Séance en direct' website under 'Votes'/'Results of votes'/ 'Roll-call votes'. They are published in hard copy in the 'Result of roll-call votes' annex.
The electronic version on Europarl will be regularly updated for a maximum of two weeks after the day of the vote concerned.
After the two-week deadline has passed, the list of corrections to votes and voting intentions will be finalised so that it can be translated and published in the Official Journal.
Francesco Musotto had informed the Chair of the following voting intentions:
The President announced, pursuant to Rule 57(1), that the following common positions had been received from the Council, together with the reasons which had led to their adoption, and the Commission's position on:
- Common position adopted by the Council on 22 March 2007 with a view to the adoption of a Decision of the European Parliament and of the Council establishing a second programme of Community action in the field of health (2007 2013) (16369/2/2006 - C6-0100/2007 - 2005/0042A(COD)) referred to responsible: ENVI
- Common position adopted by the Council on 22 March 2007 with a view to the adoption of a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council laying down general rules for the granting of Community financial aid in the field of the trans European transport and energy networks (17032/2/2006 - C6-0101/2007 - 2004/0154(COD)) referred to responsible: BUDG
The three-month period available to Parliament to adopt its position would therefore begin the following day, 30.03.2007.
12. Membership of interparliamentary delegations
At the request of the PPE-DE, PSE, UEN, Verts/ALE and GUE/NGL Groups, Parliament ratified the following appointments:
Delegation for relations with Mercosur
- Alejo Vidal-Quadras, Cristian Dumitrescu, Luis Yañez-Barnuevo García, Leopold Józef Rutowicz, Gérard Onesta and Søren Bo Søndergaard
- Albert Deß and Charlotte Cederschiöld were no longer members.
Delegation for relations with the Gulf States, including Yemen
- Albert Deß
Delegation to the EU-Russia Parliamentary Cooperation Committee
- Charlotte Cederschiöld to replace Béla Glattfelder
13. Membership of Parliament
Titus Corlăţean had given notice in writing of his resignation as Member of Parliament, with effect from 09.03.2007.
Under Rule 4(1), Parliament established the vacancy with effect from that date and informed the national authority concerned thereof.
The Romanian authorities had given notice of the appointment of Vasile Puşcaş to replace Titus Corlăţean as Member of Parliament with effect from 09.03.2007.
Under Rule 3(2), until such time as his credentials had been verified or a ruling had been given on any dispute, and provided that he had previously made a written declaration stating that he did not hold any office incompatible with that of Member of the European Parliament, Vasile Puşcaş would take his seat in Parliament and on its bodies and would enjoy all the rights attaching thereto.
14. Forwarding of texts adopted during the sitting
Pursuant to Rule 172(2), the Minutes of that day's sitting would be submitted to Parliament for its approval at the beginning of the next sitting.
With Parliament's agreement, the texts that had been adopted would be forwarded forthwith to the bodies named therein.
15. Dates for next sittings
The next sittings would be held from 23.04.2007 to 26.04.2007.
16. Adjournment of session
The session of the European Parliament was adjourned.