The Secretariat of the European Parliament is the administrative body of the
European Parliament
The European Parliament (EP) is one of the legislative bodies of the European Union and one of its seven institutions. Together with the Council of the European Union (known as the Council and informally as the Council of Ministers), it adopts ...
headed by a Secretary-General. It is based in the
Kirchberg district of
Luxembourg City
Luxembourg ( lb, Lëtzebuerg; french: Luxembourg; german: Luxemburg), also known as Luxembourg City ( lb, Stad Lëtzebuerg, link=no or ; french: Ville de Luxembourg, link=no; german: Stadt Luxemburg, link=no or ), is the capital city of the Lu ...
and around the
Brussels-Luxembourg Station in
Brussels
Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...
and employs 4000 officials.
Secretary-General
The Secretary General of the European Parliament is appointed by the
Bureau
Bureau ( ) may refer to:
Agencies and organizations
* Government agency
*Public administration
* News bureau, an office for gathering or distributing news, generally for a given geographical location
* Bureau (European Parliament), the administra ...
of the Parliament. The post is responsible for administration and assisting the
President
President most commonly refers to:
*President (corporate title)
* President (education), a leader of a college or university
* President (government title)
President may also refer to:
Automobiles
* Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ...
,
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.
The Secretaries-General to date have been;
*Frits de Nerée tot Babberich (1958–1963)
*Hans Nord (1963–1979)
*Hans Joachim Opitz (1979–1986)
*Enrico Vinci (1986–1997)
*
Julian Priestley
Sir Julian Gordon Priestley (26 May 1950 – 22 April 2017) was an English civil-servant who served as Secretary-General of the European Parliament 1997–2007. He was the second President of the Young European Federalists 1974–1976.
Biograp ...
(1997–2007)
*Harald Rømer (2007–2009)
*
Klaus Welle
Klaus Welle (born ) is a German politician who has served as Secretary General of the European Parliament since 15 March 2009. He was previously Head of the Office (chef de cabinet) of the President of the European Parliament, Hans-Gert Poetteri ...
(2009–present)
Legal Service
The Parliament's legal services advises members and bodies on matters of
European law
European Union law is a system of rules operating within the member states of the European Union (EU). Since the founding of the European Coal and Steel Community following World War II, the EU has developed the aim to "promote peace, its valu ...
, helping in drafting of legislation and representing the Parliament in
Courts
A court is any person or institution, often as a government institution, with the authority to adjudicate legal disputes between parties and carry out the administration of justice in civil, criminal, and administrative matters in accorda ...
.
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.
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 parliament
In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: representing the electorate, making laws, and overseeing the government via hearings and inquiries. Th ...
s. 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.
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 Parliamentary Assembly of the Union for the Mediterranean (PAUM), previously known as the ''Euro-Mediterranean Parliamentary Assembly'' (''EMPA''), established in Naples on 3 December 2003 by decision of the Ministerial Conference of the Eu ...
, 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. 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.
European Parliamentary Research Service
The
European Parliamentary Research Service
The European Parliamentary Research Service (EPRS) is the in-house research department and think tank of the European Parliament. Created in November 2013 as a directorate-general within the Parliament's permanent administration, the EPRS's miss ...
(DG EPRS) is the
European Parliament
The European Parliament (EP) is one of the legislative bodies of the European Union and one of its seven institutions. Together with the Council of the European Union (known as the Council and informally as the Council of Ministers), it adopts ...
's in-house research department and think tank. Its mission is to assist
Members of the European Parliament
A Member of the European Parliament (MEP) is a person who has been elected to serve as a popular representative in the European Parliament.
When the European Parliament (then known as the Common Assembly of the ECSC) first met in 1952, its ...
in their parliamentary work by providing them with independent, objective and authoritative analysis of, and research on, policy issues relating to the European Union. It is also designed to increase Members' and
EP committees' capacity to scrutinise and oversee the
European Commission
The European Commission (EC) is the executive of the European Union (EU). It operates as a cabinet government, with 27 members of the Commission (informally known as "Commissioners") headed by a President. It includes an administrative body o ...
and other EU executive bodies.
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
Jaume Duch Guillot, born 4 February 1962 in Barcelona, Spain, is the spokesperson of the European Parliament and the Director-General of Communication of the institution, a position he assumed in February 2017 after more than a decade as the Media ...
), the press service and a network of public information offices across member states. It also manages the Europarl website.
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
The Directorate-General for Infrastructure and Logistics (DG INLO) manages the buildings of the European Parliament (spread over
Strasbourg
Strasbourg (, , ; german: Straßburg ; gsw, label=Bas Rhin Alsatian, Strossburi , gsw, label=Haut Rhin Alsatian, Strossburig ) is the prefecture and largest city of the Grand Est region of eastern France and the official seat of the Eu ...
,
Brussels
Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...
and
Luxembourg
Luxembourg ( ; lb, Lëtzebuerg ; french: link=no, Luxembourg; german: link=no, Luxemburg), officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, ; french: link=no, Grand-Duché de Luxembourg ; german: link=no, Großherzogtum Luxemburg is a small lan ...
) 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 Logistics and Interpretation for Conferences (DG LINC
) 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
The Directorate-General for Security (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.
Staff
:''As of August 2017''
See also
*
Directorates-General
Within the European Union, Directorates-General are departments with specific zones of responsibility, the equivalent of Ministry (government department), ministries at a national level. Most are headed by a European Commissioner, responsible for ...
(of the Commission)
*
European Parliament in Luxembourg
*
Institutions of the European Union
*
Location of European Union institutions
The seven institutions of the European Union (EU) are seated in four different cities, which are Brussels ( Belgium), Frankfurt am Main ( Germany), Luxembourg ( Luxembourg) and Strasbourg ( France), rather than being concentrated in a single ...
References
External links
Secretariat of the European Parliament*Subcommittee on Security and Defenc
Minutes Meeting of 6 March 2008Page 5, List of DGs.
{{Portal bar, European Union
European Parliament
European Parliament
The European Parliament (EP) is one of the legislative bodies of the European Union and one of its seven institutions. Together with the Council of the European Union (known as the Council and informally as the Council of Ministers), it adopts ...
European Union organisations based in Luxembourg