2.

Subsequent elections shall take place in the corresponding period in the last year of the five year period referred to in Article 3.

Should it prove impossible to hold the elections in the Community during that period, the Council acting unanimously shall, after consulting the European Parliament, determine another period which shall be not more than one month before or one month after the period fixed pursuant to the preceding subparagraph.

3.

Without prejudice to Article 22 of the Treaty establishing the European Coal and Steel Community, Article 139 of the Treaty establishing the European Economic Community and Article 109 of the Treaty establishing the European Atomic Energy Community, the European Parliament shall meet, without requiring to be convened, on the first Tuesday after expiry of an interval of one month from the end of the period referred to in Article 9 (1).

4.

The powers of the outgoing European Parliament shall cease upon the opening of the first sitting of the new European Parliament.

Article 11

Pending the entry into force of the uniform electoral procedure referred to in Article 7 (1), the European Parliament shall verify the credentials of representatives For this purpose it shall take note of the results declared officially by the Member States and shall rule on any disputes which may arise out of the provisions of this Act other than those arising out of the national provisions to which the Act refers.

Article 12

1.

Pending the entry into force of the uniform electoral procedure referred to in Article 7 (1) and subject to the other provisions of this Act, each Member State shall lay down appropriate procedures for filling any seat which falls vacant during the five year term of office referred to in Article 3 for the remainder of that period.

2.

Where a seat falls vacant pursuant to national provisions in force in a Member State, the latter shall inform the European Parliament, which shall take note of that fact.

In all other cases, the European Parliament shall establish that there is a vacancy and inform the Member State thereof.