Chap 1- Rules of Procedure

General Provisions

Article 1 – Context with reference to the Rules of the FFPE-EUROCONTROL Association

The present Rules of Procedure of FFPE-EUROCONTROL shall establish the general provisions of the Association; they shall be supplemented by the Financial Regulations and the Regulations Governing the Council, which shall be part of the present Rules of Procedure.
These Rules and Regulations shall be subject to the Rules of the FFPE-EUROCONTROL Association; any provision contrary to the latter shall be deemed null and void.
This edition of the Rules and Regulations shall supersede all previous editions.
In these Rules and Regulations, the term “Council” shall refer to the Council of the non-profit Association (ASBL).

Article 2 – Membership

All members whose latest payment into one of the Association’s bank accounts is no more than six months overdue shall be considered duly paid-up members.
Members shall be considered properly registered where their financial formalities have not yet been completed by the Treasurer pending receipt of subscriptions. While registered members shall enjoy all the rights to which duly paid-up members are entitled, they will not be included in the member count in all cases where this concept is applicable (Framework Agreement, General Meeting).
Individuals who have sent a declaration to the FFPE-EUROCONTROL Secretariat agreeing to the publication of their names in the Office of the Clerk of the Nivelles Commercial Court shall be classed as full members; those who have not agreed to be registered in this way shall be classed as affiliated members.

Article 3 – Elected members

The members of the Council and, as a general rule, all members who are elected to one or other function by the General Meeting shall be deemed to be elected members.

Article 4 – Resignation of elected members

In order to resign, an elected member must tender his/her resignation to the President in writing.
The President may defer the effective date of such resignation until the next ordinary General Meeting is held.
The President may also convene an extraordinary General Meeting in order to replace an elected member who has tendered his/her resignation.
The resignation of a member of FFPE-EUROCONTROL shall be submitted to the President in writing and shall take effect as from the day after its receipt; it may also be tendered by e-mail.
No longer being a member shall automatically entail the loss of a seat on the Council.

Trade Union action

Article 5 – Definition of action

Trade union action shall be taken to mean any action directed against the employer other than the holding of meetings or assemblies.
A strike is a voluntary interruption of work following a call to strike. Any restriction or reduction of activities which remain within the framework of action authorised under the service regulations (= work-to-rule) shall not be deemed to be a strike.

Article 6 – Decisions

Apart from a strike, any action shall be decided by the Council.
A strike may be proposed by the President to the members at a general meeting or an ad hoc partial meeting. Apart from duly notified exceptions, strike action shall not give rise to financial compensation.
Using the same voting methods, the President may ask members to support a spontaneous strike.
For a strike to be started, it must be approved by two thirds of the members present at the ad hoc meeting. The President may decide, at the request of a fifth of the members present, that a secret ballot be held.
The end of the strike must be approved by secret ballot by at least half of the members present at the ad hoc meeting.

Article 7 – Disciplinary measures

In the event of members of FFPE-EUROCONTROL being the victims of disciplinary measures following action approved or brought by FFPE-EUROCONTROL, the latter shall automatically provide for their protection, including legal protection.

Legal defence

Article 8 – General provisions

The Council shall be responsible for the legal management of FFPE-EUROCONTROL; it shall therefore choose one or more lawyers who will advise, represent and defend the Association as well as its members whenever the Council considers it necessary.
The Council shall approve the annual budget and any supplementary budgets.

Article 9 – Legal appeal procedure

Any duly paid-up member may at any time request a legal opinion or the assistance of FFPE-EUROCONTROL in respect of any action covered by the Staff Regulations governing officials of the Agency or the General Conditions of Employment.
With the exception of the provision in Article 7 of these Rules and Regulations, the Council shall determine by a simple majority whether action should be taken and approve recourse to a lawyer where appropriate.
In the event of action being approved, this shall be communicated to the member in writing together with the part of the expenses met by FFPE-EUROCONTROL. The requester shall remain responsible for sending the file justifying the action to the lawyer and for supplying any documents which may be asked for by the Council or the lawyer. In the event of a serious failure on the part of the member to respond to a request made by the Council or the lawyer, the member may be required to bear the costs in full.
The Council may, however, decide to set a fixed-rate contribution for each individual involved, either in a general manner or in specific actions.
Should the action requested and obtained result in a successful lawsuit and the member be awarded costs, these shall automatically go to the Association or to its lawyer. Any other material and non-pecuniary damages paid to the member shall remain that member’s property.

