4. Interpretation of the Rules of Procedure

The President informed Parliament, under Rule 211(3), of the following interpretations of Rules 51 and 192, provided by the Committee on Constitutional Affairs, which had been consulted on the application of these provisions:

Interpretation of Rule 51:

"This Rule can be applied to the procedure leading to a recommendation to approve or reject the conclusion of an international agreement pursuant to Rules 90(5) and 81(1) provided that the conditions set out in it are fulfilled."

Interpretation of Rule 192:

"Non-attached Members do not constitute a political group within the meaning of Rule30 and they cannot therefore designate coordinators, who are the only Members entitled to attend coordinator meetings.

The function of coordinator meetings is to prepare committee decisions and they may not replace committee meetings without explicit delegation. Hence ex-ante delegation is required for decisions taken at coordinator meetings. In the absence of such delegation, coordinators may only adopt recommendations requiring formal ex-post approval by the committee.

In all cases, non-attached Members must be guaranteed access to information, in accordance with the principle of non-discrimination, through the supply of information and the presence of a member of the non-attached Members’ secretariat at coordinator meetings."

If these interpretations were not objected to by a political group or at least 40 Members (Rule 211(4)) prior to adoption of the minutes of the current sitting, they would be deemed to have been adopted. In the event of objections, they would be put to the vote in Parliament.