PRESS RELEASE BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES Maltese Delegation participates in the 70th Annual Session of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly

A Maltese Delegation comprising of Head of Delegation, Carmelo Abela and Beppe Fenech Adami participated in the 70th NATO Parliamentary Assembly in Montreal, Canada. The summit took place between 22nd and 25th of November 2024.

The NATO PA is made up of 281 delegates from 32 NATO member countries. Each delegation is based on the country’s size and reflects the political composition of the parliament, therefore representing a broad spectrum of political opinion. This summit is the first in which the Parliament of Malta was represented in the Assembly, following a unanimous vote for the Maltese Parliament to become an Associate Member of the Assembly.

The Annual Session was divided into two parts. The Committee Meetings, held on 23rd and 24th November, consisted of five main sessions covering Defence and Security, Economics and Security, Science and Technology, Democracy and Security and the Political Committee. Each Committee covered its own agenda and adopted respective reports and resolutions. 

The programme also included thematic discussions which tackled “Strengthening Democratic Resilience after a Super Election Year,” “Forming the Armed Forces of the Future,” “Meeting the China Challenge,” and “NATO and Strategic Competition in the Arctic.” These were sessions which took the form of a panel discussion whereby participants could share their views in an informal setting. During the session discussing “Strengthening Democratic Resilience after a Super Election Year,” Beppe Fenech Adami spoke about the impact of artificial intelligence in the proliferation of fake news and the impact this may have had on the outcome of election results. He spoke about the need to address this fast-growing phenomenon.

The Maltese delegates attended the Committee on Democracy and Security, the Economics and Security Committee, as well as the Political Committee. During the first session of the Committee on Democracy and Security, the topics discussed included “Strengthening Allied Resilience: Canada’s Approach to Emergency Preparedness in an Era of Evolving Threats,” “History and Identity Under Attack: Protecting Cultural Heritage in Conflict” and “Addressing the Impact of Water Insecurity on Allied Security: The Security Dilemma.” 

The Economics and Security Committee tackled “Canada’s Indo-Pacific Strategy: Security and Economic Dimensions,” “The State of Russia’s Wartime Economy,” “Building a Values-based Transatlantic Economic and Strategic Partnership with the Indo-Pacific,” and “Critical Dual-use Technologies: Commercial, Regulatory, Societal, and National Security Challenges.” During this session, Carmelo Abela spoke about sanctions and their effectiveness, arguing that sanctions do not seem to be achieving the purpose for which they were imposed. This was also reflected in the report that was presented to the Committee. When sanctions are imposed, the most vulnerable should not be the ones to pay the price. In his intervention he asked the rapporteur for his thoughts and suggestions for a way forward on sanctions and the possibility of secondary sanctions. 

The Annual Session came to an end with the plenary meeting on Monday, the 25th of November. The plenary session started with a traditional indigenous blessing and was addressed by the Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, and Raymonde Gagné, Speaker of the Senate of Canada.

Since this summit is the main event of the assembly, a number of administrative votes were scheduled, including on the debates which took place during the Spring Session of Sofia, Bulgaria in May 2024. During the Plenary Session, elections of for President and Vice President of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly also took place.