The Federation was founded in 1981, the Statutes were changed at the Extraordinary General Assembly in Budapest July 13, 1991, and came into effect on March 1st, 1992.

At the General Assembly in Tampere July 10, 1993, one paragraph was added, and a minor change was made.

At the General Assembly in Athens July 1st, 1995, one paragraph was added, and some linguis-tic changes were agreed upon.

At the General Assembly in Dublin, July 12, 1997, para-graph 16 ( Presidents' Council) was added, some minor changes were made concerning the voting procedures and financial regulations.

At the General Assembly in Rome, July 11, 1999 minor changes were made concerning the voting procedure, establishing of working groups and duties of organs of EFPPA.

Article 1: Name, Residence

1.1 The Federation shall be re-fer-red to in any of the three fol-low-ing ways:

European Federation of Professional Psychologists' Associations (EFPPA);

Europäische Föderation der Berufsverbände von Psychologen (EFBP);

Fédération Européenne des Associations de Psychologues (FEAP);

1.2.The The Federation is registered in Luxembourg.

1.3. Financial Year of the Federation shall start on January

1.4. The Executive Council represents the Federation. The residence of the Federation is chosen by the General Assembly.

Article 2: Definitions

2.1. In the context of EFPPA, an association is a national organisation of psychologists or a national federation of associations of psychologists, from Europe, which exists to promote the application of psychology and the professional status of psy-cho-logists.

2.2. A psychologist is a person who has graduated in psychology from a university or equivalent institute of higher education, having undertaken a course in psychology recognized by his association(see 2.1.), and who has fulfilled the criteria for professional status prescribed by that association.

2.3. In countries where there is legal recognition of psychologists, psychologists are those who are entitled, through registration, to call themselves psychologists and to practise professionally as such.

Article 3: Aims of the Federation

3.1. The Federation strives for the following aims:

3.1.1. To promote communica-tion and cooperation between member associations in Europe, and to contribute to their development.

3.1.2. To further the establishment of ethical codes of practice for psychologists, and to promote the application of psychology as a means of improving the well-being of those to whom psychologists offer services.

3.1.3. To further the development of psychology and its application, with particular reference to professional training and the professional status of psychologists.

3.1.4. To support the inte-rests of psychology and its application in relation to any European or international organisations concerned with specifying requirements for the professional practice of psychology.

3.1.5. To support member associations in promoting the interests of psychology within their own countries.

3.1.6. To facilitate contacts with international bodies of psychology.

3.1.7. To promote the development of professional psychology in all its different areas and subject matters and, as appropriate, to assist in the coordination of this activity

3.2. The aims of the Federation shall be promoted especially by:

3.2.1. Arranging contacts between the member associations;

3.2.2. Establishing relations with relevant national and international organisations and administrative bodies in Europe;

3.2.3. Collating and disseminating information concerning professional matters for psychologists in Europe (training, ethics, professional organization);

3.2.4. Arranging regular conferences, seminars and meetings for psychologists in Europe

3.2.5. Developing future structures of sections or divisions of scientific and professional subject matter.

Article 4: Autonomy of the Member Associa-ti-ons

4.1. Member associations main-tain their own identity and au-to-nomy within the Feder-ati-on.

4.2. Member associations shall be consulted by the Federation before any significant decisions of policy are made by any of the constituent organs of the Federation, and shall have an opportunity to comment upon such decisions before they are put into effect.

Article 5: Membership, eligibility, application and admission

5.1. An association (as defined in article 2) is eligible for membership of the Federation, if it meets each of the following criteria:

5.1.1. The statutes and rules of the association are in accord with the aims of the Federation.

5.1.2. Only one association within any one country is eligible.

5.1.3. In countries where there is more than one association of psychologists the Federation will support the formation of a national federation or network which links the different organisations and which enables maximum representation of the community of psychologists in that country.

5.2. Application for membership has to be made in writing to the Federation. The application must be accompanied by the articles of the association (statutes, rules of procedure, ethical code and the latest annual report) and details of numbers and categories of members. The Federation will determine the result of the application. A written decision will be given to the applicant.

5.3. The membership starts when the Federation has received the first annual membership fee from the applicant. (see 7.2. and the Financial Regulations.)

