Rule 35a : Unofficial groupings

1.   Individual Members may form unofficial groupings for the purpose of holding informal exchanges of views on specific issues across different political groups, drawing on members of different parliamentary committees, and of promoting contact between Members and civil society.

2.   Unofficial groupings shall be fully transparent in their actions. They shall not engage in any activities which might result in confusion with the official activities of Parliament or of its bodies. In particular, they shall not use the name or the logo of Parliament. They may not organise events in third countries that coincide with a mission of an official Parliament body, including an official election observation delegation. Members participating in unofficial groupings shall proactively disclose to external interlocutors that they are acting in their capacity as individual Members.

3.   A political group may facilitate the activities of unofficial groupings by providing them with logistical support, except in the case of unofficial groupings related to third countries for which a standing interparliamentary delegation as referred to in Rule 223 exists.

Unofficial groupings related to third countries for which a standing interparliamentary delegation as referred to in Rule 223 exists shall not benefit from any facilities of Parliament for their activities.

The relation to the third country may result from the name or the activities of the unofficial grouping.

4.   Unofficial groupings shall be required to declare, by the end of the following month, any support, including in cash or in kind. In the absence of such a declaration, the Chair of the grouping or, if the grouping has no Chair, any Member participating in it shall declare the support within 10 working days following the expiry of that deadline.

5.   Interest representatives may only participate in unofficial grouping activities organised on Parliament’s premises, for instance by attending meetings or events of the unofficial grouping, by offering support to it, or by co-hosting its events, if they are entered in the transparency register.

6.   The Quaestors shall keep a public register of the declarations referred to in paragraph 4 and of the unofficial groupings that have submitted them. The Bureau shall adopt detailed rules on that register and on those declarations and their publication on Parliament’s website.

7.   The Quaestors shall ensure the effective enforcement of this Rule.

8.   In the event of a breach of this Rule, the Quaestors may impose on the unofficial grouping a ban on using Parliament’s facilities for a period which may not exceed the remainder of the parliamentary term.