Rules USB

1. The Brussels-based officials and other employees of the European Institutions and organisations, seconded national experts and any other persons having a direct employment contract with those Institutions and organisations in Brussels who have accepted these Rules hereby form a trade union called "Union Syndicale – Service Public Européen – Bruxelles" (Union Syndicale – European Public Service – Brussels) with its headquarters in Brussels.
   The short form of the name of the trade union ("Union Syndicale – Brussels") and the abbreviation "USB" may equally be used provided it is absolutely clear that the reference is to the "Union Syndicale – European Public Service – Brussels".
2. This Union is affiliated to the Union Syndicale Fédérale des Services publics européens et internationaux (USF) (European and International Public Services Federal Trade Union) and through it to the Public Services International (PSI), with its headquarters in Ferney-Voltaire (France) and to the European Federation of Public Service Unions (EPSU), with its headquarters in Brussels; it is associated with the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) and the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC), both of which have their headquarters in Brussels.
3. This Union is affiliated to the Union Syndicale Fédérale des Services publics européens et internationaux (USF) (European and International Public Services Federal Trade Union) and through it to the Public Services International (PSI), with its headquarters in Ferney-Voltaire (France) and to the European Federation of Public Service Unions (EPSU), with its headquarters in Brussels; it is associated with the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) and the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC), both of which have their headquarters in Brussels.

1. The main purposes of the Union shall be to:
   • serve and defend the economic, social, professional and moral interests of its members and of the entire staff of the European Institutions and organisations,
   • contribute towards defining and fulfilling the objectives and defending the principles of the Union Syndicale Fédérale, the PSI, the EPSU, the ITUC and the ETUC by means of practical solidarity with European and international labour.
2. To these ends, the Union's activities shall seek to:
   • defend the independence, competence and permanent nature of the European public service, which are necessary for the achievement of the objectives of European integration,
   • obtain recognition of or maintain the right of the Union to contribute, through free negotiations and through participation in administration, to determining the working conditions and the conditions of employment of its members and of the entire staff,
   • do all within its power to ensure that the structures and the working methods of our institutions are adapted to meet the requirements of a modern and humane multinational administration.

1. The Union shall be independent of all national and international institutions, governments, administrations, political parties, denominational or philosophical movements and interest groups.
2. For the purpose of defending common interests, the Union may be affiliated to any federation of unions of staff members of European organisations which are affiliated to the PSI.
3. The Union affirms its willingness to cooperate with other democratic trade union organisations which have the same objectives.

1. Any official, other employee, seconded national expert or any other person having a direct employment contract with the Institutions, organisations, institutes, offices, delegations and agencies referred to in Article I-1 or I-2, even if retired, may seek admission to the Union. No person may simultaneously be a member of the European Public Service Union and of another trade union or professional organisation of European or international officials.
2. Admission to the Union shall be by way of an application accompanied by a written declaration which shall imply acceptance of these Rules. The Executive Committee shall decide on the application. Admission to the Union shall confer the status of associate member of the international non-profit-making body "La Maison de l'Union Syndicale".
   In the event of the said Committee rejecting the application, the applicant may appeal against such decision to the Executive Committee, which shall be obliged to submit the appeal to the next General Meeting, the matter being included explicitly on the agenda.
   The General Meeting may reject the appeal only if the majority of the members present decide in favour of such rejection.
3. A member may submit his resignation from the Union at any time. The resignation must be notified to the Executive Committee in writing.
4. 4. Membership shall be withdrawn automatically as a result of a delay of more than twelve months in the payment of the subscription amount which the member owes.
5. 5. Expulsion from the Union may be requested by the Executive Committee in respect of any member whose behaviour is such as to be harmful to the Union. Such request must be notified to the person concerned in writing and addressed to the Disputes Board referred to in Article XIII, which shall hear the person concerned and shall give a ruling within 30 days. The Executive Committee may at any time withdraw its request and shall notify the person concerned and the Disputes Board thereof without delay. After the 30-day period, the Executive Committee shall rule on expulsion by an absolute majority of its members on the basis of the decision of the Disputes Board or the information forwarded by the latter. An appeal against a ruling on exclusion may be made by the person concerned to the Executive Committee, which is required to submit that appeal to the next General Meeting, which shall decide by an absolute majority of the members present, the matter being included explicitly on the agenda. The appeal shall not suspend the ruling in question. The expulsion shall take effect on the day following that on which the Executive Committee notified the person concerned thereof.
6. 6. Where the request for expulsion concerns an elected member of one of the statutory bodies referred to in Article VIII, it must be addressed to the Disputes Board by a majority of the members constituting the Executive Committee.
7. 7. The Executive Committee may, by a simple majority and after verifying the existence of the quorum laid down in Article X-8, remove from his duties a member who has infringed the second subparagraph of Article VI-3 and refuse him access to the Union's meetings as well as to its human and material resources.
   That suspension shall be valid for a maximum period of six weeks unless within that period it is confirmed by a request for expulsion within the meaning of Article IV-5 or IV-6. In such case it shall be valid until completion of the procedure
8. 8. The Executive Committee shall be empowered to confer, by a majority of its component members, honorary membership upon former officials and other employees of European Institutions who are not members under Article IV-1 but who merit this distinction for services rendered to the trade union movement of the staff of the European Institutions and organisations.
9. 9. On the death of a member, his heirs may, if they so wish, become members of the Union. They shall be exempt from paying a subscription.

