STATUTES EUROPEAN FIREWORKS ASSOCIATION
Article 1 NAME, DOMICILE, FINANCIAL YEAR
1. The name of the Association is “European Fireworks Association” or “EUFIAS”, hereafter the Association.
2. The Association is established in The Netherlands. The office of the association is in The Netherlands, WG Plein 125 (AOC), 1054 SC, Amsterdam.
3. The financial year is the calendar year.
Article 2 OBJECTIVES OF THE ASSOCIATION
1. The objectives of the Association are:
a) To promote the interests of the European Fireworks industry, its members in particular.
b) To exchange knowledge and information with kindred
organisations and Non-European Union countries of origin.
2. The objectives of the Association may be fulfilled in particular by:
a) Representation of the members in international organisations;
b) Representation of the interests of the members to public authorities, e.g. The European Union and National Governments, etc.;
c) Exchange of information between the members;
d) Informing the authorities and the general public within The European Union about Fireworks;
e) Support and influence of national and international organisations in the preparation of standards, directives and recommendations;
f) Liaison with other organisations with similar aims in Europe and world wide;
g) Organisation of meetings, seminars, conferences;
h) All other activities supporting the objectives of the Association.
3. The Association is a non-profit organisation. The financial and other resources of the Association may only be used in accordance with the Association’s goals, as laid down in the statutes.
Article 3 MEMBERSHIP
1. Membership is open to persons, companies, associations and other institutions professionally involved with fireworks, which have offices in the European Union.
2. EUFIAS has several categories for membership. The several categories for membership are described and defined in the Regulations of the Association.
3. Decisions regarding acceptance for membership will be taken by the Board of Directors and, in case of refusal, a subsequent appeal by the General Assembly.
Article 4 TERMINATION OF MEMBERSHIP
1. Membership shall be terminated by:
a) Resignation – Resignation shall only be possible as per December 31 of every calendar year. The Secretariat of the Association has to be notified in writing, at least two months in advance. In case of late notification, resignation shall become effective as of the next withdrawal date only. The postmark shall be decisive for the date of notification; or
b) Expulsion, which may be decided by the Board of Directors and approved by the General Assembly on serious grounds, such as behaviour harming the Association and/or industry or non-payment of membership fees.
2. Following termination of membership, all claims to EUFIAS and its assets duly expire.
Article 5 OFFICIAL BODIES OF THE ASSOCIATION
The official bodies of the Association are:
- The General Assembly
- Board of directors
- Committees, working groups and Chapters founded by the Association
Article 6 THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY
1. The General Assembly is the highest body of EUFIAS.
2. The General Assembly is open to all members and is either called by the Board of Directors or upon the request of a group of full members representing at least twenty percent of the total of votes for the Association. The invitation together with the agenda will be sent to the members not later than four weeks prior to the date on which the meeting is to be held.
3. The functions of the General Assembly are:
a) To formulate the general policy of the Association based on the proposal made by the Board of Directors.
b) To elect or dismiss the President with the Board of Directors.
c) To approve and change Statutes.
d) To approve and change the Regulations of the Association.
e) Making decisions on the activity report of the Board of Directors and the documents and recommendations submitted by the Board of Directors.
f) Making decisions on the annual financial report presented on behalf of the Board of Directors by the Treasurer and, in case of approval, providing the Board of Directors with official release on the annual account and budget (the treasurer’s report).
g) Making decisions on the annual budget, based on the proposals made by the Board of Directors.
h) Fixing the membership fees on the basis of the proposal made by the Board of Directors.
4. The meetings of the General Assembly should take place annually. The General Assembly shall be presided over by the President. In his absence, the General Assembly shall be chaired by the Vice-President and, if the latter is also absent, by a member of the Board of Directors.
5. Only full members have votes. The system of votes for the several categories of membership are described and defined in the Regulations of the Association.
6. If a full member is unable to exercise his right to vote personally he may transfer his right to another full member, by written proxy.
7. Representation and voting may be done by other means such as videoconferencing,
8. The General Assembly shall form a quorum if half of the votes, for the total of votes for the Association, are present. All resolutions passed by the General Assembly shall require a simple majority of the valid votes cast, with the exception of amendments to the Statutes or in case of dissolution of the Association, which shall require a two-third majority of the valid votes cast. If this minimum is not attained, a new General Assembly shall be convened with the same agenda within a minimum of thirty days and a maximum of ninety days after the first meeting. This second General Assembly will be able to take decisions by the majority of the votes cast.
9. The Board of Directors can ask for a vote by post, fax or e-mail by the members, including an amendment to the statutes, if the Board of Directors considers the matter to be voted upon as minor or a delay till the next meeting of the General Assembly as undesirable. In the case of such votes, the majority of votes received within a reasonable period (to be set by the Board of Directors), will be the deciding factor in the acceptance or rejection of the resolution.
Article 7 THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS
1. The Board of Directors consists of the President, the Vice-President, the Treasurer and members. The President and Treasurer can not be the same member.
2. The President with the Board of Directors operates as a team.
3. The President with the Board of Directors will candidate themselves as a group at least two weeks prior to the conference of the General Assembly.
