Secretariat of the European Parliament

European Parliament building (centre) in Luxembourg

The secretariat of the European Parliament is the administrative body of the European Parliament headed by a Secretary-General. It is based in the Kirchberg district of Luxembourg and around the Brussels-Luxembourg Station in Brussels and employs 4000 officials.

Secretary-General

The Secretary General of the European Parliament is appointed by the Bureau of the Parliament. The post is responsible for administration and assisting the President, MEPs and the Parliaments bodies. He also deals with the day-to-day running of business and prepares basic reports for budget estimates. The Secretary General also has to sign, together with the President, all acts adopted by the Parliament and Council.[1]

The Secretaries-General to date have been;

The Parliament's legal services advises members and bodies on matters of European law, helping in drafting of legislation and representing the Parliament in Courts.

Directorates-General

Presidency

The Directorate-General for the Presidency (DG PRES) organises plenary sittings and for follow-up activities including protocol, mail, register, archives and security.[2]

Internal Policies

The Directorate-General for Internal Policies (DG IPOL) deals with assisting the work of Parliament’s committees and their chairmen as well as coordinating relations and cooperation with the other institutions and national parliaments.[3] The DG also supplies expert information and research to the members and committees. This is the task of the Policy Departments who produce studies, upon request, on topics for the members. One specific policy department is STOA the Science and Technology Options Assessment unit which advises committees and members on such topics[4]

External Policies

The Directorate-General for External Policies (DG EXPO) deals with assisting the work of Parliament’s delegations, committees and their chairmen as well as coordinating relations and cooperation with the other institutions, national parliaments and foreign bodies. It also forms half of the co-secretariat of the ACP-EU Joint Parliamentary Assembly, the Euro-Mediterranean Parliamentary Assembly, the Eurolat and the European Eastern neighbours parliamentary assembly secretariat. The DG organises both delegation visits to non EU states and visits to the parliament by external state delegations.[5][6] The DG also supplies expert information and research to the members and committees on topics relating to external countries. This is the task of the Policy Department who produce studies, upon request, on topics for the members. These studies, being produced by or for the European Parliament, are published on the Europarl website.[7]

Communication

The Directorate-General for Communication (DG COMM) deals with public information and media. Its staff includes the spokesperson of the Parliament (currently Jaume Duch Guillot), the press service and a network of public information offices across member states. It also manages the Europarl website.[8][9]

Personnel

The Directorate-General for Personnel (DG PERS) deals with the human resources of the other DGs, including giving staff access to vocational training.

Infrastructure and Logistics

"Relocation boxes" of the European Parliament, called "cantines", are ready to be transported from Brussels to Strasbourg where a plenary session will take place. Each month, the EP moves back and forth to meet the EU obligation to hold meetings also in France.

The Directorate-General for Infrastructure and Logistics (DG INLO) manages the buildings of the European Parliament (spread over Strasbourg, Brussels and Luxembourg) and its member-state offices and equipment.

Translation

The Directorate-General for Translation (DG TRAD) is responsible for written translation of the Parliament's documents.

Interpretation and Conferences

The Directorate-General for Interpretation and Conferences (DG INTE) manages meeting rooms and interpretation for all meetings organised by the Institution.

Finance

The Directorate-General for Finance (DG FINS) deals with the Parliaments budgetary and financial affairs. Preparing and checking the budget and monitoring its subsequent implementation. It is also responsible for official accounting and treasury operations as well as MEPs' finances.

Innovation and Technological Support

The DG Innovation and Technological Support (DG ITEC) consists of The Directorate for Information Technologies (DIT), the central ITC support and computing and network centre and Directorate for Publishing and Distribution which deals with the publication of parliamentary material such as working documents and the official journal.

Security and Safety

The Directorate-General for Security and Safety (DG SAFE) works to facilitate Parliament activities, while guaranteeing sufficient protection to people, assets and information and consists of Directorate A: Proximity and Assistance Security and Safety (PASS), Directorate B: Fire, First aid and Prevention and Directorate C: Strategy and Resources (description added by Andreas).

Staff

As of February 2012
Office Post Name Source
Office of the Secretary-GeneralSecretary-General of the European ParliamentKlaus Welle[10]
Legal ServiceJurisconsult of the European ParliamentFreddy Drexler[11]
Directorate-General for the PresidencyDirector-GeneralFrancesca R. Ratti[12]
Directorate-General for Internal Policies of the UnionDirector-GeneralRiccardo Ribera d'Alcalà[13]
Directorate-General for External Policies of the UnionDirector-GeneralLuis Marco Aguiriano Nalda[14]
Directorate-General for CommunicationDirector-GeneralJuana Lahousse-Juárez[15]
Directorate-General for PersonnelDirector-GeneralYves Quitin[16]
Directorate-General for Infrastructure and LogisticsDirector-GeneralConstantin Stratigakis[17]
Directorate-General for TranslationDirector-GeneralJanet Pitt[18]
Directorate-General for Interpretation and ConferencesDirector-GeneralAgniezska Walter-Drop[19]
Directorate-General for FinanceDirector-GeneralRoger Vanhaeren[20]
Directorate-General for Security and SafetyDeputy Secretary-General of the European Parliament Director-General (acting)Francesca R. Ratti[21]
Directorate-General for Innovation and Technological SupportDirector-GeneralGiancarlo Vilella[22]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Parliament: Secretariat". Europarl.europa.eu. Retrieved 2014-01-17.
  2. ↑ Europarl Directorate-General for the Presidency June 2009
  3. ↑ Directorate-General for Internal Policies of the Union June 2009
  4. ↑ European Parliamentary Technology Assessment.Eptanetwork.org, STOA basic brief
  5. ↑ European Parliament news service MEPs in Afghanistan condemn attack on Kabul parade, April 29, 2008
  6. ↑ Europarl website Directorate-General for External Policies, April 2008
  7. ↑ Europarl Policy Departments. Search for studies
  8. ↑ Europarl.europa.eu
  9. ↑ "Directorate-General for Communication". Europarl.europa.eu. Retrieved 2014-01-17.
  10. ↑ "Secretariat". Europarl.europa.eu. Retrieved 2014-01-17.
  11. ↑ "Secretariat". Europarl.europa.eu. Retrieved 2014-01-17.
  12. ↑ "Secretariat". Europarl.europa.eu. Retrieved 2014-01-17.
  13. ↑ "Secretariat". Europarl.europa.eu. Retrieved 2014-01-17.
  14. ↑ "Secretariat". Europarl.europa.eu. Retrieved 2014-01-17.
  15. ↑ "Secretariat". Europarl.europa.eu. Retrieved 2014-01-17.
  16. ↑ "Secretariat". Europarl.europa.eu. Retrieved 2014-01-17.
  17. ↑ "Secretariat". Europarl.europa.eu. Retrieved 2014-01-17.
  18. ↑ "Secretariat". Europarl.europa.eu. Retrieved 2014-01-17.
  19. ↑ "Secretariat". Europarl.europa.eu. Retrieved 2014-01-17.
  20. ↑ "Secretariat". Europarl.europa.eu. Retrieved 2014-01-17.
  21. ↑ "Secretariat". Europarl.europa.eu. Retrieved 2014-01-17.
  22. ↑ "Secretariat". Europarl.europa.eu. Retrieved 2014-01-17.
This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 3/25/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.