Minutes of the 17th session of the EMUNI Management Board Time and place: Piran, 22. 2. 2013 at 15.30h Present members: Dr. Hassan Nadir Kheirallah (Chairman), Dr. Chris Soler (Member of International Interested Public), Dr. Oto Luthar (Member of International Interested Public), Mr Peter Volasko (Member of International Interested Public), Dr. Andrej Rahten (Member nominated by Slovenian Government), Prof. Dr. Francesco Paolo La Mantia Absent: Ilan Chet, Prof. Dr. Anasse Bouhlal, Prof. Dr. Maurits Van Rooijen Authorisations: Dr. Danijel Rebolj to Dr. Andrej Rahten Other present: Mr Laris Gaiser (EMUNI Brane Lesjak, (EMUNI Foundation), Alfred Horn (EMUNI Foundation), Alenka Kocj an?i?, Dejan I-Iribar, Tadeja Jerovsek (EMUNI University), Nada Trunk Sirca, Katja Kustec, Sanja Heric (EMUNI Foundation) Proposed Agenda: Hassan Nadir Kheirallah, EMUNI Management Board Chairman, welcomed the members and informed the members of the proposed agenda, which was extended with additional items 1,5 and 8. The amended agenda was as follows: 1. Con?rmation of the minutes of the 16th session of the Management Board; 2. Con?rmation of the 2012 Annual Report; 3. Proposal for a new EMUNI President and EMUNI Vice?president 4. Conclusions of the Committee for the Albanian Diplomatic Academy issue and ineligibility of the costs incurred by the former EMUNI management; 5. Measures regarding the General Assembly quorum and the acceptance of new members 6. Decision about the possibility of setting up a membership fee for EMUNI members; 7. Presentations of new EMUNI members I 8. 1. Con?rmation of the minutes of the 16th session of the Management board On 7 January 2013 the members of the Management Board received the minutes of the 16?h Management Board session. The ?nal version of the minutes, which included comments received from the members, was sent on 14 January 2013. The Chairman again asked the present members for any additional comments, which were not given. Decision 1: the members of the Management Board con?rmed the minutes of the 16th session of the EMUNI Univeristv Management Board. 2. Con?rmation of the 2012 Annual Report Alenka Kocjanci? delivered a short resume of the report. At the end of 2012 the University operated with 15,000,00 EUR de?cit, however, it has managed to signi?cantly decrease the de?cit in comparison to previous years. According to the Act on the Balancing of Public Finances the staff costs were supposed to be cut by 8 in 2012, however EMUNI managed to cut these costs by 10 EMUNI currently has approximately 45.000,00 EUR outstanding items. In 2012 EMUNI again faced a high decrease in budget funds allocated from the Slovenian Government, which gives it a very small maneuver space for its activities and other costs. A lot of its activities are therefore postponed to 3013-14. Additional funds were received by 2 major projects (ENPI for the development of study programmes; INPDAP project for Student Scholarship), and EMUNI Foundation, which also granted a loan to start repaying fees for the ENPI project experts and team leader. EMUNI is still predominantly financed by the Ministry of Education, Science, Culture and Sport of the Republic of Slovenia. The funds are suf?cient only for basic administration. Other income expected for 2013 are fees from future students and potential membership fees of EMUNI members as in 2013 the Slovenian Government decreased the budget for EMUNI by additional 12 Decision No. 2: The Management Boars adopted the 2012 EMUNI University Annual Report. 3. Proposal for a new EMUNI President and EMUNI Vice-president The members discussed the following proposals: Dr. Dusan Lesjak, International School for Social and Business Studies, Celje, Adviser of Minister of Education,was proposed to take over the position of EMUNI acting President, while Dr. Chris Soler, Head of Legal Department of Malta University, appointed to MB from the side of the EMUNI Foundation, was proposed to act as Vice President for Academic Affairs. The present participants of the meeting who are not members of BMUNI Management Board left the room. Dr. Oto Luthar introduced the candidates. Laris Gaiser presented financial restraints regarding the possible appointments. Also in case the vice President agrees to be paid as consultant, the University?s budget for this year is not sufficient to cover the costs of his appointment. In case that both candidates will take up the posts from 1 April, other sources need to be guaranteed within the current financing until the external ?nancial source is found. Dr. Luthar replied he will also put the proposal on partial ?nancing of the costs for the future Vice-President on the next session of the EMUNI Foundation Management Board. The Management Board concluded that Dr. Luthar will make a precise calculation of the costs for the appointment of the proposed candidates. The EMUNI University will prepare an of?cial request to the Slovenian Government for additional funding, while the EMUNI Foundation will examine the possibilities for allocating funds for the candidates. In one month the candidates should present to Management Board a work plan and their new vision for EMUNI. Decision No. 3: EMUNI Management Board conditionally con?rmed the appointment of Dr. Dusan Lesiak as acting EMUNI President, and Dr. Chris Soler as Vice President for Academic Affairs as of 1 April 2013 until 31 December 2013. Their appointment is subiect to the con?rmation for the ?nancial ability of EMUNI University and EMUNI Foundation to cover the costs for the appointments until the funds of the Slovenian Government or external source are obtained. Dr. Chris Soler shall resign his position in the Management Board of the EMUNI University upon his appointment. Laris Gaiser will remain the Vice?President for Financial and Administrative Affairs of EMUNI in accordance with his contract and decision at the 14th Management Board in Brussels. 