Árpád Duka-Zólyomi

You can find my questions addressed to the Commission or the Council on this site.

Questions are regulated by Rules 108-110 of The Rules of Procedure of the European Parliament:

Rule 108  : Questions for oral answer with debate

1.    Questions may be put to the Council or the Commission by a committee, a political group or at least forty Members with a request that they be placed on the agenda of Parliament.

Such questions shall be submitted in writing to the President who shall immediately refer them to the Conference of Presidents.

The Conference of Presidents shall decide whether and in what order questions should be placed on the agenda. Questions not placed on Parliament’s agenda within three months of being submitted shall lapse.

2.    Questions to the Commission must be referred to that institution at least one week before the sitting on whose agenda they are to appear and questions to the Council at least three weeks before that date.

3.    Where the questions concern matters referred to in Articles 17 and 34 of the EU Treaty, the time limit provided for in paragraph 2 of this Rule shall not apply, and the Council must reply with sufficient promptness to keep Parliament properly informed.

4.    One of the questioners may move the question for five minutes. One member of the institution concerned shall answer.

The author of the question is entitled to use the whole period of speaking time mentioned.

Rule 109  : Question Time

1.    Question Time with the Council and Commission shall be held at each part-session at such times as may be decided by Parliament on a proposal from the Conference of Presidents. A specific period of time may be set aside for questions to the President and individual Members of the Commission.

2.    No Member may put more than one question to the Council and the Commission at a given part-session.

3.    Questions shall be submitted in writing to the President, who shall rule on their admissibility and on the order in which they are to be taken. The questioner shall be notified immediately of this decision.

Rule 110  : Questions for written answer

1.    Questions for written answer may be put by any Member to the Council or the Commission in accordance with guidelines . The content of questions shall be the sole responsibility of their authors.

2.    Questions shall be submitted in writing to the President who shall forward them to the institution concerned. Doubts concerning the admissibility of a question shall be settled by the President. His decision shall be notified to the questioner.

3.    If a question cannot be answered within the time limit set it shall, at the request of the author, be placed on the agenda of the next meeting of the committee responsible. Rule 109 shall apply mutatis mutandis.

4.    Questions which require an immediate answer but not detailed research (priority questions) shall be answered within three weeks of being forwarded to the institution concerned. Each Member may table one priority question each month.

Other questions (non-priority questions) shall be answered within six weeks of being forwarded to the institution concerned.

Members shall indicate which type of question they are submitting. The final decision shall be taken by the President.

5.    Questions and answers shall be published in the Official Journal of the European Union.