Article 6: Termination of membership

6.1. Membership of the Federation shall be terminated in the following conditions:

1. dissolution of a member association,
2. withdrawal of a member association from the Federation,
3. expulsion from the Federation.

6.2. Dissolution When a member association is in the process of dissolving itself, it should notify the Federation in writing as early as possible. In the absence of such notification the association will be liable for the annual fee for the current and the following year, when due.

6.3. Withdrawal Withdrawal from the Federation shall be notified in writing to the Federation, not later than October 1, otherwise the association will be liable for the fees for the following year, when they become due.

6.4. Expulsion

6.4.1. A member association can be expelled from the Federation in the following cases:
1. Actions taken which are deemed (through the procedure set out in 6.4.2. below) to be in disagreement with or in contravention of the statutes or aims of the Federation.
2. Default in payments of the due annual fee, despite the dispatch of three separate reminders by the Federation.

6.4.2. Termination of the membership of an association by way of expulsion, or recall of an affiliation, has to proceed along the following lines:
1. A written notification of the proposal from the Federation to the association concerned, asking at the same time for a report on the relevant circumstances.
2. A written notification from the Executive Council, submitting the relevant docu-ments. This notification has to be made at least six weeks before the meeting of the General Assembly which will take the decision on expulsion.
3. The report from the association concerned with the relevant circumstances must be presented at the meeting of the General Assembly.
4. A decision to expel a member or to recall an affiliation will take effect as soon as the association concerned has been informed in writing by the Federation.
5. The association concerned remains liable for payments on which it has defaulted.

Article 7: Obligations of the members

7.1. The member associations shall observe the statutes and rules of the Federation, and shall promote its aims.

7.2. Member Associations shall inform the Federation about any substantial changes to their statutes or Ethical Code.

7.3. The member associations shall pay the membership fees as prescribed in the Financial Regulations. The annual membership covers one financialyear.

7.4. Member associations which have failed to pay all outstanding annual subscriptions by the date of the General Assembly may attend the General Assembly and participate in discussions, but they shall lose the right to vote in the affairs of the Federation until all outstanding debts have been paid. The General Assembly shall have the discretion to set aside this Statute if an association which is behind with its payments can demonstrate to the General Assembly that there is a good reason for the debts.

Article 8: Affiliates

8.1. National associations and associations drawing their members from more than one nation which are active in the field of professional psychology (scientific, applied, practitioner) can be appointed affiliates by the General Assembly as a result of a motion raised in accordance with 10.5. below.

8.1.1. However, no national association may become an affiliate member if an association from the same nation is a member under section 2.1.

8.1.2. No association may be ap-pointed an af-filiate whose aims are not in accord with the aims of the Federation.

8.1.3. Those affiliates which are European associations may be appointed as European Affiliates by the General Assembly as a result of a motion raised in accordance with 10.5. below.

8.2. Affiliates have the status of observers in the General Assembly, and are to be invited accordingly.

8.3. The General Assembly can decide that affiliation is dependent upon payment of an admission fee and annual fees determined by the Federation.

8.4. The General Assembly can recall an affiliation using the procedure set out in 6.4.2. above.

Article 9: Constituent parts of the Federation The federation has the following organs:

9.1. The General Assembly, which has the final authority within the Federation. The General Assembly resolves all concerns of the Federation.

9.2. The Presidents' Council advises and collaborates with the Executive Coun-cil in implementing the decisions of the General Assembly.

9.2.1. The Presidents' Council consists of the Presidents or their deputies of all the Member Associations of the Federation.

9.3. The Executive Council, which carries out the decisions of the General Assembly, and operates the Federation between the meetings (plenary sessions) of the General Assembly

9.4. The Secretary General, who heads the office.

Article 10: The General Assembly

10.1. The following persons may attend the General Assembly of the Federation: delegates of member associations, members of the Executive Council and representatives of affiliates (including European Affiliates), members of Task Forces, the EFPPA Head of Office, and any other persons invited as guests by the Executive Council.

10.1.1. The General Assembly meets in biennial plenary sessions, unless a more frequent meeting is approved by the Executive Council or by the previous General Assembly (by a majority vote of the members of the Executive Council or by a majority of the delegates).

