20.3.2008   

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

CE 74/1

MINUTES

(2008/C 74 E/01)

PROCEEDINGS OF THE SITTING

IN THE CHAIR: Hans-Gert PÖTTERING

President

1.   Resumption of session

The sitting opened at 17.00.

2.   Approval of Minutes of previous sitting

The Minutes of the previous sitting were approved.

3.   Statements by the President

On behalf of Parlaiment, the President condemned the murders on 18 April 2007 of three workers at a Christian publishing house in Malatya (Turkey). He called on the Turkish authorities to do their utmost to bring those responsible to justice.

*

* *

The President pointed out that Boris Yeltsin, the former President of Russia, had died that day. The President passed on Parliament's condolences to the Russian people.

4.   Documents received

The following documents had been received:

1)

from committees:

1.1)

reports:

—

* Report on the proposal for a Council decision on the conclusion of the Multilateral Agreement between the Republic of Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Republic of Bulgaria, the Republic of Croatia, the European Community, the Republic of Iceland, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, the Kingdom of Norway, Serbia and Montenegro, Romania and the United Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo on the Establishment of a European Common Aviation Area (ECAA) (COM(2006)0113 — C6-0218/2006 — 2006/0036(CNS)) — TRAN Committee.

Rapporteur: Eva Lichtenberger (A6-0060/2007)

—

***I Report on the proposal for a regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on the liability of carriers of passengers by sea and inland waterways in the event of accidents (COM(2005)0592 — C6-0057/2006 — 2005/0241(COD)) — TRAN Committee.

Rapporteur: Paolo Costa (A6-0063/2007)

—

***I Report on the proposal for a directive of the European Parliament and of the Council on common rules and standards for ship inspection and survey organizations and for the relevant activities of maritime administrations (COM(2005)0587 — C6-0038/2006 — 2005/0237(COD)) — TRAN Committee.

Rapporteur: Luis de Grandes Pascual (A6-0070/2007)

—

* Report on the proposal for a Council regulation opening tariff quotas for imports into Bulgaria and Romania of raw cane sugar for supply to refineries in the marketing years 2006/2007, 2007/2008 and 2008/2009 (COM(2006)0798 — C6-0003/2007 — 2006/0261(CNS)) — AGRI Committee.

Rapporteur: Friedrich-Wilhelm Graefe zu Baringdorf (A6-0072/2007)

—

***I Report on the amended proposal for a directive of the European Parliament and of the Council on criminal measures aimed at ensuring the enforcement of intellectual property rights (COM(2006)0168 — C6-0233/2005 — 2005/0127(COD)) — JURI Committee.

Rapporteur: Nicola Zingaretti (A6-0073/2007)

—

Report on the situation of women with disabilities in the European Union (2006/2277(INI)) — FEMM Committee.

Rapporteur: Esther Herranz García (A6-0075/2007)

—

Report on Public Finances in EMU 2006 (2007/2004(INI)) — ECON Committee.

Rapporteur: Kurt Joachim Lauk (A6-0076/2007)

—

***I Report on the proposal for a regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council establishing common rules for the provision of basic information on Purchasing Power Parities and for their calculation and dissemination (COM(2006)0135 — C6-0100/2006 — 2006/0042(COD)) — ECON Committee.

Rapporteur: Sharon Bowles (A6-0077/2007)

—

* Report on the proposal for a Council decision amending Decision 2004/585/EC establishing Regional Advisory Councils under the Common Fisheries Policy (COM(2006)0732 — C6-0051/2007 — 2006/0240(CNS)) — PECH Committee.

Rapporteur: Elspeth Attwooll (A6-0078/2007)

—

***I Report on the proposal for a directive of the European Parliament and of the Council establishing the fundamental principles governing the investigation of accidents in the maritime transport sector and amending Directives 1999/35/EC and 2002/59/EC (COM(2005)0590 — C6-0056/2006 — 2005/0240(COD)) — TRAN Committee.

Rapporteur: Jaromír Kohlíček (A6-0079/2007)

—

***I Report on the proposal for a directive of the European Parliament and of the Council on improving the portability of supplementary pension rights (COM(2005)0507 — C6-0331/2005 — 2005/0214(COD)) — EMPL Committee.

Rapporteur: Ria Oomen-Ruijten (A6-0080/2007)

—

***I Report on the proposal for a directive of the European Parliament and of the Council on port State control (recast) (COM(2005)0588 — C6-0028/2006 — 2005/0238(COD)) — TRAN Committee.

Rapporteur: Dominique Vlasto (A6-0081/2007)

—

* Report on the draft Council decision adapting the provisions concerning the Court of Justice in fields covered by Title IV of Part Three of the Treaty establishing the European Community (COM(2006)0346 — C6-0304/2006 — 2006/0808(CNS)) — JURI Committee.

Rapporteur: József Szájer (A6-0082/2007)

—

* Report on the proposal for a Council regulation introducing a scheme to compensate for the additional costs incurred in the marketing of certain fishery products from the Azores, Madeira, the Canary Islands, and the French departments of Guiana and Réunion from 2007 to 2013 (COM(2006)0740 — C6-0505/2006 — 2006/0247(CNS)) — PECH Committee.

Rapporteur: Duarte Freitas (A6-0083/2007)

—

* Report on the proposal for a Council regulation amending Regulation (EC) No 2371/2002 on the conservation and sustainable exploitation of fisheries resources under the Common Fisheries Policy (COM(2006)0587 — C6-0402/2006 — 2006/0190(CNS)) — PECH Committee.

Rapporteur: Ioannis Gklavakis (A6-0085/2007)

—

***I Report on the proposal for a directive of the European Parliament and of the Council amending Directive 2002/59/EC establishing a Community vessel traffic monitoring and information system (COM(2005)0589 — C6-0004/2006 — 2005/0239(COD)) — TRAN Committee.

Rapporteur: Dirk Sterckx (A6-0086/2007)

—

Report on the consequences of future enlargements on the effectiveness of cohesion policy (2006/2107(INI)) — REGI Committee.

Rapporteur: Markus Pieper (A6-0087/2007)

—

Report on combating HIV/AIDS within the European Union and in the neighbouring countries, 2006-2009 (2006/2232(INI)) — ENVI Committee.

