Rule 4 : Term of office of Members

1.   A Member's term of office begins and ends as laid down in Articles 5 and 13 of the Act of 20 September 1976.

2.   Members who resign shall notify the President of their resignation and of the date on which that resignation is to take effect, which may not be more than three months after notification. This notification shall take the form of an official record drawn up in the presence of the Secretary-General or his or her representative, signed by the latter and by the Member concerned and immediately submitted to the committee responsible, which shall enter it on the agenda of its first meeting following receipt of the document.

If the committee responsible considers that the resignation is in compliance with the Act of 20 September 1976, a vacancy shall be declared with effect from the date indicated by the resigning Member in the official record, and the President shall inform Parliament thereof.

If the committee responsible considers that the resignation is not in compliance with the Act of 20 September 1976, it shall propose to Parliament that it not declare a vacancy.

3.   Where no meeting of the committee responsible is scheduled before the next part-session, the rapporteur of the committee responsible shall immediately examine any resignation that has been duly notified. Where delay in considering the notification would be prejudicial, the rapporteur shall refer the matter to the committee Chair, requesting, pursuant to paragraph 2, that:

-   the President be informed on behalf of the committee that a vacancy may be declared; or

-   an extraordinary meeting of the committee be convened to examine specific difficulties noted by the rapporteur.

4.   Where either the competent authorities of the Member States or of the Union or the Member concerned notifies the President of an appointment or election to an office that is incompatible with the office of Member of the European Parliament within the meaning of Article 7(1) or (2) of the Act of 20 September 1976, the President shall inform Parliament thereof, and Parliament shall declare that a vacancy exists from the date of the incompatibility.

Where the competent authorities of the Member States notify the President of the end of the term of office of a Member of the European Parliament as a result either of an additional incompatibility established by the law of that Member State in accordance with Article 7(3) of the Act of 20 September 1976 or of the withdrawal of the Member’s mandate pursuant to Article 13(3) of that Act, the President shall inform Parliament that the term of office of that Member ended on the date communicated by competent authorities of the Member State. Where no such date is communicated, the date of the end of the term of office shall be the date of the notification by that Member State.

5.   Where the authorities of the Member States or of the Union inform the President of an assignment they intend to entrust to a Member, the President shall refer to the committee responsible the question of the compatibility of the proposed assignment with the Act of 20 September 1976 and shall inform Parliament, the Member and the authorities concerned of the conclusions reached by that committee.

6.   When Parliament has established a vacancy, the President shall inform the Member State concerned thereof, and invite it to fill the seat without delay.

7.   Where acceptance or termination of office appears to be based on material inaccuracy or vitiated consent, Parliament may declare the appointment under consideration to be invalid or may refuse to establish the vacancy.