4. The General Assembly elects the President with the Board of Directors as a group for a period of two years.
5. Only members of the Association can candidate themselves for the Presidency and the Board of Directors.
6. The Board of Directors will have a conference once every twelve months at least; if necessary more often. The President and/or the Secretary General convene the conference(s). The agenda and the relevant papers for the conference will be sent to all members for the Board of Directors not later than two weeks prior to the conference.
7. The Board of Directors has the following responsibilities:
a) To direct the activities of the Association and implement the decisions taken by the General Assembly;
b) To consider and recommend policy matters to General Assembly;
c) To submit accounts of its activities to the General Assembly;
d) To suggest and appoint Committees, working groups and Association Chapters.
e) To suggest and appoint persons representing the Association at meetings, conferences, symposia etc.
8. At least once per annum, the Board of Directors has to approve:
a) the report of the President;
b) the annual budget;
c) the financial report of the Treasurer.
9. The President and the Treasurer together represent the Association in financial matters. Should one of these two be prevented from executing his or her duties, the Vice-President or another member of the Board shall take his or her place.
10. The President represents the Association in non financial matters. Should the President be prevented from executing his or her duties, the Vice-President or another member of the Board shall take his place.
11. The Board of Directors can appoint and give a mandate to the Secretary General to act as spokesperson and negotiator on behalf of the Association.
12. The decisions of the Board of Directors are taken by the majority of the votes cast. In order to decide validly, a minimum of two-thirds of the Board of Directors members should cast a vote. In the absence of a majority, the President has the casting vote.
13. Apart from expiration of the term of office, the membership of the Board of Directors ends:
a) through termination of membership by the person, company, association or institution the Board of Directors member represents;
b) by resignation;
c) by expulsion, which may be decided by the President and approved by the Board of Directors on serious grounds, such as behaviour harming the Association and/or industry or negligence of duties;
d) by death of the Board of Directors member.
14. In the case where the membership of the Board of Directors ends during the term of office, the Board of Directors may appoint a new member as replacement.
15. The General Assembly will be informed within two weeks when a member of the Board of Directors is replaced.
16. The General Assembly will be informed at shortest notice if, during the term of office, the membership of the Board of Directors has or will be ended for the President or for more then one third of the members of the Board of Directors, as elected by the General Assembly.
17. The Board of Directors will appoint a new President and/or new members for the Board of Directors, within two weeks of such an occurrence, and ask for a vote by post, fax or e-mail by the members of the General Assembly, to accept or reject the newly appointed President and/or newly appointed Board of Directors, within four weeks after notice. The majority of votes received within a period four weeks after sending the request to vote will be the deciding factor in the acceptance or rejection.
Article 8 COMMITTEES AND WORKING GROUPS
1. The terms and duties of the committees and working groups are described and defined in the Regulations of the Association.
2. Committees and working groups are open to all members.
3. The number of representatives for committees and working groups can be limited as described and defined in the Regulations of the Association.
Article 9 ASSOCIATION CHAPTERS
1. Association Chapters may be permitted to be formed and chartered in accordance with the requirements stated in the Regulations of the Association.
2. Membership of the Association is a prerequisite to membership in the Chapter.
3. All Chapters chartered by the Association are affiliated with the Association.
Article 11 THE SECRETARIAT
1. The day-to-day affairs of the Association will be managed by the Board of Directors. The Board of Directors may appoint a Secretary General for the day-to-day affairs of the Association.
2. The Secretary General will be accountable to the Board of Directors for the carrying out of the business of the General Assembly, and will be bound by the Board of Directors’s instructions.
3. The Secretary General will attend all meetings of the General Assembly, the Board of Directors and any other meeting, as required by the Board of Directors. The Secretary General will not have any voting rights.
Article 12 RESOURCES OF THE ASSOCIATION
The resources of the Association shall be composed of:
a) membership fees paid by members;
b) any advances or subsidies made available by its members or by other national or international bodies;
c) all other resources subject to the agreement of the Board of Directors ; which are not in breach of the laws in force.
Article 13 MEMBERSHIP FEE
1. The Association shall impose annual membership fees to finance its activities. The fees for the various membership categories shall be decided upon by the General Assembly on the basis of a recommendation made by the Board of Directors.
2. The annual membership fee must be paid to the Treasurer within thirty days of the request for payment. In case of failure, penalties for late payment can be decided on and applied by the Board of Directors.
Article 14 RULES AND REGULATIONS
The rules and regulations of the Association shall be written by the Board of Directors and submitted for approval to the General Assembly. These rules and regulations are intended to clarify matters not covered by these statutes.
Article 15 LANGUAGE
For communication English is the official language of the Association.
Article 16 DISSOLUTION
1. The dissolution of the Association may be decided upon by a three-quarters majority of the member’s present/represented at the General Assembly.
2. Winding up and liquidation of assets will be the responsibility of the Board of Directors.
3. The General Assembly shall decide on the official beneficiary of the Association’s assets, after the deduction of all liabilities.
Article 17 SUPPLEMENTARY PROVISION
Everything not explicitly dealt with in these Statutes, Regulations or the laws will be decided upon by the Board of Directors.
Statutes 2007