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Tuesday, 14. June 2016. 14:14

Plenary Meeting of the LV COSAC ends

Today in the Hague, the two-day Plenary Meeting of the Conference of Parliamentary Committees for Union Affairs of Parliaments of the European Union - COSAC has ended, organised within the Dutch Presidency of the Council of the EU. The Committee on European Integration was represented by Deputy Chairperson of the Committee Ms Marija Maja Ćatović and member of the Committee Ms Azra Jasavić.

On day two of the Meeting, the parliamentarians discussed the work of the European Court of Auditors, special reports published by the Court, and manners of their possible use in work of national parliaments. The significance of equal implementation of rules in all EU states has been pointed out, due to which the Court is very strict in control of the EU budget on the national level. The Court’s cooperation with national parliaments was commended, as well as constant coordination with auditing bodies of member states.    

In session dedicated to the current migrant crisis, they presented results achieved by implementation of the EU-Turkey Agreement with regard to joint resolution of crisis, with special reference to the situation in Greece, Italy, and Turkey. They also discussed requirements for visa liberalisation for Turkey. It was noted that significant progress was achieved in tackling migrant crisis, visible through reduced number of victims and daily number of migrants coming to the EU, but that the procedure of deciding on asylum requests and procedure of resettlement were still not effective and transparent enough. The attendees reminded of the problem of migrant smuggling criminal networks, and they especially emphasised the need for serious cooperation with their countries of origin and for helping them in combating causes of migrations. It was concluded that Europe was facing a test which all the countries, through migration policy combining control and solidarity, must go through together and preserve European values.    

During the two-day Meeting, the parliamentarians were addressed by, among other things, Prime Minister of the Netherlands Mark Rutte, President of the Senate of the Netherlands Ms Ankie Broekers-Knol, and Vice President of the European Commission Mr Frans Timmermans. 

The Plenary Meeting ended with adoption of joint conclusions.

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