Suspension and sanctions

Article 10 – Sanctions

Where the acts, remarks or the behaviour of a member of FFPE-EUROCONTROL are incompatible with the Rules of the Association or jeopardise FFPE-EUROCONTROL action, the member concerned may be sanctioned.
The following sanctions are possible:
a)   a written warning;
b)   a reprimand;
c)   suspension;
d)   expulsion.
Only the General Meeting may expel a member.
The President of the Council may impose the other sanctions.

Article 11 – Disciplinary proceedings

Before proceedings are initiated against a member, the President shall send the member a letter detailing the grievances justifying the proceedings and shall designate a member of the Council as rapporteur.
The member who is the subject of proceedings shall have fifteen working days to present his/her defence.
Unless the member concerned forgoes the hearing, it shall take place within no less than fifteen and no more than ninety days.
Within eight days of the hearing, the President shall communicate the proposed sanction in writing.

Article 12 – Suspension

The President may decide to suspend a member by way of a sanction.
The President may also initiate a suspension in the event of an elected member simultaneously being a member of another trade-union organisation.
The suspension shall apply until the General Meeting following the sanction, and may be extended, cancelled or replaced by expulsion at that General Meeting.
In an emergency, the President may temporarily suspend a member during disciplinary proceedings; this temporary suspension must be justified on grounds of urgency and shall not constitute a sanction.

Article 13 – Expulsion

With the exception of the provision in Article 29, a member shall be expelled by the General Meeting by a simple majority of members present.
Expulsion shall take effect immediately and shall not give rise to financial compensation.

Final provisions

Article 14 – Final provisions

The present Rules and Regulations shall come into force as of the date of their approval and may be amended by a simple majority of the Council.

Article 15 – Complaints

Any complaint against the present Rules and Regulations shall be addressed to the Council, which shall rule immediately.
In the event of the complaint being rejected, the member making the complaint may request that the item be entered on the agenda of the next Ordinary General Meeting. The Council shall rule on this request for inclusion on the agenda; the ruling shall not be subject to appeal.

Chapter 2 – Regulations Governing the Council

General provisions

Article 16 – Powers

The present Rules and Regulations shall define the modus operandi of the FFPE-EUROCONTROL Council, hereinafter referred to as “the Council”, in accordance with Articles 18 et seq. of the Rules.
In addition to the competences expressly devolved to the General Meeting of the members, the Council shall have the widest powers to administer and manage the Association.
The Association shall ordinarily be represented by the President or his/her representative, acting in accordance with the Rules of the Association and these Rules and Regulations.

Article 17 – Composition

The Council shall be composed of administrators and co-opted members.
Administrators shall be elected by all the duly paid-up members of the Association via a vote by correspondence in accordance with the provisions of these Rules and Regulations.
Co-opted members shall be appointed by the administrators on the basis of these Rules and Regulations.

Article 18 – Meetings

The Council shall be responsible for the day-to-day management of the non-profit Association (ASBL) FFPE-EUROCONTROL; as such, it shall meet as often as necessary and normally on the fourth Thursday of every other month as convened by the President or his/her deputy.
Between the meetings, all important decisions shall be taken by means of electronic voting in accordance with the procedure laid down in these Regulations.
In general, the notice convening the meeting and the agenda must reach members at least five working days before the beginning of the meeting.
When a new Council is set up, it shall meet without requiring to be convened, on the fourth Thursday following the publication of the final results of the vote by correspondence or the General Meeting which appointed it.

Article 19 – Replacement of the President

In the event of the President being absent, the Vice-President shall automatically act as president.
In the event of there being more than one Vice-President at the same time, the Council shall determine the order in which they shall replace the President.
In the event of the President and Vice-President(s) both/all being absent, the General Secretary shall carry out the functions of the President as regards routine tasks and the signing of expenditure; he/she may not, however, convene a meeting, except on exceptional grounds.

Article 20 – Allocation of duties

The President shall manage the Association, represent FFPE-EUROCONTROL outside the Association and automatically chair all the Association’s meetings; the President shall be assisted in this task by the Vice-President(s).
The General Secretary shall convene meetings of the Council and General Meetings. He/she shall establish meeting agendas in conjunction with the President, keep the register of decisions and rules, and be responsible for correspondence with the Council.
The Treasurer’s responsibilities shall be laid down in the Financial Regulations of the FFPE-EUROCONTROL Association.
The responsibilities allocated to other members of the Council shall be determined by the Council.

