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Rules of Procedure of the European Parliament
8th parliamentary term - July 2018
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CONTENTS
APPENDIX
INDEX
NOTE TO THE READER
COMPENDIUM OF THE MAIN LEGAL ACTS RELATED TO THE RULES OF PROCEDURE

TITLE V : RELATIONS WITH OTHER INSTITUTIONS AND BODIES
CHAPTER 1 : APPOINTMENTS

Rule 118 : Election of the Commission

1.   The President shall invite the President-elect of the Commission to inform Parliament about the allocation of responsibilities (portfolios) in the proposed College of Commissioners in accordance with the political guidelines of the President-elect.

2.   The President shall, after consulting the President-elect of the Commission, request the nominees proposed by the President-elect of the Commission and by the Council for the various posts of Commissioner to appear before the appropriate committees or bodies according to their prospective fields of responsibility.

3.   The hearings shall be conducted by the committees. Exceptionally, a hearing may be carried out in a different format when the responsibilities of a Commissioner-designate are primarily horizontal in nature, provided that such a hearing involves the committees responsible.

The hearings shall be held in public.

4.   The appropriate committee or committees shall invite the Commissioner-designate to make a statement and to answer questions. The hearings shall be organised in such a way as to enable Commissioners-designate to disclose to Parliament all relevant information. Provisions relating to the organisation of such hearings shall be laid down in an annex to these Rules of Procedure (1).

5.   The President-elect shall be invited to present the college of Commissioners and their programme at a sitting of Parliament.   The President of the European Council and the President of the Council shall be invited to attend. The statement shall be followed by a debate.

6.   In order to wind up that debate, a political group or Members reaching at least the low threshold may table a motion for a resolution. Rule 123(3) to (8) shall apply.

7.   Following the vote on the motion for a resolution, Parliament shall elect or reject the Commission by a majority of the votes cast, by roll call. Parliament may defer the vote until the next sitting.

8.   The President shall inform the Council of the election or rejection of the Commission.

9.   In the event of a substantial portfolio change or a change in the composition of the Commission during the Commission’s term of office, the Commissioners concerned or any other Commissioners designate shall be invited to participate in a hearing held in accordance with paragraphs 3 and 4.

10.   In the event of a change in the Commissioner’s portfolio or in the financial interests of a Commissioner during his or her term of office, this situation shall be subject to scrutiny by Parliament in accordance with Annex VI.

If a conflict of interests is identified during a Commissioner’s term of office and the President of the Commission fails to implement Parliament’s recommendations for resolving that conflict of interests, Parliament may ask the President of the Commission to withdraw confidence in the Commissioner in question, pursuant to paragraph 5 of the Framework agreement on relations between the European Parliament and the European Commission and, where appropriate, to take action with a view to depriving the Commissioner in question of his or her right to a pension or other benefits in lieu of pension in accordance with the second paragraph of Article 245 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union.

(1) See Annex VI.
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