Secretariat of the European Parliament

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European Parliament building (centre) in Luxembourg
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 Gare du Luxembourg in Brussels and employs 4000 officials.

Contents

[edit] 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]

[edit] Legal Service

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.

[edit] Directorates-General

[edit] 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].

[edit] 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 Scientific Assessment Technology Options which advises committees and members on such topics[4].

[edit] 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 and the Eurolat secretariat. The DG organises both delegation visits to non EU states and vitits 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]

[edit] Communication

The Directorate-General for Communication (DG COMM) deals with public information and media. It maintains a network of public information offices across member states and a library and documentation service for MEPs. It also manages the Europarl website. (See also: Office for Official Publications).[8].

[edit] Personnel

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

[edit] Infrastructure and Logistics

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.

[edit] Translation

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

[edit] Interpretation and Conferences

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

[edit] Finance

The Directorate-General for Finance 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.

[edit] 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.

[edit] References

[edit] See also

[edit] External links