Rapporteur: Georgs Andrejevs (A6-0091/2007)

—

Report on Croatia's 2006 progress report (2006/2288(INI)) — AFET Committee.

Rapporteur: Hannes Swoboda (A6-0092/2007)

—

* Report on the proposal for a Council decision on the conclusion of the Agreement between the European Community and the Government of Malaysia on certain aspects of air services (COM(2006)0619 — C6-0004/2007 — 2006/0202(CNS)) — TRAN Committee.

Rapporteur: Paolo Costa (A6-0093/2007)

—

Report on the discharge for implementation of the European Union general budget for the financial year 2005, Section I — European Parliament (SEC(2006)0915 [[02]] — C6-0465/2006 — 2006/2071(DEC)) — CONT Committee.

Rapporteur: Bart Staes (A6-0094/2007)

—

Report on the discharge for implementation ot the European Union general budget for the financial year 2005 — Section III — Commission (SEC(2006)0915 [[01]] — C6-0262/2006 — 2006/2070(DEC)) — CONT Committee.

Rapporteur: Salvador Garriga Polledo (A6-0095/2007)

—

Report on the discharge for the implementation of the budget of the European Centre for the Development of Vocational Training for the financial year 2005 (N6-0021/2006 — C6-0386/2006 — 2006/2153(DEC)) — CONT Committee.

Rapporteur: Edit Herczog (A6-0097/2007)

—

Report on the discharge for implementation of the budget of the European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions for the financial year 2005 (N6-0022/2006 — C6-0387/2006 — 2006/2154(DEC)) — CONT Committee.

Rapporteur: Edit Herczog (A6-0098/2007)

—

Report on the discharge for the implementation of the budget of the European Medicines Agency for the financial year 2005 (N6-0029/2006 — C6-0394/2006 — 2006/2161(DEC)) — CONT Committee.

Rapporteur: Edit Herczog (A6-0099/2007)

—

Report on the discharge for the implementation of the budget for the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction for the financial year 2005 (N6-0025/2006 — C6-0390/2006 — 2006/2157(DEC)) — CONT Committee.

Rapporteur: Edit Herczog (A6-0100/2007)

—

Report on the discharge for the implementation of the budget of the Translation Centre for the bodies of the European Union for the financial year 2005 (N6-0028/2006 — C6-0393/2006 — 2006/2160(DEC)) — CONT Committee.

Rapporteur: Edit Herczog (A6-0101/2007)

—

Report on the discharge for the implementation of the budget of the European Network and Information Security Agency for the financial year 2005 (N6-0036/2006 — C6-0401/2006 — 2006/2168(DEC)) — CONT Committee.

Rapporteur: Edit Herczog (A6-0102/2007)

—

Report on the discharge for the implementation of the budget of the European Environment Agency for the financial year 2005 (N6-0026/2006 — C6-0391/2006 — 2006/2158(DEC)) — CONT Committee.

Rapporteur: Edit Herczog (A6-0103/2007)

—

Report on the discharge for implementation of the European Union general budget for the financial year 2005 — Section VIIIA — European Ombudsman (SEC(2006)0915 [[08]] — C6-0471/2006 — 2006/2063(DEC)) — CONT Committee.

Rapporteur: Daniel Caspary (A6-0104/2007)

—

Report on the discharge for the implementation of the budget of the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work for the financial year 2005 (N6-0027/2006 — C6-0392/2006 — 2006/2159(DEC)) — CONT Committee.

Rapporteur: Edit Herczog (A6-0105/2007)

—

Report on the discharge for implementation of the European Union general budget for the financial year 2005 — Section VII — Committee of the Regions (SEC(2006)0915 [[07]] — C6-0470/2006 — 2006/2076(DEC)) — CONT Committee.

Rapporteur: Daniel Caspary (A6-0106/2007)

—

Report on the discharge for implementation of the European Union general budget for the financial year 2005 — Section V — Court of Auditors (SEC(2006)0915 [[05]] — C6-0468/2006 — 2006/2074(DEC)) — CONT Committee.

Rapporteur: Daniel Caspary (A6-0107/2007)

—

Report on the discharge for implementation of the European Union general budget for the financial year 2005 — Section II — Council (SEC(2006)0915 [[03]] — C6-0466/2006 — 2006/2072(DEC)) — CONT Committee.

Rapporteur: Daniel Caspary (A6-0108/2007)

—

Report on the discharge for implementation of the European Union general budget for the financial year 2005 — Section IV — Court of Justice (SEC(2006)0915 [[04]] — C6-0467/2006 — 2006/2073(DEC)) — CONT Committee.

Rapporteur: Daniel Caspary (A6-0109/2007)

—

Report on the discharge for implementation of the European Union general budget for the financial year 2005 — Section VI — European Economic and Social Committee (SEC(2006)0915 [[06]] — C6-0469/2006 — 2006/2075(DEC)) — CONT Committee.

Rapporteur: Daniel Caspary (A6-0110/2007)

—

Report on the discharge for implementation of the European Union general budget for the financial year 2005 — Section VIIIB — European Data Protection Supervisor (SEC(2006)0915 [[09]] — C6-0472/2006 — 2006/2170(DEC)) — CONT Committee.

Rapporteur: Daniel Caspary (A6-0111/2007)

—

Report on the discharge for the implementation of the budget for the European Food Safety Authority for the financial year 2005 (N6-0034/2006 — C6-0399/2006 — 2006/2166(DEC)) — CONT Committee.

Rapporteur: Edit Herczog (A6-0112/2007)

—

Report on the discharge for the implementation of the budget of the European Training Foundation for the financial year 2005 (N6-0031/2006 — C6-0396/2006 — 2006/2163(DEC)) — CONT Committee.

Rapporteur: Edit Herczog (A6-0113/2007)

—

Report on the discharge of the implementation of the budget for the European Maritime Safety Agency for the financial year 2005 (N6-0032/2006 — C6-0397/2006 — 2006/2164(DEC)) — CONT Committee.

Rapporteur: Edit Herczog (A6-0114/2007)

—

Report on the discharge for the implementation of the budget for the Sixth, Seventh, Eighth and Ninth European Development Funds for the financial year 2005 (COM(2006)0429 — C6-0264/2006 — 2006/2169(DEC)) — CONT Committee.

