The President of the Bulgarian National Assembly and the President of the European Parliament have issued a joint invitation to the Interparliamentary Conference on Stability, Economic Coordination and Governance in the European Union, which will be held in Brussels on 19 and 20 February. Members from the European Parliament, the Parliaments of EU member states and the EFTA/EEA countries will meet to discuss economic, budgetary and social issues. The Swiss EFTA/EU Delegation will be represented at the conference by National Council member Kathy Riklin (CVP, ZH).

​The Interparliamentary Conference on Stability, Economic Coordination and Governance in the European Union provides a platform for exchanging information and best practices on implementing the provisions of the Treaty on Stability, Coordination and Governance in the Economic and Monetary Union (fiscal compact). It is always held as part of the European Parliamentary Week and offers conference participants the opportunity to discuss the contents and objectives of the European Semester, which is a cycle of economic and fiscal policy coordination.

The European Semester covers questions in the three key areas of structural reform, fiscal policy and preventing excessive macroeconomic imbalances. The focus during this European Semester Conference will be on EU taxation policy, the European Economic and Monetary Union, the role of national parliaments in a European Monetary Fund and the shaping of the EU’s next multiannual financial framework.

Conference participants will discuss in particular the possibilities of stabilising and strengthening the resilience of the economic and monetary union. Speakers will include the president of the Bulgarian National Assembly, Tsveta Karayancheva; the president of the European Parliament, Antonio Tajani; the president of the European Commission, Jean-Claude Juncker and the new president of the Eurogroup, Mário Centeno.