1. All members shall be automatically entered in the register of voters for the Union's bodies defined in Article VIII. The register of voters shall be closed on the date of the last meeting of the Executive Committee preceding the General Meeting which opens the electoral procedure.
2. Any member shall be entitled to a consultation with one of the Union's legal advisers or, in accordance with the procedures decided by the Executive Committee, to legal assistance in pre-litigation procedures (Article 90 of the Staff Regulations of officials and Articles 46, 73, 117 and 124 of the CEOS) in respect of any matter concerning his professional life. Any person whose subscription payments are in order may be granted legal assistance in disputes procedures by the Executive Committee, which shall decide in each individual case the nature and the extent of such assistance. In principle, the beneficiary of such assistance must have been a member whose subscription payments have been in order for at least six months at the time of the act adversely affecting him. The procedure for implementing this provision shall be adopted by the Executive Committee and notified to members.
3. Legal assistance may also be granted to spouses and orphans of deceased members.

1. Members shall undertake to defend the Union's interests and to take an active part in fulfilling the objectives set out in these Rules and in implementing the decisions of the Union's bodies. Members shall be bound by the decisions of the Union's bodies.
2. Members elected to the Staff Committee of a European Institution or organisation, or in a body set up under the Staff Regulations or any other administrative body, shall undertake in that body to defend and respect the principles and purposes of the Union set out in Articles II and III.
3. Members shall refrain from any behaviour likely to be detrimental to the Union. They shall in particular be barred from standing for statutory elections, without prior authorisation of the Executive Committee, on rival electoral lists and from signing, either individually or in a group, agreements with the latter.
   Members shall pay their Union subscription regularly. The initial subscription shall be payable for the quarter following that in which membership was acquired.
4. Heirs who become members under Article IV-8 shall be exempt from paying a subscription.

1. The Union's resources shall consist of members' subscriptions, donations and other revenue.
2. The General Meeting shall determine, on a proposal from the Executive Committee, the amounts of the subscriptions, mainly in relation to members' basic salaries.
3. The method of payment of subscriptions shall be determined by the Executive Committee acting in agreement with the Audit Board.

The Union's bodies shall be:

• the General Meeting;
• the Executive Committee;
• the delegations set up within the Institutions and organisations;
• the Audit Board;
• the Disputes Board.