Rapporteur: Mogens N. J. Camre (A6-0115/2007)

—

Report on the discharge for the implementation of the budget of the European Agency for Reconstruction for the financial year 2005 (N6-0023/2006 — C6-0388/2006 — 2006/2155(DEC)) — CONT Committee.

Rapporteur: Edit Herczog (A6-0116/2007)

—

***I Report on the proposal for a decision of the European Parliament and of the Council establishing a Community programme to improve the operation of taxation systems in the internal market (Fiscalis 2013) (COM(2006)0202 — C6-0159/2006 — 2006/0076(COD)) — ECON Committee.

Rapporteur: Hans-Peter Martin (A6-0117/2007)

—

Report on the discharge for the implementation of the European Monitoring Centre on Racism and Xenophobia for the financial year 2005 (N6-0024/2006 — C6-0389/2006 — 2006/2156(DEC)) — CONT Committee.

Rapporteur: Edit Herczog (A6-0118/2007)

—

Report on the discharge for the implementation of the budget of the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control for the financial year 2005 (N6-0035/2006 — C6-0400/2006 — 2006/2167(DEC)) — CONT Committee.

Rapporteur: Edit Herczog (A6-0119/2007)

—

Report on the discharge for the implementation of the budget of Eurojust for the financial year 2005 (N6-0030/2006 — C6-0395/2006 — 2006/2162(DEC)) — CONT Committee.

Rapporteur: Edit Herczog (A6-0120/2007)

—

Report on the discharge for the implementation of the budget of the European Aviation Safety Agency for the financial year 2005 (N6-0033/2006 — C6-0398/2006 — 2006/2165(DEC)) — CONT Committee.

Rapporteur: Edit Herczog (A6-0121/2007)

—

***I Report on the proposal for a regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council amending Council Regulation (EC) No 2223/96 with respect to the transmission of national accounts data (COM(2005)0653 — C6-0438/2005 — 2005/0253(COD)) — ECON Committee.

Rapporteur: José Manuel García-Margallo y Marfil (A6-0122/2007)

—

Report on the Commission's annual policy strategy for the 2008 budget procedure — Section III — Commission (2007/2017(BUD)) — BUDG Committee.

Rapporteur: Kyösti Virrankoski (A6-0123/2007)

—

* Report on the proposal for a Council decision concerning the conclusion on behalf of the European Community of a Framework Agreement on a Multilateral Nuclear Environmental Programme in the Russian Federation and of the Protocol on Claims, Legal Proceedings and Indemnification to the Framework Agreement on a Multilateral Nuclear Environmental Programme in the Russian Federation (COM(2006)0665 — C6-0475/2006 — 2006/0227(CNS)) — ITRE Committee.

Rapporteur: Vladimír Remek (A6-0126/2007)

—

Report on the Annual Report on Human Rights in the World 2006 and the EU's policy on the matter (2007/2020(INI)) — AFET Committee.

Rapporteur: Simon Coveney (A6-0128/2007)

—

***I Report on the proposal for a directive of the European Parliament and of the Council concerning the minimum safety and health requirements for the use of work equipment by workers at work (second individual Directive within the meaning of Article 16(1) of Directive 89/391/EEC) (Codified version) (COM(2006)0652 — C6-0378/2006 — 2006/0214(COD)) — JURI Committee.

Rapporteur: Hans-Peter Mayer (A6-0132/2007)

—

Report on the Green Paper on Damages actions for breach of the EC antitrust rules (2006/2207(INI)) — ECON Committee.

Rapporteur: Antolín Sánchez Presedo (A6-0133/2007)

—

***II Recommendation for second reading on the Council common position for adopting a regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on common rules in the field of civil aviation security and repealing Regulation (EC) No 2320/2002 (14039/1/2006 — C6-0041/2007 — 2005/0191(COD)) — TRAN Committee.

Rapporteur: Paolo Costa (A6-0134/2007)

—

***I Report on the proposal for a regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council establishing a mechanism for the creation of Rapid Border Intervention Teams and amending Council Regulation (EC) No 2007/2004 as regards that mechanism (COM(2006)0401 — C6-0253/2006 — 2006/0140(COD)) — LIBE Committee.

Rapporteur: Gérard Deprez (A6-0135/2007)

—

* Report on the initiative of the Republic of Finland with a view to adopting a Council decision adjusting the basic salaries and allowances applicable to Europol staff (16333/2006 — C6-0047/2007 — 2007/0801(CNS)) — LIBE Committee.

Rapporteur: Jean-Marie Cavada (A6-0136/2007)

—

* Report on the proposal for a Council regulation amending Regulation (EC) No 1868/94 establishing a quota system in relation to the production of potato starch (COM(2006)0827 — C6-0046/2007 — 2006/0268(CNS)) — AGRI Committee.

Rapporteur: Janusz Wojciechowski (A6-0137/2007)

—

Report on the request for waiver of the immunity of Vural Öger (2006/2198(IMM)) — JURI Committee.

Rapporteur: Francesco Enrico Speroni (A6-0140/2007)

2)

from Members:

2.1)

oral questions for Question Time (Rule 109) (B6-0017/2007):

—

to the Council

Medina Ortega Manuel, Moraes Claude, Ludford Sarah, Willmott Glenis, Bushill-Matthews Philip, Panayotopoulos-Cassiotou Marie, Posselt Bernd, Karim Sajjad, Pflüger Tobias, Wagenknecht Sahra, Budreikaitė Danutė, Papastamkos Georgios, Goudin Hélène, Seppänen Esko, Davies Chris, Hutchinson Alain, Evans Robert, Karatzaferis Georgios, Zappalà Stefano, Mavrommatis Manolis, Casaca Paulo, Schmidt Olle, Newton Dunn Bill, Mitchell Gay, Van Hecke Johan, Dillen Koenraad, Paleckis Justas Vincas, Pafilis Athanasios, Kratsa-Tsagaropoulou Rodi, Bozkurt Emine, Rutowicz Leopold Józef, Czarnecki Ryszard, Crowley Brian, Ó Neachtain Seán, Aylward Liam, Ryan Eoin, Andrikienė Laima Liucija, Leichtfried Jörg, Manolakou Diamanto, Toussas Georgios, Guerreiro Pedro