4. Conclusions of the Committee for the Albanian Diplomatic Academy issue and ineligibility of the costs incurred by the former EMUNI management; The financial department representative reported that a note has been sent to Prof. Joseph Mifsud to 3 different addresses (Rome, London and Malta) with a request to explain the allegedly ineligible costs in the amount of approximately 30.000,00 EUR incurred by him, mostly through the usage of his business VISA card in the years 2010~ 2012. The main ineligibilities that allegedly happened were business VISA card payments, which were not supported by evidence and documents, exceeding the amount allocated in the President?s contract to cover telephone bills, and breach of the contract upon the conclusion of his post as the University?s president, when no business handover was made. To date no noti?cation was received at EMUNI that the letters were delivered, therefore it was decided that EMUNI will ?le an of?cial request by the Post of?ce about the whereabouts of the letters. She also reported on the controversy with the Albanian Diplomatic Academy. In addition, in order to restore credibility to the university the Management Board took a decision to authorize Lairs Gaiser, Acting EMUNI President, to examine in cooperation with EMUNI Legal Department and Dr. Chris Soler and take all necessary legal actions to demand and insure the reimbursement of all amount due to the university. Decision No. 4: The Management Board authorizes Laris Gaiser, Acting EMUNI President, to examine and take all necessary legal actions to demand and insure the reimbursement of all amount due to the university by Prof. Joseph Mifsud. 5. Measures regarding the General Assembly quorum and the acceptance of new members Laris Gaiser explained that with a network of 206 institutions, involved through different agreements in the EMUNI network, it would be a difficult task to guarantee a 1/3 presence at the General Assembly to guarantee a quorum. However, subject in the future to a careful review of membership status it was noted that only 74institutions comply with all necessary procedures to be considered as EMUNI members and have been confirmed by the EMUNI Management Board and will therefore be considered as eligible to vote at the following General Assembly. The other institutions are granted a provisional membership subject to the ful?llment to all the requirements. Decision No. 5: The membership status of the interested institutions is obtained with a signature of the letter of intent and presentation for the full membership status as stated on the EMUNI website. The new members need to be con?rmed by the EMUNI Management Board and presented to GA. Decision No. 6: EMUNI Members are considered as eligible to vote at the General Assembly among those that comply with the membership status. Until this date the Management Board considers 74 higher education and other institutions eligible to be considered as EMUNI members. 6. Decision about the possibility of setting up a membership fee for EMUNI members; The Management Board discussed the option of membership fee, which would help restoring the EMUNI ?nancial situation and bound the members to be more active in the EMUNI Network. The members agreed that a criteria needs to be de?ned for the fee and that the members need to obtain some bene?ts in return. Dr. Andrej Rahten proposed that the membership fee should not be too high and that by setting the fees the economic criteria should be considered for individual countries GDP level). Dr. Dusan Lesjak added that it is even more important to consider the size and status of the individual institution rather than the economic situation of the country and its whereabouts. Laris Gaiser stated the bene?ts the members paying the fee could obtain: the possibility to nominate candidates for the EMUNI Management Board and Senate, usage of the EMUNI trademark and logo, issues of the EMS journal, administrative support, EMUNI newsletter, involvement in EMUNI activities and projects, possibility for applying for EMUNI student scholarships. The Management Board decided they would inform the General Assembly about discussion of the option for the membership fee, which will be decided in a following session. Decision No. 7: The Management Board conditionally agreed with the option for implementing the membership fee and asked the acting President to present it to the General Assembly for additional suggestions and comments. Based on that a more precise proposal needs to be prepared for the decision to be made at one of the following sessions of the Management Board. 7. Presentations of new EMUNI members Since 28. 1. 2011 EMUNI received requests from 16 additional institutions applying for EMUNI Membership. 9 of which correctly met the criteria and sent their presentations to be introduced at the General Assembly. The Management Board adopted a decision to accept the 9 new institutions to EMUNI, increasing the number of official members to 83. The others receive an observer status. Decision No. 8: The Management Board proposed 9 institutions to become of?cial EMUN I Members upon the con?rmation of the General Assembly: Pan-European University; Rabat School of Governance and Economics: University of Bania Luka: Queen's University Belfast; Tel?Aviv Academic college of Engineering; University College of Economics: Entrepreneurship and Management Nikola Subic Zrinski; Network of the Mediterranean Universities for Sustainable Development; Alma Mater Europaea - Evropski Center. Maribor; Ventura Research Institute. 8. A03 The term of of?ce of the ?rst EMUNI Management Board terminated. In accordance with the University Statute the representatives of the founding members (5 members) of the new Management Board should be appointed by the General Assembly. The members discussed the guidelines for the composition of the new Management Board among the founding members representatives and agreed on the following proposal: 2 members shall be selected among the institutions representing the South of the Mediterranean, 2 members shall be selected among the institutions representing the North of the Mediterranean and 1 member should represent Slovenia, where the University has its seat. The present General Assembly members will be required to nominate each their candidate for the management Board. The General Assembly will vote and make a ?nal decision to appoint the new members. Minutes written by: Chairman: Katja Kustec Prof. Dr. Hassan Nadir Kheirallah Portoroi, 4 March 2013