1. The General Meeting shall be the supreme body of the Union. It shall consist of all paid-up members.
2. The Executive Committee shall convene the Ordinary General Meeting once a year. The General Meeting convened on expiry of the Executive Committee's term of office shall be a statutory General Meeting.
3. The Executive Committee shall convene an Extraordinary General Meeting (whether statutory or not) whenever it considers it to be necessary. At the written request of at least 10 % of the members of the Union or of the majority of the members attached to any one Institution, it shall convene an Extraordinary General Meeting within a maximum period of 45 days.
4. The tasks and functions of the General Meeting shall include, in particular
   • defining the guidelines for Union policy;
   • if appropriate, adopting the Annual Financial Report, after hearing the opinion of the Audit Board;
   • if appropriate, voting on an appeal against an exclusion decision or any decision by the Disputes Board;
   • determining the amounts of the subscriptions;
   • voting motions submitted to it.
   The tasks and functions of the statutory General Meeting shall also include:
   • voting on the outgoing Executive Committee's Activity Report;
   • initiating the electoral procedure for the bodies laid down in these Rules;
   • setting a timetable for voting operations;
   • designating an Electoral Bureau.
5. The draft agenda and, in the event of a statutory General Meeting, the Activity Report shall be drawn up by the Executive Committee.
   A General Meeting shall be validly convened by a written invitation sent to each member of the Union by ordinary mail or e-mail at least 10 days before the date of the Meeting. In the case of an Extraordinary General Meeting, this time limit may be waived for reasons of urgency by a majority of two thirds of the members of the Executive Committee, except for the convening of a statutory General Meeting or where an appeal against an exclusion decision or a decision by the Disputes Board, an amendment to the Rules of the Union or its disbandment is included on the agenda for the General Meeting.
6. Decisions of the General Meeting shall be taken by a simple majority of the members present. Decisions relating to the amendment of these Rules, to appeals brought under Article IV-5 or Article XIII-5 shall require a quorum of 5 % of the members; decisions relating to the amendment of the Rules shall require a majority vote of two-thirds of the members present, decisions relating to appeals brought under Article IV-5 or Article XIII-5 shall require an absolute majority vote by the members present. If the quorum requirement is not fulfilled at the first General Meeting, a second General Meeting duly convened with the same agenda shall be held validly on the same day or at a later date without any quorum requirement.
7. Any proposal for amending the Rules shall be transmitted to the members of the Union with the notice of the General Meeting and shall be included explicitly on the agenda. Proposals may be considered only if they are submitted by the Executive Committee or at least 35 members. For the purposes of this provision, members may submit a proposal for amending the Rules to the Executive Committee, which shall examine whether it can support it.

1. The Executive Committee shall be responsible for putting into effect the guidelines defined by the General Meeting and for managing the Union's business between two statutory General Meetings.
   In particular, it shall draw up the annual budget estimate and implement it. This estimate may, however, provide for a sum of expenditure exceeding that of revenue by more than one fifth, only with the approval of a General Meeting convened for that purpose.
2. The Executive Committee shall consist of 30 members who shall be elected by a secret ballot in each Institution (*) for the period between two statutory General Meetings, which may not exceed 36 months.
   If serious events so warrant, the Executive Committee's term of office may be extended by a decision of the General Meeting up to a maximum of 48 months in total.
   The elected members of the Executive Committee shall become, for the duration of their term of office, full members of the international non-profit-making body "La Maison de l'Union Syndicale".
3. At its inaugural meeting, convened by its oldest member, the Executive Committee shall elect its Bureau. This shall be composed of the Chair, the Vice-Chairs, the Secretary-General, and the Treasurer, who must be elected members of the Executive Committee. It may also include a Deputy Secretary-General, a Deputy Treasurer, and an Organisational Secretary or ordinary members of its Bureau. The composition of the Bureau may be changed by the Executive Committee during its term of office. Decisions concerning the establishment or modification of the Bureau require the assent of the absolute majority of the elected members of the Executive Committee coming from at least three different institutions.
4. The Executive Committee may include in its proceedings, without the right to vote, any member of the Union, especially members elected or designated in the various staff representation bodies.
5. The Executive Committee shall represent the Union vis-à-vis its members, vis-à-vis the exterior and in all legal matters. The Union shall be represented in legal proceedings by the joint signatures of the Chair and the Secretary-General. In the event that either of them is prevented from signing, the signature of the Chair or of the Secretary-General may be accompanied by that of a Vice-Chair. In the event that both the Chair and the Secretary-General are prevented simultaneously, the Union may be represented in legal proceedings by the joint signatures of three Vice-Chairs.
6. The responsibilities of the Executive Committee shall include:
   • implementing the decisions of the General Meeting;
   • carrying out the tasks laid down by these Rules and by the guidelines defined by the General Meeting and taking all the necessary measures to this end;
   • implementing the budget.
7. The Executive Committee shall meet at the invitation of its Chair or, in his/her absence, of the Secretary-General. The invitation shall be sent at least three working days before the meeting. At the request of at least 10 of its members, the meeting shall automatically be postponed once.
8. The Executive Committee shall meet officially if more than half of its members are present. This quorum is deemed to exist unless one member requests verification that this is indeed the case.
9. An extraordinary meeting of the Executive Committee may be requested by 10 members of the Executive Committee.
10. The decisions of the Executive Committee shall be taken by a simple majority, save where the Rules expressly provide for a different majority.
11. The Executive Committee shall adopt its rules of procedure by the majority provided for in Article X-3.
12. In emergencies, the Executive Committee may take decisions by written procedure, in particular via e-mail. Decisions by written procedure shall be taken by the absolute majority of the members of the Executive Committee.
13. Proxy voting shall not be allowed in the Executive Committee. If an elected member of the Executive Committee resides permanently outside Belgium, the Committee shall take the necessary measures to enable him to participate in the deliberations.
14. At the reasoned request of at least five members, a motion of censure may be lodged against the Bureau or one or more of its members. This may be done in writing, outside a meeting of the Committee, or orally during a meeting of the Committee. Deliberations on the motion of censure shall take place at the first meeting of the Committee following the lodging of the motion. It shall be the first item on the agenda. The vote on the motion of censure shall take place only at the end of deliberations. The majority provided for in Article X-3 is required for adoption of the motion.
15. The Executive Committee may also consult individually members of the Union with specialist knowledge or ask them to assume responsibility for specific tasks.
16. When a problem is submitted to it which concerns one or more groups of officials and/or other employees, the Executive Committee shall be obliged first to consult the members of the Union belonging to this/these group(s). Such consultation may be carried out by electronic means.
17. The Executive Committee may also decide to consult all the Union's members, in particular by electronic means.