—

to the Commission

Hutchinson Alain, Guardans Cambó Ignasi, Protasiewicz Jacek, Dimitrov Martin, Ryan Eoin, Susta Gianluca, De Rossa Proinsias, Rutowicz Leopold Józef, Czarnecki Ryszard, Moraes Claude, Panayotopoulos-Cassiotou Marie, Willmott Glenis, van Nistelrooij Lambert, Papastamkos Georgios, Starkevičiūtė Margarita, Paleckis Justas Vincas, Dimitrov Konstantin, Ebner Michl, Arnaoutakis Stavros, Medina Ortega Manuel, Mavrommatis Manolis, Bushill-Matthews Philip, Posselt Bernd, Stoyanov Dimitar, Dillen Koenraad, Florenz Karl-Heinz, Pflüger Tobias, Holm Jens, Wagenknecht Sahra, Budreikaitė Danutė, Riis-Jørgensen Karin, Davies Chris, Evans Robert, Schlyter Carl, Karatzaferis Georgios, Yáñez-Barnuevo García Luis, Pleguezuelos Aguilar Francisca, Van Hecke Johan, Seppänen Esko, Zappalà Stefano, Figueiredo Ilda, Schmidt Olle, Newton Dunn Bill, Mitchell Gay, Vanhecke Frank, El Khadraoui Saïd, Galeote Gerardo, Kratsa-Tsagaropoulou Rodi, Kuźmiuk Zbigniew Krzysztof, Crowley Brian, Ó Neachtain Seán, Aylward Liam, Toussas Georgios, Andrikienė Laima Liucija, Leichtfried Jörg, Doyle Avril, Manolakou Diamanto, Pafilis Athanasios, Gyürk András

2.2)

motions for resolutions (Rule 113):

—

Roberta Angelilli and Cristiana Muscardini. Motion for a resolution on sex tourism (B6-0144/2007)

referred to

responsible: LIBE

 

opinion: FEMM, CULT, TRAN

—

Adriana Poli Bortone. Motion for a resolution on aids for the establishment of specialised cure centres for chronic illnesses (B6-0145/2007)

referred to

responsible: ENVI

—

Adriana Poli Bortone. Motion for a resolution on new guidelines for the Erasmus programme (B6-0146/2007)

referred to

responsible: CULT

—

Salvador Garriga Polledo. Motion for a resolution on the promotion of a volunteer corps within the EU for purposes of tackling natural disasters worldwide (B6-0147/2007)

referred to

responsible: ENVI

 

opinion: BUDG

5.   Texts of agreements forwarded by the Council

The Council had forwarded a certified true copy of the following:

—

Agreement between the European Community and the Government of Malaysia on certain aspects of air services

6.   Decisions concerning certain documents

Authorisation to draw up a report (Rule 120)

AFCO Committee

—

Interinstitutional Agreement on practical arrangements for the codecision procedure (2005/2125(ACI))

7.   Oral questions and written declarations (tabling)

The following documents had been received from Members:

1)

written declarations for entry in the Register (Rule 116):

—

Věra Flasarová, on the establishment of 19 June as a significant EU day: the Day of Equality between Men and Women (0039/2007)

—

Jens Holm, Rebecca Harms, John Bowis, Martine Roure and Mojca Drčar Murko, on primates in scientific experiments (0040/2007)

—

Geoffrey Van Orden, Struan Stevenson, Ivo Strejček, Syed Kamall and Nina Škottová, on referendums on the Constitution in each Member State (0041/2007),

—

Glyn Ford, Bernd Posselt, Viktória Mohácsi, Claude Moraes and Feleknas Uca, on race hate on the Internet (0042/2007)

—

Roberto Musacchio, Dimitrios Papadimoulis, Françoise Castex, Maria da Assunção Esteves and Jean Lambert, on the role of voluntary service and fire brigades in emergency civil protection operations (0043/2007)

—

Diana Wallis, Gérard Onesta, Marc Tarabella, Alejo Vidal-Quadras and Dimitrios Papadimoulis, on the European emergency call number 112 (0044/2007)

—

Nikolaos Vakalis, Jorgo Chatzimarkakis, David Hammerstein and Pia Elda Locatelli, on water efficiency (0045/2007)

8.   Written declarations (Rule 116)

In accordance with Rule 116(5), written declarations 88, 89, 90, 91/2006, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5/2007 lapsed as they had not obtained the required number of signatures.

9.   Action taken on Parliament's resolutions

The Commission communication on the action taken on the resolutions adopted by Parliament during the December 2006 part-session had been distributed.

10.   Membership of Parliament

Adrian-Mihai Cioroianu and Ovidiu Ioan Silaghi had been appointed to the Romanian Government with effect from 03.04.2007.

Under Rule 3(2), second subparagraph of its Rules of Procedure, Parliament noted the appointments and established the vacancies with effect from 03.04.2007, under Article 7(1) of the Act concerning the election of representatives of the European Parliament by direct universal suffrage and under Rule 4(1).

Paavo Väyrynen had been elected as a Member of the Finnish Parliament and had been appointed to the Finnish Government with effect from 19.04.2007.

Under Article 7(1) and (2) of the Act concerning the election of representatives of the European Parliament by direct universal suffrage and Rule 4(1) of its Rules of Procedure, Parliament noted the appointment and established the vacancy with effect from 19.04.2007.

Albert Jan Maat had resigned as a Member of the European Parliament as of 10.04.2007.

Under Rule 4(1), Parliament established the vacancy as of that date.

*

* *

The authorities in the Netherlands had given notice of the appointment of Esther de Lange to replace Albert Jan Maat as Member of Parliament with effect from 12.04.2007.

The Finnish authorities had given notice of the appointment of Samuli Pohjamo to replace Paavo Väyrynen as Member of Parliament with effect from 23.04.2007.

The Italian authorities had notified Parliament that the announcement of the election of Achille Occhetto had been annulled and that the resulting vacancy would be filled by Beniamino Donnici. Parliament noted these decisions with effect from 29.03.2007.

Beniamino Donnici had announced that he had joined the ALDE Group.

