Guidelines for the International Activity of the Senate in the 15th Legislature

Last revision 12/21/2023

 

A.Official travel.

1.Authorisation of the Bureau of the Senate.

2.Composition of delegations.

2.1.Travel by the Speaker to international conferences and meetings.

2.2.Delegations led by led by the Speaker of the Senate.

2.3.Institutional travel by the Bureau of the Senate.

2.4.Travel by the Committees.

2.5.Other oficial vistis.

3.Duration of the official trip.

3.1.Travel time of less than three hours.

3.2.Travel time of three or more hours.

4.Expenses covered.

4.1.Delegation transport.

4.2.Accommodation.

4.3.Travel allowance.

4.4 Interpreters.

4.5 Official gifts.

4.6 Authorities rooms.

4.7 Accompanying delegations.

B.Official visits.

1.Visits of parliamentary delegations at the invitation of the Senate.

2.Visits by other parliamentary delegations.

C.Friendship groups.

D.Organisation of international meetings by the Senate.

E. Additional provision.

A.OFFICIAL TRAVEL.

1.Authorisation of the Bureau of the Senater.

All international travel of an official Senate delegation requires the authorisation agreement of the Bureau of the Chamber. The agreement must specify, at least, the following details: the destination of the visit, the duration of the official visit and the coverage of expenses, in accordance with the criteria established below.

Any request for authorisation to the Bureau must include justification for the proposed travel and an estimate of the expenses involved.

On completion of the trip, a report must be drawn up on the activity carried out.

2.Composition of delegations.

The Bureau’s authorisation must specify the composition of the official delegations of the Senate.

2.1 Travel of the Speaker to international conferences and meetings.

 The attendance of the Speaker or any member of the Senate Bureau at international conferences and meetings shall be deemed to be authorised by this Agreement.
The Speaker may also travel abroad on institutional visits at the invitation of a foreign parliament within the framework of bilateral relations with that country, or when travelling on behalf of the Spanish State at the request of the President of the Government or the Minister of Foreign Affairs, European Union and Cooperation. 

2.2 Delegations led by the President of the Senate. 

The official delegation shall consist of the Speaker of the Senate, members of the Bureau and the Speakers of the Chamber, as determined. The economic regime shall be based on the principle of reciprocity, except where the economic situation of the country visited makes the application thereof impossible.
The Speaker may also lead delegations made up of members of various committees which, by virtue of committee’s expertise, attend international meetings and forums. 

2.3 Institutional travel by the Bureau of the Senate.

The delegation will comprise members of the Bureau of the Senate as determined.

2.4 Travel by the Committees.

Travel of committees: The Bureau of the Senate shall evaluate the appropriateness of each case. As a general criterion, the official delegation shall be composed of the chairperson of the committee and three of its members, two of whom should be representatives of the majority political groupings and the remainder of whom should be representatives of one of the other political groupings on the committee, using a rotation system for subsequent trips.
Unless otherwise stated in the Bureau's agreement concerning different criteria, non-members of the committee cannot be part of the delegation.

Travel to meetings of the Presidency of the European Union: As far as possible, the official delegation will conform to the criteria set forth in the official invitation.If not specified, the general criterion for travel by the Committees will apply.

For each six-month Presidency, a proposal for authorisation will be raised to the Bureau for all the international activity scheduled for the six-month period, attaching the travel schedule sent by the host Parliament and an estimate of expenses according to the number of parliamentarians who may be attending the meetings, subject to a specific authorisation for each one.

2.5 Other oficial visits

The Bureau's agreement shall evaluate the appropriateness of the official Senate delegations' travelling team within the context of bilateral or cooperative relations on a case-by-case basis.

3. Duration of the official trip.

The duration of the official trip will take into account the time at which the first meeting or event on the official programme starts and where it is to be held.

In any case, the journey will set off from and return to the city of Madrid, unless there is a reasonable combination of flights or trains to or from the city preferred by the Senator and said combination does not significantly increase expenses.

At the request of a member of the delegation, the date of the return journey shall be brought forward or delayed to a later date, at no extra cost to the Chamber.

3.1 Travel time of less than three hours.

As a guideline, on those visits for which flights do not exceed three hours, if the meeting commences after 3:00 pm and there are flights scheduled in the morning that reasonably allow the delegation to arrive in time, the official delegation shall travel on the same day as the meeting. The return journey will be made after the meeting has concluded. If there are return flights the same day and within reason the meeting’s scheduled finishing time, the return journey will be made the same day.

3.2 Travel time of three or more hours.

On travel involving flights of three or more hours, the journey may be made on the day before the meeting. The return journey may be made the day after the completion of the official programme. These criteria may be adapted when flight combinations so allow or require, where the Secretariat General will be responsible for said decision.

In all cases, the city of Madrid shall be understood as the departure and return point, except where there is a reasonable combination of flights or trains from the preferred city of the member of the delegation and it does not constitute a significant increase in costs.
The advance or delay in the return travel dates at the request of a member of the delegation, on dates other than those established, shall be established at no extra cost for the Chamber.

