Rule of Procedures[1] [2] (RoP)

Premises

The management of SEPS will be based on modern means of communication such as internet, fax, telephone, GSM, answering machine, teleconference. Its working method is essentially that of teleworking.

Article 1. Constitution of the Administrative Board (AB)

  1. Composition, election of administrators, constituent meeting and election of the President

See Article 12 §1 of the Statutes and the Electoral Regulations which form an integral part of the Statutes.  

(b) Division of tasks among elected representatives

The new President manages the follow-up of the procedure for the constitution of the Board.

The President submits to the vote the global proposal for the distribution of tasks.

Adjustments for certain positions may be made during meetings of the Bureau.

Any changes in the distribution of tasks or functions and introduction of new tasks will be approved by the members of the Board.

A secret ballot procedure applies in case of dispute.

Article 2. Board meetings (face-to-face, teleconference, written procedure)

  1. At the start of its mandate, the Board decides on the days, hours and place of its periodic meetings.
  2. Board meetings are called by the President or at the request of a quarter of its members. The date of the meeting is communicated with a notice of at least 15 calendar days. The convocation and draft agenda are sent by regular mail or by email at least 2 working days before the meeting.
  3. The President carries out the deliberations. A Vice-President assists the President or replaces him in the event of impediment.
  4. Board meetings are recorded in a written report containing at least the list of decisions taken. All documents issued by the Board are numbered and listed by the Secretary General in an appropriate register and kept for 5 years.
  5. The decisions of the Board are taken by consensus or, if necessary, by a simple majority of the administrators present or represented. In the event of a tie, the vote of the President or of the Vice-President who replaces him, is preponderant.
  6. Board meetings are open to all members of the GA. However, the Presidency may reserve certain meetings or item(s) on the agenda only for elected members of the Board. In any case, the Presidency may limit the number of participants.
  7. When calling the meeting, the agenda is sent to the members of the Board containing specific questions based on the documents provided. In case of absence, the administrator is to give proxy to another member who will be present and if necessary, indicate the voting (approval, refusal or abstention) on the agenda points.

Article 3.  Work of the Board

  1. The President convenes the two annual GAs. The first meets within six months of the end of the financial year, preferably in May or June at the latest. The President presents his activity report for the past year and the Treasurer the financial report for the previous year which has been previously submitted to the auditors. The second GA meets at the end of the year, preferably in December. The President then presents the program and the Treasurer the budget proposal for the coming year.
  2. Subject to the discharge by the following GA:

      1) The Board decides and carries out all the actions it deems necessary and feasible for the execution of its program,

      2) The Board can approve budget modification proposals within a constant budget.

  • The AB ensures the distribution of tasks between its members according to their attributions, skills and availability.
  • The AB may consult any qualified person or company or ask them to take on specific or temporary tasks. The Administrative Board decides on the merit of a contract if the consultation so requires. The President will mention this in his annual report to GA.  
  • The Board delegates to the Association’s Bulletin Editing Committee the task of evaluating the texts that are proposed by the members for publication with the right to reject or request modifications, in accordance with the stipulations of the document relating to the Editing Committee approved by the Board.
  • The Board may decide to involve one or more of its members in symposia and meetings deemed useful.
  • The Board may decide to appoint project managers, either from within it or from among the members of SEPS in general, for very specific assignments.
  • The Board may decide to suggest to the GA to present the SEPS as a member of other associations focused on the defence of retirees.
  • The Board decides in accordance with the financial regulations on the reimbursement of duly authorised expenses incurred by members with a recognized mission or activity within SEPS.
  • The Board can propose to the GA a draft modification of the Statutes of the SEPS or its electoral regulations.
  • The Board can modify the internal regulations and the financial regulations.
  • The Board approves in advance the presentations/communications made to the GA by the members of the Board.
  • The AB regularly informs the members of its activities.
  • The Board ensures that the necessary acts are published in the Belgian Official Journal (changes of statutes, list of directors).

Article 4. Principal Administrators

1. The President

The President calls the General Assemblies (GA) and the meetings of the AB.

He represents the Association in all acts of civil life and is invested with all powers for this purpose. In particular, he has the capacity to take legal action on behalf of the Association, both in demand and in defence. In the event of legal representation, the President can only be replaced by two administrators acting in concert and appointed by the majority of the members of the Board, present or represented, as provided for in Article 13.7, last paragraph of the Statutes of the Association.

He controls the current expenses of the Association incurred by the treasurer in collaboration with the Daily Management Group (DMG[MvB1] ).

He may delegate some of his attributions to the Vice-President, the Treasurer or the Secretary General by a written mandate.

