A meeting of the chairpersons of the Conference of Parliamentary Committees for Union Affairs of the Parliaments of the European Union will take place in Zagreb on 19 and 20 January 2020. The EFTA/EU Delegation will attend at the invitation of Croatia, which holds the EU Council presidency for the first six months of 2020. The delegation president, National Council member Eric Nussbaumer (SP, BL), and Council of States member Damian Müller (FDP, LU) will represent the Swiss parliament at this inter-parliamentary conference.

​The 63rd meeting of the chairpersons of the Conference of Parliamentary Committees for Union Affairs of the Parliaments of the European Union (COSAC) is being held during Croatia’s EU Council presidency, the motto of which is ‘A strong Europe in a world of challenges’. Key topics of the Croatian presidency include developing a strategy for the balanced and sustainable development of the EU and its member states, increased socio-economic ties, the linking of infrastructure within the EU and security and immigration policy.

The conference also offers an opportunity to foster inter-parliamentary relations. The members of the Swiss delegation will therefore make use of the occasion to hold bilateral discussions with delegations from the EU member states.

COSAC was founded in 1989 and since being formally recognised in the Treaty of Amsterdam in 1997, has served as a platform for fostering inter-parliamentary dialogue. Switzerland has attended the biannual meetings of the chairpersons of the parliamentary committees for Union affairs since 2015.