Today in the Hague, the Plenary Meeting of the Conference of Parliamentary Committees for Union Affairs of Parliaments of the European Union - COSAC has begun, organised within the Dutch Presidency of the Council of the EU. Delegation of the Committee on European Integration consists of Deputy Chairperson of the Committee Ms Marija Maja Ćatović and member of the Committee Ms Azra Jasavić.

The agenda included debates on strengthening of parliamentary scrutiny and role of national parliaments at the level of the EU, as well as the role of parliaments in protection of the rule of law and their activities within parliamentary diplomacy. They pointed out the significance of parliaments of the EU states as a bridge between Brussels and national governments, as well as promotion of stability and democratic legitimacy of the EU through their cooperation in joint bodies such as the COSAC.

Within the session dedicated to parliamentary scrutiny, various parliamentary practices were considered with regard to using of the co-called rapporteurs on specific issues and policies of the EU and the need for their mutual cooperation was pointed out. They also considered the issue of improvement of transparency of informal trilogue among the Council of the European Union, European Parliament, and European Commission, as well as proposals for more active involvement of national parliaments in preparation of the EU policies and greater influence on work of its institutions.       

One of key discussions was related to the role that the parliaments should have in protection of the rule of law, their previous practice and results, as well as the manners to make their control stronger in the future. It was emphasised that the parliaments have double responsibility, both for adoption of laws which foster the values of the rules of law and for control of the executive power regarding their implementation.  The EU member states must have mutual trust in national judiciary systems, thus strengthening the role of the EU on the global stage.

The parliamentarians also discussed the increasing significance of the international parliamentary activities, to the extent to which they should be harmonised with foreign policy of the government, as well as on challenges for development of parliamentary diplomacy. They exchanged experiences on various modalities of bilateral cooperation, but also on participation of parliamentarians in work of multilateral bodies. It was concluded that parliamentary diplomacy should be an important segment of work of national parliaments, not only for maintaining good relations, but also for resolving conflicts in the times of crisis.     

The meeting will end tomorrow, with discussion on the work of the European Court Auditor and on the current topic of migration.