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LEXICON Interparliamentary cooperation of the European Parliament

  1. The European Parliament cooperates with national parliaments of the EU Member States and non-EU states, and with parliamentary assemblies of international organisations. According to Rule 27 of the EP’s Rules of Procedure, the authority responsible for contacts with national parliaments, third countries and with non-Union institutions and bodies is the Conference of Presidents, which consists of the President of the EP and chairpersons of the political groups. In addition, the EP Bureau names Vice-Presidents who are entrusted with the implementation of relations with national parliaments (Rule 25 (14) of the EP’s Rules of Procedure).
  2. According to the EP’s Rules of Procedure (Title VI: Relations with National Parliaments – Rules 150-152), the Parliament keeps national parliaments of the Member States regularly informed of its activities. The main forums for the EP’s cooperation with the parliaments of the EU Member States are the Conference of Speakers of European Union Parliaments*, with the participation of the President of Parliament, and the Conference of Parliamentary Committees for Union Affairs of Parliaments of the European Union (COSAC)*, where the EP is represented by a delegation of six Members, including Vice-President of the EP responsible for relations with the national parliaments and the Chair of the Committee on Constitutional Affairs. Dialogue with national parliaments is also conducted at the committee level within the the framework of the European Parliamentary Week*.
  3. The maintenance of relations and exchange of information with parliaments of non-EU states falls within the remit of delegations of the European Parliament (Rules 223-225 of the EP’s Rules of Procedure). In addition to the consolidation of contacts with parliaments, it is their responsibility to contribute to promoting the values forming the foundation of the European Union among third countries: the principles of freedom, democracy, respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms, and the rule of law.
    The work of delegations is coordinated by the Conference of Delegation Chairs (Rule 30 of the EP’s Rules of Procedure). In addition to European and non-European delegations whose purpose is to cooperate with a specific state or group of states, PE delegations participate in the proceedings of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Union for the Mediterranean*, the APC-EU Joint Parliamentary Assembly, the Euro-Latin American Parliamentary Assembly (EuroLat) and the EURONEST Parliamentary Assembly*. Members of EP delegations also sit on the Conference of Parliamentarians of the Arctic Region, the Baltic Sea Parliamentary Conference and the Northern Dimension Parliamentary Forum. The European Parliament cooperates with the United States Congress through the Transatlantic Legislative Dialogue (TLD), with the Pan-African Parliament and with the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe. It is also an associate member of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU).
  4. The European Parliament may set up joint parliamentary committees with the parliaments of states associated with the Union or states with which accession negotiations have been initiated (Rule 224 of the PE’s Rules of Procedure). The committees exchange information on priorities and on the implementation of association agreements. They may formulate recommendations for the parliaments involved.
  5. MEPs are also members of the interparliamentary cooperation committees set up under partnership and cooperation agreements.

The committees exercise parliamentary scrutiny of the implementation of partnership agreements, discuss the performance of fixed goals and provide a forum for discussion.

Updated: 29.07.2020

 

* See: Lexicon