On 28 and 29 March, the Conference of the Speakers of European Union Parliaments will be held for the first time in person since 2019 in Brdo pri Kranju (Slovenia). Switzerland will participate as an observer at the invitation of the Slovenian parliament and will be represented by National Council president Irène Kälin and Council of States president Thomas Hefti.
The annual conference is organised by the country holding the presidency of the Council of the EU in the second half of the previous year. It is part of the ‘parliamentary dimension’ of the EU Council Presidency, which aims to reinforce the role of national parliaments in the EU legislative process.
The purpose of the EU Speakers Conference is to provide a platform for exchanging different viewpoints and establishing interparliamentary dialogue at the highest level. At this year’s forum, participants will hold discussions in two sessions, including on the COVID-19 pandemic and the crisis in Ukraine. The first session will focus on the role of parliaments in emergency politics, and the second on the EU as a guarantor of stability, security and prosperity in Europe and beyond.
The presidents of the National Council and the Council of States will take advantage of the presence of their counterparts from various EU countries, EU candidate countries, and some EFTA and EEA countries to foster Switzerland’s contacts with other parliaments.