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S T A T U T E

resolved at the 6th EUCDW-Congress on March 15, 1993 in KÖNIGSWINTER

modified at the 7th EUCDW-Congress on September 6, 1997 in ROME

modified at the 8th EUCDW-Congress on November 26, 2001 in BRUSSELS

English

Article 1

The European Union of Christian Democratic Workers (EUCDW) is an association of Christian-social workers from European countries who adhere to the principles of Catholic social teaching, the evangelical social ethic and the objectives of the EUCD and the EPP.

Article 2

The EUCDW is a European organisation based in Brussels. It is a member of the International Christian Democratic Workers' Organisation (ICDW). EUCDW members may form national or regional associations. These associations must accept the principles referred to in Article 1.

Article 3

The EUCDW supports, as one of its aims and objectives, the work of the European Union of Christian Democrats (EUCD) and the European People's Party (EPP) and all democratic trade union forces, being the recognised representative of the wage-earners.
It is funded from subscriptions and other contributions.

Article 4

The EUCDW has the following aims, in particular :

1. to unite Christian-social workers and to press for the political unification of a democratic Europe;
2. to promote the theoretical and organisational development of the EUCD and the EPP on the basis of Christian-social teaching;
3. to represent and defend worker interests in the EUCD and the EPP, the European Parliament and at all political and trade union levels in Europe;
4. to work for the achievement of Christian-social principles and policies in the European workers' movements;
5. to step up co-operation with the workers and their organisations, particularly those, in Europe and elsewhere, with a Christian outlook;
6. to spread Christian-social ideas through, inter alia, its own publications;
7. to promote the establishment of national and regional associations of Christian-social workers, where such associations do not exist. Organs

Article 5

The organs of the EUCDW shall be :

1. Congress
2. the Board
3. the Presidium.

Congress

Article 6

1. Congress shall meet at least once every four years. It shall be convened by decision of the board, which shall determine its date, place and agenda.

2. Congress shall elect the president and vice-presidents. If one of the elected officers (president or vice-president) resigns, the board shall elect his/her successor, who shall occupy the post until the next congress is held.

3. Congress shall elect three auditors.

4. Congress shall determine the guidelines and programme of the EUCDW.

5. It shall decide on amendments to the rules of the association.

6. Congress shall consist of

(a) those entitled to vote: - the members of the board - the delegates of affiliated organisations The active and passive right to vote of the members of the presidium as well as of the delegates of the member organisations is connected with the payment of the membership fees. The internal regulation describes the details of it.

(b) those with an advisory vote : - the representatives of organisations with observer status - the representatives of EUCDW associations recognised by the board - the auditors.

7. The number of delegates shall be determined by the board in accordance with the EUCDW's rules of procedure.

8. At the request of at least one third of the affiliated organisations, the board shall convene an extraordinary congress.

9. Unless the rules of procedure stipulate otherwise, decisions shall be taken on the basis of a simple majority of the votes cast.

The Board

Article 7

1. The board shall be the association's main decision-making body; it shall take into account the guidelines and programme laid down by congress. The board shall represent the EUCDW between congresses and shall meet at least twice a year.

2. The board shall comprise the following, all of whom shall be entitled to vote:

1. the president;
2. the vice-presidents;
3. the treasurer;
4. two members from each of the affiliated organisations;
5. the general-secretary and his/her deputy;
6. the ICDA executive members from EUCDW organisations, provided that they are not already entitled to vote;
7. the members of the presidium (m/f) of the workers' group within the EPP Group in the European Parliament.
8. the president or vice-president of the European Parliament's trade union intergroup, provided that he/she belongs to an EUCDW organisation.

3. The task of the board shall further consist of:

1. electing the treasurer and committee members pursuant to Article 8(1) on a proposal by the presidium;
2. electing the general-secretary and his/her deputy on a proposal by the president; if the president does not submit a proposal within six months, the right to propose a candidate shall pass to the presidium;
3. deciding on applications for membership and associate membership and on applications for observer status from like-minded organisations;
4. deciding upon the rules of procedure and the financial regulations;
5. maintaining relations with the European Union of Christian Democrats (EUCD), the European People's Party (EPP), the workers' group of the EPP Group in the European Parliament, the Council of European and with European umbrella organisations of democratic trade unions;
6. adopting the budget and approving the accounts;
7. proposing to congress amendments to the rules;
8. adopting a plan of work.

4. All votes and elections shall require a simple majority of the members present, unless otherwise stipulated in the rules of the EUCDW and the rules of procedure. The election of the general-secretary and the treasurer shall require a two-thirds majority of the members present in the first two rounds.

5. The board is quorate when a majority of the affiliated organisations is present. If this majority is not achieved, a new meeting may be convened at once, which shall then be deemed quorate. Whether or not a meeting is quorate can only be determined on the basis of a formal motion. The rules of procedure shall set out the relevant provisions.

6. The board may appoint committees and working parties to advise it. The results of their work shall be submitted to the board for adoption.

7. The term of office of the elected members shall end with the new elections, which is in principle at a congress or exceptionally at an presidium. They shall be eligible for re-election.

8. Organisations with observer status have the right to send members to the board with an advisory vote.

The Presidium

Article 8

1. The presidium shall be appointed from amongst the board and comprise the following members :

1. the president;
2. the vice-presidents;
3. the treasurer;
4. the general-secretary and his/her deputy;
5. one committee member from up to 4 affiliated organisations that are not already represented on the presidium, to be re-elected by the committee every 2 years on a revolving basis;
6. the president or the general-secretary of the ICDA, if he/she is from an organisation belonging to the EUCDW;
7. the members of the presidium (m/f) of the workers' group within the EPP Group in the European Parliament.

2. The presidium shall ensure the permanent political presence of the EUCDW between meetings of the board, monitor the implementation of the committee's decisions and the financial management of the association's affairs and prepare the meetings of the board. The presidium shall meet when its president or one third of its members request it, normally once every three months.

The President

Article 9

The president shall represent the EUCDW internally and externally. He/she shall chair all its bodies. He/she shall maintain relations between the EUCDW and the European Union of Christian Democrats, the European People's Party, the European Parliament and the Council of Europe. If the president belongs to a EUCDW organisation in a non-Community country, one of his/her vice-presidents, who does come from a Community country, shall maintain relations with the European People's Party. The president is responsible for the work of the secretariat. The position of president is an honorary one.

The General-Secretary

Article 10

The general-secretary shall carry out the decisions taken by the bodies of the EUCDW. He/she shall represent the members of the presidium, when required to do so. The general secretary supports the president in his organisational and political work as well as concerning political contacts. The board decides whether the Secretary-General works on a honorary basis or not.

Article 11

These rules shall enter into force as soon as they have been adopted by the congress of 15 March 1993. The statute amendments, relating to article 6.6a, to article 7.2g, to article 7.7 and to article 8.1g come into force immediately after the decision of the 7th EUCDW congress on September 6 1997 in Rome. The statute amendments, relating to article 8.1e and article 10 come into force immediately after the decision of the 8th EUCDW congress on November 26 2001 in Brussels.

The European Union of Christian Democratic Workers (EUCDW) consists of 23 workers' organisations from 15 countries and is an association of the European People's Party (EPP).

responsible: Elmar Brok MEP, President.

EUCDW
European Union of Christian Democratic Workers
c/o EPP, Rue du Commerce / Handelsstraat 10
B-1000 Brussels
E-mail: EUCDW

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