10.2. Only delegates of member associations have voting rights in the General Assembly. They can, in addition, represent entrusted votes from their own member association. In cases where there are more than 2.500 psychologists belonging to a member association, the number of delegates increases with one delegate for every 1.000 members, up to a maximum of five delegates for any member association.

10.3. Member associations have to nominate in writing to the Federation the names of their delegates and delegates with entrusted votes (or potential substitutes) at least four weeks before a General Assembly.

10.3.1. Members of the Executive Council may serve as delegates and may vote in the General Assembly if they serve as delegates of their member associations.

10.3.2. Member associations who are applying for membership of the Federation should act in accordance with 10.3.-and 5.3., so that, if the association is accepted as a member, the delegates have voting rights immediately.

10.4. Each delegate of a member association has one vote in the General Assembly. A member association may decide to send a smaller number of delegates than its entitlement to the General Assembly and to entrust the votes of the remaining members to the delegates attending. In this case, the member association must notify the Federation of the distribution of entrusted votes among its attending delegates at least four weeks before the date of the General Assembly. Each delegate attending can only possess one entrusted vote from his own association.

10.5. Announcement of a General Assembly has to be made at least four months before the General Assembly, and should contain preliminary information concerning the agenda and place and dates of the meeting. Each member association may place motions and items on the agenda, provided that these items are made known in writing to the Federation not later than two months in advance of the General Assembly. Every motion has to be stated explicitly in writing with regard to any change of the statutes or budget, including fees. The final agenda of the General Assembly must delivered to the member associations not later than six weeks before the opening date of the General Assembly.

10.6. Items not included in the precirculated agenda of a regular General Assembly may only be discussed with the consent of more than one third of the delegates from the member associations present at that time. Decisions on such matters can only be made by way of resolutions.

10.7. The president shall announce an extra ordinary General Assembly, if desired by at least one third of the member associations, with at least two months' notice.

Article 11: Tasks of the General Assembly

11.1. The General Assembly decides on the statutes and any revision.

11.2. The General Assembly considers the biennial report of the Executive Council for approval.

11.3. The General Assembly concludes the nomination of applications for membership, expulsion from membership, as well as nomination and recall of affiliates.

11.4. The General Assembly must consider the accounts of the Federation and approve them. The accounts must show the balance sheet over the period since the last approved accounts for every bank account holding moneys belonging to EFPPA, in the currency in which the account is held, expressed in EURO, and stating the numbers of members in each member association. A summary sheet covering all accounts and expressed in EURO should also be presented. The accounts must be professionally audited and the report of the auditors presented to the General Assembly. The accounts of the Federation should be circulated in full to member associations with the final agenda, not later than six weeks before the opening date of the General Assembly (10.5).

11.5.The General Assembly fixes the fees in accordance with the separate financial regulations.

11.6. The General Assembly decides upon the activity plan and the budget for the next period.

11.7. The General Assembly elects and confirms or discharges the members of the Executive Council.

11.8. The General Assembly must confirm the appointment of the auditors, upon the recommendation of the Executive Council.

11.9 The General Assembly can include any other item on the agenda.

11.10 The General Assembly can dissolve the Federation.

11.11. The General Assembly may esta-blish Task Forces and Standing Committees for areas of special interests.

11.12. Each member association may nominate one member to each Task Force. The Federation may also decide that a European Affiliate may nominate one member.

11.13. The General Assembly decides on financial arrangements for Standing Committees,Task Forces and Working Groups and receives financial reports as well as a final report. (14-.5)

Article 12: Elections and procedures

12.1. The General Assembly ap-points its Chair at the be-gin-ning of the ses-si-on. The quorum for the General Assembly is half + 1 of the member associations.

12.2. Decisions of the General Assembly shall be made by simple majority vote. However, a 2/3 majority is required for votes according to articles on expulsion (6.4.2.d.) and dissolution (11.10.), as well as for votes to change any articles of the Statutes or Financial Regulations of the Federation. Only delegates present in the meeting room, including the entrusted votes, can cast their votes.

12.3. Voting at the General Assembly (except for elections) shall be by show of hands unless a secret ballot is requested by a delegate. No postal ballots are allowed at the General As-sembly.

