The Speaker of the House of Representatives to address the Assembly "Peace in the Mediterranean" in Palma de Mallorca

The Speaker of the House of Representatives, The Hon Anton Tabone is leading a parliamentary delegation to Palma de Mallorca on the invitation of the Spanish Government, host of the first Conference of Euro-Mediterranean Presidents of Parliament being held between the 7th and 9th March. The Conference will be attended by representatives of the Parliaments of the fifteen European Union members and the twelve Southern Mediterranean States.

The Speaker is expected to address this auspicious assembly on the theme "Peace in the Mediterranean: The Role of Parliaments". Other main themes which will be addressed are "The Euro-Mediterranean Parliamentary Forum" and "The Euro-Mediterranean parliamentary process: From Barcelona to Palma". Leading personalities taking the podium include Jose Maria Gil Robles, President of the European Parliament, Mrs Esperanza Aguirre, President of the Spanish Senate, Federico Trillo Figueroa, President of the Spanish Congress of Deputies, Luciano Violante, President of the Italian Chamber of Deputies, Fouad Mebazaa, President of the Tunisian Chamber of Deputies. The opening of the Conference will be presided by HM King Juan Carlos of Spain and HM the Queen of Spain. HM The King will deliver the inaugural address.

The working sessions will be dealing with a Draft Declaration on Euro-Mediterranean Parliamentary Cooperation commissioned by the Presidents of the Mediterranean Parliaments convened at the Palermo meeting last September in view to the formal issuing of a final declaration which should be seeking to institutionalise Euro-Mediterranean interparliamentry dialogue.

Other members of the Malta delegation accompanying Mr Speaker are The Hon Mario Galea and the Hon Joe Mizzi Parliamentary Whips.