At the invitation of the president of the Parliament of the German-speaking Community of Belgium, Karl-Heiz Lambertz, the parliamentary presidents of the German-speaking countries will meet on 17 and 18 July to exchange views on the topic of civic education.

The annual conference, which is attended by representatives of the parliaments of Switzerland, Germany, Austria, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg and the German-speaking Community of Belgium, was launched in 2016 by the then president of the German Bundestag, Norbert Lammert. This year’s event is dedicated to the topic ‘Civic Education in Parliaments as an Instrument to Combat Disinformation and Fake News’.

In addition to host Karl-Heinz Lambertz, President of the Parliament of the German-speaking Community of Belgium, President of the National Council Martin Candinas, President of the German Bundestag Bärbel Bas, President of the National Council of Austria Wolfgang Sobotka, President of Luxembourg’s Chamber of Deputies Fernand Etgen and President of the Landtag of the Principality of Liechtenstein Albert Frick will participate.

Mr Candinas will also use his visit to Belgium to learn more about cooperation between Switzerland and NATO in the run-up to the above-mentioned conference and to exchange views with various dialogue partners on current security challenges.