Article 21 – Special responsibilities

The Council may delegate some of its powers to persons it designates to this end. Persons thus mandated shall be responsible to the Council for carrying out their remit.

Article 22 – Negotiations and working groups

The Council shall appoint its negotiators for each set of negotiations in which FFPE-EUROCONTROL is involved and shall define the limits of their mandate.
The Council may also set up working groups to prepare files, at the request either of external bodies or of the Council itself.
The working groups set up by the Council shall report back to it on their work.

Article 23 – Decisions of the Council

All decisions of the Council shall be entered in a register of decisions kept by the General Secretary.
The register of decisions may be consulted in situ on request by all duly paid-up members.

Article 24 – Legal proceedings

The Council shall determine policy regarding legal action for the Council as well as for members.
Any member may ask the Council that legal action be taken in connection with his/her case in accordance with the procedure laid down in the FFPE-EUROCONTROL Rules of Procedure.

Decision-making

Article 25 – Quorum and voting

The Council shall be quorate when one half of its members is present or represented.
Voting shall ordinarily be conducted by a show of hands; at the request of two Council members, however, it may be conducted by secret ballot.
Except when the vote is by secret ballot, Council members who have voted against a decision or have abstained may request that a note be taken of their names and how they have voted; they may also request that a note be taken of the reasons for their vote.

Article 26 – Electronic voting

The President, or his/her deputy, may decide, between two meetings of the Council, to have texts and documents approved electronically.
The General Secretary shall be responsible for organising the electronic voting and shall send all members the text of the proposal to be adopted and inform them of the time limit for replying; transmission shall be via e-mail with acknowledgement of receipt.
The said time limit, except in urgent cases, shall be not less than 48 hours.
Each member must vote in person; there shall be no provision for voting by proxy.
Voting shall be organised without discussion and the absence of a response within the time limit shall be deemed equivalent to approval; any comment on the substance of the proposal submitted shall be deemed to be a negative vote. Voting shall be carried out by replying directly to all members (reply all).
Each member of the Council may request as a point of order (in their reply to the e-mail) at least 24 hours before the expiry of the deadline that the proposal be deferred to the following meeting for discussion.
If such a point of order is submitted, the General Secretary shall call for a special vote on this motion within 24 hours – the absence of a reply shall be deemed to be a rejection of the motion. If a majority of members approve the deferral motion, the matter shall be automatically set down on the agenda of the following meeting of the Council.

Local sections

Article 27 – Local sections

The Council shall create as many local sections as it deems necessary for the smooth management of the Association.
It shall inform the members as soon as possible that such local sections have been created.
It shall define the internal organisation of each local section in consultation with the local delegates.
The Council may also create special sections bringing together various local sections; it shall lay down the regulations governing such special sections.

Article 28 – Local delegates

The Council may elect a delegate in each local section which it has deemed necessary to create in accordance with Article 27.1 above.
A local delegate newly elected by the Council shall automatically become a member thereof, pursuant to Articles 5 and 6 of the Rules of the FFPE-EUROCONTROL ASBL.
Where a local delegate has not been elected for a section, it shall be managed directly by the Council.

Article 29 – Local representatives

At the proposal of the local delegate, the Council shall determine the internal organisation of each local section and decide how often and by what means the local representatives are selected.
The local representatives shall report to the local delegate and assist him/her in his/her tasks.
The local representatives shall meet as often as necessary, but no less than three times per year.
If a local section has less than ten duly paid-up members, the Council shall appoint a local representative, who may not be a member of the Council.

Article 30 – The local delegates’ mission

Local delegates shall represent FFPE-EUROCONTROL in the local sections which they organise in accordance with provisions adopted by the Council; more specifically, they are responsible for providing information to the members of their sections; this includes the organisation of extraordinary general meetings.
Local delegates shall be responsible for the day-to-day administration of their sections.
They shall assist the Treasurer in the financial management of FFPE-EUROCONTROL in accordance with the Financial Regulations of the FFPE-EUROCONTROL Association and any special provisions in force.

