Just like we did for the last Agorae, for Spring Agora Bergamo again we want to provide you with a short and easy summary of the proposals submitted for the Agora. In this first round, we will be explaining you four proposals that are aimed at changing the elections and the work of Juridical Commission, namely “Clarifying the procedure for withdrawing motions (and proposals) from the agenda of the Agora”, “Proposal to introduce a maximum fee for statutory events”, “Simplify the CIA: Case Study Trips” and “Allowing Case Shadowers for the Mediation Commission”.
Now you may wonder: “What is this CIA you are talking about? Is AEGEE-Europe secretly American?” Simply said, the CIA (Corpus Iuridicum Aegeense) is a document with over a hundred pages containing all the rules which govern AEGEE-Europe. It is therefore considered as the legal framework of the Association, and all members are obliged to follow its provisions. Although no secret agents are involved in it, it is one of the most important documents. In the CIA, which you can read here, you can find, for example, the Statutes of AEGEE-Europe, and, in another document, also the Working Formats of the different bodies and all kind of rules (General Rules, Rules of the Network Commission, Antennae Criteria, etc.).
Clarifying the procedure for withdrawing motions (and proposals) from the agenda of the Agora
Eveline Joore, Evelien Kroon and Wietske Jousma on behalf of AEGEE-Enschede submitted the proposal that aims to clarify the procedure of withdrawing motions and proposals. AEGEE-Enschede members start from the case when motions and proposals are withdrawn by submitters during Agora without discussing them further, for example because they don’t believe in the proposal anymore or there were some amendments that changed the original proposal/motion, regardless of the possible interest in the topic by other delegates. According to the proposers, once the items on the agenda are ratified, those become Agora properties, therefore in order to withdraw a proposal/motion, original proposers must do so with the approval of the Agora which has adopted an agenda indicating that the motion will be debated. Although this proposal aims to regulate how proposals are withdrawn, the changes involves the general approval of the possibility of the Agenda modification. Now, in order to modify the order of the topics listed in the agenda a simple majority is required. If this proposal would pass, a qualified majority is required to remove topics and and votings from the proposed agenda.
Proposal to introduce a maximum fee for statutory events
Also submitted by Eveline Joore, Evelien Kroon and Wietske Jousma on behalf of AEGEE-Enschede, this proposal describes the aim to have a maximum fee for our statutory events. Currently the participation of the Agora should be free for all members (of the Agora), but, in the same article of the Working Format of the Agora, it is specified that local organisers can charge participants for some additional services and the exception must be approved by the Financial Director. The average cost of Agora participation fee in the recent years is 50 euros. The proposers argue that a maximum fee for the statutory was never agreed on and they therefore propose to set a maximum fee of 14 euros per night in order to keep the Agora affordable for every AEGEE Members. Therefore the Autumn Agora, which normally lasts from the Wednesday to the Sunday (four nights), would have a maximum fee of 56 euros. The Spring Agora, having usually one day more opening on Tuesday and having people leaving on Sunday (five nights), would have a maximum fee of 70 euros. Also, the maximum fee can be increased by a maximum percentage based on the Eurostat Euro Area annual inflation statistics of the calendar year.
Simplify the CIA: Case Study Trips
Svenja van Der Tol and Aleksandra Kluczka on behalf of the Comité Directeur and Claudio Gennaro on behalf of Juridical Commission are proposing to simplify the articles concerning the Case Study Trips. A case study trip has been used a lot in the past, for instance when AEGEE was expanding to the East. The changes now specify that the Case Study Trip has the purpose of researching in the interest of AEGEE and the complementary aim is its promotion. Participants can be from a local or from a body, replacing the old Working Group or a Supporting Committee on the European level, and they will be selected by the organising team based on their motivation. Moreover, two third of the total participants must be an AEGEE member. In case the proposal will be adopted, it is added also that after the approval of the Comité Directeur, the organising team would decide on the topic, the time schedule and the locations covered and a report with results and a financial overview should be presented within one month after the trip took place.
Allowing Case Shadowers for the Mediation Commission
This proposal is presented by Damien Latacz on behalf of the Mediation Commission (MedCom). If approved, it would change the working format of the Mediation Commission by adding a new figure to the MedCom: the case shadower. Damien Latacz argues that cases that the MedCom are handling might proceed also after a term is finished, thus forbidding the previous team to advise the new one, except from the Knowledge Transfer period. With this proposal, the MedCom would have the possibility to have case shadowers on certain cases. The shadowers can only be previous members of the MedCom and they are assigned only on a specific case, not having access to any data but only to the ones of the case they are involved with. S/he wouldn’t have voting rights and s/he would be removed from his/her position once the case would be closed (no longer than two weeks after the closing). His/her role would be merely advisory.
Written by Erika Bettin, AEGEE-Verona