Extending Rule 168 of Parliament's Rules of Procedure until the end of the 10th parliamentary term

European Parliament decision of 12 March 2024 extending Rule 168 of Parliament’s Rules of Procedure until the end of the tenth parliamentary term (2024/2565(RSO))

The European Parliament,

– having regard to Article 342 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union,

– having regard to Council Regulation No 1 of 15 April 1958 determining the languages to be used by the European Economic Community,

– having regard to the Code of Conduct on Multilingualism adopted by the Bureau on 1 July 2019,

– having regard to its decision of 12 March 2019 extending the applicability of Rule 168 of Parliament’s Rules of Procedure until the end of the ninth parliamentary term and the subsequent decisions of the Bureau extending the derogation from Rule 167 until the end of this term,

– having regard to the recommendation from the Bureau of 5 February 2024,

– having regard to Rules 167 and 168 of its Rules of Procedure,

A. whereas, pursuant to Rule 167, all Parliament’s documents are to be drawn up in the official languages, and all Members have the right to speak in Parliament in the official language of their choice, with interpretation being provided into the other official languages;

B. whereas, under Rule 168, derogations from Rule 167 are permissible until the end of the ninth parliamentary term if and to the extent that, despite adequate precautions having been taken, interpreters or translators required for an official language are not available in sufficient numbers; whereas, with respect to each official language for which a derogation is considered necessary, the Bureau, on a proposal from the Secretary-General and having due regard to any temporary special arrangements adopted by the Council on the basis of the Treaties concerning the drafting of legal acts, is required to ascertain whether the conditions are fulfilled and to review its decision every six months;

C. whereas the derogation in respect of Irish as regards legal acts of general application laid down in Council Regulation (EC) No 920/2005 lapsed as from 1 January 2022;

D. whereas, despite all adequate precautions, capacity in Irish and Maltese is not expected to be such as to allow a full interpretation service in those languages from the beginning of the tenth parliamentary term;

E. whereas, despite sustained and continuous interinstitutional efforts and considerable progress, the number of qualified translators is still expected to be so limited as regards Irish that, for the foreseeable future, full coverage of that language under Rule 167 cannot be assured for documents other than legal acts of general application;

F. whereas Rule 168(4) provides that, on the basis of a reasoned recommendation from the Bureau, Parliament may decide, at the end of the parliamentary term, to extend that Rule;

G. whereas, in the light of the foregoing, the Bureau has recommended that Rule 168 be extended until the end of the tenth parliamentary term;

1. Decides to extend Rule 168 of Parliament’s Rules of Procedure until the end of the tenth parliamentary term;

2. Instructs its President to forward this decision to the Council and the Commission for information.