1. Each institution (*) or organisation may set up a delegation and establish its rules of procedure, as well as its method of election or appointment. With due regard for the guidelines defined by the General Meeting, each delegation may conclude agreements, strictly confined to the institution, with other unions or with the appointing authority, in particular with a view to consultations with the administration or the functioning of the institutional bodies set up under the Staff Regulations. The rules of procedure and any agreements must be submitted to the Executive Committee, which may examine them if it considers that they concern interinstitutional matters. In this case, they shall come within the Executive Committee's remit. The Committee shall also have responsibility for approving agreements on the representativeness of trade unions to be concluded within each Institution.
2. For each Institution or organisation, the delegations shall be composed of:
   • elected members of the Executive Committee and, if the delegation's rules of procedure allow:
   • non-elected candidates for Executive Committee membership;
   • members of the Union who are elected members of the Staff Committee;
   • other activists.
3. The delegations shall be responsible for:
   • ensuring an exchange of information and liaising between the Executive Committee and the members of the Union;
   • promoting Union activities within the Institutions and their departments;
   • coordinating and organising the work of delegated activists;
   • assisting the Executive Committee in all work relating to any action taken by the Union and preparing the Executive Committee's case files;
   • taking decisions on pre-litigation legal assistance;
   • promoting the staff policy line defined by the General Meeting and the Executive Committee and ensuring that it is followed in the Staff Committee of the Institution or organisation concerned;
   • drawing up the lists of candidates for elections to the Staff Committee of the Institution or organisation concerned;
   • submitting to the Executive Committee any suggestions which they might consider useful.
4. The Executive Committee shall ensure that trade union action in the various institutions is consistent and shall endeavour to bring delegations' positions into line. Decisions by delegations which entail expenditure must be approved by the Executive Committee beforehand, either case by case or by allocation of a budget.

1. The Audit Board, which shall consist of three full members and three alternate members, shall be responsible for supervising the Executive Committee's administration of the Union's treasury and assets. It shall be elected for two terms of office of the Executive Committee. The post of auditor shall be incompatible with that of elected or associate member of the Executive Committee or the Disputes Board.
2. The Audit Board shall be responsible for regularly auditing the accounts on its own initiative, at least once after the end of each quarter. At the Ordinary General Meeting, it shall report thereon and propose that the Executive Committee be given a discharge.
   For these purposes, the Executive Committee shall be obliged to grant the Audit Board access on request to any accounting documentation, which may only be consulted in the Union Syndicale's offices.
3. The Audit Board shall receive any complaint regarding the Executive Committee's administration of the Union's treasury and assets.

1. The Disputes Board shall consist of seven full members and seven alternate members. It shall be elected for two terms of office of the Executive Committee.
2. Membership of the Board shall not be compatible with the mandate of elected or associate member on the Executive Committee or the Audit Board.
3. The Disputes Board shall have jurisdiction over any dispute within the Union. Disputes may be brought before it by the Executive Committee, by the Audit Board or by members of the Union. It must give a hearing to the parties concerned before giving a ruling.
4. In the event of a dispute relating to the elections of one of the Union's statutory bodies, the Disputes Board shall be competent in any matter going beyond mere electoral questions concerning the vote at issue or where the Electoral Bureau declares that it does not have jurisdiction.
5. The Disputes Board shall rule as to the expulsion of a member from the Union within 30 days, at the request of the Executive Committee. Appeal against a ruling on exclusion is provided for in Article IV-5.
   Any other decision by the Disputes Board may also be the subject of an appeal to the General Meeting lodged by one of the parties to the dispute.