Under Rule 3(2), until such time as their credentials had been verified or a ruling had been given on any dispute, and provided that they had previously made written declarations stating that they did not hold any office incompatible with that of Member of the European Parliament, Esther de Lange, Beniamino Donnici and Samuli Pohjamo would take their seats in Parliament and on its bodies and would enjoy all the rights attaching thereto.

11.   Membership of committees and delegations

At the request of the PSE Group, Parliament ratified the following appointments:

—

BUDG Committee: Vasile Puşcaş

—

Delegation for relations with the countries of south-east Europe: Vasile Puşcaş

12.   Signature of acts adopted under codecision

The President announced that, on Wednesday, he and the President of the Council would sign the following acts adopted under the codecision procedure pursuant to Rule 68:

—

Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council amending Regulation (EC) No 417/2002 on the accelerated phasing-in of double-hull or equivalent design requirements for single-hull oil tankers (3670/3/2006 — C6-0111/2007 — 2006/0046(COD))

—

Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on the European system of integrated social protection statistics (Esspros) (3672/4/2006 — C6-0112/2007 — 2006/0004(COD)).

13.   Order of business

The next item was the order of business.

Council request for the application of urgent procedure (Rule 134) for:

—

Proposal for a Council regulation on organic production and labelling of organic products [COM(2005)0671 — C6-0032/2006 — 2005/0278(CNS)]

Reason for request:

There was a need to establish a new legal framework as soon as possible.

Parliament would vote on the request for urgent procedure at the beginning of the following day's sitting.

The final draft agenda for the April I and II sittings (PE 387.009/PDOJ) had been distributed and a number of changes had been proposed (Rule 132):

Sittings of 23.04.2007 to 26.04.2007

Monday

—

Request from the PSE Group to hold over until voting time on Wednesday the vote on the report by Antolín Sánchez Presedo (A6-0133/2007) on the Green Paper on damages actions for breach of EC antitrust rules (Item 8 on the final draft agenda)

Antolín Sánchez Presedo (rapporteur) moved the request.

Parliament agreed to the request.

Tuesday

—

no changes

Wednesday

—

Request from the ALDE Group to hold over until voting time on Thursday lunchtime the vote on the report by Sharon Bowles on basic information on purchasing power parities (A6-0077/2007) (Item 63 on the final draft agenda)

Sharon Bowles (rapporteur) moved the request.

Parliament agreed to the request.

—

Request from the PSE Group for the debate on the Commission statement on strengthening European legislation in the field of information and consultation of workers (Item 129 on the final draft agenda) to be wound up with motions for resolution.

The following spoke: Stephen Hughes, on behalf of the PSE Group, who moved the request, and Gunnar Hökmark, on behalf of the PPE-DE Group.

Parliament agreed to the request by electronic vote (103 in favour, 78 against, 3 abstentions).

Thursday

—

no changes

Sittings of 09.05.2007 and 10.05.2007

—

no changes

*

* *

The order of business was thus established.

14.   Declaration of financial interests

The following Members had not yet updated their declaration of financial interests for 2006 in accordance with Annex I, Article 2(5) to the Rules of Procedure:

Luis Herrero-Tejedor, Michał Tomasz Kamiński and Michael Henry Nattrass.

15.   One-minute speeches on matters of political importance

Pursuant to Rule 144, the following Members who wished to draw the attention of Parliament to matters of political importance spoke for one minute:

Erna Hennicot-Schoepges, Yannick Vaugrenard, Graham Watson, Zdzisław Zbigniew Podkański, Milan Horáček, Adamos Adamou, Urszula Krupa, Ashley Mote, András Gyürk, Pervenche Berès, Árpád Duka-Zólyomi, Csaba Sándor Tabajdi, Eduard Raul Hellvig, József Szájer, Teresa Riera Madurell, Georgios Papastamkos, Willy Meyer Pleite, Tunne Kelam, Marios Matsakis, László Surján, Mieczysław Edmund Janowski, Pál Schmitt, Panayiotis Demetriou, Danutė Budreikaitė, John Attard-Montalto, Alojz Peterle, Ryszard Czarnecki, Marie Panayotopoulos-Cassiotou, Péter Olajos, Kyriacos Triantaphyllides, Monica Maria Iacob-Ridzi, Umberto Guidoni, Małgorzata Handzlik and Tatjana Ždanoka.

IN THE CHAIR: Mario MAURO

Vice-President

16.   Payment services in the internal market ***I (debate)

Report on the proposal for a directive of the European Parliament and of the Council on payment services in the internal market and amending Directives 97/7/EC, 2000/12/EC and 2002/65/EC [COM(2005)0603 — C6-0411/2005 — 2005/0245(COD)] — Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs.

Rapporteur: Jean-Paul Gauzès (A6-0298/2006)

Charlie McCreevy (Member of the Commission) spoke.

Jean-Paul Gauzès introduced the report.

IN THE CHAIR: Manuel António dos SANTOS

Vice-President

The following spoke: Mia De Vits (draftsman of the opinion of the IMCO Committee), Rainer Wieland (draftsman of the opinion of the JURI Committee), Alexander Radwan, on behalf of the PPE-DE Group, Gianni Pittella, on behalf of the PSE Group, Sharon Bowles, on behalf of the ALDE Group, Dariusz Maciej Grabowski, on behalf of the UEN Group, John Whittaker, on behalf of the IND/DEM Group, Piia-Noora Kauppi, Pervenche Berès, Margarita Starkevičiūtė, John Purvis, Ieke van den Burg, Zsolt László Becsey, Silvia-Adriana Ţicău, Karsten Friedrich Hoppenstedt, Corien Wortmann-Kool, Charlie McCreevy and Pervenche Berès.

The debate closed.

Vote: Minutes of 24.04.2007, Item 7.26.

17.   Advanced therapy medicinal products ***I (debate)

Report on the proposal for a regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on advanced therapy medicinal products and amending Directive 2001/83/EC and Regulation (EC) No 726/2004 [COM(2005)0567 — C6-0401/2005 — 2005/0227(COD)] — Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety.

Rapporteur: Miroslav Mikolášik (A6-0031/2007)

Günter Verheugen (Vice-President of the Commission) spoke.

IN THE CHAIR: Marek SIWIEC

Vice-President

Miroslav Mikolášik introduced the report.