4. Expenses covered.

The official travel authorisation will include the following items: transport costs (air ticket, train ticket, etc.); hotel expenses (bed and breakfast); travel allowances (to cover costs other than the above, such as transfers to and from the airport, lunches and dinners during the official travel); interpreters, where necessary; official gifts; and, where appropriate, the cost of using the authorities room at airports. Other extraordinary expenses deemed necessary must be authorised specifically. For each trip, a travel health insurance policy will be taken out. In any case, travel expenses must be rational and contained.

4.1 Delegation transport.

As a rule, business class tickets shall be booked, except where the airline does not offer this class. Train tickets shall be booked for club class or similar. First preference shall be to book flights with the airline Iberia, in accordance with the agreement signed with the Houses of Parliament, and connections shall be avoided where possible.

Flight or train bookings will be made using tariffs that allow for their cancellation or modification at the lowest possible cost.

It shall be preferable to book return journeys with the same airline where possible, except where this involves greater cost. In the event of connections, it should be preferable that the connections are linked to avoid losses arising from cancellation or delay of one of the flights purchased. The most reasonable layovers should also be chosen if there are several options at a similar cost.

The transfer of the delegation from the airport to the hotel at the destination and travel to the airport for the return journey, will be organised by the International Relations Department at the Embassy of Spain in the destination country, if resources allow. Transportation should only be charged to the Senate in exceptional circumstances when the host fails to provide it, or the Embassy cannot facilitate it due to security concerns that make it essential. Otherwise, the cost of internal transportation at the destination shall be incurred by the delegation members and deducted from the travel allowance.

4.2 Accommodation.

The official travel authorisation will cover only the costs of accommodation and breakfast. When so required by the establishments, each member of the delegation must provide his/her personal credit card to guarantee any extra expense that may arise.

As a general criterion, standard rooms will be reserved, consisting of double rooms for single occupancy with breakfast included, unless the unique circumstances of the destination country suggest other lodging arrangements are more appropriate..

4.3 Travel allowance. 

The travel allowance will always be calculated considering the departure time from the airport in Madrid and the time of arrival of the return flight at the airport in Madrid, regardless of the time at which the delegate must be at the airport prior to boarding. The same is true for journeys made by other means of transport.
Delaying the departure date or postponing the return date at a delegation member’s request for personal reasons shall not result in a raise of the daily allowance already agreed. 

4.4 Interpreters.

As a general criterion, business travel authorisation covers necessary interpretation services for the duration of meetings in the destination country. The General Secretariat is responsible for assessing the need and type of interpretation required in each case, with a view to keep costs to a minimum.

4.5 Official gifts.

The Department of International Relations of the Senate will establish the criteria for official gifts on official visits by the Chamber, taking into account the official programme and the authorities with whom the meetings are to be held and in accordance with established practices.

4.6 Authorities rooms.

The Department of International Relations of the Senate requests the use of the Dignitaries' Lounges at airports for official visits by delegations led by the Speaker of the Senate or by a member of the Senate Bureau in accordance with the Internal Directive 1/2021 from the President of the Government’s office on access to the Dignitaries' Lounges at Spanish airports.

4.7 Accompanying delegations.

Official delegations shall be accompanied on all trips by personnel of the General Secretariat of the Senate, determined in each case in accordance with the needs of the trip.

B. OFFICIAL VISITS.

1. Visits of parliamentary delegations at the invitate of the Senate.

Official visits to the Senate involving expenditure on behalf of the Chamber shall be subject to special authorisation by the Bureau.

In principle, there will be a maximum of two per year, one every six months, unless, at the request of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, European Union and Cooperation and according to Spanish interests, the Bureau exceptionally resolves to accept more visits.

Without prejudice to the preference given to the principle of reciprocity, the system for authorised expenses will include a maximum of eight people and accommodation, transfers within Spain, interpreters and the cost of organising the programme, including protocol and courtesy expenses. In any case, the proposal submitted to the Bureau by the Secretariat General will include an estimate by the Department of International Relations of the Senate.

2. Visits by other parliamentary delegations.

Protocol and courtesy expenses arising from the organisation of the programme are understood to be authorised.

C. FRIENDSHIP GROUPS.

The Bureau of the Senate will resolve on the creation and composition of Friendship Groups.

Both the trips and visits will require the corresponding resolution by the Bureau. They will be alternate and will not exceed two a year in any case.

As a general criterion, only members of the corresponding inter-parliamentary friendship group can travel.

The system for expenses will comply with the principle of reciprocity and, failing that, the general criteria in place for visits by Speakers of Parliaments.

The expenses regime shall adhere to the principle of reciprocity and, in the absence thereof, the general criteria established for visits of parliamentary delegations invited by the Senate.

D. ORGANISATION OF INTERNATIONAL MEETINGS BY THE SENATE. 

The Senate shall organise international forums and conferences in the following scenarios: which have Spanish representation; when the forecast of alternative meetings to be held in one country or another between the participants so requires; when the rotating presidency of an international organisation so requires; or when the obligations arising from the Senate’s international activity so recommend, within the principles of economy and efficiency in resource management.
In every instance, the Bureau of the Chamber must grant prior authorisation, evaluating the suitability of the expense and the expenditure scheme detailed in the budget proposal by the International Relations Department of the Senate. 

E. ADDITIONAL PROVISION.

The provisions of this agreement shall apply to domestic travel of official Senate delegations where compatible with the nature thereof.

Palace of the Senate, 29 August 2023.