The following actions are considered:

  • He is responsible for the good functioning of the NPA and manages its organisation,
  • He chairs the meetings of the GA,
  • He chairs and manages the meetings of the AC,
  • He is member of the DMG and works in close contact with the persons responsible for the daily management,
  • Prepares and presents the activity reports for the GA,
  • Proposes yearly adjustments to the programme according to needs,
  • Verifies the compatibility of new initiatives with the objectives of the programme,
  • Drafts official documents of the Association (Statutes, notices to members, written procedures, internal regulation, electoral rules, information letters, official letters),
  • Drafts written procedures[MvB2]  , the calls for the GA and statutory elections,
  • Draft or supervises publications/information produced on behalf of SEPS.
  • Officially represents SEPS in other associations and during official events and negotiations (will however delegate according to the subjects dealt with and the competences and functions of the members by a written mandate)
  • Signs official SEPS documents, possibly with other representatives, depending on the case,
  • Has the signing of accounts with the Treasurer (each separately),
  • Manages the work carried out externally or gives express written delegation to the Treasurer or the Secretary General,
  • The President is responsible for organising the necessary translations,
  • He is the administrator of the SEPS website,
  • He supervises the list of members based on the information provided to him by the Treasurer (contributions) and the Secretary General (addresses, information),
  • Together with the Treasurer, he manages the reminding policy of late membership.

Therefore, in the current case the President of SEPS is an active member who must in general be present to meetings and available on a day-to-day basis.

It is up to him to launch initiatives.

  • Vice-President 

The Vice-President(s) assist the President in all his functions.

 The first Vice-President[MvB3]  replaces the President in case of absence or sickness.

 If unable to attend, he is replaced by another Vice-President, if it exists, or by the most senior administrator or any administrator specially delegated by the Administrative Board.

3. The Secretary General

The Secretary General oversees direct contacts with the members by telephone, GSM, fax; and the reception of visitors. He establishes the necessary contacts to provide replies to individual requests of members.

He takes contact and/or meets with JSIS in Brussels to sort out difficult cases, in cooperation with the JSIS Ambassador of the Association as appropriate.

The Secretary General organises the meetings of the Association.

He manages the secretariat (locally and at the Council) in liaison with the Administration and Security Service of the Council of the EU.

The Secretary General manages the internal elections of the Association and the written procedures.

The Secretary General oversees correspondence (external and internal mail, emails) at the exception of the notes to the members, the convocations to the GA and the calls for the statutory elections (c/o the sending service of the Commission).

The Secretary General is responsible for the archives. He keeps the list of members, the minutes of the deliberations of the Administrative Board, of the General Assembly and of the Extraordinary Meetings. He keeps the chronological files.

He ensures and manages the stand-by duty at the SEPS office and assists the President in drafting the agenda of meetings and official representations of the GA.

He helps the President and the Treasurer for the execution of the administrative formalities prescribed by the code of companies and associations.

He informs the President, the Treasurer and the Board of all the information he receives from members regarding their membership, resignation, change of address, complaint and correspondence problems.

The files that must be always kept up to date and available to the President, the Treasurer and the Members of the Board are (as of October 2007):

  • The General Assembly file (convocations, minutes, appendices, list of participants, proxies etc).
  • File of the meetings of the 2nd Thursday (convocations, summaries, appendices except separate files, participants).
  • Record of the organisation of all past and future meetings.
  • Written procedures fie (letter of proposal, bulletins received, summary of results).
  • Member notes folder (one copy of each note).
  • File of the list of members: membership forms, changes of address, member information, etc.
  • Status and electoral regulations file: old and new statutes; translations.
  • Internal Rules of Procedures (RoP) and appendices file (the last two versions).
  • File of documents from the SEPS (chrono), one copy per document index number.
  • File on the relationship with the General Secretariat of the Council of the EU.
  • File on the relationships with Security[MvB4] [MvB5] .
  • File of invoices and accounts for the previous year (sealed).
  • Files for which the Treasurer is responsible:
    • ING Bank file
    • Non-profit insurance file
  • Note: A sealed file containing bank codes and cards is with the Treasurer and the President.

4. Secretary of the NFPO 

Given the number of secretarial tasks, the Secretary-General may be assisted by one of two Assistant-Secretaries, one of them taking over the management of the Association. The other personis more specifically in charge of the administrative management of the NFPO.

5. Treasurer

The Treasurer oversees everything relating to the management of the Association’s assets.

He makes all payments and collects all receipts (banking and other cash) under the supervision of the President.

Purchases and sales of securities, constituting the reserve fund, are carried out with the authorisation of the Administrative Board.

It establishes and maintains regular day-to-day accounts of all operations and reports to the Annual meeting, which decides on management.

He is the only administrator in charge of the Association’s accounts.

Together with the President, he prepares the annual budgets which must be approved by the Administrative Board.