The following spoke: Giles Chichester (draftsman of the opinion of the ITRE Committee), Hiltrud Breyer (draftsman of the opinion of the JURI Committee), John Bowis, on behalf of the PPE-DE Group, Dagmar Roth-Behrendt, on behalf of the PSE Group, Frédérique Ries, on behalf of the ALDE Group, Konrad Szymański, on behalf of the UEN Group, Hiltrud Breyer, on behalf of the Verts/ALE Group, Adamos Adamou, on behalf of the GUE/NGL Group, Johannes Blokland, on behalf of the IND/DEM Group, Françoise Grossetête, Proinsias De Rossa, Marios Matsakis, Urszula Krupa, Peter Liese, Jorgo Chatzimarkakis, Kathy Sinnott, Antonios Trakatellis, Péter Olajos, John Purvis, Carlo Casini, Bogusław Sonik, Klaus Theo Schröder (President-in-Office of the Council) and Günter Verheugen

The debate closed.

Vote: Minutes of 25.04.2007, Item 11.1.

18.   Enforcement of intellectual property rights (criminal measures) ***I (debate)

Report on the amended proposal for a directive of the European Parliament and of the Council on criminal measures aimed at ensuring the enforcement of intellectual property rights [COM(2006)0168 — C6-0233/2005 — 2005/0127(COD)] — Committee on Legal Affairs.

Rapporteur: Nicola Zingaretti (A6-0073/2007)

Günter Verheugen (Vice-President of the Commission) spoke.

Nicola Zingaretti introduced the report.

The following spoke: David Hammerstein (draftsman of the opinion of the ITRE Committee), Rainer Wieland (draftsman of the opinion of the LIBE Committee), Hans-Peter Mayer, on behalf of the PPE-DE Group, Manuel Medina Ortega, on behalf of the PSE Group, Toine Manders, on behalf of the ALDE Group, Eva Lichtenberger, on behalf of the Verts/ALE Group, Umberto Guidoni, on behalf of the GUE/NGL Group, Jim Allister, Non-attached Member, Jacques Toubon and Lidia Joanna Geringer de Oedenberg.

IN THE CHAIR: Luigi COCILOVO

Vice-President

The following spoke: Sharon Bowles, Carl Schlyter, Daniel Strož, Tadeusz Zwiefka, Edith Mastenbroek, Ignasi Guardans Cambó, Maria Badia i Cutchet and Günter Verheugen.

The debate closed.

Vote: Minutes of 25.04.2007, Item 11.2.

19.   Future enlargements and cohesion (debate)

Report on the consequences of future enlargements on the effectiveness of cohesion policy [2006/2107(INI)] — Committee on Regional Development.

Rapporteur: Markus Pieper (A6-0087/2007)

Markus Pieper introduced the report.

The following spoke: Danuta Hübner (Member of the Commission) spoke.

The following spoke: Nathalie Griesbeck (draftsman of the opinion of the BUDG Committee), Lambert van Nistelrooij, on behalf of the PPE-DE Group, Gábor Harangozó, on behalf of the PSE Group, Grażyna Staniszewska, on behalf of the ALDE Group, Ryszard Czarnecki, on behalf of the UEN Group, Gisela Kallenbach, on behalf of the Verts/ALE Group, Kyriacos Triantaphyllides, on behalf of the GUE/NGL Group, Jens-Peter Bonde, on behalf of the IND/DEM Group, Dumitru Gheorghe Mircea Coşea, on behalf of the ITS Group, Jana Bobošíková, Non-attached Member, László Surján, Constanze Angela Krehl, Jean Marie Beaupuy, Jan Tadeusz Masiel, Pedro Guerreiro, Jan Olbrycht, Stavros Arnaoutakis, Danutė Budreikaitė, Margie Sudre, Miloš Koterec, Valdis Dombrovskis, Andrzej Jan Szejna, Lidia Joanna Geringer de Oedenberg and Danuta Hübner.

The debate closed.

Vote: Minutes of 24.04.2007, Item 7.28.

20.   The Commission's annual strategic priorities (Budget 2008) (debate)

Report on the Commission's annual policy strategy for the 2008 budget procedure Section III — Commission [2007/2017(BUD)] — Committee on Budgets.

Rapporteur: Kyösti Virrankoski (A6-0123/2007)

Kyösti Virrankoski introduced the report.

The following spoke: Dalia Grybauskaitė (Member of the Commission) spoke.

The following spoke: Michael Gahler (draftsman of the opinion of the AFET Committee) and Richard James Ashworth, on behalf of the PPE-DE Group.

IN THE CHAIR: Adam BIELAN

Vice-President

The following spoke: Catherine Guy-Quint, on behalf of the PSE Group, Anne E. Jensen, on behalf of the ALDE Group, Zbigniew Krzysztof Kuźmiuk, on behalf of the UEN Group, Marie Anne Isler Béguin, on behalf of the Verts/ALE Group, Esko Seppänen, on behalf of the GUE/NGL Group, Hans-Peter Martin, Non-attached Member, Salvador Garriga Polledo, Göran Färm, Nathalie Griesbeck, Reimer Böge, Paulo Casaca and Dalia Grybauskaitė.

The debate closed.

Vote: Minutes of 24.04.2007, Item 7.29.

21.   Tariff quotas for imports into Bulgaria and Romania of raw cane sugar * (debate)

Report on the proposal for a Council regulation opening tariff quotas for imports into Bulgaria and Romania of raw cane sugar for supply to refineries in the marketing years 2006/2007, 2007/2008 and 2008/2009 [COM(2006)0798 — C6-0003/2007 — 2006/0261(CNS)] — Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development.

Rapporteur: Friedrich-Wilhelm Graefe zu Baringdorf (A6-0072/2007)

Friedrich-Wilhelm Graefe zu Baringdorf introduced the report.

The following spoke: Mariann Fischer Boel (Member of the Commission) spoke.

The following spoke: Atilla Béla Ladislau Kelemen, on behalf of the PPE-DE Group, Marc Tarabella, on behalf of the PSE Group, Dumitru Gheorghe Mircea Coşea, on behalf of the ITS Group, and Mariann Fischer Boel.

The debate closed.

Vote: Minutes of 24.04.2007, Item 7.3.

