Parliamentary Rules of Procedure - European Parliament - Europa

Introduction
Rules of procedure help define the character of
a parliament by describing the rights and obli-
gations of the elected parliamentarians, iden-
tifying the key organs of the institution, the manner
in which business is to be conducted and ensuring
some form of management of the house is in place.
at the same time, they must show to the wider
public that parliament works fairly and effectively.
some rules of procedure are fairly succinct and
afford ample discretionary power to the speaker/
president. Others are extremely detailed, providing
answers to almost every possible problem which
might arise. Yet in all parliaments, internal rules are
seen as an essential ingredient in allowing the Par-
liament to play its part in the governance process.
Rules of procedure are essential, not just in a technical
sense but also to obtain the right balance
between minority rights and the capacity to decide
between the need for detailed scrutiny and the
need for efficiency. They also help in terms of
making visible to the public the democratic values
that parliamentary democracy represents.
The European Parliament’s Rules of Procedure
number more than 200, comprising some 200 pages
with an additional 20 annexes. They specify, among
other things, the duties of individual Members
(MEPs), officers and political groups (i.e. parliamentary
party caucuses) and detail how Parliament
organises its legislative and budgetary procedures;
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the role of the Parliament in the EU’s Foreign and
security Policy; relations with other bodies of the
EU and national parliaments; and appointments,
rules of conduct and the role and functioning of
standing committees and delegations.
With such precise and explicit articles and annexes,
one might expect all possible parliamentary scenarios
and solutions to be included in the Rules.
Yet this is not the case in the EP or in national parliaments.
There will always be situations which,
in order to be resolved, require a combination of
rules, sensibility, tact and respect of tradition or
unwritten rules. it is essential that parliamentary
rules are identified by both the majority and the
opposition, as they truly reflect the importance of
the parliamentary institution in the overall democratic
governance system of the country or region,
and all parties share ownership of these rules.
Rules should genuinely reflect the spirit of parliamentary
democracy and should never be imposed
on the minority by the majority.
Political parties must realise that rules and their
application demonstrate to the electorate how they
interpret the value of the parliamentary democracy
concept and the significance of the institution to
which they belong.
if parties show in their deliberations disrespect for
the rules or disdain for their opponents, their atti-