The annual accounting report is prepared by the Treasurer and signed by him and the President.

It is presented to the Company Court and the GA.

A copy will be attached to the invitation to members to participate in the GA.

The discharge is given to the Treasurer by the GA.

The Treasurer is a member of the Daily Management Group (DMG) and attends its meetings.

According to skills and needs, the President will delegate certain tasks to the Treasurer by written mandate.

Under the regular control of the President and the DMG and in accordance with the financial regulation, the Treasurer carries out without further formalities current expenses (purchases, administrative expense, missions and reimbursements).

The Treasurer establishes and controls the list of members (in order of contribution) for the current year and informs the President thereof.

In collaboration with the President:

  • He checks the list about the contributions and the addresses provided by the Secretariat and the Board.
  • It manages the reminder policy for the payment of contributions (Annex 4).

The Treasurer numbers all invoices and proof of payment (cash, register receipt, receipt, request for reimbursement, etc).

No payment can be made without supporting documents.

Numbered invoices and proof of payment are filed by year at the Secretariat and kept in a sealed file.

Invoices and proof of payment for the current year are filed in the care of the Treasurer.

At the end of the year, all invoices and other accounting documents are made available to the auditors.

As mentioned under the point “General Secretary”, the Treasurer oversees:

  • ING Bank file
  • Non-profit insurance file.

All members have the right to address to the Treasurer notifying changes in their financial participation.

This request must be made in writing and sent to the Treasurer who will analyse its merits.

In the event of a dispute, the AB will be responsible for settling the dispute, within the limits of its powers.

5. Ambassador to the JSIS

The Board may appoint a person who will deal specifically with relations with the JSIS in order to maintain ongoing contacts with this institution; and in order to intervene with a view to amicable settlement, when members of the Association experience difficulties with this institution (e.g., refusal of prior authorisations, refusal or considerable delay in reimbursement, recognition of serious illness, etc).

The person chose will bear the title of “Ambassador to JSIS”.

The PMO must approve the appointment.

Article 5. Legal advice

In order to defend the interests of those who have been part of the European Civil Service (Article 4.a of the Statutes) and to achieve this goal (Article 4.c, last paragraph, last line of the Statutes), the Association makes available to its members the possibility of benefitting from legal advice.

Legal advice provided by the Association’s lawyer is on a voluntary basis and cannot financially commit the lawyer or the Association in the vent that the advice has been followed and has resulted in prejudicial outcomes for the member.

The procedure is as follows:

  1. Analysis of issues and consultation with a lawyer

A lawyer from the Association is available to provide an opinion in all discretion and in compliance with his integrity as former European civil servant, to members who need legal advice for problems relating to their relations with the Commission services (application of the Staff Regulations) or to their private life (inheritance or tax problems).

The lawyer will proceed with a first analysis of the question.

If the case is very complicated or requires legal recourse, he will refer the member to a relevant legal specialist or advise either a consultation with the Commission lawyers who are at the service of the pensioners or a consultation with another lawyer, free of charges for members in order of subscription.

This consultation will be limited to 30 minutes maximum. Any overrun will be billed to the applicant.

  • Mandate

If the lawyer of the Association continues to deal with the case at the request of the member, the latter will sign a mandate in due form delegating his power to the lawyer of the Association.

This mandate will allow the lawyer, acting under the regular control of the member, to investigate the case, send and receive any communication relating to the investigation and judgment of the dispute.

If the parties decide for a presence in court proceedings, the warrant will allow the lawyer to file submissions and plead until the dispute is adjudicated.

The refusal to sign said mandate will automatically lead to the legal adviser’s withdrawal of the case, and therefore of the Association as well.

Article 6 – Consistency 

Noting in this RoP or its subsequent modifications may contradict “the law” of the Statues of the Association.

In case of doubt, the Rules of Procedure are always interpreted in the sense of these latter texts.

Done in Brussels on 17 October 2020

Procedures and detailed documents internal to the Board 

Acceptance procedure of new members

SEPS-SFPE description and invitation

Registration form – Application form

Annual subscription

Search for new members

Reminder policy for the payment of dues – Letters

Editing committee

Financial regulations

Document identification

Management of the list of members

[1] The Rules of Procedures (RoP) specify in more details the management arrangements of the Association. The subjects which require a statutory provision are not included or if necessary have been copied from the statutes in this RoP.

[2] For ease of reading only the masculine has been used.

 [MvB1]Ou « groupe de gestion courante « pour avoir un parallélisme avec les Statuts ?

 [MvB2]Répétition, il faudrait décider lequel garder

 [MvB3]Première fois que la notion d’un premier vice-président est introduite

 [MvB4]Il faudrait indiquer quel service de securité

 [MvB5]