22.   Quota system in relation to the production of potato starch * (debate)

Report on the proposal for a Council regulation amending Regulation (EC) No 1868/94 establishing a quota system in relation to the production of potato starch [COM(2006)0827 — C6-0046/2007 — 2006/0268(CNS)] — Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development.

Rapporteur: Janusz Wojciechowski (A6-0137/2007)

The following spoke: Mariann Fischer Boel (Member of the Commission) spoke.

Janusz Wojciechowski introduced the report.

The following spoke: Esther De Lange, on behalf of the PPE-DE Group, Bogdan Golik, on behalf of the PSE Group, Kyösti Virrankoski, on behalf of the ALDE Group, Andrzej Tomasz Zapałowski, on behalf of the UEN Group, Friedrich-Wilhelm Graefe zu Baringdorf, on behalf of the Verts/ALE Group, Czesław Adam Siekierski, Marc Tarabella, Jan Mulder, Zdzisław Zbigniew Podkański, Šarūnas Birutis, Wiesław Stefan Kuc, Zbigniew Krzysztof Kuźmiuk and Mariann Fischer Boel.

The debate closed.

Vote: Minutes of 24.04.2007, Item 7.27.

23.   Green Paper: Damages actions for breach of the EC antitrust rules (debate)

Report on the Green Paper on Damages actions for breach of the EC antitrust rules [2006/2207(INI)] — Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs.

Rapporteur: Antolín Sánchez Presedo (A6-0133/2007)

Antolín Sánchez Presedo introduced the report.

The following spoke: Neelie Kroes (Member of the Commission) spoke.

The following spoke: Bert Doorn (draftsman of the opinion of the JURI Committee), Jonathan Evans, on behalf of the PPE-DE Group, Ieke van den Burg, on behalf of the PSE Group, Sharon Bowles, on behalf of the ALDE Group, Pervenche Berès, Diana Wallis and Neelie Kroes.

The debate closed.

Vote: Minutes of 25.04.2007, Item 11.10.

24.   Agenda for next sitting

The agenda for the next sitting had been established (‘Agenda’ PE 387.009/OJMA).

25.   Closure of sitting

The sitting closed at 00.05.

Harald Rømer

Secretary-General

Mechtild Rothe

Vice-President

ATTENDANCE REGISTER

The following signed:

Adamou, Aita, Albertini, Allister, Anastase, Andersson, Andrejevs, Andria, Angelilli, Antoniozzi, Arnaoutakis, Ashworth, Assis, Athanasiu, Atkins, Attard-Montalto, Attwooll, Aubert, Audy, Ayala Sender, Aylward, Bachelot-Narquin, Baco, Badia i Cutchet, Bărbuleţiu, Barón Crespo, Barsi-Pataky, Batten, Battilocchio, Batzeli, Bauer, Beaupuy, Beazley, Becsey, Beer, Beglitis, Belder, Belet, Belohorská, Beňová, Berend, Berès, Berlinguer, Berman, Bielan, Birutis, Bliznashki, Blokland, Bloom, Bobošíková, Böge, Bösch, Bonde, Bono, Bonsignore, Booth, Borrell Fontelles, Bourlanges, Bourzai, Bowis, Bowles, Bozkurt, Bradbourn, Braghetto, Brejc, Brepoels, Breyer, Březina, Brie, Budreikaitė, van Buitenen, Bulfon, Bullmann, van den Burg, Buruiană-Aprodu, Bushill-Matthews, Busk, Busuttil, Buzek, Cabrnoch, Callanan, Camre, Capoulas Santos, Carlotti, Carnero González, Casa, Casaca, Cashman, Casini, Caspary, Castex, del Castillo Vera, Cavada, Cederschiöld, Cercas, Chatzimarkakis, Chervenyakov, Chichester, Chiesa, Chmielewski, Christensen, Chruszcz, Ciornei, Claeys, Clark, Cocilovo, Coelho, Cohn-Bendit, Corbett, Corbey, Cornillet, Correia, Coşea, Paolo Costa, Cottigny, Coûteaux, Coveney, Cramer, Corina Creţu, Gabriela Creţu, Crowley, Marek Aleksander Czarnecki, Daul, Davies, De Blasio, Degutis, Demetriou, Deprez, De Rossa, Descamps, Désir, Deß, Deva, De Veyrac, De Vits, Díaz de Mera García Consuegra, Dičkutė, Didžiokas, Díez González, Dillen, Martin Dimitrov, Philip Dimitrov Dimitrov, Dîncu, Dobolyi, Dombrovskis, Doorn, Douay, Dover, Doyle, Duchoň, Dührkop Dührkop, Duff, Duka-Zólyomi, Dumitrescu, Ebner, Ehler, Ek, Elles, Esteves, Estrela, Ettl, Jonathan Evans, Robert Evans, Färm, Fajmon, Falbr, Farage, Fava, Fazakas, Ferber, Fernandes, Fernández Martín, Anne Ferreira, Elisa Ferreira, Figueiredo, Flasarová, Florenz, Foglietta, Foltyn-Kubicka, Ford, Fourtou, Fraga Estévez, Frassoni, Friedrich, Gahler, Gál, Gaľa, Galeote, Ganţ, García-Margallo y Marfil, García Pérez, Garriga Polledo, Gauzès, Gawronski, Gebhardt, Gentvilas, Geremek, Geringer de Oedenberg, Gewalt, Gibault, Gierek, Giertych, Gill, Gklavakis, Glante, Glattfelder, Gobbo, Goebbels, Goepel, Golik, Gollnisch, Gomolka, Gottardi, Goudin, Grabowska, Grabowski, Graça Moura, Graefe zu Baringdorf, Gräßle, de Grandes Pascual, Grech, Griesbeck, Gröner, de Groen-Kouwenhoven, Groote, Grosch, Grossetête, Guardans Cambó, Guellec, Guerreiro, Guidoni, Guy-Quint, Gyürk, Hänsch, Hall, Hammerstein, Hamon, Handzlik, Hannan, Harangozó, Harbour, Harkin, Harms, Hasse Ferreira, Hassi, Hatzidakis, Haug, Heaton-Harris, Hegyi, Hellvig, Henin, Hennicot-Schoepges, Herczog, Herranz García, Herrero-Tejedor, Hieronymi, Higgins, Hökmark, Honeyball, Hoppenstedt, Horáček, Hudacký, Hudghton, Hughes, Hutchinson, Iacob-Ridzi, Ibrisagic, Isler Béguin, Itälä, Iturgaiz Angulo, Jäätteenmäki, Jałowiecki, Janowski, Járóka, Jeggle, Jensen, Joan i Marí, Jöns, Jørgensen, Jonckheer, Jordan Cizelj, Juknevičienė, Kacin, Kaczmarek, Kallenbach, Kamall, Kamiński, Karas, Karim, Kasoulides, Kaufmann, Kauppi, Tunne Kelam, Kelemen, Kilroy-Silk, Kindermann, Kinnock, Kirilov, Kirkhope, Klamt, Klaß, Klich, Koch, Koch-Mehrin, Kohlíček, Konrad, Kónya-Hamar, Korhola, Kósáné Kovács, Koterec, Kozlík, Krasts, Krehl, Kreissl-Dörfler, Kristovskis, Krupa, Kuc, Kuhne, Kułakowski, Kušķis, Kusstatscher, Kuźmiuk, Laignel, Lamassoure, Lambert, Lang, De Lange, Langen, Langendries, La Russa, Lauk, Lavarra, Lax, Lehne, Lehtinen, Leichtfried, Leinen, Le Rachinel, Lewandowski, Liberadzki, Libicki, Lichtenberger, Lienemann, Liese, Liotard, Lipietz, Locatelli, López-Istúriz White, Louis, Ludford, Lulling, Lynne, Maaten, McAvan, McDonald, McMillan-Scott, Madeira, Maldeikis, Manders, Maňka, Erika Mann, Thomas Mann, Manolakou, Marinescu, Markov, Martens, David Martin, Hans-Peter Martin, Martinez, Martínez Martínez, Masiel, Maštálka, Mastenbroek, Mato Adrover, Matsakis, Matsis, Matsouka, Mauro, Mavrommatis, Mayer, Mayor Oreja, Medina Ortega, Meijer, Méndez de Vigo, Menéndez del Valle, Meyer Pleite, Miguélez Ramos, Mihăescu, Mihalache, Mikko, Mikolášik, Millán Mon, Mitchell, Mölzer, Moisuc, Moraes, Moreno Sánchez, Morgantini, Morţun, Moscovici, Mote, Mulder, Musacchio, Muscardini, Muscat, Musotto, Musumeci, Myller, Napoletano, Nassauer, Nattrass, Newton Dunn, Nicholson, Nicholson of Winterbourne, Niebler, van Nistelrooij, Novak, Obiols i Germà, Olajos, Olbrycht, Ó Neachtain, Onesta, Onyszkiewicz, Oomen-Ruijten, Őry, Ouzký, Oviir, Paasilinna, Pack, Pahor, Paleckis, Panayotopoulos-Cassiotou, Pannella, Papadimoulis, Paparizov, Papastamkos, Parvanova, Patrie, Pęk, Alojz Peterle, Petre, Piecyk, Pieper, Pīks, Pinheiro, Pinior, Piotrowski, Pirker, Piskorski, Pistelli, Pittella, Pleguezuelos Aguilar, Pleštinská, Podestà, Podgorean, Podkański, Pöttering, Pohjamo, Poignant, Pomés Ruiz, Popeangă, Portas, Posselt, Post, Prets, Vittorio Prodi, Protasiewicz, Purvis, Queiró, Quisthoudt-Rowohl, Rack, Radwan, Ransdorf, Rapkay, Rasmussen, Remek, Resetarits, Reul, Reynaud, Ribeiro e Castro, Riera Madurell, Ries, Riis-Jørgensen, Rivera, Rizzo, Rogalski, Roithová, Romagnoli, Romeva i Rueda, Rosati, Roszkowski, Roth-Behrendt, Rothe, Rouček, Roure, Rudi Ubeda, Rübig, Rühle, Rutowicz, Ryan, Sacconi, Saïfi, Sakalas, Saks, Salafranca Sánchez-Neyra, Salinas García, Samuelsen, Sánchez Presedo, dos Santos, Sârbu, Sartori, Saryusz-Wolski, Savi, Sbarbati, Schaldemose, Schapira, Scheele, Schenardi, Schierhuber, Schlyter, Olle Schmidt, Frithjof Schmidt, Schmitt, Schnellhardt, Schöpflin, Jürgen Schröder, Schroedter, Schwab, Seeber, Seeberg, Segelström, Seppänen, Şerbu, Siekierski, Sifunakis, Silva Peneda, Simpson, Sinnott, Siwiec, Skinner, Škottová, Sofianski, Søndergaard, Sonik, Speroni, Staes, Stănescu, Staniszewska, Starkevičiūtė, Šťastný, Stauner, Sterckx, Stevenson, Stihler, Stoyanov, Strejček, Strož, Stubb, Sturdy, Sudre, Sumberg, Surján, Svensson, Swoboda, Szabó, Szájer, Szejna, Szent-Iványi, Szymański, Tabajdi, Tajani, Takkula, Tannock, Tarabella, Tarand, Thomsen, Thyssen, Ţicău, Ţîrle, Titley, Toia, Toubon, Toussas, Trakatellis, Trautmann, Triantaphyllides, Turmes, Tzampazi, Ulmer, Vaidere, Vakalis, Valenciano Martínez-Orozco, Vanhecke, Van Hecke, Van Orden, Varela Suanzes-Carpegna, Varvitsiotis, Vatanen, Vaugrenard, Veraldi, Vergnaud, Vernola, Vidal-Quadras, de Villiers, Virrankoski, Vlasák, Vlasto, Voggenhuber, Wagenknecht, Wallis, Walter, Watson, Weiler, Weisgerber, Westlund, Whittaker, Wieland, Wiersma, Willmott, Wise, Bernard Wojciechowski, Janusz Wojciechowski, Wortmann-Kool, Wurtz, Xenogiannakopoulou, Yáñez-Barnuevo García, Záborská, Zahradil, Zaleski, Zani, Zapałowski, Zappalà, Zatloukal, Ždanoka, Železný, Zieleniec, Zīle, Zimmer, Zingaretti, Zvěřina, Zwiefka