European Center for Parliamentary Science and Documentation
The European Center for Parliamentary Science and Documentation (ECPRD) is a parliamentary network founded in 1977.
aims
The aim of the center is to promote the exchange of information, ideas and experience between the administrations of the parliaments in Europe. Successful examples from practice are to be exchanged and the already existing close cooperation between the departments of the parliaments in all areas of parliamentary administration, legislation, information, science and documentation is to be intensified. The ECPRD collects and disseminates the reports and studies prepared by the parliamentary services. Of course, the center also works together with other European networks, e.g. B. IPEX or TAIEX.
Members
A parliamentary assembly can only become a member of the ECPRD if it has previously also become a member of the Conference of Presidents of the European Parliamentary Assemblies.
The center has the following members (as of 2016)
as well as the chambers of the parliaments of the member states of the European Union and of the Council of Europe
- Albania (Assemblée Populaire),
- Andorra (Consell General),
- Armenia (National Assembly),
- Azerbaijan (National Assembly),
- Belgium (Chambre des Représentants and Senate),
- Bosnia and Herzegovina (House of the People and House of Representatives),
- Bulgaria (Narodno Sabranie),
- Denmark (Folketing),
- Germany (Bundestag and Bundesrat),
- Estonia (Riigikogu),
- Finland (Eduskunta),
- France (Assemblée Nationale and Sénat),
- Georgia (Parliament),
- Greece (Vouli ton Ellinon),
- Ireland (Dáil and Seanad),
- Iceland (Althingi),
- Italy (Camera dei Deputati and Senato),
- Croatia (Sabor),
- Latvia (Saeima),
- Liechtenstein (Landtag),
- Lithuania (Seimas),
- Luxembourg (Chamber of Deputies),
- Malta (House of Representatives),
- Moldova (Parlamentul Republicii Moldova),
- Monaco (National Council),
- Montenegro (Parliament),
- the Netherlands (Eerste and Tweede Kamer der Staten-Generaal),
- Norway (Stortinget),
- Austria (National Council and Federal Council),
- Poland (Sejm and Senate),
- Portugal (Assembleia da República),
- Romania (Camera Deputatilor and Senate),
- Russia (State Duma and Federation Council),
- San Marino (Consiglio Grande e Generale),
- Sweden (Riksdag),
- Switzerland (National Council and Council of States),
- Serbia (National Council),
- Slovakia (National Council),
- Slovenia (Dravni zbor and Dravni svet),
- Spain (Congreso de los Diputados and Senado),
- Czech Republic (Chamber of Deputies and Senate),
- Turkey (Türkiye Büyük Millet Meclisi),
- Hungary (Országgyulés),
- Ukraine (Verkhovna Rada),
- "The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia " (Assembly of the Republic),
- United Kingdom (House of Commons and House of Lords)
- and Cyprus (House of Representatives).
The center is also available to states that enjoy observer status in the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe:
activities
Since 1977 the ECPRD has developed into one of the most important platforms for intra-European parliamentary cooperation. Every other year an official activity report is submitted to the Conference of Presidents and Secretaries General. The publications of the ECPRD are published as on the website of the center.
The centre's website serves as a communication platform for the parliamentary administrations. If a parliament sends a question to at least four other European parliaments, it is sent by email together with a sample response from the requesting parliament to the secretariat in Brussels and forwarded from there to the parliamentary assemblies. Most of the time, however, the 27 EU parliaments or even all participating parliaments are questioned. Although the working languages of the ECPRD are German, English and French, in practice most of the questions and answers are given in English. The deadlines for answering such inquiries are usually tight. All inquiries and responses since the year 2000 are stored in an ECPRD database, including those that have only been received after the deadline has expired. Topics that experience has shown can become relevant again and again are always available in the database.
| year | Requests | reply |
| 2000 | 10 | |
| 2001 | 32 | 508 |
| 2002 | 58 | 847 |
| 2003 | 96 | 1,537 |
| 2004 | 137 | 2,294 |
| 2005 | 160 | 2,894 |
| 2006 | 174 | 3,359 |
| 2007 | 214 | 5,387 |
| 2008 | 174 | 5,143 |
| 2009 | 223 | 5,246 |
The range of topics covered by the inquiries ranges from parliamentary scrutiny rights to party funding to the use of the European flag in European parliaments. Questions about the regulation of the protection of minors are asked and answered as well as questions about the committees for human rights.
The ECPRD invites you to a correspondents' conference once a year, so that mutual acquaintance and direct multinational cooperation is possible. The center and the annual conferences are chaired by two co-directors and co-secretaries appointed by the European Parliament and the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe.
history
The organization was founded in June 1977 in Vienna by the Conference of Presidents of the European Parliamentary Assemblies as a hub for parliamentary cooperation. The conference instructed the Presidents of the European Parliament and the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, Emilio Colombo and Karl Czernetz , to take the necessary measures to establish the center. The first and longest serving co-director of the center from 1977 to 1994 was Klaus Pöhle.
The development of the center is divided into three phases:
1978–1989: These years are marked by the development of standards in the information facilities of the national parliaments. The work structures of the center arise. A correspondent is appointed in each national parliament. Working groups for the various areas of activity of the parliamentary administrations are set up.
1990–1996: During this time, the new democracies of Central and Eastern Europe are included in the work of the center. The use of IT in the national parliaments is being intensified. The parliamentary websites are created.
1997–2009: The cooperation of the national parliaments experiences an unchecked boom in mutual inquiries. An extensive seminar program is offered and accepted to the staff of the national parliaments. In May 2006 the new statutes were adopted by the secretaries general at the European Conference of Speakers of Parliaments in Tallinn.
An analysis of the areas of responsibility has shown that four areas are particularly important for interparliamentary exchange. The following areas are each supervised by a coordinator:
- Parliamentary Practice and Procedure
- Information and communicationtechnology
- Libraries, Academic Services and Archives
- Economic research.
The website is only accessible to members of the ECPRD.
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ Archived copy ( memento of the original from June 26, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