Elections to the council

Article 31 –Electoral procedures

These Regulations stipulate that all Council members shall be replaced every four years, starting in 2007.
First of all, the administrators shall be elected by all the members.
The administrators shall then meet to appoint the co-opted members on the basis of the following criteria; the total number of co-opted members may not exceed five:
– one member for each of the local sections representing more than 20% of the duly paid‑up members;
– any individuals who should, in the Council’s opinion, be co-opted on the grounds of their personal qualities.
The newly elected administrators shall meet in accordance with Article 18.4 above to appoint from among themselves a President, one or two Vice-Presidents, a Treasurer, a Vice-Treasurer (where necessary), a General Secretary and a Political Secretary (see Article 22 of the Rules of the FFPE-EUROCONTROL ASBL).
Council members may be re-elected.

Article 32 – Responsibility for election proceedings

The outgoing Council shall be responsible for election proceedings and shall lay down the schedule for elections.
The Electoral Board shall be composed of the outgoing administrators.

Article 33 – Eligibility

Any duly paid-up full member of FFPE-EUROCONTROL may stand for election to the Council, in accordance with Articles 5 and 6 of the Rules of the FFPE-EUROCONTROL ASBL.

Article 34 – Procedure for voting by correspondence

For all elections by correspondence, the secretariat shall send every duly paid-up member an envelope containing: two further envelopes, one plain envelope bearing the date of the vote, to contain the ballot paper, and a second, larger, return envelope bearing the address of the secretariat, to contain the sealed plain envelope, a set of electoral rules and a ballot paper whose colour and content shall be decided by the Council for each election.
Members shall vote by returning their ballot paper in the sealed plain envelope, inserted in turn in the return envelope. If the return envelope is lost, members may use a different envelope on the express condition that they indicate on it their membership number or, failing this, their payroll number.
Any votes cast on anything other than the ballot paper provided by the secretariat or returned with no indication of the voter’s identity shall be null and void.
For the duration of the voting, the envelopes shall be placed in the ballot box provided for this purpose in the secretariat.
On the day of the count, the Council shall meet as an Electoral Board chaired by the President or his/her deputy. The Electoral Board shall be composed of at least four members. The return envelopes shall be opened, the votes counted and the sealed envelopes placed in the ballot box. In a second round, the sealed envelopes shall be opened and the votes counted.
The secretary of the Electoral Board shall draft a report, which shall be signed by all the members of the Electoral Board.

Article 35 – Nominations and voting methods

As soon as the date of the elections is known, and at least thirty days before they are due to be held, the President shall publish the election schedule.
Any duly paid-up members may submit their candidature for election to the President or local delegate of their section. However, compliance with Articles 5 and 6 of the Rules of the FFPE-EUROCONTROL ASBL is required.
The list of candidates shall be closed two weeks before the ballot is held. Only duly paid-up full members who do not belong to any other trade union than FFPE-EUROCONTROL shall be accepted as candidates.
Two weeks before the ballot, the list of candidates shall be presented to all members.
Any member may lodge a complaint against the list of the candidates up to ten days before the poll.
In the event of a complaint, the Electoral Board shall rule within forty-eight hours.
One week before the elections, the Electoral Board shall send to all members a ballot paper, the voting rules and the envelopes for voting by correspondence.
The ballot papers shall be sent in sealed envelopes to the Presiding Officer of the Central Electoral Board.
After closure of the ballot, the Electoral Board shall count the votes.
The Presiding Officer of the Electoral Board shall send the list of members elected to members within five days following the ballot.
Members shall have five days to lodge a complaint against the results of the elections.
Any complaint shall be handled within forty-eight hours.
When the result of the elections is final, the Presiding Officer of the Electoral Board shall inform members and EUROCONTROL’s General Directorate accordingly. The ballot papers shall then be destroyed.

Article 36 – Election by the General Meeting

By way of derogation from Article 18, the Council may decide that it shall be re‑elected via one or more General Meetings.
An Ordinary General Meeting shall be held, to which only the duly paid-up members shall be invited. It is they who shall elect the new administrators as Council members.
The administrators shall select the co-opted members in accordance with these Regulations, but their confirmation as Council members shall be postponed until the next General Meeting.
If the Council decides to proceed in this fashion, it must inform the members accordingly at least three months before the vote is held.

Chapter 3 – Financial Regulations

Authorized signatories

Article 37 – Authorised signatories for the accounts

The Treasurer shall be authorised to sign all accounts opened by the Association.
The President and one other administrator designated by the Council shall also be authorised to sign in the case of bank accounts for use in respect of payments.
The President shall also be authorised to sign bank accounts for use in respect of savings and transfers.
Authorisations to sign shall be granted by virtue of offices held and shall be immediately modified where these offices are no longer held.

