Rule 160 : Convening of Parliament

1.   In accordance with the first paragraph of Article 229 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, Parliament shall meet, without requiring to be convened, on the second Tuesday in March each year. It shall itself determine the duration of adjournments of the session.

2.   In addition, Parliament shall meet, without requiring to be convened, on the first Tuesday after expiry of an interval of one month from the end of the period referred to in Article 10(1) of the Act of 20 September 1976.

3.   The Conference of Presidents, stating its reasons, may alter the duration of the adjournments decided pursuant to paragraph 1 at least two weeks before the date previously fixed by Parliament for resuming the session. The resumption of the session shall not, however, be postponed by more than two weeks.

4.   At the request of a majority of its component Members or at the request of the Commission or the Council, the President shall, after consulting the Conference of Presidents, convene Parliament on an exceptional basis.

The President shall have the right, with the approval of the Conference of Presidents, to convene Parliament on an exceptional basis in cases of urgency.

5.   The Conference of Presidents may decide, on a proposal from a committee or Members or a political group or groups reaching at least the high threshold, to hold ad hoc part-sessions on matters of significant political importance. In such cases, no voting session may take place.

The President shall, following the decision of the Conference of Presidents, convene Parliament.