MALTESE PARLIAMENTARY DELEGATION TO ATTEND THE XXIIND COSAC MEETING OF THE EUROPEAN UNION

MALTESE PARLIAMENTARY DELEGATION TO ATTEND THE XXII^ND COSAC MEETING OF THE EUROPEAN UNION

A Parliamentary delegation led by the Hon Dolores Cristina MP, Chairperson of the Parliamentary Foreign Affairs Committee, including the Hon John Vella, MP, and the Hon George Vella, MP, also members of the Foreign Affairs Committee, will be attending the XXIInd COSAC meeting.

This meeting of European Affairs Committees of the National Parliaments of the European Union, the European Parliament and the Parliaments of Applicant States will be held in Lisbon between the 29th and 30th May, and it will be opened by Dr. Manuel dos Santos, Chairman of the Committee on European Affairs in Portugal.

Prime Minister Antonio Guterres will open the debate on "The Portuguese Presidency: IGC, Enlargement and Employment" and will also participate in the debate on "Subjects decided by qualified majority".

Other topics on the agenda are:

§ "The Charter of Fundamental Rights";

§ "The contribution of the COSAC"; and

§ "Same parties, different types of representation – links between European MPs and national MPs".

COSAC was set up following an agreement reached in 1989 between Presidents of the Parliaments of the Member States of the European Communites on the need to strengthen the role of national parliaments in the Community process through the cooperation of the committees in charge of European affairs within their Parliaments.

Meetings of COSAC are held on a twice yearly basis on the invitation of the Parliament of the Member State holding the Presidency of the Council of Ministers. These meetings have evolved into a dialogue with the President of the Council, Ministers of the Presidency and members of the Commission, followed by a debate on current European issues.

The collective action of the Parliaments through COSAC has been acknowledged in the Protocol of the Treaty of Amsterdam on the role of national Parliaments, in accordance with the conclusions adopted by the 15th COSAC meeting which was held in Dublin in October 1996.