1. The elections to the Executive Committee shall be held concurrently in each Institution (*) or organisation, on the basis of applications submitted by Union members of the Institution (*) or organisation (**). If necessary, in particular in the case referred to in paragraph 5, an Executive Committee by-election may be organised to appoint new Executive Committee members coming from one or more Institutions (*) for the remainder of the term of office.
   Elections to the Audit Board and the Disputes Board shall be held in all the Institutions (*) and organisations, for which joint candidates shall be put forward.
   The terms of office of the bodies to be renewed shall be automatically extended until the newly elected bodies are constituted. Their competence shall however be limited to current or urgent business.
   Any person whose subscription payments are in order and who has been a member of the Union Syndicale – European Public Service – Brussels for six months at the date of the General Meeting may stand for election to the Executive Committee and to the Audit Board; any person whose subscription payments are in order and who has been a member for at least six years may stand for election to the Disputes Board. A period of earlier membership of another trade union belonging to the Union Syndicale Fédérale shall be taken into account in the verification of the conditions for eligibility. Whenever a new Member State accedes to the European Communities, the conditions for eligibility laid down above shall not apply to Union members from that Member State during the year which follows that accession.

2. At least twenty days before the statutory General Meeting, the outgoing Executive Committee shall make a call for candidates to all members of the Union. Applications shall be submitted, and, if applicable, withdrawn, at the latest before the close of the General Meeting.

   Elections shall be held within 25 working days of the statutory General Meeting, without prejudice to the provisions set out in the following subparagraph.

   When the call for candidates cannot be sent within the period laid down in the first subparagraph, in particular when the decision to hold elections must be taken by the General Meeting itself, the deadline for declaring candidacy shall be set by the General Meeting itself, in compliance with the minimum period of 20 days starting from the dispatch of the call for candidates. In that case, elections shall be held within 25 working days following the deadline for declaring candidacy.

   The General Meeting shall appoint an Electoral Bureau, consisting of an uneven number of members of the Union who are not candidates, with a minimum of 7 and a maximum of 13, which shall be responsible for holding the elections and announcing the results. In the case of a by-election to the Executive Committee, the Electoral Bureau shall consist of an uneven number of members of the Union who are not candidates, with a minimum of 5 and a maximum of 7, of whom 4 must belong to the Institution (*) or organisation concerned. The General Meeting shall appoint the Chair of the Electoral Bureau from among the members of that Bureau.

   All members of the Union whose subscription payments are in order shall have the right to take part in the elections to the Union's statutory bodies. The register of voters shall be adopted on the date of the last meeting of the Executive Committee prior to the General Meeting. The number of candidates per Institution (*) for election to the Executive Committee must be at least:
   • Commission 16;
   • Council General Secretariat 7;
   • EESC/COR 4;
   • Eurocontrol 4;
   • EEAS 4;
   • European Parliament 3.

   Elections to the Executive Committee may be held only if the total number of candidates is 34 or more.
   Elections to the Audit Board may be held only if the total number of candidates is 8 or more.
   Elections to the Disputes Board may be held only if the total number of candidates is 16 or more.

3. The seats on the Executive Committee shall be allocated as follows (*):
   • Commission : 13 ;
   • Council General Secretariat : 6 ;
   • European Economic and Social Committee / Committee of the Regions (*) : 3 (at least 1 of which must come from each of the assimilated bodies);
   • Eurocontrol : 3 ;
   • EEAS : 3 ;
   • European Parliament : 2.

   Where the number of applications submitted in one or more Institutions would make it impossible to provide this representation, its (their) representation on the Executive Committee shall be reduced pro rata with a minimum of one seat, and the Institutions (*) or organisations which put forward proportionately more candidates shall occupy the post(s) thus made available; the candidates of the other Institutions which obtained the highest number of votes (*) shall then be elected.

   In the event of a tie for the last allocated seat of an Institution or organisation on the Committee, priority shall be given to members of the sex less represented among those elected to the Institution or organisation and thereafter to the candidate who joined Union Syndicale first.