Article 38 – Delegation of signatures

Any expenditure of less than EUR 500 shall be committed by the Treasurer.
Expenditure ranging between EUR 500 and EUR 3,000 shall be committed by the Treasurer and the President or the President’s deputy.
Expenditure equivalent to or higher than EUR 3,000 shall be committed by the Treasurer and the President following approval by the Council.
However, in connection with the use of electronic financial management methods, the Treasurer or the administrator designated pursuant Article 37.2 above shall be authorised to effect any transactions with his/her sole signature. He/she shall report monthly in retrospect to the President, who shall countersign the list of transfers made during the previous month.

Expenditure

Article 39 – Approval of expenditure

All expenditure must be approved by the President or the President’s deputy.
However, recurrent expenditure and contributions to the FFPE Federation may be committed direct by the Treasurer.
Transfers and investments shall be made by the Treasurer subject to the Council’s approval.

Article 40 – Regulation of expenditure

No expenditure shall be authorised except through a bank account.
The Association shall hold no permanent cash in hand; however, for specific events and on the authority of the Council, the Treasurer will be able to make available cash in hand intended to cover specific receipts.
Expenditure paid in cash by a member of the Council shall be refunded by bank transfer upon presentation of supporting documents.

Article 41 – Mission and entertainment expenses

Members’ travel or mission expenses authorised by the Council shall be paid in accordance with the arrangements decided by the Council.
Members of the Council may, with the President’s authorisation, commit entertainment expenses.
Any expenditure must be justified by means of supporting documents.

Article 42 – Special provisions for missions

Where travel by vehicle is authorised, FFPE-EUROCONTROL shall reimburse members either on the basis of number of kilometres travelled (at the rate applied by the Agency’s Missions Office) or on the basis of the price of renting a category C vehicle from EUROCONTROL’s usual vehicle rental company (HERTZ), whichever is the lower.
Reimbursement of hotel costs shall be on the basis of the list of hotels provided by FFPE-EUROCONTROL (on the basis of EUROCONTROL’s flat rates); for hotels not on FFPE-EUROCONTROL’s list, reimbursement shall be limited to the maximum flat rate approved by FFPE-EUROCONTROL for the town in question. Where the town is not included in the list, the member must obtain special prior authorisation from the President. The maximum rates to be applied for each town from 1 July 2012 shall be based on the preferential rates applied to EUROCONTROL or FFPE-EUROCONTROL.
Where FFPE-EUROCONTROL has negotiated preferential rates with hotels, members shall be required to stay in these hotels.
With regard to entertainment expenses, any member whose meals have been paid for by FFPE-EUROCONTROL shall be required to reimburse a flat-rate contribution of EUR 20.

Miscellaneous provisions

Article 43 – Treasurer’s responsibilities

The current and savings bank accounts, and other sources of financial income of the Association, shall be managed under the responsibility of the Treasurer, who shall also be in charge of the authorised signatures.
The Treasurer shall also be responsible for keeping the Association’s accounts.
The Treasurer shall draw up the accounts for the Council, the Bureau and the General Meeting.
The Treasurer shall be responsible for the transmission of tax and social security statements and shall make all the necessary contacts with the tax and social security authorities.
The Treasurer shall prepare the forward budget for approval by the Council.
The Treasurer shall keep the register of members in conjunction (where necessary) with the Vice-Treasurer.
The Treasurer shall be responsible for payments authorised by the Council or the Bureau.

The Council may appoint a deputy Treasurer who shall act under the Treasurer’s responsibility in the areas of competence entrusted to him/her by the Council.

Article 44 – Appointment of auditors

Each year, the Council shall appoint two auditors who may not be members of the Council.
The auditors shall be appointed before 1March of each year and shall submit their report to the Council before 30 April of the same year.
The Council shall submit the auditors’ report together with any comments it may have to the Ordinary General Meeting in May.

Article 45 – Subscriptions

Subscriptions shall be paid into the Association’s bank account(s).
The Treasurer shall be responsible for issuing reminders in respect of late payment of subscriptions.
However, registered letters in this connection may only be sent with the consent of the Council.
Members who have not duly paid their subscriptions after receiving a reminder by registered mail shall be deemed to have resigned.

Approved at Brussels on 28.6.12

Benoît Bams

President

FFPE

EUROCONTROL

Internal rules