12.3.1. In elections to the Executive Council of the Federation, the system which will be used will be absolute majority, followed by a simple majority if needed. In an election for a single post, if one person gains more than 50% of the votes, she or he is elected. If no-one gains an absolute majority, the two names with most votes remain and the person who gains a simple majority on the second round is elected. In an election for more than one position, all delegates cast as many votes as there are positions. If one or more persons gain more than 50% of the votes they are elected. If all vacancies are not filled in the first round of voting, the person-(s) with the largest number of votes on the second round will be elected. Abstentions, blank papers and spoiled votes are excluded and not counted. Votes on motions are by simple majority.

12.4. Elections are conducted by show of hands or by secret ballot. Elections to the Executive Board shall be by secret ballot. Other elections shall be by show of hands, unless a secret ballot is required by a delegate.

12.5. The quorum for voting and elections at the General Assembly shall be the presence in the meeting room of delegates including their entrusted votes and representing 1/2 of the votes of delegates to the General Assembly.

12.6. Draft Minutes of the sessions of the General Assembly should be prepared, approved by the Chair and send to member associations and to delegates not later than eight weeks after the General Assembly. Delegates and/or member associations should submit any comments on the Draft Minutes, within six weeks of receipt of them, in writing to the Federation through its Secretary General. The Minutes should be submitted for confirmation at the next General Assembly.

Article 13: The Executive Board and the Executive Council

13.1. There shall be 3 members of the Executive Board, a President, a Secretary General and a Treasurer, the two last named shall serve as Vice-Presidents.

13.2. The Executive Council shall comprise the members of the Execu-tive Board and 4 more mem-bers.

13.3.The Executive Council may invite any convenor of a Task Force to attend any meeting of the Council as an ob-server.

13.4. Member Associations may nominate one representative to attend a meeting of the Executive Council as an observer.

13.5. The Executive Council shall meet at least once per year.

13.6. The President and all members of the Executive Council shall be psychologists.

13.7. The members of the Executive Council are elected for four years by the General Assembly following nomination by their association. The General Assembly shall elect a President, it shall elect a General Secretary and it shall elect a Treasurer. The candidates should be nominated by their association in writing to the Federation not later than eight weeks before a plenary session. Each nomination should be accompanied by the curriculum vitae of the nominee.

13.8. The elections of 3 members of the Executive Council shall take place in a mid-cycle of two years as compared to the elections of the other members.

13.9. No member can serve on the Executive Council for more than eight years (irrespective of office).

13.10 Only one member of any one member association may be elected to the Executive Couccil.

13.11 If one of its members resigns or retires mid-term, the Executive Council may appoint a temporary member to fulfil that function until the next General Assembly.

Article 14: Tasks and meetings of the Executive Council and the Executive Board

14.1. The quorum of the Executive Council is five of its members. Decisions are made by simple majority. Each member has one vote. Where votes on a proposal are equally divided, the President, or if s/he is not present, the senior Vice President in office has the casting vo-te.

14.2. The Executive Council has the follo-wing duties and powers:

1. To authorise expenditure according to the budget adopted by the General Assembly.
2. To present a report to each meeting of the General Assembly.
3. In general, subject to the supe-ri-or authority of the General Assembly, to make all decisions necessary for the operation of the Federation and the realization of its aims, in the intervals between meetings of the General Assembly.

14.3. The Executive Council decides on the location of the secretariat and the appointment of assistance that may be required.

14.4. Minutes of the meetings of the Executive Council are to be made available to the member associations.

14.5. The Executive Council may establish Working Groups after informing the member associations The Executive Council shall present financial reports from the Task Forces to the General Assembly.

14.6. The Executive Board has the responsibility for carrying out the day to day business of the Federation in accordance with the decisions made by the General Assembly and the Executive Council.

Article 15: Tasks of the General Secretary and the Treasurer

15.1. The duties and powers of the Secretary General shall be:

1. To authorise particular expenditure in accordance with general instructions from the Executive Council.
2. With the approval of the President of the Federation to call meetings of the Executive Council or to arrange for a postal vote by its members.
3. To prepare and circulate notices of the agenda for meetings of the General Assembly, the Executive Council Presidents' Council.
4. To prepare and circulate minutes of meetings of the General Assembly, the Executive Council and Presidents' Council, and to arrange for records of the activities of the Federation.
5. In general, to perform the customary duties of this office, and to represent the Federation as required by the Executive Council.