4. Of the 30 members of the Executive Committee, 10 at the most may be of the same nationality and no single nationality may have an absolute majority among the members of any Institution (*), unless that Institution (*) has a maximum of only three seats on the Executive Committee.
   If, in the ballot, more than 10 candidates of the same nationality are elected or if more than half of the elected members of an Institution with more than three seats on the Executive Committee are of the same nationality, those of them who proportionately obtain the fewest votes shall withdraw in favour of the non-elected candidates of other nationalities in the same Institution (*) who obtain the most votes.
   This provision shall not apply if the number of candidates of other nationalities in the Institution concerned is not enough to fill the remaining places.
5. In the event of the resignation of a member of the Executive Committee during his term of office, he shall be replaced by the non-elected candidate in his parent Institution (*) who obtained the most votes, subject to the provisions set out in points 3 and 4. Failing this, with the consent of the delegation of the Institution concerned, the Executive Committee may include in the proceedings any other member of the Union, in accordance with Article X-4, or organise an Executive Committee by-election for the Institution (*) concerned.
   In the case of resignation of a member of the Audit Board or the Disputes Board in the course of their term of office, they shall be replaced by the non-elected candidate who obtained the most votes.
   The Executive Committee may organise a new election to the Audit Board or Disputes Board if, following replacement by non-elected candidates in accordance with the previous subparagraph, the total number of members of the Audit Board is fewer than 2 or the total number of members of the Disputes Board is fewer than 5.
6. The elections shall take the form of both a postal ballot and the direct deposit of ballot papers in the ballot box placed in the polling station(s). The election shall be supervised and organised by the Electoral Bureau appointed by the General Meeting (Article IX-4).
   Each elector shall receive the list of candidates from his Institution (*)(**) or organisation for whom he may vote, indicating the maximum number of votes corresponding to the number of seats reserved for his Institution (*) or organisation on the Executive Committee. He shall also receive, for information, the list of candidates from the other Institutions (*) or organisations indicating the number of seats on the Executive Committee reserved for each of them.
   Each elector may choose between postal voting and voting in person. The two methods of voting must ensure that:
   • secrecy of the ballot is respected;
   • a check is made on eligibility to vote;
   • it is impossible to vote more than once.
   For this purpose, each elector shall be duly informed of the exact arrangements for the two options:
   • postal voting: envelopes, ballot papers, deadlines and means of dispatch;
   • voting in person: communication of the location(s), date(s) and opening hours of the polling station(s).
7. The Electoral Bureau shall firstly count in each Institution (*) and organisation the votes on the ballot papers placed in the ballot box(es) by the voters and secondly those on the postal voters' ballot papers, sorted by Institution or organisation of employment, after opening the special double envelopes. The Electoral Bureau shall draw up the minutes of the election proceedings and shall publish the results. These shall be notified in writing to all members of the Union.

1. The Executive Committee may not call a strike until it has consulted a General Meeting within the meaning of Article IX, convened for this purpose; however, in the event of force majeure, it may call a strike by a two-thirds majority of its elected members after it has consulted the delegations concerned; it shall be obliged to hold a General Meeting within 15 days following such decision. It shall not be necessary to convene a General Meeting where the decision to strike is submitted to a form of consultation of all staff which is accepted by the Executive Committee.
2. Before a decision to strike is put into effect in any one Institution, it may be subject to ratification by the staff of that Institution.

The civil liability of the Union or of its members shall in all cases be limited to the assets belonging to the Union in its own right.

1. Disbandment of the Union may only be decided by a majority of at least two thirds of all its members. The decision shall be taken by a General Meeting, with the item "Disbandment" explicitly included on the agenda distributed with the notice of the meeting. If the General Meeting does not assemble a sufficient number of members to take the decision, that decision may be taken by referendum, by the same majority.
2. In the event of disbandment, the General Meeting, duly convened and acting by a simple majority, shall decide as to the use of the assets belonging to the Union.
3. The Audit Board shall make a final audit of the financial administration, shall determine the amount of the assets and shall use them as decided by the General Meeting.

These Rules were adopted by the General Meeting in 1974 and last amended on 23 June 2011.

This version of the Rules shall enter into force on the day following that of its adoption. They shall be published within a period of 45 days.

Notwithstanding Articles X and XIV, from the day following the by-election of the EEAS Executive Committee, held in 2011, and until its next general election, the Executive Committee shall consist of 15 members from the Commission, 7 from the Council General Secretariat, 3 from the Economic and Social Committee / Committee of the Regions, 3 from Eurocontrol, 3 from the EEAS and 2 from the European Parliament. The second subparagraph of Article XIV(3) shall not be applied to the Executive Committee by-election held in 2011.