15.2. The duties and the powers of the Treasurer shall be:

1. To keep the accounts of the Federation.
2. To bank all fees, subsidies and donations.
3. To present a budget and statement of accounts and details of membership annually to the Executive Council, and to each meeting of the General Assembly in advance, at the latest in the final agenda ( 10.5.,11.4)
4. To make payments on the authority of the General Assembly in accordance with the budget.
5. To collect dues annually from the member associations and to keep overview records of mem-bership.

Article 16: The Presidents' Council, Function and Task.

16.1. The Presidents' Council consists of the Presidents or their deputies of all the Member Associations of the Federation and meets at least once a year.

16.2. The Presidents' Council provides advice to the Executive Council and the General Assembly on its own initiative and on the demand of the Executive Council on any matter concerning the policy and operation of EFPPA.

16.3. The Presidents' Council may provide the Executive Council with regular advice on urgent matters.

16.4. The Presidents' Council shall receive from the treasurer an annual report of the financial situation of the Federation.

16.4. Between meetings of the General Assembly the Presidents' Council will advise on the participation of the Federation in different projects, topic conferences or urgent modification of the statutes.

16.5. The Presidents' Council shall promote and propose new items to the Executive Council to be introduced to the General Assembly plenary sessions.

16.6. The Executive Council shall ask for the participation of the Presidents' Council in specific representation on matters of significance to the Federation.

16.7. The Presidents will try to ensure that EFPPA's professional and scientific guidelines shall be widely spread within their own associations.

17.1.Change of the statutes is subject to a majority vote according to article 12.2.

17.2. The General Assembly decides when a change in the Statutes comes into effect.

17.3. Proposals for a change of the statutes shall be announced in accordance with article 10.5. The Federation ceases to exist if the membership goes below ten associations.

17.4. On the dissolution of the Federation, any residual assets shall, at the discretion of the General Assembly be allocated to purposes consonant with the aims of the Federation.

Financial Regulations of EFPPA

Article 1: First membership fee

1. The first annual membership fee must be paid within a period of three months after the membership has been confirmed by the Federation.

Article 2: Annual fee

2.1. The annual membership fee is payable by a member association on the basis of the number of psychologists who are members of that association on December 31 of previous year.

2.2. Member associations of EFPPA must report the number of their mem-bers [and cate-go-ries] every year before Fe-bruary 28 of a year and transfer the rele-vant fee before March 30 to the Fede-ration.

2.3. Full members of EFPPA shall pay an annual fee per member, up to a maxi-mum of 5.500 mem-bers. If the member of EFPPA is a federation, the total of the members of the federations´s associations form the basis for the calculation of the annual fee.

2.4. Affiliate members shall pay an annual fee of 50% of the annual fee of full members.

2.5. The annual fee per member is fixed by the General Assembly (see Statutes 11.5. and 10.5.). The annual fee shall be announced in accordance with Statutes 10.5. The annual fee for the Federation shall not exceed the amount of 4.000.000 LUF, this amount being in accordance with Luxembourg regulations (see also Statutes 1.2.).

2.6. Member associations which have fai-led to pay all out-standing annual subscriptions by the date of the General Assembly may attend the General Assembly and participate in discussions, but they shall lose the right to vote in the affairs of the Federation until all outstanding debts have been paid (See also Statu-tes 7.3)

Article 3: Special fees

3.1 The federation may charge special fees after consultation with the MAs to accomplish special tasks.

3.2 In cases where a Member As-sociation demonstrates its inability to pay full fee, the Executive Council may make special arrangements and negociate a special plan in order to facilitate mem-bership of the Federation, provided that the plan includes a progessive increase in fee to full fee.

Article 4: Remit / Remissions of fees

4.1. The Federation can grant a remission in payment of fees (see 2.) on application for a maximum period of 2 years.

4.2. The Executive Council can reduce or remit fees in special circumstances.

Article 5: Changes of fees

5. Changes of fees (see 2.3.) come into effect on January 1 of the year following the passing of the resolution by the General Assembly.

Article 6: Coming into force

6. The General Assembly decides when a change in the Financial Regulations comes into effect.